I second this ❤ very much appreciated. Sometimes I’ll stop watching an American RU-vid video if it’s all in fh and not Celsius. Not trying to be negative but it’s just not my language.
I may be only a casual backpacker, but I have to say this is probably the most informative channel I have ever subscribed to. Dang, this content is totally spot on.
the only problem is that a lot of the gear he buys to use for videos don’t get extensive use. The exception might be the stuff he thinks is the best because, presumably, he’d use that more than anything else.
You hit the nail on the head for most of us, starting with the honesty of reality. We like ultra light but but don’t mind the few extra ponds for comfort. The hole point of getting out there is to do what you like, not what the internet tells you to do
Yup, I learned that the hard way. Even with scouts, we talk that it's OK to have a "luxury item". For me it's a chair and decent pillow. That extra pound or two is a very small trade off between having an enjoyable trip vs. being miserable.
I hate the misconception that ultralight gear requires a mortgage to afford it. The real difference to me is that there are no cheap brands like Teton Sports producing ultralight gear. This video nailed it on the head. If you're going to invest in some high-quality backpacking gear, rather than entry-level, ultralight makes a ton of sense as the price is comparable when you start talking about mid-level to high-end gear.
But you actually said that you need a mortgage to afford it :) And all the video is about "let's compare a stuff someone made in their garage with a top brands to make it just 166$ more expensive. I'm quite sure that you could get a gear of almost the same weight and maybe almost (or actually the same) comfort for these conditions in places like Decathlon for a price of one ultralight backpack.
@@bobermai I doubt that. Have you looked at advertised weights from budget brands like Decathlon or Teton Sports? You really can't even get close in weight, although the quality and functionality of those brands are usually pretty good and great for those simply dipping their toes.
@@TheFraziers i mean getting close in weight to "traditional" brands, no UL of course. And i'm saying that there you could gather the same pack of backpack+sleeping pad+sleeping bag+tent+stove+bowl that would weight maybe not 6.5 but 7.5 kilos, but would cost about 500$ totally. No real compromises in quality, maybe some in bells and whistles though. Ultralight set here is more then 3000$. So it's not "pay 166$ more", but "pay 6 times more", to be accurate. And that changes quite a lot.
The weight he presented was not comparable to me because I weight my packs with everything loaded except water because I carry it mostly external. I dont know how long his trip was, that is a big difference as well. I mean I load my pack for 8kgs for a trip including food and water for 8-10 days.
Great info as always! And If i bought an $800 tent I’d get a ton of use out of it because my wife would probably kick me out of the house 😂 It looks sweet though!
Solid video and great presentation. That $166 is a minimal difference when already paying for top level gear (BA, Western Mountaineering, Osprey Aether, etc.) and the comfort from lighter weight is a definite winner over multiple 20-mile days. Thanks for this comparison.
Having a lightweight rechargeable headlamp is good for so many different things besides backpacking, and for what it does and how much i use it, the nu25 is an absolute steal. Think about it: you're repairing something but can't hold your flashlight and a wrench at the same time, you want to go on a walk at night, you're doing regular style camping, you can wrap it around your handlebar if you need a bicycle headlight etc. Such a cool gadget. It still blows me away how cheap and lightweight and bright headlights and flashlights have gotten with LED and lithium ion. Before 2010 you could maybe pay a couple hundred for an hid system?
One of the most overlooked reasons to add the shock cord to the nu25 is that it makes it so tiny in your hip belt pocket or wherever. Like a 9v battery.
Yep me too. Lol That is exactly why I sometimes carry two of them. (Also in a high use situation where I might have considered carrying one that uses batteries, an additional nu25 (original) weighs less than 3 AAAs. Lol)
Not an utlralighter by any means but I've been putting a lot of consideration is going 'as light as possible' and moved to a quilt by EE, an Xmid 2p for my wife and I and have learned to try and keep clothing to a minimum, no frills no non-essential accessories. The only element I can't get rid off is my overly weighty Osprey Atmos 65g... we never went on more than 2 nights out and still, I find I appreciate the volume and the overall design/harness. The UL packs I've seen all seemed much less confortable.
the only reason I care about ultralight stuff is that I fly to our destinations to meet up with car campers, and i'm quickly learning it's a pain hauling too much junk around the airport.
Great video, as usual! I really enjoyed this one, 1. because you talked about some gear I had not heard of before, and 2. because you compared the AI loadout to your lightweight loadout. Personally, I'm sill struggling with a base weight of over 13lbs, but I can't shake off my love for the Zenbivy Light bed, which is much heavier than either a bag or a quilt. It's just so comfy...
If I wasn’t testing this zpacks bag I probably would have brought my zen bivy. In fact my friend had one on this trip. 13lbs is a great base weight! Don’t let anyone tell you differently
I have Zpacks Zero and DCF tarp, but always had a soft spot for Tarptent, Six Moon, (and now Durston). Their poly/nylon tents are really great weights and half the price of the DCF options - great options without needing to justify $800 on the DCF.
The problem with the nu25 XL headlamp is that the first version, (the NU25 LM) is so much more hiker friendly than the 2nd version. Everyone did the shockcord headband. Less sweaty, more comfortable, more minimal. Wasn't really about the weight saving, but that did make the mark one significantly lighter than the new version. The older one is noticeably more comfortable to wear. The old one has a CRI light. That's the one you use in your tent. The new one doesn't have a CRI light. The old one has 2 red brightness levels, new version has one intermediate setting.That makes it both dimmer on max red, than the old one and more painful for any others you might want to converse with. The older one was easier to use. Simpler menu. The older one has a lower light setting, so despite having a larger heavier battery that uses more charge, the new version doesn't last as long. It's nice that they put a USB C on the new version. But they put it on the side where it will get wet. But the coup de grace, the salt in the wound, the thing that clearly shows that a committee was responsible for the redesign, was that the new one generates 3 blinding, battery draining, night vision destroying, flashes every time you switch it on and off. You can still get the old NU25 LM if you hunt around. But they are more expensive than the new NU25 UL . The demand you see.
The editing and script is spot on, and the length of videos on this channel is always perfect - if I ever have my own channel, mylifeoutdoors will be a model!
I’d love to see a breakdown of how you calculated the $166 price difference. Right off the bat, a Copper Spur HV UL 2 costs $550 but the dipole tent you used costs $800. That’s a $250 difference just for the tent, right? Would love to understand better!
The best thing about the Nitecore UL25 is that those elastic string GLOW IN THE DARK!!! No more searching in pics black for your headlamp. It’s a game-changer
Just like hefeibao said in a prior post this channel provides a crazy amount of info. content is superior and gear review is amazing. Thank you! This channel has helped me immensely in becoming a better backpacker.
i feel like the elastic bungee is better if you want to hang the head lamp in the tent and loop it in one of those loop things for lamps or loft attachment. a normal headlamp strap you'd have to S clip it. (is it needed no, but when camping with 2 adults in 1 tent it's better to have an overhead lamp vs a lamp on someone's head when trying to get comfy.)
I agree with some of your logic but not all of it. I also have an Arc Haul backpack (very expensive) but prefer my Osprey because even though it is heavier from my perspective the Osprey Zero gravity pack carries better and is much more comfortable for me.
Packs like ospreys are built to carry weight. UL gear is the basics. Ironically enough, Osprey/ Deuter, type packs came out of the military, wanting ul gear, designed to be away for a week, carrying a lot of extra ammo. Now if someone manages to put together a osprey type harness with a ul pack. That would change the game. At least zpacks are trying in that regard.
I have both the Petzel and the NItcore and the Petzel is just so much brighter, and can use triple As when the main battery is drained. This is why I use it on critical trips (climbing, moutnaineering), etc. If all I was doing was using it camp a nitecore is fine.
I've been doing a lot of research (as much as I could find) on the Dipole 2 Li and it will be replacing my Nemo Dagger soon! Love a lot of the features it has compared to other dyneema tents. The pack I use is a Seek Outside Unaweep 4800 and it's amazing though pricey. Great video!
If you are into ultralight packs and have no money look at Walmart in their travel luggage area for a little stuff sack contained nylon backpack that in its stuff sack is no bigger than a tennis ball. I bought one for 25usd$ about 5+ years ago and have been using it to carry groceries and as an overflow bag with my panniers on my bicycle. The silvery coating on the shoulder straps has degraded and is flaking off but they still hold the weight. I think the branding is; "Louise & Clark". It has a notebook pouch perfect for a sit-pad back-pad. It is cheep and weight is Very light. Just passing on a thought you might be able to use.
I am an inexperienced backpacker and I have been trying to figure out where I should spend my money for my upcoming trip for upgrading my gear and from there what gear within that category makes the most sense for me so that I can get high enough quality that I would have to be worrying about replacing it so long as it works well for me any time super soon. After spending forever drowning in different reviews and recomendations with conflicting information and trying to figure out what I wanted and what I trusted. After spending a really like time I tried using chat GPT which isn't familiar with gear from the last couple years but I found it shockingly helpful compared to when I have tried to use it in the past. I definitely don't trust anything I get from it but it did a great job of taking in all of my different needs and goals and pointing me in the right direction. I wasn't perfect or revolutionary but it was a very helpful tool to help focus my research.
The NU25 400 UL straps are terrible. Worse yet, you can't remove them without cutting them off. I ended up returning it and buying the regular NU25 400 which has a hinged bracket that you can easily add and remove straps from and added my own shock cord. The NU25 alone is an ounce but the original strap is another ounce. More importantly, the shock cord is less bulky so it compacts better in my pocket.
If you ask AI for "an ultralight backpacking gear list" it´s a different story-a pretty good approximation of all the reviews and tips from pros like you.
It helps if most of your trail/ area knowledge is written/ online / somewhere, or previous visits. For those in different areas. Where you could be packing 3/4 days water/ 6 days food. in 38°C to 46°C on top of the mt. You will bust your ul gear, just in water weight.
If I want comfort, safety and a good night's sleep, I can carry 5 kg. more (what's the point of hiking if you can't sleep well and feel more tired the next day) Super light tents it's a circus in the forest 😀 Good luck in cold, windy and buggy conditions and have a cool hike 🏕️
7 lbs is a lot less weight to carry. I like that backpack but you can see in my latest video about my ultralight gear upgrades for 2023 the bag I chose is the same weight at half the price, and I think looks better.
Love your channel, and the great gear reviews!!. Something about the weights/R value of the sleeping pads is confusing tho, even per the links you provided. Might want to check that...
I would like to see a video, similar to this, that would give us the an overall best-bang-for-the-buck loadout. You know, maybe 1 lb heavier but $500 cheaper. I'd like it to be the entire load - shoes, pad, food by calorie, water container, etc, not just 4-5 items
Just discovered your channel and enjoying your videos. I've done some backpacking before but it was always heavy and exhausting for me. I think I could enjoy it more if I had lighter gear and some good recommendations. Thanks for the work you do on these videos. Also, beautiful places!
Have you seen the hilltop packs ultralight backpacks? Very tough and light plus extremely customizable. They can print anything you want on the pack. Plus it's a small family run business.
specifically, Zoom compared to rapid SL: my wife has the rapide and loves it. I have the green one from the year before, but it isn't warm enough for shoulder seasons in the mountains.
Can't wait to see the BA Zoom review. I was just about to buy the Rapide SL and it looks like Zoom will be almost 8oz lighter with same R value. I'm guessing it may be less durable and wondering about noise level as well
Looking at the specs of the zoom it looks like they dropped the synthetic insulation completely and are relying on film like a lot of the other companies are shifting to. The rapide has both and I find it to be noticeably warmer than my old qcoreslx which was their old ultralight pad that they replaced with the rapide. The qcore only had synthetic insulation and I definitely found the bottom end of my comfort range with that pad a few times. They are taking things in a good direction with the air pads
@@hdanna823 I see that's how they show them on the website. I thought the Rapide was 3.5 in the middle and only thicker on each edge. Hopefully the review will confirm the spec's.
Absolutely love this channel. I think the AI is a good list to start from and then add/subtract as you gain knowledge from great folk like you. Im slowly but surely lightening my pack. And seeing things like that pad and how it saves me 3 ounces well thats something I never thought id be excited about about but 3 ounces is a start. If I could shave an ounce off every item thats atleast a couple pounds.
love this channel man I haven’t done any serious backpacking but I’d love to do an overnighter or something with some lightweight gear. Thanks for the vid it is cool to compare between what humans and AI would recommend
I’m just getting into backpacking and your videos have been incredibly helpful, thank you. Can you tell me what is the black textured shirt you wear in many of your videos?
Love your channel long time subscriber ❤ curious .... are we losing the quality of gear for less weight gear *material etc ? Would love to see a video on this cheers legend 👍
I was sooo close to pulling the trigger on the dipole tent. Looks beautiful but after seeing how it performs in the wind i couldn't justify the price and bought an x-mid 2pro instead
@@MyLifeOutdoors another review on RU-vid. It just looked flappy and unstable which is a shame. Could have been guyed out wrong but i didn't want to risk it for that money. Will keep an eye out for your review and hopefully not regret that decision!
You are my favorite Backpacker. I am getting back into backpacking, but I have Epilepsy, and have a Service 🐕🦺 Dog who enables me to drive, camp, hike because he can alert me before I have a seizure, so I don't fall and hurt myself. I am trying to figure out a way to make his backpacking experience comfortable. I bought a Nunatek dog system for him. Do you know of any safety alert system I can carry and not pay too much for the service? I don't receive much on SS, and am conserned about the cost. I will carry his dog food, water, and other items. Do you have any recommendations to make for lightweight backpacking with my dog? I do Love his Nunatek Dog Down sleeping pad that comes with 900 fill power down, but I just want to be able to carry his and my stuff with out overly weighing myself down. Thank You for your wonderful videos.
anyone else using the claymore capon still? long as you don't go over a week it's got more than enough light and clamps right onto your hat (no strings necessary)
I have to say I disagree with your assessment of aqua tabs. I always carry them. With filters you have to usually avoid silty water anyways or it’ll just clog the filter. Up here in Canada most of our streams run clear anyways
Finally subbed because, well, you’re the man. Always enjoy your content and thorough breakdowns. Quick question- I have the Zpacks Arc Haul Ultra sitting in the shopping cart and I’m so close to pulling the trigger. Can we expect a full review of that bad boy soon?
Thanks for the sub. I regret to say I have no plans to do a full review on the Arc Haul anytime soon. I will say I really like that pack but I’m already on my second one. The first one a cross member popped out of the frame and doesn’t want to stay put. Could be a fluke and may not affect all arc hauls but it’s worth mentioning. Other than that it’s SUPER light weight, comfy, large, and has back ventilation which is hard to come by in UL packs.
@@MyLifeOutdoors Ah, good to know. Can I ask how old the troublesome pack was? I’ve heard of the same issue occurring on previous models and supposedly, the issue was remedied but now I’m questioning that…
I've only recently discovered your channel, and have loved going through your videos! I have a question, that I can't find if you've answered - what do you find works best for carrying your camera gear for filming?
The strings matter!! 🤣 UL isn't about saving that 25g on the Nitecore headlamp. It's about adding up all those small savings by considering every piece of gear individually. Ironically, you are doing exactly that too in every gear loadout video!
@@MyLifeOutdoors yeah, it's totally true that there's a line that everyone individually draws right? For me it's the considerations that make sense. I went out last weekend and with the shakedown on reddit it helped me to make my own decisions about taking a few things or not. But saved me 800g...and I wasn't really sure if I'd notice that....but I did. Also mentally it helped me to feel lighter too. What are the sandals you have stuffed in the front pocket? They look cool. I left out crocs as camp shoes....and they look like a great alternative?
Hey, so I'm a big guy. 309 lbs and I went with my old Lowe Alpine pack that was tight around my belly but it worked for a 20 mile loop. How big around can this zpacks backpack fit and would it work for me now, or should I wait for about 50 lbs less?my belly is 48 wrangle pants if that tells you much... I plan on using that pack( lowe Alpine) for my next trip but I tightened the shoulders when I first got it to tight so the plastic on the frame split... I'm fixing it with good old j b weld.... But will need a replacement pack someday...
Damn, was hoping to get some info on that new BA pad. Been combing the net since I saw it pop up on their site but I don't think it's been made available to the market yet.
