For me it was a journey
Enjoyed shaving things down and minimising so much, it scratched such an autism itch. Wanted to be like the Buddhist ascetic monks but in shoulder season yuroupe.
3lb baseweight:
>Plastic screw top pot (also my main bottle)>bladder + sawyer mini>miswak stick toothbrush>lighter+meds+Repairs >ate with twigs I’d cut>quilt as puffy>diy polycro bivy used as poncho>neoair torso (backpack under legs)>alpkit gourdon 20l>one outfit>spare socks>brimmed hatActually worked surprisingly well even on sub freezing nights, I’d shake the frost or condensation out of the quilt and bivy, walk on wrapped in it and soon it would be dry.
Now I’ve swung far back the other way. As
>>2061665 says, it’s a game of diminishing returns, and I actually missed the comfy feeling of having extra stuff even though I could easily push 35 miles per day before
Now my gear is more robust, comfier, protected from the elements and closer to my bed at home, I have contingencies for getting soaked, I cook, I take fun things like art stuff, and I like it as it is. Another undeniably present factor is that I hated most high tech gear - slippery, shiny, so unflattering, incredibly fragile. Felt like a fairy and baby’d my gear when I should have been pushing through and getting dirty.
