>>585386this is basically it. I knew I would be doing a lot of backpacking, so I bought the gear I wanted, rather than upgrading incrementally at greater total cost, and diminished enjoyment.
>>585393honestly, I think leather bedroll straps are amazingly,amazingly niche.
but if we're talking about more common lightweight gear, then yes, that has already been the trend.
from my knowledge:
terra nova, rei, hilliberg, msr, big agnes, and sierra designs have all recently introduced silnylon shelters.
rei, thermarest, and nemo have started selling quilts. big agnes has been selling sleeping bags with uninsulated backs for years.
terra nova sells cuben shelters and bags, although under a house brand name.
vargo makes an alcohol stove out of titanium! for those who don't want to build their own I suppose.
frogg toggs sells super cheap, very light, breathable rain gear.
costco and uniqlo of all places sell lightweight down jackets for as little as 30 USD.
so yeah, there are tons of mass market options for ultralight gear these days, and the price is definitely down from just 5 years ago.
>>585462less than 12oz is a tough one. at that point I think you're down to 3-5mm CCF pads if you want full body coverage. for beach trips where I plan to sleep on sand, I have a 5mm thick 6' long CCF pad that weighs 5oz. it's not branded unfortunately, but I got it canadian tire.
gossamer gear offers thinlite pads which are ~3oz in very thin, or 12oz in thin, haha.
if you need more comfort, maybe a short neoair xlite (8oz), and then put your backpack under your feet?
