Ultralight hunting: toward a coherent definition.

[jwb300]

Yes but many have not read the full article - all I'm saying is there is probably more to the story than the precis provided and people may be missing the some of the context.

 

[Scoot]

Wow, that was a painful read! Some good information drowning in a sea of "trying desperately to sound smart" verbiage. I read and write for professional, peer reviewed journals all the time for my work and I'm used to people trying to "sound smart", but this was over the top! I imagine Dave is a smart dude, but what's even more clear is that he wants to seen as a smart dude. Oh, and my opinion might not matter much here- I quit reading once I couldn't handle the writing style 1.5 paragraphs in...

 

[jherald]

I was at REI a while ago and helping a friend buy a pack, one of the employees trying to help us out overheard me say I am 45-50 pounds on the pack going in for 10 days and they were shocked at that weight which I considered light for a ten day trip. I mentioned to them the weight of my spotter, tripod, binos and rifle add the big bulk of the weight to my pack and they seemed amazed I would even carry all that stuff and consider my pack weight "light". Considering what rifle, ammo, spotter, tripod and binos all weigh, I'd say I'm doing pretty good for a ten day hunt to include all of my food, shelter, sleep system, clothing, ditty bag with accessories and whatnot. Considering the other main bulk is food, lots of food and high calorie food. You burn a lot of food on a sheep hunt, tons of calories. I average a 7,000 calorie per day burn for myself so I take a lot of food to keep my body fueled and warm.

What is light is all up for interpretation. What's very light to one is heavy to another. There is a fine line between UL and barely surviving where I hunt. I'll happily hoof 45-50 pounds pack to have a nice shelter, plenty of food, good clothing and good optics. If my normal hunts were 3-5 days I'd be able to cut my pack weight way down, and have cut it way down on 3-5 day hunts. But 10-12 days then it's in a whole other league of the amount of food you need.

I'm always obsessing over gear, trying to find ways to cut weight, working the whole give and take of what I need and dont need, its and ever evolving race to get light for me.

 

[DaveC]

To Grouch and everyone else who paid me the compliment of buying and reading the article, many thanks. I'll drink a beer for ya'll tonight.

To clear up something, and make sure Eric in editorial doesn't get unjust aspersions cast upon him, the "summary" is simply the first four paragraphs, aka the introduction in it's entirety. Certainly, it is by design and necessity the most dense part of the whole piece, and is best grounded in the concrete examples the rest of the article provides. In this case you have to pay to play.

And finally, for those who find phrases like epigraphical quotation and foundational assumptions off-putting, along with sentences that contain more than 10 words, I can only say that this is your issue. There is nothing that I can or care to do about it. Though out of good will I'll mail you folks 800mg each of expired Advil for your troubles. Just PM your mailing address.

 

[5MilesBack]

And finally, for those who find phrases like epigraphical quotation and foundational assumptions off-putting, along with sentences that contain more than 10 words, I can only say that this is your issue. There is nothing that I can or care to do about it.

That's a little like saying that everyone that can't understand all the illegals speaking in this country is our fault.

 

[fillthefreezer]

YK, thanks for posting skurka's list. i thought that was very interesting. i had no idea he even hunted?
i was very surprised to see him still running an alc'y stove. that right there, is in my mind, a great example of how lightweight hunting and backpacking differ.
charvey, i also agree with the quote you singled out from dave's article. ALOT of truth there...

 

[Yellowknife]

YK, thanks for posting skurka's list. i thought that was very interesting. i had no idea he even hunted?
i was very surprised to see him still running an alc'y stove. that right there, is in my mind, a great example of how lightweight hunting and backpacking differ.

I got the impression that Andrew just started hunting very recently. Even though he has field craft and cross country travel down cold, I'm sure he will find that adding the world of animals into the mix will be an entire different dimension to his backcountry experience.

I also expect his gear list will evolve a bit as he gets some animals down. He's certainly starting from a stronger background than most new hunters.

Yk

 

[Scoot]

And finally, for those who find phrases like epigraphical quotation and foundational assumptions off-putting, along with sentences that contain more than 10 words, I can only say that this is your issue. There is nothing that I can or care to do about it.

Wow, are you arrogant. I think you write like a person who's desperately trying to sound smart. Your ego obviously doesn't allow you to see that your complete inability to write to your audience won't allow your writing to be received nearly as well as it should be.

You can say the issue is that of the reader, but you obviously don't get that the issue is yours. Your polysyllabic blathering may impress you, and maybe your mom, but it is off-putting to most of your readership. But... my guess is that you love hearing how tough it is to read what you write- that feedback only makes you feel smarter and superior to those folks, doesn't it?

 

[DWarcher]

Wow, are you arrogant. I think you write like a person who's desperately trying to sound smart. Your ego obviously doesn't allow you to see that your complete inability to write to your audience won't allow your writing to be received nearly as well as it should be.

You can say the issue is that of the reader, but you obviously don't get that the issue is yours. Your polysyllabic blathering may impress you, and maybe your mom, but it is off-putting to most of your readership. But... my guess is that you love hearing how tough it is to read what you write- that feedback only makes you feel smarter and superior to those folks, doesn't it?

Mr. Kettle meet Mr. Black.

The internet sure is a funny place isn't it?

 

[realunlucky]

Mr. Kettle meet Mr. Black.

The internet sure is a funny place isn't it?

Haha

 

[5MilesBack]

Mr. Kettle meet Mr. Black.

Really? His post was easy to read and directly to his point, which was extremely easy to pick up on. Absolutely no similarity to Mr. Kettle or Mr. Black.

 

[William Hanson (live2hunt)]

This thread has derailed to a ridiculously petty and personal level. Come fellas I realize it's the off season and it grates on us all but this is not productive.

 

[Beastmode]

This thread has derailed to a ridiculously petty and personal level. Come fellas I realize it's the off season and it grates on us all but this is not productive.

X2 this thread has turned in to the level of a high school girls locker room. Come on guys. Let's not let rokslide turn in to the "other" forums.

 

[Take-a-knee]

I got the impression that Andrew just started hunting very recently. Even though he has field craft and cross country travel down cold, I'm sure he will find that adding the world of animals into the mix will be an entire different dimension to his backcountry experience.

I also expect his gear list will evolve a bit as he gets some animals down. He's certainly starting from a stronger background than most new hunters.

Yk

When Skurka decided to circumnavigate AK, he barely knew how to ski. When he got to the AK Range in early spring, with a full pack, he was averaging 30mi/day. He's a quick study.

 

[tttoadman]

Free entertainment for the slow season, but let's not start targeting high school girls in locker rooms.

It is obvious that our hunting passion draws every type of person from every possible walk of life. When the boots hit the ground, we are all the same. There is only one way to say "Holy shit that bull is close!!!", if words are even required at all.

 

[idig4au]

really, what is the point of this thread....who cares!!