Greetings Hikers!

[Abela]

Hello All,

Not much to say about myself. Been outdoors most of my life (had about a 10 year period I was stuck behind a desk) but got back into hiking a few years ago.

I started off with all the normal heavy gear and 10 piece kits and 5 piece kits and backup gear for my backup gear and all that kind of usual stuff. Over the course of a few years I worked my way down into the UL world than the SUL world and eventually into the XUL world (1.78 BPW on a three day trip is the lightest I have ever gone) and these days I much prefer the extra weight and usually am out on hikes with a BPW of around 3.2 through 4.8 pounds, depending on the weather.

I have learned so much over the last few years and yet I know there are decades more learning for me. I hope I can learn and help others at my time here at TG!

[Jen]

Hi, Abela! Welcome to TrailGroove... we're glad to have you here!

I look forward to hearing about your experiences on the trail as well as learning more about your SUL & XUL gear. I checked out your blog and will surely be spending time there to catch up on your posts.

Thanks for joining us!

Jen

[Stick]

Hey John, great to see you here! Glad you signed up...

And everyone, I just want to say that John has been a huge help to me over the last...well...I don't know for sure..it has been a while now.... but anyway, John has helped me to really consider gear and to help me get my pack weight down. He has done a lot of hiking and has a lot of great information on packing light...really light... I will admit, I have not ventured off with a sub 2 lb pack...but it's kinda close... my pack weight for my next hike is now at 3.99 lbs...

Anyway...welcome aboard John!

[Abela]

Hey John, great to see you here! Glad you signed up...

And everyone, I just want to say that John has been a huge help to me over the last...well...I don't know for sure..it has been a while now.... but anyway, John has helped me to really consider gear and to help me get my pack weight down. He has done a lot of hiking and has a lot of great information on packing light...really light... I will admit, I have not ventured off with a sub 2 lb pack...but it's kinda close... my pack weight for my next hike is now at 3.99 lbs...

Anyway...welcome aboard John!

Hey Stick, I cannot take much credit here... you have done your fair share of research and gear review reading and talking with other hikers and all those other things that we have to do to reach these levels.

My advice to you Stick would be to stay right at where you are at now for a couple of hiking seasons. There is so much you learn in the SUL world that is vital to learning before you get out on xul hikes. Every time I go out on a XUL hike I realize I am falling back on so much of what I learned in the SUL world. And as you know from us talking, XUL has its place, but SUL really is the sweet spot. That 3.8 - 4.8 pound range is the ideal weight region. With the gear that you have at this point, you can add in a bit more comfort items without going back into the 5+ world. How amazing it is that you can be out there with a 20 ounce air pad and still be under 5 pounds BPW. Cherish that.