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Reddit mentions of Lighten Up!: A Complete Handbook For Light And Ultralight Backpacking (Falcon Guide)

Sentiment score: 10
Reddit mentions: 14

We found 14 Reddit mentions of Lighten Up!: A Complete Handbook For Light And Ultralight Backpacking (Falcon Guide). Here are the top ones.

Lighten Up!: A Complete Handbook For Light And Ultralight Backpacking (Falcon Guide)
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Globe Pequot Press Lighten Up by Don Ladigin - 9780762737345
Specs:
ColorOne Color
Height9 Inches
Length6 Inches
Number of items1
Release dateMay 2005
SizeOne Size
Weight0.02645547144 Pounds
Width0.25 Inches

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Found 14 comments on Lighten Up!: A Complete Handbook For Light And Ultralight Backpacking (Falcon Guide):

u/MaidenATL · 14 pointsr/Ultralight

They started out as a ultralight backpacking company. They were successful at that and had some of the best gear out there.

They abandoned the designs that they started with, and replaced them with gear that I really didn't even consider ultralight. I'm not sure if they got rid of the breeze, and cave because Jardine owned the designs or because they didn't fit their new business model.

Even after the Jardine era some of their gear was quite nice, and still pretty light. But over the next few years they seemingly decided to compete with companies like The North Face, started selling 'lifestyle clothing' and things like that.

If you need proof that they completely abandoned their original mission check out their history page. http://www.golite.com/Info/Values/History.aspx
They go out of their way to not mention Ray Jardine, or Beyond Backpacking/the pct hikers handbook. In fact they use the phrase "lighten up" which IMO is a cheap way to plug this book http://www.amazon.com/Lighten-Up-Complete-Ultralight-Backpacking/dp/0762737344 as opposed to anything Jardine may have in publication.

And besides how can a company called Golite have a founder who is overweight?

u/gamerx11 · 10 pointsr/Ultralight

I really enjoy Lighten Up! and Ultralight Backpackin' Tips as well. Those two really helped me think about what I was carrying on my trips. It made me a lot more weight conscious.

u/Bhelkweit · 9 pointsr/LifeProTips

My brother gifted me this book one year for christmas. I highly recommend it. Filled with tips like OP. Helped me drop my pack weight to 20lbs for a 5-day trek. And that was actually too much food.

I can practically run all day fulled loaded.

u/zorkmids · 6 pointsr/Ultralight

I'd recommend either Andrew Skurka's book or Dan Ladigan's book.

Andrew Skurka's website is also a good resource.

The Backpacking Light forums are excellent.

Ten Pound Backpack is pretty helpful for gear comparisons, once you know roughly what you're you're looking for.

u/OffTheRivet · 6 pointsr/Ultralight

Gear is expensive so I'll give you a range, from cheapest you may find to very expensive but awesome.

Pack - get one that fits or face the back pain consequence - $50 for an ASolo UL to $500+ for Custom bag.

Sleeping bag - consider a quilt instead - All depends on where you live. I have a $35 dollar bag and a $450 bag I use one in the tropics on one in the alpine or arctic.

Tent - If you're camping alone, in a treed area, get a henessey hammock. They're $150 or so. You can also get a tarp ($50) and bivy ($100 used) combo. Don't lug a 4 person tent around for 1 or 2 people.

Next purchase - Stove. Make (check r/myog or cat food camp stove for info) or buy. You can also get a bomb proof msr stove for $35 + fuel.

Getting a pack that fits is the most important thing. A sleeping bag will fit in any pack because it's just fabric and fuzz.

Tent basics:
Big Agnes, TarpTent are the reasonably priced and best performing UL tents.
If you are 1 person get a 1 person tent. If you are 2 people, get a 2 person tent.
Look into hammock, bivy/tarp, and tent options and pick the one that suits where you'll be camping.

You'll want a 50-70L pack for trips longer than a weekend.

Mike Clelland has a really cheap and great tip book, he was a NOLS leader forever and knows his shit, and explains it with cartoons.

u/blackbodyradiation · 6 pointsr/Ultralight

I've found Backpackinglight's forum very helpful. In the gearlist section, people post their lists and get comments on them. Lighten Up is a short and simple book on the topic if you are completely new to lightweight backpacking. Also, "ultralight" is a loaded term. It implies a base weight (all the gear without food and what you're wearing) in the single digits. If this is what you really want, check out Ultralight Backpackin' Tips Otherwise, a baseweight in the teens are usually considered "lightweight" backpacking.

Also, don't just stick with stuff from REI. There are a lot of cottage industry stores that sell quality backpacking products. A few that I can think of off the top of my head are: Tarptent, Gossamer Gear, Six Moon Designs, Jacks R Better, ULA, Feathered Friends, Nunatak, Tenkara, and Bushbuddy. Of course, they are a bit more expensive, however, they are all well tested and trusted by a lot of backpackers.

Get your backpack last.

u/mattymeats · 5 pointsr/Ultralight

Start with a good book or two. I recommend Beyond Backpacking, Lighten Up!, and The Ultimate Hiker’s Gear Guide. Any of these books will give a good 50,000-foot view of the world of things you should be thinking about when introducing yourself to backpacking.

u/anonmarmot · 4 pointsr/CampingandHiking

no pic. here's a link to what I had in 2011, not sure how outdated that is but it'd give you a sense. I did it again in 2013 or so and added a pound or two to my pack, mostly in the form of a 1p tent. I MUCH preferred a single person tent. I got one of those Solong ones made for tall dudes.

re-reading that list there's nothing I brought that I didn't end up wanting. Lots of lessons in general, mostly stemming from this book. Essentially think about the need, and alternatives to fill that need. Think about overlapping items and how to pare it down. Think about how happier you'd be hiking 200+ miles if you left 5lb of stuff at the trailhead and try to find ways to do that.

u/aggietau · 3 pointsr/backpacking

Check out http://bandofbackpackers.com/ for a gear list. It has some ultralight ideas with pack weights on one of the pages. It's divided by ounce so you can get a feel for utility vs. weight. You may want to buy lighten up the book with cartoons to understand where you'll need to invest and what's really important. It's easily readable in a night or two and really fun too!

u/azoeart · 3 pointsr/Ultralight

What do you already have? Not everything needs to be replaced. A list with weights is always helpful. We like to weigh stuff, and we are obsessed with that (okay, not everyone is).

There are two books that really helped me Lighten Up! and Ultralight Backpackin' Tips.

u/GemJump · 2 pointsr/Random_Acts_Of_Amazon

Lighten Up! - A book about effectively preparing backpacking gear to prevent injuries and strain.

Thanks for the contest /u/Internal_Cannon!

u/MissingGravitas · 2 pointsr/hiking

Where's the trip? I'm curious about the need for that much water, but could see it in a desert. The pack should be fine, if a tad heavy, but if you end up having to carry bulky items it may be too small. (Worry about that later though.)

Aside from /r/Ultralight, Skurka's blog has good content both his book and this other one are good to look through.

One other suggestion I'd make is to adjust the gear list people get, otherwise you could end up with a bunch of inexperienced people with 60lb packs and all the fun that brings. There are a number of threads (on BPL, in /r/ultralight, and elsewhere) that list ultralight setups that try to stay under a given dollar amount. You can use those give people lists that include both common lightweight items and their budget alternatives. Remember, if they pack too much, you might end up having to carry it.

u/OnlyFactsNoContext · 2 pointsr/Mountaineering

There's a really good series of cartoon books about lightweight backpacking and mountaineering by a few guys from NOLS which really helped me adjust what I thought was "necessary".

Mountaineering

Ultralight

General Backpacking

I had a really solid mountaineer once tell me that the key to success on the mountains is camping like a champion. If you're poorly rested, poorly fed or angry with your partners because of a crappy camp setup, you're less likely to achieve your goals.

I mostly do ski mountaineering with some summer stuff thrown in for kicks (I'm in the Canadian rockies so "Summer" is relative). Typically I'll have my ski touring day pack 35L+ and my wife carries a 45L+ bag (she tends to carry but not wear more layers) on any trip where I'm based out of a base camp or hut. We'll drag our gear in on a pull sled or we'll both bring our 65 or 85L bags (depending on trip length) to camp, then ditch em.