XTherm or Bust The Ultralight Hiker So, as you know I bit the bullet and bought myself a new Thermarest XTherm at 440 grams for its standard 6′ model. Though I definitely did not ‘need’ a new pad I wanted to see whether I could reduce size/volume in my pack – and I was just curious whether the improvement in the […] The post XTherm or Bust first appeared on The Ultralight Hiker ..read more

Absolutely the Lightest Sleeping Pad Inflator The Ultralight Hiker The Pad Pal weighs only 9 grams, costs a mere US$48 (July 2024) and will pump your pad up in a little over 30 seconds. This tiny device will revolutionise how you inflate your sleeping pad. Eat your heart out Flextail – which otherwise I was going to buy some day, but at nearly 100 […] The post Absolutely the Lightest Sleeping Pad Inflator first appeared on The Ultralight Hiker ..read more

Kinetic Log Splitter The Ultralight Hiker We have had a hydraulic log splitter for a number of years, probably since I had some joints replaced in my arthritic hands such that the doctors recommended would not handle heavy work such as swinging a sledge or block buster (though I still do). I think it was rated at about 8 tonnes when […] The post Kinetic Log Splitter first appeared on The Ultralight Hiker ..read more

More Fun in the Rain The Ultralight Hiker Ponchos, Umbrellas or Raincoats? That is the question. What’s the best way to stay dry in the rain and enjoy yourself in the outdoors while doing so? I have been soaking wet, all over, every ‘warm’ layer down to my skin, more times than I can count. Mostly of course it was when I was […] The post More Fun in the Rain first appeared on The Ultralight Hiker ..read more

Follow Your Nose The Ultralight Hiker As a deer hunter I have failed to follow my own advice on this one more than once to my regret as you can read in my account of my recent Dusky walk below. Trust your nose, Somewhere upwind possibly just in sight is something important you need to pay attention to. More about New […] The post Follow Your Nose first appeared on The Ultralight Hiker ..read more

Gully Walking The Ultralight Hiker Most of the ‘great’ walking tracks (like the Alps’ for example) head along the tops where I admit the views outward and downwards can be truly awe inspiring. They do lack for water (and fish) however, are often windy and/or with very changeable weather that can be a challenge for tents and even survival. Often […] The post Gully Walking first appeared on The Ultralight Hiker ..read more

Things You Find The Ultralight Hiker We visited the Hunter Valley where I grew up last week to catch up with relatives which was really great, however I did not expect this amazing treat. My cousin Brian had pulled this strange object out of the ground where we/they used to live in Tenambit (Maitland) when he was circa 8 years old. […] The post Things You Find first appeared on The Ultralight Hiker ..read more

Ultralight Head Gear The Ultralight Hiker A 1970s US army survival guide used to claim that you lost up to 50% of your body’s heat from your head. As the surface area of your head is only 10% of your body (though your brain uses a lot of your blood supply) this is almost certainly not true. However, not very much […] The post Ultralight Head Gear first appeared on The Ultralight Hiker ..read more

Ultralight Furniture The Ultralight Hiker Should I buy a Helinox Zero or just sit on a log? We have used the Big Agnes Cyclone Chair (at approx 170 grams) for years. It uses a sleeping mat to make a comfy chair with a supporting back-rest that you can sit in your tent with (in front of a warm fire in […] The post Ultralight Furniture first appeared on The Ultralight Hiker ..read more

Ultralight Firewood Saw The Ultralight Hiker I realise this is something of a ‘holy grail’ but sometimes you really do need to be able to saw some pieces of firewood down to size and you may need to have carried a saw to do so – or you are not going to be very warm tonight. This was (nearly) our situation […] The post Ultralight Firewood Saw first appeared on The Ultralight Hiker ..read more