[pct-l] Tents....I know, I know, beating a dead horse

[Diane at Santa Barbara Hikes dot com]

On Feb 14, 2009, at 1:04 PM, pct-l-request at backcountry.net wrote:

>  describing a Gossamer Gear One plus a
> bug bivy (or a tarp plus a bivy plus a bug bivy)

People are misunderstanding the bug bivy. It is a luxury item. I did  
not have it last year. The One requires no additional tarp or bivy of  
any kind.

If you already have a great tent, there's no problem in my mind with  
it. But if someone wants to buy a new tent, I would think that if  
there's one that's 1lb that will do the same work as one that's 3lb  
then the lighter one seems like a better choice.

Lighter isn't always better. I started out my hike with a frameless  
pack but had to exchange it for a heavier one. The frameless pack  
didn't do the same amount of work for me, which was to carry 5 liters  
of water well. A heavier pack did more work than the lighter one so  
it was a good trade.

Something Nimblewill Nomad said to me made sense. He said that the  
things we carry represent to some degree insecurities we have (those  
may not have been his exact words.) For him, the extra food he has at  
the end of every leg represents his insecurities about food.

Every time I reached a water source in So Cal I still had at least 2  
liters of water in my pack. Sometimes twice that. In more watery  
locations, I often carried more than I needed. Water is an insecurity  
I have and if I can reduce it, I can carry a lighter pack and a  
luxury 6oz bug bivy or even a 3lb tent, (but I can't see why I would  
do that if a 1lb tent will do).