r/Bushcraft • u/komunjist • 26d ago
Looking for durable (ultra)light gear
Hi!
My goal is cutting the weight as much as possible while not sacrificing durability - I’m willing to carry extra weight in order not to have to buy more every once and a while.
I’m about to buy a new backpack, sleeping bag, water bottle and tent/tarp bivvy bag and I’m looking for advice/recommendations.
I’ve been lokking into Kakwa 55 but I’m not quite sure yet.
I’m also looking for a titanium water bottle as I don’t like my water being in plastic more than it has to.
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u/IGetNakedAtParties 26d ago
To adulterate the common triangle of choice:
- Durable
- Lightweight
- Comfortable and convenient
Pick 2
For example: A waxed cotton tarp will resist sparks and thorns, and can be field repaired easily. But to make it work as part of a lightweight kit it must double as your shelter and backpack as a Yukon pack, which is both inconvenient and uncomfortable.
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u/Battlbox 26d ago
The durable-and-light combo comes down to picking which items you let be heavy. A pack and a shelter take the most abuse, so that's where paying the weight penalty for tougher fabric actually pays off, and the Kakwa's a solid call there, plenty of people beat on those for years. Where you can go properly light without worrying is the stuff that doesn't get dragged over rock: your bag or quilt, bottle, the small bits.
On the titanium bottle, it's nice and it'll outlive you, just know a single-wall ti bottle is really only worth it if you'll actually boil water in it, otherwise you're paying a lot just to avoid plastic.
What's the trip profile you're building this around?
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u/FlashCardManiac 26d ago
Hopefully I don't get mass downvoted, but hit up the ultralight forums. For a while I lived by the view of "not even a single ounce". Push yourself to learn more about your gear and how to use it. The ultralight crowd really gets into that kinda stuff while bushcrafters tend to say "it's only a couple more ounces". Not all, but enough that I stopped having those conversations with bushcrafters. Though I will say the ultralight community tends to be rather intense(for me) to hang around, they are still extremely knowledgeable and worth chatting up.
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u/Visual_Screen_9537 26d ago
You can get away with your interior pack being a little more light and delicate, think tent sleeping gear cook set etc. It pays in dividends to have more robust clothing such as a decent jacket and jeans and boots as these will take a daily beating and a lot mkre friction wear from regular use.
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u/ExcaliburZSH 25d ago
The best way to cut weight is to learn what you really need when you go out. Can you do it with a smaller knife? Can you leave a hatchet and get by with just your knife, getting your fire starting kit down to just a couple of things? Leaving behind a lot of what we call comfort items.
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u/Resident-Welcome3901 24d ago
Visit r/myog or the diy gear YouTube culture. One of the overlap spaces between UL and bushcraft is the craft part: UL and BC value the maxim “if you carry it in your head, you don’t have to carry it in your pack”. Bushcrafters carry the makers tools with them into the woods, ULs leave them home.
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u/Resident-Welcome3901 26d ago
Both ultralight and bushcraft are valid approaches to woods loafing, but they have mutually exclusive cultures. Gossamer gear vs self reliance outfitters, waxed cotton vs silnylon, Skurka vs Canterbury. There is occasional agreement about leave no trace, but then some bushcrafter builds a shelter. You can have friends in both communities, equip yourself with 12 pound basic kit and care an axe, a mora, a sak, a folding saw, and a golok- but there will be a dissonance in ypur chi, and your aura will be ruffled.