were to begin

3/4 length hiker extreme outer limits s/inflating roll mat
outer limits microsmart 270 sleeping bag
sea to aummit Medium dry stuff sack compression bag thingy
sea to summit light weight aircraft alloy cutlery set
2 sets of mountain design merino thermals
gondawana trekking tousers
cape trekking trousers
Columbia hiking shoes

i love my family :)

Edited by Thyreffa on 12/26/2009 04:17:47 MST.

In the gear realm I was lucky enough to receive an Arc-teryx Alpha SL pullover (the hood is a work of art), and a Canon S90 (which is remarkably easy to operate, very impressive).

Best of all was the three days I spent with my wife, sister, and parents skiing and snowshoeing in Yellowstone at the Old Faithful Snow Lodge. A truly great experience which I'd highly recommend.

this is definatly NOT an ultralight option lol
but it will power my jeep winchand lights well

Santa brought me:

WM Vapor Jacket
FF Down Booties
Icebreaker 200 baselayers
Black Rock Down Beanie

And best of all, permission to go off for 3 nights to Savage Gulf over New Year's :)

Santa also brought my lovely wife an MLD Prophet and some snuggly warm Arcteryx and MH jackets that can do double duty around town.

MLD (okay, Trail Designs) Caldera UL Compact system:
http://tinyurl.com/yzlngqy

and matching MLD 850 ML titanium pot:
http://tinyurl.com/ykpptnf

I measure this at 39 grams total (1.4 oz): 15g for the stove plus 24g for the cone brings the Caldera UL Compact system to 46g or 1.6 oz. Add two titanium stakes (not included), the two I have come to 17g. I'm also carrying a little alcohol measuring cup (not included) at 3g. And a little bubble wrap to keep the measuring cup from rattling around inside the pot.

MLD Pot: If you use the 7 gram mesh bag it comes in, then that plus the pot plus lid are 90g + 7g = 97g or 3.4 oz. I'll tentatively use the mesh to keep the lid tightly on, and the handles nicely folded, but may later replace with just a plastic sack (bread bag or whatever) --- no real weight savings in doing so, however.

Weight for total system, pot & lid, mesh bag, stove, cone, 2 stakes, and my measuring cup and a little bubble wrap: 159g, or 5.6 oz. This doesn't include fuel bottle or matches/lighter.

My somewhat hasty test burn pleased me well enough, though my close estimate of 15 ml of fuel didn't get me to a boil. It did get the 2 cups of water quite hot, certainly hot enough for me to eat with, and took 4 minutes and 45 seconds to do so on my back porch at maybe 35F. I pretty much always cook with treated water anyway, so don't feel the need to bring it to a rolling boil.

Apart from some direct weight and space savings, this system will allow me to carry less fuel. And the pot is a nice "cup size" that I can use as cup or bowl should I care to, one that I can fit my fat fist into to make it pretty easy to clean should I ever put anything beyond water in it. And the lid fits on really well. The priming ring along the outer edge of the stove might be a nice thing to have when I start on the AT in late February.

Tentative until I've got a lot of trail miles in with this, but it seems like a well thought out system, I'm pretty sure that I'll like it a lot. Merry Christmas indeed!

nice one, Gordon!

I didn't really get stuff for the Holiday, but I did get myself some more Teko and Injinji socks with the Backcountry.com free $.

Also, my wife got some new snowshoes and a new pair of Patagonia Traverse SS pants.

Well after crowd surfing all year, Im in. BackPackinglight member atlast. Anything good at the year end sale?

I'm coming off BD Rages and I love the leashless tools. The cobras are sweet, I've had them out 4 days so far including some laps this morning. My partner has the new Vipers and I like the cobras better but I'm a CF hoe so what can I say :)

I do need to file the picks a bit, the lasers are thin and there was a some thin ice today.

Marmot Zues Down Jacket

Not backpacking gear, but she sure is nice...
Specialized Rockhopper 29er

I got a new sewing machine and am ready to stuff my MYOG Arc Edge copy quilt with down. Now I know why handmade baffled quilts cost so darned much! ;)

Nice gift Alexander. I'll be on the lookout for new MYOG by you.

A new Buffalo Special 6 shirt, after nearly 16 years i needed to get a new one .



MERRY CHRISTMAS - AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL!!!

Edited by barrie_grieve on 12/30/2009 09:26:34 MST.

Thanks to the Golite sale my Christmas loot basically doubled. Pinnacle and Shangri La 3. This goes a long way toward lightening my winter packweight. Now all I need is to take out a mortgage and replace my insulation to get really light.

I received a long NeoAir, but decided it was a lot of money to shave off a few ounces from my Therm-a-Rest, so I returned it and spent the money on a used MLD Speedmid. Thanks, Doug!

First post on the sight!! I've been getting soo much helpful info, working my way to lighten my gear for the upcoming backpacking season. Wish it was nicer out now so I could put it all to use!!! This is a combination of xmas presents and holiday sales I snatched up:

Golite Jam2
JRB Hudson River Quilt
TT Squall 2
POE Ether Thermo 6
Snow Peak Mini Solo Titanium Cookset

I've shaved off about 7lbs from my old gear this stuff replaced

Welcome to the site. 7lbs eh? That's a great start. Now to get you below 7lbs :D haha! You'll soon be infected like the rest of us. Resistance is futile.