The negative review for a boilable contact lens case says "I just am not sure about the quality of these, theyre so much lighter than the ones from the store. Ehhh..."

And you think: Jackpot!

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000HU6XPY/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A1LO1AFIRBM1JJ

you equip your kitchen by dumpster diving at the recycling center.

you tell your date, "We HAVE to eat at Taco Bell, their sporks are 0.3 grams lighter than El Pollo Loco's."

. . .you sleep in your business suit - immediately ready to start a new day at the office. If it's a cold day, you wrap your bedspread around yourself for the commute in to work.

. . .you epoxy toothbrush bristles onto your pinkie fingernail to save the weight of have any toothbrush handle.

Similarly, you let your thumbnail grow out and file it into a spork knowing that body parts don't count towards your base weight.

Edited by DavidinKenai on 02/01/2013 09:49:16 MST.

. . . you start calculating the cascade of savings from amputating an arm - 8 pounds of arm, plus all the left sleeves on your puffy and wind shirt plus one glove, and you can now reduce the girth of your sleeping bag just a bit, and reduce your food load due to a 5% reduction in body weight. . .

. . .and carrying two kidneys around all the time starts to seem needless redundant. . . .

You cut your hair based on weight savings instead of style.

You needlessly drill holes in things you own to "save" weight.

You buy swiss cheese instead of cheddar because it saves you time of putting holes into it.

Remove a kidney, then take it step further, remove appendix, tonsils, wisdom teeth, toe nails, and wax your entire body.

Although you may be able to save some insulation weight if you keep all your body hair.

You analyze all the food you buy based on calories/gram.

You buy your children the lightest toys to promote the UL mindset from an early age. (Bonus points for multi-use toys)

... your friends call you weird whenever you talk about backpacking.

...you mention 20 brands of backpacking gear and nobody has ever heard of any of them.

...you cut holes in tin cans and then light them on fire over, and over, and over, and over; and then claim its for 'testing purposes' when your wife asks where all the Red Bull and catfood has gone.

you spend your time on BPL chasing the next piece of popular trendy marginally lighter gear to spend $$$$ one when the old one is still brand new in the closet since you basically never used it, which you will of course sell for a loss on gear swap

;)

I can only imagine the look on the Ericbot's face when he saw the title of this thread:).

... You can hike further at 40 than you did at 20 and feel great the entire time.

... You are constantly planning bigger and better adventures to take advantage of this new freedom.

... You stop thinking about gear, because quite honestly, it was never about the gear in the first place.


Sorry to rain on the parade. This message gets old after a while.

you would rather leave the trail to resupply, than carry food and hike.

You take a scale with you to the store to weigh socks

Edited by livingontheroad on 02/01/2013 15:32:46 MST.

...you leave the TP behind.

(pun?)

When other backpackers mention comfort, you are an ultra-lighter if think of a light pack as comfort instead of the heavier/comfort items that other backpackers carry.

Your wife want to have you committed to a mental hospital after she finds you on the patio in December timing/testing different water boil times and configurations.

Edit: Travis beat me to the punch

Edited by IDBLOOM on 02/01/2013 16:16:48 MST.

1) you're the only one excited to scramble up to a ridgeline to look at the sunset.

2)You offer to scout ahead since your pack weighs 1/3rd of everyone else in the group

3) People skeptically walk over from their half-dome and peer into your tarp tent...

When you are geared up for a 7 day trip and people ask if you are on a day hike.

You know you're an ultralighter when the experienced backpacking family next door calls you, concerned, to make sure you know not to try and "ultralight" a -20º backpacking weekend.

Edited by mdilthey on 02/01/2013 17:33:23 MST.

You know you're an ultralighter when exfoliating, shaving, constitutionals, scab-picking, and fingernail trimming all start feeling like huge leaps forward.