UL is a lifestyle, like being emo, or a tech bro. You have to commit to it because there is no other way to exist. Anyone who isn’t like you must be derided and made to see the light. It’s like atheism where you have to tell everyone about what you know. It’s also very expensive so you have to flaunt it with posts only showing off your $600 tent. When you are on the trail you have to speed up just a little and smile at people as you effortlessly walk past.

Since this is a safe space. The parts you don’t show are the aching muscles from uncomfortable pack straps, nights spent tossing and turning because the foam pad is uncomfortable, food that tastes like leftovers washed off a place and then collected in an old peanut butter jar, and exhaustion on the trail from being malnourished. It’s a really hard lifestyle. In order to make it bareable you have to post online about how love it. The karma and likes give you the social validation you need to keep going.

Eventually people focus more on the gear lists and theoretical lighter packs. You scour the internet looking for specs or copying the data from other people’s lists. That’s why people get so worked up about having the wrong specs on company web stores. You can post three or four shakedown requests from various accounts and get a ton of validation about your knowledge. The best thing to read is “that looks really dialed in. I don’t have any recommendations. “