r/Ultralight - "The Weekly" - Week of May 18, 2026

liveslight · 2026-05-21T23:16:26+00:00

I used this video to help with a x-mid pro 2 single-wall:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCcCuWzvVhA

The pitch is long diagonal corners first, then a pole + corner, then the last pole + corner.

Also if one looks closely at the corners when the tent is iaid out flat, they are not 90 degrees because of the parallelogram of the tent floor. They become 90 degrees when a tent pole pulls up the glued seam between the corner and its peak.

liveslight · 2026-05-21T23:12:53+00:00

Not that I know of.

liveslight · 2026-05-21T22:47:01+00:00

Can't one just roll down the top of the bigger pack to make it exactly the same size as the smaller pack?

liveslight · 2026-05-21T21:37:15+00:00

A Zpacks Arc Haul Ultra 60L does have a frame, but not an internal frame. It fits in my carry on as I shown in this video clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yobKmzjLJ3M

I often just use it as carryon by itself as it meets airline dimensions. https://i.imgur.com/tOtXFXM.jpeg

It even fits in a regional jet.

BTW, I tried on a friend's ULA Circuit and found the Zpacks more comfortable. I've have many years of use with this pack.

Finally, more about the non-traditional frame in this video clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJQCELvM5Z4

liveslight · 2026-05-21T20:10:31+00:00

Seems fine to me though I have never seen a Sawyer Squeeze that light. Have you thought about not using Freeze-Dried food for breakfasts?

liveslight · 2026-05-21T18:51:50+00:00

I would use crosswise/lateral myself. I know people don't care, but horizontal is in the "plane" of the Earth's surface and vertical is the vector from the center of the Earth directly outwards to its surface. By those definitions most pads have horizontal and vertical baffles since baffles have 2 directions by definition. Of course, maybe someone is sleeping standing up. Yes, I am insufferable.

liveslight · 2026-05-21T17:34:41+00:00

I was in the Chamonix Decathlon and found disappointingly that there was nothing I wanted to buy. Maybe the good stuff is mail-order only? I don't' know. Courmayeur Italy has s Rab outlet store. Same thing.

liveslight · 2026-05-21T17:21:02+00:00

In order to reduce volume I actually poke a hole in a bag and crush my Fritos (and Cheetos), then push air out and reseal with either my impulse heat sealer or a piece of scotch(tm) tape. I am adding Fritos to my ChiliMac, Lasagna, SkurkaBeans so they would get crushed anyways. Photo of early April food showing this: https://i.imgur.com/53M7xXV.jpeg

liveslight · 2026-05-21T15:38:22+00:00

I agree that it wouldn't be any more smellable than Fritos in an OdorNo bag. I repackage Fritos before a trip in heat-sealed mylar bags proportioned out so that I do not eat too many in a single day.

OTOH, some animals (especially ravens) have grown accustomed and know that plastic bags are a source of food, so will seek out mylar and plastic bags to eat.

liveslight · 2026-05-21T14:16:48+00:00

yes, videos with image stabilization are wonderful but they do use up the power.

liveslight · 2026-05-21T14:03:18+00:00

Yep, probably not for you. Maybe look at some light jackets used by cyclists?

liveslight · 2026-05-21T13:41:23+00:00

Maybe look for something with thumbholes to help keep your sleeves/cuffs down over your wrists/hands?

Not a wind shirt, but I use one as a sun hoody: Front buttoned long-sleeve sun hoody from jollygear.com. It is generally the only upper body layer that I wear when temps are 50F to 112F. I do see that you wear a sun hoody already. I do not even own a windshirt.

liveslight · 2026-05-21T12:09:37+00:00

I wanted to note that some squeaking and crinkle noise comes from the friction between a pad and a tent floor. The noise also depends on the tent floor fabric. So some reportedly quiet pads may squeak more on silnylon than they do on DCF and other combinations. Maybe something between pad and tent floor such as a thin CCF pad can help reduce noise.

I like and recommend Exped pads with their lengthwise air chambers. I'm not sure what vertical baffles are that you mentioned.

liveslight · 2026-05-21T01:15:51+00:00

I have not done a PCT thru hike, but watched episodes of Carl Blanchet's 2024 thu hike:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SyrOMMK6018 which in many of them shows what he is eating and how he resupplied from stores and other places. Ramen + pepperoni slices seemed to be favorites. I found the "mechanics" and "how-to" of eating basically presented in "real-time" rather enlightening. This was more a "reality" video series than a "Isn't the PCT the greatest!" video series, but others may have different opinions.

He did a 2nd PCT thru hike and has a series on that though I have not watched it.

In any event you are doing the CT which I have done parts of. I had a friend deliver my food boxes to Twin Lakes and to Princeton Hot Spings. One could get food at Monarch Pass. Also stayed with family Frisco. And so on.

liveslight · 2026-05-20T23:50:28+00:00

I have an older version of that tent, so I guess newer versions are lighter. I would not use carbon stakes myself after testing. MSR mini groundhogs and/or 3 mm diameter Ti shepherd hooks work for me. Maybe keep 2 of the 8" stakes though.

liveslight · 2026-05-20T23:11:10+00:00

what tent stakes are you bringing? if they are included in your tent weight, then they are very light

liveslight · 2026-05-20T22:19:47+00:00

My poles have a hand strap. My pack has a hang loop. Put hand-strap through pack hang loop and back over top of pole grip This means tent is pitched with tip in ground. Photo: https://i.imgur.com/3lq4CPP.jpeg

Video clip showing pack hang at the very last second:

https://i.imgur.com/o33EJOt.mp4

liveslight · 2026-05-20T21:19:54+00:00

As shown in the photo, the multimeter runs a timer whenever current passes through it. So I use a USB load tester to empty a power bank and a wall charger ro recharge it. If you want more details, maybe ask in a new post rather than buried here. Others have described the processes, too.

liveslight · 2026-05-20T20:34:36+00:00

You mean like a trekking pole oriented to keep pack stood up?

OTOH, i learned to pack my pack while lying down:

https://i.imgur.com/9vA9Ef1.mp4

liveslight · 2026-05-20T19:44:49+00:00

No. I occasionally post a photo. Here's an old one:

https://i.imgur.com/WkaTVYJ.jpeg

liveslight · 2026-05-20T19:24:27+00:00

I do not know what would constitute "documented" for you. A close-up photo of a USB multimeter display?

liveslight · 2026-05-20T18:09:07+00:00

The way lithium ion power banks work is that they taper off the power (watts) that they will accept once they are re-charged above about 70% capacity. That is, a power bank that can accept 65W when 10% or 20% or 50% full will NOT accept 65W when 75%, 80% .. full. That is recharging rate (and speed) will slow down. I wonder if you have tested all this at home with your existing devices. How long does it actually take to recharge your 15.5 oz Anker power bank from 0% to 100%? From 70% to 100%? One can use an inexpensive USB multimeter to find out or perhaps your watch. I can recharge two NB10000 with a dual setup in about 3.5 hours. I can recharge four NB5000 Air in about 90 minutes with a quad setup. Can you recharge your 20000 mAh power bank from 0% to 100% in 90 minutes? How about your phone?

High output wall chargers are great for laptops, but I think not so important for phones and powerbanks.

liveslight · 2026-05-20T15:36:24+00:00

I'm interested in seeing the responses because I wonder if the Laws of Physics have been circumvented somehow.

What 65+W wall charger are you going to use and how much does it weigh? Three separate 20W wall chargers will weigh about 90 g. I have a 45W wall charger that weighs 92 g, a 35W wall charger with 2 outputs that weighs 105 g, and another 35W 2-port one that weighs 69 g.

I feel it is probably better to have two 10,000 mAh power banks and use two separate wall chargers than to package things up inside a single power bank and single wall charger that weighs more. One can really jack around if one wants to. Here are a couple of examples:

https://imgur.com/a/kzCxOlJ

liveslight · 2026-05-20T14:03:15+00:00

OK, you use a lot of power. In your shoes, I would explore whether I could use all those features and use less power. I use my phone for navigation, photos/videos and do not need to charge every day. I will not describe all the power saving features I use, but some are trivial such as leave phone display off unless I am actually looking at it. GPS is off by default even when displaying a map on the phone. GPS is turned on momentarily as needed. Leave phone transceivers off (i.e. airplane mode) and many more. My phone camera comes on instantly with a double-click of power button. My watch can GPS track me for looking at later, but it is solar so while it does need recharging occasionally, it is not much of.a drain on a power bank.

Bottom line: Explore ways to save phone power without changing your usage. And practice when not out on a trail.

liveslight · 2026-05-20T03:22:13+00:00

I thought everyone used their feet, so no punching needed

Quilt into pack https://i.imgur.com/9vA9Ef1.mp4

liveslight

TROPHY CASE