problems when not taking enough gear

Yes, exactly as Honora says, I'm trying to do the same trips at 50 that I did at 20, and am usually on a tighter schedule so have to put in some big fast days when I do get out. That's only possible if I stay fit and injury free and go as light as possible. I remember carrying 36 kg on transalpine trips with alpine tent, rope, plastic boots, 2 ice tools and the rest. I don't think I could carry 36 kg up an un-tracked west coast river any more, but I could probably get through that country carrying about 12kg including food now days.

One big plus of lightweight gear is having it with you. With heavier gear, you get into the pre trip dilemma of whether / what to take and sometimes get it wrong. Sure there are times I'm using my 200 g iceaxe when I wish I had the 'proper' one, but it's a damn sight better than not having it at all. Ditto with the alpine tent. There's times I'd rather have the real tent, but the fact I have solo shelter at about 300 g and shelter for me and the 3 kids at 600 g or so means I always have shelter with me, whether plan A is going to a hut or not.

Interesting discussion. I also have a mixture of lightweight and more traditional gear. Tried a 600 g frameless pack and hated the way it rode on my shoulders, no matter how I packed it. Upgraded to a 700 g light framed pack (zpacks arc zip) and really love this pack, but only for up to around 12 kg. Over that and when flying (worry about the fragile pack being damaged) I use the Atmos AG 60l which is super comfortable even if it weighs 2 kg itself. Generally flying means week long trips in the South Island anyway. I always take what I feel I need for the conditions and my experience level (medium). Dry clothes for the end of the day are an absolute basic. Light down jacket but also light fleece. Wind jacket for up to light rain but also a quality rain layer. I know who you are talking about, Wayne. I appreciate his advice and gear recommendations but temper it with my own judgement, since I know he is a very experienced tramper. I read and occasionally post on Back Packing Light, a US based lightweight enthusiasts site. They have very much a hike your own hike theme and the discussions are all about how you can decrease weight if you want to. A lot of people seem to go through a phase of reducing weight then increasing again, either for more comfort or by finding that if they can reduce say shelter weight then they can take more gear like cameras etc. Someone commented on my half toothbrush to ask if it was to save weight, but it was only so I could fit it into the smallest ziplock with mini toothpaste tube and is something I won't do again as it's a major pain to use... apparently you can also dehydrate toothpaste to save a gram... Of the dozen or so TA walkers I encountered in Nelson lakes in early Feb, none had UL packs and none even talked about UL gear. Perhaps they were all behind the UL brigade who had been through in a big hurry earlier...

the backpacking light forum: i was reading a review about a raincoat there. the raincoat was originally under 200gms which is a holy grail of ultrlighters for raincoats. but the design had been changed becuase there hadnt been anything to hold the bottom hem of the jacket in and they put some elastic on it and some silicon rubber to stop it riding up and that added a whole 60gm to the weight.... so there was a big complaint on the review about the extra whole 60gm and the fact the weight had ballooned to over 200gm. In the comments section it was a big bashing session against the manufacturer for making the jacket heavier and false advertising because the weight wasnt that advertised and that what the manufacturer was doing was illegal and perhaps action should be taken against the manufacterer. all this over 60gms that improved the jacket functionality.... and this would have caused how much of a problem if you bought the jacket? makes me wonder if its as much about the ultralighters just wanting to play us and them so they can complain about anything that disagrees with their own precious philosophy

theres still a fair number of people on the TA who arent ultralighters, but i've seen more people doing the TA as ultralighters than i think i have elsewhere in NZ. I walk on part of the TA a lot and i've seen a mix of gear, but theres a reasonable percentage of ultralighters. i havent tried to work out how much it is, it could still be a minority... but they may be over represented in the blogs which makes it look like thre is a higher percentage than there really is

Summary of the article about sums it up for me: "When you remove an item from your pack, or replace it with a lighter item, nine times out of ten you need to have extra skills or knowledge that you might not have needed before. The less gear you have, the more experience you need. I think there’s a distinct correlation here."

Well ... gotta be in awe of you lot 'not ultralite' but still managing 10 days on 10-12kg. Just packed for such a 12 day trip today and struggling as always to keep it under 20kg. Which is fine ... I can walk from dawn to dusk with that ... but would love to unpack & compare one day with one of you to see what I could learn.

Hot weather I carry a 3l water bladder esspecially If I know water supplys are limited on the route. By the time you have put 3kg water into a 2kg pack its hard to make a 12kg limit. Add a sleeping bag of 1 kg or so, a stove and fuel eating gear clothes to cover summer snow storms and a few kg of food and I struggle to get under 16kg. All the good books recommend limiting weight to 1/4 body weight so an 80kg man should have no issue with 20kg. Of course the question is "Is the body weight actual or ideal?" Im 80kg today but should be 70. Does that mean I can carry 20kg or 17.5kg or only 10kg

Well of course there's more UL on the TA, you don't pick the same gear for a weekend or 5 days trip the same as what you pick for a 3 months non-stop hiking trip… Carrying a heavy pack for a weekend is not a big problem, but for dozens of days on end, it's not the same thing, and you tend to pick your gear with more thinking before going :)

I think the 1/4 of your body-weight theory was intended less for safe and enjoyable hiking and more for officers loading soldiers up with ammunition! I can schlep a heavy pack - from years of carrying kids around - but it's less fun, you need more food and water through the day and you're much more likely to take an injury or go arse up.