Ultra light fly

@John. Hi there. If you recall I met you and Paul about a month ago at Cow Creek. I had a great day walking out down the Ruamahunga in the rain and wind...perfect tramping. You make a good point about bivvy bags. That OR item looks great for a miserable night trapped above bushline in conditions where neither a tent nor a tarp would be much use. It’s awfully easy standing there in the nice warm shop to forget just how onerous things can get on the tops, and how anything complicated in those conditions isn’t going to cut mustard. My proposed solution for that kind of situation is a combo of an ultra-light Montbell Bivvy bag (180 gms) with a Exped mattress stuffed inside, then the Hennessy hammock fly folded up and pitched very low over my head between tussocks. Most times I would expect to be able to find somewhere on the sheltered side of the ridge, as you say, near a rock or in a good tussock trench to make for a safe, while maybe not toasty, night. As I said, ‘proposed’… maybe I should trot up past Holdsworth some blustery evening and report back how it works out J. And you’re absolutely right about the risks of going too ultra-light, especially in the Tararuas. That’s what makes this whole gear thing so fascinating to me, is that there is no one perfect answer; everything is a balance and compromise of desired function, age, fitness, budget, comfort, versatility, durability, expected conditions… and of course weight. And what falls out from that mix is going to be different for everyone. At the same time new materials and new ideas are moving the leading edge forward all the time. I physically shudder when I think to the horrendously bad gear I used to cart about 30-40 years ago. And I have to be a little disappointed when I realise how many things got compromised because the gear we could access and afford in those days was almost as much a hindrance as help. One of life’s little ironies; now I can afford decent gear, I’m too old and shy of pointy places to make good use of it. Hope to bump into you sometime again. Philip

i made one a wee while ago that i use when i go on solo tramps... it weighs around 500g and is really cosy and cheap. check out my profile for a picture of it