091: A Beginner Forever

Show Notes: Episode 091

Today on the First 40 Miles, if you’re new to backpacking, how long are you allowed to claim that beginner status?  And what does it mean to be a beginner?  Then on today’s Top 5 List, are you ready to go tentless?  We’ll share some benefits.  Next on today’s SUMMIT Gear Review, Hyperlite Mountain Gear has a pack that shaves ounces, while being tougher than your grandpa’s drill sergeant.  On the Backpack Hack of the Week, a simple and cheap way to get double the insulation.

Opening



* At what point are we not beginners? How do you define beginner?  Does it have more to do with confidence or skills or comfort level?

* Fit backpacking into a busy life

* Beginner mindset: more to learn, open minded, new way of looking at things, not afraid to experiment, try what works, try what doesn’t work, “sponge mode”

* Survey from Backpacker Magazine, 18% of men still consider themselves beginners after 1-3 years of backpacking experience

* 30 percent of women still see themselves as beginners after 1-3 years of backpacking experience.

* Being a beginner is a good thing

* Stay a beginner for as long as you can



Top 5 Reasons to Go Tentless

Keeps you Cool



* Tent provides 5-10 degrees of warmth. On hot summer nights, you can take advantage of the breeze

* Sleeping out in the open means a breeze will blow across your skin, instead of just blowing across your nylon tent



No Wet Walls



* If you’ve ever had a great night of sleep in a tent, then stretched only to have your hand hit the wet side of the tent…

* Condensation vs. spit

* If you sleep under a tarp shelter, or in a hammock with a tarp, you’ll have maximum ventilation with no condensation. If you sleep without a tarp, you’ll have dew, but that’s dew-able,



Lightweight



* Hammock or tarp much lighter than a tent

* You can leave home gear like sleeping pad, poles, tent, and in some cases, if you have a light underquilt for your hammock , you may be able to get by with a light blanket.

* Variety of ways to set up a simple tarp shelter

* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0c42cY-tx4



You get to be a Foreign exchange student vs.  a Tourist



* When you remove the walls of you tent, it removes a layer that separates you from the natives, and you live like they live

* You feel more like you’re a part of the forest instead of just a visitor



Mystery Solved



* Decreased anxiety about “mystery sounds” because you can just open your eyes

* On our hammock trip, we were surprised by how safe we felt

* Unexpected benefit of going tentless

* In the tent, you can only imagine what the sounds are outside of your tent.  But without a tent, all you need to do is open your eyes

* Decreased anxiety



SUMMIT Gear Review: Hyperlite Mountain Gear 2400 Southwest

Mike’s story:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7BUKUtD9omM

Structure



* The 2400 Southwest pack is made of a type of Cuben Fiber which is now known as Dyneema® Composite Fabric

* This fabric is ultra-durable, ultralight, and water resistant (can’t claim 100% waterproof because the stitching creates micro punctures in the fabric, which are seam sealed, but still, the 100% waterproof has been slightly compromised)

* 50-70% lighter than Kevlar, four times stronger than Kevlar, and allow flexibility without losing strength, weighs less than silnylon, floats on water, is 100% waterproof before stitched and has high chemical and UV resistance..

* Why aren’t all packs made of this material??

* Bottom is 150 D Dyneema Composite Fabric