Soapbox

You can browse some of the best lightweight backpacking sites in the article linked to this thread, but what have we missed.

If you've got a favourite weight-slashing site, come and tell us all about it.

Here's three more:

http://www.trailquest.net
http://wings.interfree.it/
http://www.monmouth.com/~mconnick/index.html

I Like this one:
http://users.sisna.com/swultralight1/

Here's a good site for ordering lightweight kit online in the UK - http://hike-lite.co.uk/

Derek D

I vote for hike-lite too. In addition to selling a range of lightweight products from GoLite and Montane they also have a useful section with links to the sites of US lighweight enthusiasts:

http://www.hike-lite.co.uk/links.htm

And some useful advice articles:

http://www.hike-lite.co.uk/articles.htm

Slightly off topic, is edible gear for real?

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BackpackingLight

Yahoo ultralight newsgroup. Chat with fellow addicts, seek therapy in gear, drool over all the lovely american toys...

Thanks for supplying a list, but not actually that good - the first one is US and subscription only and, anyway, the first article that caught my eye was about Carbon Monoxide poisoning when using stoves inside tents, begging the question: why am I still alive? and the second one was immediately unreadable because it talks in ounces and all I know is a very light 2 man tent is around 1500 grammes.
Your leader article was very strange and I think the emphasis should have been squarely on wild camping because turning up at a campsite and scrougning pegs is a tad sad. Also all the stuff about carrying 3 kg of water was a bit strange: sooner or later out in the wilds you are going to drink from from a stream, and then, once you don't actually keel over, you are going to keep doing it. Even if you didn't have this approach, purification systems weigh a lot less then 3 kg, especially if they consist of a couple of chlorine tablets! I think, apart from the Cuillins, there are very few places in the UK where obtaining natural water supplies is a problem.

IIRC, BPL wasn't subscription-only when the original OM article was written: 2004.

As for the articles featured there, I suspect Jon wasn't able to predict what articles they'd be featuring two years later... Oh, and the second article has a kit list giving weights in grammes and ounces.

You seem to have taken all this a lot more seriously than I think it was intended...

...or maybe I've missed the dry wit of your post (dry as a result of not carrying 3l of water, perhaps...)

I reckon BPL is worth the subscription.

People have died from carbon monoxide poisoning in tents. It's very rare but it is a risk. The solution - ventilation - is a simple one though.

I agree with Chris that BPL is worth the subscription, but if you are too stingy to pay you can still enjoy the best part of the site - the forums are free.