Gearblog - Light And Durable?

Kit is getting lighter and lighter - boots, packs, clothing, tents, they're all giving scales and walkers an easier time, which is great, erm, isn't it? Well yes, unless you expect the same levels of durability and robustness that you'd get from more traditional, but much heavier kit. And unfortunately a lot of people do.

Two things really brought that home to me recently. The first was wearing a pair of CARN's light and comfy new boots for a two-day backpack in the Lakes. They were supremely comfortable and very light, but an hour or so of descending rough scree near Pillar was already starting to take its toll on the uppers.

Okay, we'd taken the boots well out of their comfort zone and we knew it, but if we'd simply viewed them as 'walking boots' we'd have been disappointed.

The second wake-up call was an e-mail from an OM reader who we'll call Tony because that's his name. Tony bought a pair of Brasher's Supalite walking boots, the ones with the super light and super soft Pittards leather uppers and minimal, EVA-cushioned sole a few years back. When he bought them he was told, he says, that they were a quality product and tough.

In his own words, 'The trouble is I come from a past of fairly rough mountaineering and while I'm over the hill for that I'm still mentally within its traditionals.' The boot, he says, gave 'lightness, glove-like softness, you could wear it  barefoot'.

The end result was that the Supalites wore out far more quickly than he was expecting them too, cue letters to the manufacturer, who concluded that the damage was a result of normal 'general wear and tear' and one very dissatisfied customer. Realistically, he should never have been told that the boots were tough, or certainly not in traditional terms anyway.

The problem is that most lightweight fabrics and materials simply aren't as robust and durable as their tougher but much heavier traditional counterparts. Mountain shell jackets used to weigh in at around 1000 grammes not so long ago, now the general figure is 500-600g and some weigh under 200g and the bottom line is that towards the lower weight limits, they simply won't last as long. It's an inevitable pay-off for the weight savings.The same's true of footwear and, if anything, because boots take a real battering, it's even more obvious.

And all that's fine if you understand it, but the reality is that many walkers' expectations of their kit haven't been recalibrated to match lightweight modern kit and the end result is disappointment when equipment wears out faster. Unfortunately, if you expect a pair of lightweight trail shoes to last as long as a pair of traditional leather mountain boots, you're in for a bit of a shock.

I'm not saying it's right, but mostly it's the case that we can't have our cake and eat it. The price you pay for lighter weight and comfort is often reduced life and a higher overall cost. And the decision you have to make is whether that makes sense for you, because mostly, that's the choice you have.

Or in very simple terms, lightweight kit is great, but don't expect it to last as long as heavy, more traditional mountain gear because, in many cases it won't. And when it does it will almost certainly be expensive because light, tough materials and components cost.