I recently sent Kevin Kelly some info on going light and he replied:
“The premier site is Backpacking LIght, which is a paid subscription site! Backpackinglight.com
Also good is Brian Green’s. He is very creative.
https://www.briangreen.net/
https://www.briangreen.net/2012/09/roundup-of-my-posts-on-lifehackercom.html
But the granddaddy of ultralights is Ray Jardine. Look at his trips! Applachian Trail 7 times, Pacific Crest 3 times, Divide Trail, 3 ties, bike across America 3 times, row across ocean, ski to north pole, he’s insane. He makes his own gear super lightweight gear and recommends you do the same.
https://www.rayjardine.com/index.shtml”
Also, check out an excellent in-depth review of rental tools on Kevin’s Cool Tools site (stump grinder $100/day, posthole digger $80/day, log splitter $100/day, etc.): https://kk.org/cooltools/archives/7072
About Lloyd Kahn
Lloyd Kahn started building his own home in the early '60s and went on to publish books showing homeowners how they could build their own homes with their own hands. He got his start in publishing by working as the shelter editor of the
Whole Earth Catalog with Stewart Brand in the late '60s. He has since authored six highly-graphic books on homemade building, all of which are interrelated. The books, "The Shelter Library Of Building Books," include
Shelter,
Shelter II (1978),
Home Work (2004),
Builders of the Pacific Coast (2008),
Tiny Homes (2012), and
Tiny Homes on the Move (2014). Lloyd operates from Northern California studio built of recycled lumber, set in the midst of a vegetable garden, and hooked into the world via five Mac computers. You can check out videos (one with over 450,000 views) on Lloyd by doing a search on YouTube:
As I'm getting ready to hike the AT in 2013, I've spent a lot of time on all of those sites this past year, as well as whiteblaze.com.
I'm making some pretty lightweight stuff, but still don't know what my final pack weight will be – it might take until January until I know that. I'm having a difficult time finding long hiking pants, which is part of the problem. I might have to make those too!
I did make a summer and winter quilt for my hammock – going to test them out tonight as a matter of fact!
Hi LLoyd,
Check out this likable book on the topic. Light is right.
http://www.amazon.com/Ultralight-Backpackin-Tips-Inexpensive-Lightweight/dp/0762763841/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1349648230&sr=1-1&keywords=ultralight+backpacking+tips
Speaking of Ray Jardine, check out http://www.golite.com/.