WEIGHT - v - LIGHTWEIGHT

"Judith" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Do not try to make me obsessive. I already get strange looks in the
pub when I tell complete strangers how much their jacket weighs!

That sounds like an interesting new chat-up technique. I doubt it would
work on women though. They seem to have more sense than to fall for a line
like that. I'm sure most men would fall for it. After all, it's closely
related to numbers and not far from lists. Nor is it far from gadgets. All
guaranteed to get a man's attention.

Have fun,
Paul

"John Spencer-Mallory" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Judith" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Are you a Troll?

Errrr.......no I don't think so.

Quoted message said:

However, I'm not a Pongo (Apologies if you were a Bootneck or a Crab).

Neither...something far far better!!!!!!!!!!!!!! - a Pilgrim

We are the Pilgrims, master; we shall go
Always a little further; it may be
Beyond that last blue mountain barred with snow,
Across that angry or that glimmering sea.

I was an Artist myself, although I always found those words very meaningful.

You may possibly have referred to me as a Walt.

Quoted message said:

You do 20 km on an easy day? You're either a troll, a psycho..........

Errrrr...Not a Troll but my shrink says I am probably psychopathic......It
goes with the terratory I once inhabited.

Now that I understand. I found it hard enough to cope with everything else
at the time (and sometimes still do). God knows what it would have been
like to do it full time.

The clock's still ticking,
Paul

PS What do you think of the "Blades" thing? An ex-pilgrim friend of mine
summed it up for me as "we were in the Regiment. We didn't need any other
name." Recently there seems to have been more people who need something
more than being part of the Regiment.

"John Spencer-Mallory" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Now here's a question......or two...or three.

At the risk of being branded an heretic and having the u.k.w. Inquisition
sent out here to the wild of the Gedney Marsh, I have a serious question

to

Quoted message said:

ask and a serious proposition to put.

Why the obsession with lightweight?....(That's the serious question)

I have very gently raised this issue with others before. You better hope
you have a thick hide for the incoming. I tend to agree with you, although
I am trying to get better (i.e. carry less weight). I think it all comes
down to planning - I take what I expect to need, then I start thinking "what
if?" I then end up with a great list of actions-on and a lot of extra kit
(and more water than anyone else I know).

Quoted message said:

(this is the serious proposition)....
During one of my previous incarnations (as a man in a dpm uniform)...and
many times I performed the Fan dance.... I and my 3 team members regularly
carried 60+ kilos of equipment essential to our very survival (and I don't
mean only food {MRE =meals ready to eat} or {= meals recycled excrement}),
but things like 500 rounds of 5.56mm amunition - across desert or arctic
terrain.

OK so we trained and trained......and trained, but all the training in the
world does not overcome the psychological barriers.

I think it does. If you consider TQ to be training, then I think it does.
Something changes during TQ. Either the steel is tempered or it cracks, but
something changes.

Quoted message said:

Now I regularly go out backpacking for 1, 2 or 3 weeks at a time and don't
thing about the weight. I happily carry 30 - 40 kilos and really enjoy my
walking.

All in, I guess 30kg would be about right for me for a week too.
Unfortunately I don't have the time to walk for more than a week at a time.

I'm certainly not fit (anymore), and also carry a dozen kilos too much on my
body.

But, as one of my DS used to say, there is nothing clever in doing anything
the hard way. If you can carry less weight, do so. If you can cross a
river without getting wet, do so. If you choose to carry too much, do so
(and shut the f&%$ up). That's not aimed at you, but something I try to
think about when I have the urge to put something extra in my bergen, just
in case.

As you might guess, I am trying to get out of the habit and carry less.

Have fun,
Paul

Quoted message said:

Weight on the back is a pain. Carrying unnecessary weight is just wasted
effort. Carry less and go proportionately further, faster, or both.

I used to measure my achievements for the day in terms of effort
expended, including carrying far too much weight by filling my 85
litre pack. I used to scoff at walkers with smaller packs as obviously
under-equipped. My pack was so big & heavy that I would have to
carefully choose a spot to try to rest the pack on something to avoid
overbalancing when putting it on!
Same as several others, protesting kness forced me to take radical
steps, the first of which was to use a much smaller pack to force me
to be more choosy. I now carry less than half the weight and (with the
great assistance of walking poles) my knees are no longer a concern.
I found to my suprise that instead of being hunched down unde a heavy
load and only looking around when I was frequently forced to stop for
a breather, I now have a more leisurely gait, and am able to take in
the scenery on the move.
I stop now because I want to and I feel fresher and more in tune with
my surroundings.
There is no right or wrong in this debate, each to their own, but I
cant help wondering whether JSM's self-imposed regime is more of a
hankering to relive old memories? (Just a thought)
You should try it & if it isn't for you then carry on as you are
(while your body continues to allow you)

Steve

John Spencer-Mallory said:

Now here's a question......or two...or three.

At the risk of being branded an heretic

HERETIC!!!

:-)

Quoted message said:

and having the u.k.w. Inquisition
sent out here to the wild of the Gedney Marsh,

<fx: sound of tramp, tramp, tramp in the distance...>

Quoted message said:

I have a serious question to
ask and a serious proposition to put.

Why the obsession with lightweight?....(That's the serious question)

[...]

It's just that it's easier to carry a light load than a heavy one, and
for most people that makes the experience more enjoyable.

Decisions about precicely what is necessary to make an enjoyable
experience vary widely from person to person, though, and have a
significant impact upon the weight that each of us carries. I, for
instance, simply wouldn't go at all without music and a book, and I'll
willingly carry what others would consider to be an unnecessarily
heavy mattress (or even 2) in order to get a decent sleep. On the
other hand, I wouldn't dream of carrying a load of heavy camera gear.

I think what you're seeing is really just an endless and enjoyable
debate about how best to achieve our personal compromise, balancing
the desire to take things that might enhance our enjoyment against the
desire not to make the experience miserable by carrying an
uncomfortably heavy load. I've done the latter in the past, and it
almost put me off for good.

I don't think it really does amount to obsession for most people, but
kit discussions are such eminently enjoyable things that it's tempting
to to keep rehashing old ground with minor substitutions and
suggestions, so I can see how it might appear that way :-)

Best wishes,
--
,,
(**)PeeWiglet~~
/ \ / \

On Sat, 6 Nov 2004 17:10:16 -0000, "John Spencer-Mallory"
<[email hidden]> wrote:

[...]

Quoted message said:

Bye the bye...for some correspondents to the group......welcome to the TGO
Challenge...I may make myself known to you..🙂

Ahaaa.... CLR?? :-)

Best wishes,
--
,,
(**)PeeWiglet~~
/ \ / \

"Paul Cummings" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"John Spencer-Mallory" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Judith" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Are you a Troll?

Errrr.......no I don't think so.

Quoted message said:

However, I'm not a Pongo (Apologies if you were a Bootneck or a Crab).

Neither...something far far better!!!!!!!!!!!!!! - a Pilgrim

We are the Pilgrims, master; we shall go
Always a little further; it may be
Beyond that last blue mountain barred with snow,
Across that angry or that glimmering sea.

I was an Artist myself, although I always found those words very
meaningful.

You may possibly have referred to me as a Walt.

No, I always had plenty of time for 23 Artists...in my day the term 'Walts'
was usually reserved for members of 14 Int Coy.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

You do 20 km on an easy day? You're either a troll, a psycho..........

Errrrr...Not a Troll but my shrink says I am probably
psychopathic......It
goes with the territory I once inhabited.

Now that I understand. I found it hard enough to cope with everything
else
at the time (and sometimes still do). God knows what it would have been
like to do it full time.

Great fun I enjoyed every (nearly) minute of the whole experience.

Quoted message said:

The clock's still ticking,

So very true

Quoted message said:

Paul

PS What do you think of the "Blades" thing? An ex-pilgrim friend of mine
summed it up for me as "we were in the Regiment. We didn't need any other
name." Recently there seems to have been more people who need something
more than being part of the Regiment.

Your friend was so right IMHO. We didn't need any name at all....we just
were and that was the whole story. Now they even want medals! : ((((

"John Spencer-Mallory" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Why the obsession with lightweight?....(That's the serious question)

The word lightweight certainly seems to be very popular with gear
manufacturers, retailers and the outdoor media these days who have latched
onto it and built it up into some kind of whole new phenomenon. Gear
generally is getting lighter but a lot of it is just marketing aimed at
convincing everyone to jump on the bandwagon and splash out on shiny new
kit.

Terra Nova don't appear to have as much business sense as that Russian pole
vaulter, though who gets a fat load of cash every time she breaks the world
record and pushes it up by 1 cm a time every so often though. They haven't
left themselves much room to play with by bringing in the Laserlite at such
a low weight. And as the good Dr. Harkel Farkel says in the authoritative
text for lightweight freaks entitled "What The F**k Are You Carrying That
For You Muppet?", Rule Number 58: a 1 kilo tent isn't going to be worth
[censored], you might as well sleep under a hedge so save yourself £200 and don't
take the extra kilo.

(I'll get me Paclite coat as they say.)

"John Spencer-Mallory" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Why the obsession with lightweight?....(That's the serious question)

The word lightweight certainly seems to be very popular with gear
manufacturers, retailers and the outdoor media these days who have latched
onto it and built it up into some kind of whole new phenomenon. Gear
generally is getting lighter but a lot of it is just marketing aimed at
convincing everyone to jump on the bandwagon and splash out on shiny new
kit.

Terra Nova don't appear to have as much business sense as that Russian pole
vaulter, though who gets a fat load of cash every time she breaks the world
record and pushes it up by 1 cm a time every so often though. They haven't
left themselves much room to play with by bringing in the Laserlite at such
a low weight. And as the good Dr. Harkel Farkel says in the authoritative
text for lightweight freaks entitled "What The F**k Are You Carrying That
For You Muppet?", Rule Number 58: a 1 kilo tent isn't going to be worth
[censored], you might as well sleep under a hedge so save yourself £200 and don't
take the extra kilo.

(I'll get me Paclite coat as they say.)

John Spencer-Mallory <[email hidden]> wrote

Quoted message said:

"Paul Cummings" <[email hidden]> wrote>

Quoted message said:

PS What do you think of the "Blades" thing? An ex-pilgrim friend of mine
summed it up for me as "we were in the Regiment. We didn't need any other
name." Recently there seems to have been more people who need something
more than being part of the Regiment.

Your friend was so right IMHO. We didn't need any name at all....we just
were and that was the whole story. Now they even want medals! : ((((

I understand. A mate of mine was in the Pay Corps. ;-)
--
Gordon

"Peewiglet" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

John Spencer-Mallory said:

Now here's a question......or two...or three.

At the risk of being branded an heretic

HERETIC!!!

:-)

Quoted message said:

and having the u.k.w. Inquisition
sent out here to the wild of the Gedney Marsh,

<fx: sound of tramp, tramp, tramp in the distance...>

Quoted message said:

I have a serious question to
ask and a serious proposition to put.

Why the obsession with lightweight?....(That's the serious question)

[...]

It's just that it's easier to carry a light load than a heavy one, and
for most people that makes the experience more enjoyable.

Decisions about precicely what is necessary to make an enjoyable
experience vary widely from person to person, though, and have a
significant impact upon the weight that each of us carries. I, for
instance, simply wouldn't go at all without music and a book, and I'll
willingly carry what others would consider to be an unnecessarily
heavy mattress (or even 2) in order to get a decent sleep. On the
other hand, I wouldn't dream of carrying a load of heavy camera gear.

I think what you're seeing is really just an endless and enjoyable
debate about how best to achieve our personal compromise, balancing
the desire to take things that might enhance our enjoyment against the
desire not to make the experience miserable by carrying an
uncomfortably heavy load. I've done the latter in the past, and it
almost put me off for good.

I don't think it really does amount to obsession for most people, but
kit discussions are such eminently enjoyable things that it's tempting
to to keep rehashing old ground with minor substitutions and

YEAH....good innit 🙂

Quoted message said:

suggestions, so I can see how it might appear that way :-)

Best wishes,
--
,,
(**)PeeWiglet~~
/ \ / \

"Andrew McGleish" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Paul Rose" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

During one of my previous incarnations (as a man in a dpm

uniform)...and

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

many times I performed the Fan dance....

Forgive my ignorance. dpm? Fan dance?

DPM: Disruptive pattern material: Brit Cammo
Fab Dance: Route across Pen-Y-Fan much beloved of SAS selection etc

part of the fun of walking on the Beacons in winter is to be startled by
some guy in cammo carrying a rifle and a huge rucksack who trudges out of
the cloud... try offering them a Werther's... they never seem to

accept.....

Quoted message said:

Andrew

Thanks for that, Andrew. I'll make sure I have a bag of Werther's if I ever
visit ;o)

--
Regards, Paul (R)
My Lake District walking site:
www.lakelandwalker.co.uk

Roger said:

Can't be. I hate carrying excess weight and didn't like 30lbs when I
used to back pack. 30 to 40 kilos would be absolute misery even on an
absolutely level track.

Yep. If John is able to carry that much, then fine, but I can't accept
that he doesn't notice that he's carrying it. He may be so used to it
that it feels normal for him to carry such a weight, but he must be
aware that it's there.

Maybe he's never tried travelling light and so doesn't know how much
further or faster he could walk without it.

Paul
--
http://www.wilderness-wales.co.uk
http://www.wildwales.fsnet.co.uk

In article <[email hidden]>,
[email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

Dance: Route across Pen-Y-Fan much beloved of SAS selection etc

Quoted message said:

part of the fun of walking on the Beacons in winter is to be startled by
some guy in cammo carrying a rifle and a huge rucksack who trudges out of
the cloud... try offering them a Werther's... they never seem to accept.....

b*gger. knew there was something I hadn't packed for next weekend. Must
add Werthers to the shopping list.

--
Darren

In article <[email hidden]>,
[email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

On Sat, 6 Nov 2004 17:10:16 -0000, "John Spencer-Mallory"
<[email hidden]> wrote:

[...]

Quoted message said:

I don't think it really does amount to obsession for most people, but
kit discussions are such eminently enjoyable things that it's tempting
to to keep rehashing old ground with minor substitutions and
suggestions, so I can see how it might appear that way :-)

thankfully so. there has to be something to balance the photography &
gps threads (ooops, mea culpa)

--
Darren

In [email hidden]
Darren G mused:

Quoted message said:

Must add Werthers to the shopping list.

Candies or toffies?

I am not a gear freak, and in Scotland at least, go for fresh food.. I
suppose skimping a bit on tent and clothing enables the grub to be
better... (No I am not going to scrounge wild garlic from the woods of
the Golden Valley)

Meanwhile on my favourite activity... Exploring weird and wonderful
bits of Western Canada.. I have to carry so much grub that every gram
counts.. Lighter the gear the longer I can stay in the wilds and the
less it hurts. I also backpack with my wife, and consequently carry
my fair share in proportion to body weight - thats heavy - next time
its going by canoe.

I cannot even concieve of doing the Fan dance (do vans dance?) so I
need all the help I can get to enjoy a backpack. If you have been
trained up to that level of fitness...you have a gift.. Enjoy and
respect!

Richard Webb

"RJ Webb" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

<snipped>

Quoted message said:

If you have been
trained up to that level of fitness...you have a gift.. Enjoy and
respect!

Richard Webb

I most certainly do respect my gift....I worked (slaved) hard to get it. I
try now to respect everything and everyone.

Happy trails
John

"Peewiglet" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

On Sat, 6 Nov 2004 17:10:16 -0000, "John Spencer-Mallory"
<[email hidden]> wrote:

Quoted message said:

Ahaaa.... CLR?? :-)

Ehhhh? Sorry, don't understand the initial-speak

John

John Spencer-Mallory said:

"Peewiglet" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

On Sat, 6 Nov 2004 17:10:16 -0000, "John Spencer-Mallory"
<[email hidden]> wrote:

Quoted message said:

Ahaaa.... CLR?? :-)

Ehhhh? Sorry, don't understand the initial-speak

Apologies. You mentioned the TGO Challenge page and said you might
make yourself known to some of the people from here who are also
there. There's a person on that board with the initials CLR (well,
their board name has those initials) and I asked them a couple of days
ago who they were. When I read what you'd written here I put 2 and 2
together and got 17! :-) I thought maybe you were dropping a hint that
it was you.

Best wishes,
--
,,
(**)PeeWiglet~~
/ \ / \