Shedding some lbs

[pontoonman]

SHig:

You have built it and they will come!

The major brands are already starting to go into the lightweight area and will continue as more lightweight strong material becomes available and it gets less costly.

I am a member of the lunatic lightweight niche you refer to, and also think it is a good size market, because of versatility aspect.

The lightweight applications are about more than extended hiking and long pack in/camping trips.For me it is EASY river portage over/around long distance thin water/strong rapids or even between lakes without repeated unloading/breakdown. Sometimes there's hiking one way to headwaters and riding the current or lake wind back. Shorter trips, to more places, seeing more/ varied beauty with less time spent on endless packing survival details. Water filters, energy bars, hammocks, etc. are lightweight and tolerable for a couple of days.

Minimalism is not for everyone. Americans are large, live/dream large and generally avoid discomforts which means we need the larger boats as well.

Just saying, FWIW...

Pon



[quote SHigSpeed]
[quote kandersonSLC]Just read the history of your UL float tube. Awesome stuff! I try to take a week backpacking trip every summer -- Sawtooths, White Clouds, Wind Rivers, Sierras, and the Uintas this July (come out and join us if you like).

So many high-mountain lakes that I would love to fish with your tube. I think your niche market may be be larger than you think.

I'm sure you thought of this but didn't see it mentioned, but could you somehow incorporate a sleeping pad like the NeoAire into the float tube to further lower the overall weight?[/quote]

Thanks!

I have actually considered double duty parts. For example instead of the inflatable seat just put a sling in and save maybe 5 ounces, but then stack a folded Neo Air (actually the exact pad I had in mind) in there as the seat.

Few issues:
- If you go on a day trip, you save 5 ounces but add a pound since you're taking the sleeping pad that you otherwise wouldn't have. Maybe not a huge issue as you pack lighter for day trips anyway.
- The folded and stacked pad isn't nearly as rigid as the one piece, thicker designed seat so you may sag quite a bit more and the ride may be "squishy".
- Any full length pad would have to be folded twice (three layers thick) to fit right, but that would make it 8 inches thick, and you'd be very top-heavy on that perch. It may be possible to fold once and flip the leftover up as a backrest but then the rigidity is even worse.
- Finally, if a solution were found to actually make it work well, it would really only work the best most likely with a particular pad brand and size and style.

Yup, I've thought of it.

That said, I haven't given up on a camp sit-pad/pillow/backrest option.

Shoot me a message if you might be interested in one. There's nothing I'd love more than to help people unlock a piece of their backcountry experience that they thought was out of reach to them.

_SHig[/quote]
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