Lightweight Backpacking Dissertation

[topshot 10]

I'm finishing up my dissertation on lightweight backpacking for University of Scouting. Any last suggestions for improvement? Thanks.

 

http://topshotsystems.com/Lightweight_Scouting_Dissertation.pdf

[Basementdweller 608]

So is this supposed to be an outline for a class or course????????

 

Is this something to be handed out to the course participants?????

 

Who is your audience?

 

How long is your course? 45 minutes

 

Your Dissertation is very well written and cited.

 

 

I think that you have way too much material......No way you could cover it adequately in an hour.

 

 

I would pick a couple of points you think are the biggest issues for scouts and cover those...... Stoves and food, sleeping bags,

 

 

While I disagree with your patrol vs buddy cooking opinion it is irrelevant.

[topshot 10]

Dissertation for a "Doctorate degree", not for a class. Could be used as a handout though.

 

Audience is Scouters as it says. Purpose is to get the info into their hands to educate them and pass it down to SPL and so forth.

 

Why do you prefer buddy cooking? Before alcohol stove issue, I would have agreed to some extent, though it can still be done with Esbit if desired.

[boomerscout 35]

Wow, that is one lotta work!

I did look for, and did not see, any mention of Ray Jardine - one of the early populizers of modern lightweight camping.

Nylon hiking shirts are fine until it's time to cook - flames, sparks and all. Melting nylon sticks to the skin as it burns.

Grey lenses are great for urban/suburban sunglasses as they don't distort colors - a necessary feature for recognizing the colors of traffic lights and road signs. Out on the trail we use yellow or amber lenses; these are better at blocking blue light, and are more useful in low light conditions. Polarized, uvA & uvB coatings, high energy visible light coating, side shields. A second pair is carried in a hard shell case no matter the weight.

As part of our emergency gear we weave a length of paracord to become our trouser belt; suitable instructions may be found at instructables.com

Pants with elastic tops, such as swimsuits, seem to really chafe if worn all day.

We've tried using rainsuits as windshells; they soon developed lots of little holes from the brush. We do like armpit vents in our rainsuits.

We add chin straps to our hats for windy days; we use a leather thong, a piece of paracord, etc.

While full sized hiking staffs can soon get heavy, we don't like using metal trekking poles up in the mountains (I realize you are restricting yourself to Indiana). We like a single wooden cane, cut to fit for uphill & down. On the flats, it slips into a ripstop tube sewn to the side of the pack. Checkering has been added near the top.

Even with trail shoes we still use two pairs of socks - a liner and an outer. If the feet swell, one pair may be removed while still maintaining a good fit. We like camp shoes as it allows the day shoes to air out or dry. Soleless mocs are fairly light (plans in back issues of Boys Life)

After we scissor our maps to the area we'll be hiking - with a 20 mile margin for hiking error - we spray them with artists fixative (both sides) before putting them into a Ziplock bag.

The Boys Life gear you referred to was called Lite-Pac. The Boys Life reprint on LitePac Camping Rquipment may be found at Scouting Page of Dan Kohn

[topshot 10]

I took Ray out in favor of some Scout examples. His book is still in App B though.

Darker lenses are better at elevation where you may also encounter snowfields, which while currently outside my parameters, will be included in later revs. I used to wear amber lenses but even at 600' ASL they were too bright for me. This did remind me to add UVA/B absorbtion.

What rain suits do your Scouts typically use?

I had thought of just footnoting the LitePac reprint but thought it'd be more fun for them to see full issues of Boys Life.

 

Good to hear of a troop going light and off-trail apparently (even if you do look like old men with your canes).

[Eagle732 27]

Topshot, just read your dissertation. It is very well done.

 

You might get some arguments from some on certain topics but I think you are on solid ground. As an example you still have many who swear by boots and not trail runners but they're living in the past. I thru-hiked the AT in 2011, 5 1/2 months, and wore out 4 pairs of running shoes and never got a blister.

 

Hope you don't mind but I saved your work, It will be useful to my scouts. It will be suggested reading for my Backpacking MB scouts.(This message has been edited by Eagle732)

[topshot 10]

I don't mind at all. I want it to be useful to as many people as possible. There will be many revisions as I expand it eventually. I'm still doing minor ones right now until Sun evening.

[boomerscout 35]

"What rain suits do your Scouts typically use? " Wearer's choice. I still see a lot of Frogg Togs. If a light rain, many choose to just get wet

 

"Good to hear of a troop going light and off-trail apparently (even if you do look like old men with your canes)." Ha-ha!

[boomerscout 35]

where's the pictures? I learn better when lots of graphics are included.

[topshot 10]

I don't have a lot of pics. They were sort of a last minute addition as I needed to get the text into a finished form first. I'm actually adding a couple more right now. If you have some to contribute let me know. Especially would like some of Scouts showing clothing layers. I'm a visual guy, too.

[boomerscout 35]

When you need a break, I believe you would enjoy the article "Overpacked and under-prepared" at olympicwanderer.com

[topshot 10]

Were you a participant?

[Basementdweller 608]

Buddy cooking benefits.....my opinion and troop experience

 

Smaller lighter gear

lower cost

more nimble menu

more equitable distribution of food and gear

Much shorter meal prep times

Less waste of food

 

No bickering about who carries what or who is cooking and cleaning up.

[topshot 10]

What fuel choice are you using?

 

I would give you these pros:

Smaller lighter gear

lower cost

more equitable distribution of food and gear

No bickering about who carries what or who is cooking and cleaning up.

 

I don't think these would matter when you're just boiling water for freezer bags (or bowls):

more nimble menu (everybody can still have their own meal)

Much shorter meal prep times (bet you can do 2 L on a canister about as fast as 2 C with Esbit)

Less waste of food (each person has their own portions with both methods)

 

[Basementdweller 608]

We use canister stoves, we have a lot of donated gear, so we have a little bit of everything.

 

A couple of pocket rockets, a jet boil, some coleman models, and a couple I have no idea.

 

Esbits are a pain, leave a residue on the pots and stinks. Slow......

 

My only beef with the canister stoves is fuel levels in the cans, inevitably we haul much more fuel than we need for fear of running out.....The last couple of batches we have burned off the propane first or something because the end of the tanks did heat that well, there is a new stove Sato or something like that, it has a built in pressure regulator which it says will give you the same btu's from start to finish on the canister. Need to try one of those someday.