inside the Blizzard Tube: room for 2We all have an idea, a vision about what backpacking is. Spread out your gear, choose what you need, cram all your stuff into your backpack. Now think about a day hike, where you make sure you have some extra clothing and a few essentials, but you're mostly concerned about the food for your lunch in the hinterlands. This is what hyperlight backpacking is for me, akin to John Muir grabbing some tea and hardtack and taking to the woods. Only I can be a lot more comfortable than he was, and I don't have to make a blazing fire.
This year is my hyperlight year....I plan at least one solo hike and some with my daughter and a buddy of mine. So instead of waiting to the end of the summer to report, I'm going to explain my approach to outfitting for hyperlight packing and I can follow up at the end of the hiking season with a comprehensive review of how things worked. However, for both dual and solo hiking, I'm going to need a specialized piece of gear which is not available on the general market so I'm having to produce it myself. Let me introduce you to the B4 bag (no, not the one we used in the military). No matter how you slice it, we're going to need protection from the bugs. I'm borrowing from a product popular in Europe called a bothy bag. These bags come in various sizes to accommodate 2-20 people. They are open on the bottom and essentially just get pulled over your head, providing shelter from the wind and elements, some of them with vents and windows. These are especially popular with guides, where clientele can get in the bothy (you lean against your side, giving it shape) and enjoy the almost instant heat from other people. My design is for solo (Bivy/Bothy/Bug Buddy). When stopping for a lunch break and the bugs are swarming, my cuben fiber/noseeum netting B4 will slip over the head like a large trash bag and cinch up at the waist. Take your food inside and enjoy a bug free snack, as it is spacious enough for arms inside. Misting/raining/windy? The B4 will provide some protection from the elements and wind. But where it really is needed is in sleep mode, as solo I will simply have a bivy bag. The B4 will slide over the head area and cinch up around the bivy, providing protection from bugs and critters and even the elements. Nice night, netting side up. Raining, cuben side up. For 2 people, I will be using a Blizzard Tube at 19 ozs. Again, the B4 bag will be used on each end for bug protection. I like the Blizzard products for a number of reasons. First, they're cheap. The tube was about $35, the long jacket (which I use as a sleeping bag solo) about $30. Second, if you believe the Blizzard site, they are more thermally efficient than down. Third, they are impervious to water. If you dunk these, just shake 'em out. If you're soaked, you can still climb inside and get warmer. Lastly, if they tear or get punctured, it doesn't affect the thermal properites at all, as there are multiple layers. Plus you can simply duck tape over the hole. Also, the tube accommodates 2 people, sleeping head to foot, so you can enjoy the thermal efficiency of 2 people without creeping out (unless you are out with your significant other, where you can sleep head to head). Put all this in perspective; if you have a $400 down bag, you are vigilant about keeping it dry, about body oils, about tearing it, etc....not so with a cheap Blizzard bag. In good weather nothing more is needed, but I can still pack a cuben tarp for rain. Here's how the weight shakes out:
SOLO: shelter: prototype breathable cuben bivy bag......................4 (ozs)
             sleep system: Blizzard long jacket....................................12
                                NightLite pad (Gossamer Gear).......................3
   pack: custom cuben Zpacks (special straps for tube).................4.5
   B4 bag: cuben/.7oz mosquito netting......................................@4
   TOTAL.................................................................................27.5 ozs
Of course this is just for the "big 3" essentials, so clothing, food and essentials (first aid, sunglasses, headlamp etc) are going to add weight. But you can see how this simple system will easily come in under 5 pounds.

DUAL: #1 shelter: Blizzard Tube (for 2)........................................19 (ozs)
           pack: Zpacks cuben..........................................................4.5
           pad: Gossamer Gear Nightlite............................................3
           stakes: GG titanium tite-lite x 6.........................................1.2
           B4 bag..............................................................................4
           Momentum bag liner.........................................................4
       TOTAL #1...........................................................................35.7 ozs
      #2 shelter: GG Cubic Twinn tarp............................................6.2
            pack: GG Murmur.............................................................8.1
            pad: GG NightLite.............................................................3
            additional pad: Klymit X-frame.........................................10.1
            B4 bag..............................................................................4
            Momentum bag liner.........................................................4
       TOTAL #2............................................................................35.4 ozs
the cushy full length 10 oz Klymit X-FrameAgain, 2 pounds apiece, and this includes a rain tarp for 2 and a cushy full length pad (i.e. my daughter would use the X-frame and I would use both the NightLite pads). Since our plan is to spend most of our time on the trail, the lack of a true tent really isn't a factor as we would only be reclining to rest. Even adding in the other assundries, our total gear weight is going to be well under 5 pounds apiece. Backpacking for me is always evolving, and I am constantly researching newer technologies and seeing what works. This year, the combination of cuben products and Blizzard Technologies will make our packing both hyperlight and comfortable. The old paradigm of huge weighty packs continues even in this age of internet and enlightenment, I see it on the trail and written everywhere, like it's a given. My goal this year is to show that one can enjoy the outdoors with almost complete freedom from carrying a load of stuff and still be safe and comfortable in the process. Stay tuned. Blizzard long jacket as sleeping bag: 12 ozsthe prototype Cuben bivy: 4 ozs