Busy with life and work but still want to know what happened in the UL world last week? Do not despair, this is your rescue, a concise post with what happened the UL world over - and a lot happened. But before I dive in about UL news, I'd like to inform you about Flattr as you surely have seen the button on top and beneath the latest posts. Just watch the short video to see what Flattr means:



Concrete this means, Flattr is a social micropayment platform that lets you show love for the things you like - for example my blog. You help support the people you like and enable them to continue with what they do, and you yourself also can add your own things to Flattr and recieve appreciation from others. If this sounds good to you, visit the Flattr website and request an invitation to use the service, which still is in Beta thus not completely mature yet.


Phil and Steven on the Pirkan Taival trail.

The highlight for me this week was Phil's write-up of our trip together last week - Part 1 and Part 2 - simply because it is interesting for me to see how others like it here in Finland; and Phil (and Steven) both seemed to like it heaps! Thank you both for the great trip =)

Roman Dial got a call from Andrew Skurka, who was pondering to fly out and give up on the original route. Read here what Roman told Skurka. And to follow Skurka live on his Alaska-Yukon-Expedition, check out his Twitter.

RioLeichtsinn is giving all of us who missed the TULFT 3.0 meet-up a look at what exactly we missed, a highlight is surely the "Erlkönig" photo of a LAUFBURSCHE huckePACK made from Dyneema!

Also hrXXLight was attending the TULFT 3.0, and shot a splendid video of showcasing how many people fit into a LAUFBURSCHE Tanzpalast.

hikingharry is currently writing up his trip report of the Corfu Trail so if you fancy some sunshine, bright colours and mountains, go have a read!

From far away and gorgeous Japan Hana 2010 - Yamanashi Hyakumeizan is getting grounded for a month after Hana (the dog) started to limp at the end of peak four - get well soon!

Ross Collard from Mountain Missions went on his first wildcamp in 15 years - check out his trip report and photos here!



In the gear department, I made a video about how to pack a frameless backpack - the video is online again =) - and I am looking forward to your question, comments and observations!

Looking for a tripod but didn't yet find one that suits the bill? Knilch has a superb MYOG carbon tripod guide which helps you make your own - and it even can be used as a StickPic!

Another MYOG Guide, for a Simple Wood Gas Stove, can be found on the blog of Journey of Bush Craft and it has mighty fine looking instruction photos as well - a worthy project for all pyromaniacs!

Minimalgear is giving us a first look at the Caldera ULC Fusion, a prototype stove system Trail Designs made for him.

Lighthiker tells us about his LAUFBURSCHE huckePACK and how he got worried that there wasn't one faulty seam - it was just perfect.

BackpackBaseCamp.com did a nice video of the Evernew Ti DX wood burning stove, and shows us how to use it and how long it takes to boil a cup of water.

Also Andy Howell has a look at the Evernew Ti DX stove, and shows Bob from BPL.co.uk using it - a worthy read!

And when speaking of the Evernew Ti DX one needs to mention Fenlander, as he did a sweet video of comparing the Evernew alcohol stove with the Trail Designs 12-10 stove and lets us know which one is more fuel efficient.

Ryan Jordan tell us about Separation Anxiety or how he went from twelve different shelters to just three to cover all possible situations. I think we all can learn something from him yet again.

If you're looking for an in-depth review of the Zebralight H30, head over to "A Little Bit About Not A Lot" and read this excellent one.

The Jolly Green Giant did a review of the POE Ether Elite 6 and is wondering if it is any better than the NeoAir.

Jonas from nature-base has developed a 400 g light UL Pulka and is making us curious about it with a few photos.

Finally, in case you think life has dealt you a hardship because you can't be out hiking as much as those above or can not afford the latest in gear, have a look at the Tale of Steve Fugate and I am sure you're going to rethink your situation.

In that sense, all the best for the week ahead!

For a detailed write-up of this trip, please head over to Phil's blog, and I am sure also Steven will soon let us know how he liked the trip. I will simply post some photos and write some short sentence under them, in case they shouldn't be clear...


Phil is ready to ride.


Shortcut over the tracks.


View from Camp 1.


Enjoying the fire.


Phil teasing the fish with his tenkara gear.


Campsite 2.


Peekaboo in the laavu, catching Steven being social ;)


Walking.


"High mountain lake"


More walking.




Are we there yet?


Getting closer to the goal.




Steven using the Bushcooker LT 1 the first time.


Dancing bear pose by Phil.


Wildlife.


Camp 3.


Phil doing the dishes.


How can people go camping and not have a campfire?




25 km to the goal.




A future packrafting adventure?!


Balancing over duckboards.


"I got wet feet!"


"So this is where we are now, and then we should go there and take a left and uphill and over that river pass by that lake..."


The End.

So you are getting your lightweight kit slowly but surely together, and now are looking for an UL backpack. There are many different packs, but the very lightweight ones usually have one thing in common: They do not have a frame. That is also the case with the LAUFBURSCHE huckePACK, my pack of choice for the warm months where no water adventures are involved.


How to get all that gear packed up so that it carries comfortably?

With a frameless pack your able to significantly reduce the weight of your backpacking kit, but without some kind of system it might be difficult to get the rucksack packed in a way that it carries comfortable, also if loads are slightly more heavy - for example if you're going for a four day trip and carry food for that time. So while I haven't reinvented the wheel - Minimalgear had a similar video last year, as had the Red Yeti - I still decided to make a nice HD video of how I pack my LAUFBURSCHE huckePACK and also illustrate some of the great features of the pack at the same time. Thus, please get the chips and beer out and have a go:


To watch the video in HD, click here and choose 720 p/ HD. And I do recommend to watch it in HD =)

As I set out with Phil and Steven last week I had food for four days and 1 l of water, which put the complete weight of the gear close to the 8,5 kg marker, and packed as it was shown above the huckePACK carried like a dream. Instead of a "burrito" style of rolling up the mat, I also could use the Z Lite as an internal frame - six to eight pieces work best in my opinion. Given the slightly rectangular shape of the backpack, that is a good choice as well. On the order of my packing, because I go so light it doesn't really matter too much where I put what in the sack; whereas in full frame packs they suggest you pack the more heavy stuff in the middle/ top and close to the back, this is of less concern if you use lightweight gear.

Also, as you might be able to see from the video, I love this pack - and I am not alone. Sadly there are not yet any (dependable) news on the horizon regarding a shop or website from LAUFBURSCHE, as Roman stated, German law and the cottage manufacturing idea do not work so well together, though I am sure we will see the company see the light of day during the summer, and that demand for these high quality products will quickly have Mateusz make long hours =) Until then, check out the different reviews and photos of the huckePACK!


The packed rucksack!