Summary: Show Notes: Episode 091<br> Today on the First 40 Miles, if you’re new to backpacking, how long are you allowed to claim that beginner status? And what does it mean to be a beginner? Then on today’s Top 5 List, are you ready to go tentless? We’ll share some benefits. Next on today’s SUMMIT Gear Review, Hyperlite Mountain Gear has a pack that shaves ounces, while being tougher than your grandpa’s drill sergeant. On the Backpack Hack of the Week, a simple and cheap way to get double the insulation.<br> Opening<br> <br> * At what point are we not beginners? How do you define beginner? Does it have more to do with confidence or skills or comfort level?<br> * Fit backpacking into a busy life<br> * Beginner mindset: more to learn, open minded, new way of looking at things, not afraid to experiment, try what works, try what doesn’t work, “sponge mode”<br> * Survey from Backpacker Magazine, 18% of men still consider themselves beginners after 1-3 years of backpacking experience<br> * 30 percent of women still see themselves as beginners after 1-3 years of backpacking experience.<br> * Being a beginner is a good thing<br> * Stay a beginner for as long as you can<br> <br> Top 5 Reasons to Go Tentless<br> Keeps you Cool<br> <br> * Tent provides 5-10 degrees of warmth. On hot summer nights, you can take advantage of the breeze<br> * Sleeping out in the open means a breeze will blow across your skin, instead of just blowing across your nylon tent<br> <br> No Wet Walls<br> <br> * If you’ve ever had a great night of sleep in a tent, then stretched only to have your hand hit the wet side of the tent…<br> * Condensation vs. spit<br> * If you sleep under a tarp shelter, or in a hammock with a tarp, you’ll have maximum ventilation with no condensation. If you sleep without a tarp, you’ll have dew, but that’s dew-able,<br> <br> Lightweight<br> <br> * Hammock or tarp much lighter than a tent<br> * You can leave home gear like sleeping pad, poles, tent, and in some cases, if you have a light underquilt for your hammock , you may be able to get by with a light blanket.<br> * Variety of ways to set up a simple tarp shelter<br> * https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0c42cY-tx4<br> <br> You get to be a Foreign exchange student vs. a Tourist<br> <br> * When you remove the walls of you tent, it removes a layer that separates you from the natives, and you live like they live<br> * You feel more like you’re a part of the forest instead of just a visitor<br> <br> Mystery Solved<br> <br> * Decreased anxiety about “mystery sounds” because you can just open your eyes<br> * On our hammock trip, we were surprised by how safe we felt<br> * Unexpected benefit of going tentless<br> * In the tent, you can only imagine what the sounds are outside of your tent. But without a tent, all you need to do is open your eyes<br> * Decreased anxiety<br> <br> SUMMIT Gear Review: <a href="https://www.hyperlitemountaingear.com/2400-southwest-ultralight-pack.html">Hyperlite Mountain Gear 2400 Southwest</a><br> Mike’s story: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7BUKUtD9omM">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7BUKUtD9omM</a><br> Structure<br> <br> * The 2400 Southwest pack is made of a type of Cuben Fiber which is now known as Dyneema® Composite Fabric<br> * This fabric is ultra-durable, ultralight, and water resistant (can’t claim 100% waterproof because the stitching creates micro punctures in the fabric, which are seam sealed, but still, the 100% waterproof has been slightly compromised)<br> * 50-70% lighter than Kevlar, four times stronger than Kevlar, and allow flexibility without losing strength, weighs less than silnylon, floats on water, is 100% waterproof before stitched and has high chemical and UV resistance..<br> * Why aren’t all packs made of this material??<br> * Bottom is 150 D Dyneema Composite Fabric<br>
