“It’s All a Virtuous Cycle”: GoLite and Backpacking Light Visit NOLS HQ

Wait… no tents? no stoves? no hiking boots and no Nalgenes?! The concept of ultra-lightweight backpacking is such a new idea that it remains, as yet, something relatively unheard of and left to the fringe. But the guys at the lightweight backpacking companies GoLite and Backpacking Light Magazine, in partnership with NOLS, seek to change that.

The Admissions and Marketing Department at Headquarters on Thursday was treated to a presentation by GoLite president and co-founder, Demetri Coupounas, and Backpacking Light Magazine founder and publisher, Ryan Jordan, who spoke to some of the philosophy and technology that goes into lightweight backcountry travel.

“Our mission is to evangelize the concept to potential backcountry users and to disciple a core-user group to drive awareness,” says Jordan of his magazine. Coupounas agrees that their companies are not fierce competitors in the industry, but rather “colleagues in a movement.”

“We want to transform the outdoor experience en masse by making gear as light as possible with a full warranty that the average customer expects,” he adds.

Both gurus passed around some of the gear that has the potential to revolutionize backpacking by allowing for significantly decreased pack weight and, from there, increased mobility and ease of travel. “It’s all a virtuous cycle,” said Coupounas as he described the joys of hiking while unencumbered by a heavy pack.

Backpacks of ‘mylar film with reinforced thread,’ tarps of ‘silicon impregnated nylon,’ as well as torso-length inflatable sleeping pads, fire-starting tablets, and an array of micro-puff synthetics and lightweight shells were introduced to the group as elements of a pack that can weigh, without consumables, as little as, or less than, 10 pounds. But as Jordan insisted, “the gear is not required to do the work, [backcountry] knowledge and skill sets are so much more important.”

With that said, enter NOLS. Coupounas and Jordan head into the Winds this week to train NOLS instructors how to teach living safely and comfortably in the backcountry while carrying minimal weight. This August, the first Light and Fast Backpacking course will pass on those simplicities of lightweight travel to a new crop of devotees.

For more information on lightweight backpacking and NOLS’ role in this phenomenon, watch your mail for the Spring 2006 issue of The Leader or check out the articles online , don’t forget to peek at the sample gear list and the book reviews too! If you still haven’t had enough, navigate in depth and check out all the amazing lightweight gear Couopounas and Jordan have to offer at GoLite.com and Backpackinglight.com. Happy Packing!

Joanne Kuntz, Publications Intern
Chris Morris, PR Intern