What I have noticed is that small packs normally mean:
1) Less calories/fuel/first aid kit/other consumables per day
2) Smaller/lighter/absence of shelter
3) Less insulating/rain layers
All the above can cause issues when the weather turns or you need to extend your trip a little due to unforeseen circumstance. I would love to know how many of you have gone through major multi day storms using your ultralight setup. Did it work well?
Right on.
I stay out of these threads, mainly because my opinion is different than most, and people get offended because of it. But
@fiber has some really, really great points. Its easy to go light when you know what the weather is going to be like for a few days, but on longer trips, it can make you miserable, and even get you killed.
Go on a 10 day trip, where it rains and snows for half of it (or all of it), or where your water source is dried up, or the temperature drops 20 degrees, or where that light weight gear that isn't durable tears right at the start. Or your down gets wet just from your own body moisture, and the humidity doesn't allow it to dry out. Or when you have no gloves because its early August, and suddenly a freak wet snow storm hits as your going over a 10,000 foot pass.
And its not so much about surviving, as it is about being comfortable and enjoying yourself. I look through these posts at what some of you bring - and what you skimp on, and I just say to myself, not me. I've got burned enough before, and I don't want to go there again.
But hike your own hike. There is no rules to backpacking, no right and wrong. Just a bunch of opinion. One thing I have definitely learned over the last 15 years of backpacking, is that what I read on the internet, or in magazine articles, or what the guy at REI tells me, isn't always right. I do learn from my mistakes and experiences.