Books about Ultralight from Amazon.com

The days of carrying monster packs into the wilderness are officially over!

New Book Completely Redefines How to Enjoy Backcountry Travel

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"Backpacking should be comfortable, safe, and fun."

So say the backcountry experts at Backpacking Light Magazine in their new book, Lightweight Backpacking & Camping: A Field Guide to Wilderness Equipment, Technique, and Style. And they should know: Backpacking Light Magazine is recognized as the outdoor industry's leading authority in lightweight hiking and backcountry travel, and has helped thousands of outdoor enthusiasts discover the joy of going light.

"The notion that you need to carry 40 or 50 pounds of gear into the backcountry to be comfortable and safe is absolutely ridiculous," says the book's Editor, Ryan Jordan, who is also the Publisher of Backpacking Light Magazine and the outdoor industry's chief proselytizer of today's exploding lightweight backpacking movement. "Gear manufacturers continue to contaminate the market with too much gear that is overbuilt, overdesigned, overpriced, and overweight. Backpackers deserve to be told the other side of the story: that you can do more with less, and that a pack weight of less than 15 pounds (not including food and water) is easily accessible even to beginners."

A book about lightweight backpacking should be smart, fat, and heavy.

This new book redefines modern day backpacking as safe, comfortable, and fun - but with a much lighter pack. And, it doesn't take a casual approach to the topic: 436 pages of content educate backcountry users of all levels about the gear and technique required to make them experts.

Lightweight Backpacking & Camping fills major gaps in existing outdoor literature by offering:

- Multiple, balanced perspectives that appeal to a wide range of experiences, skills, and personal styles.

- In-depth content that provides basic, intermediate, and advanced discussions of skills that grow with the reader.

- Up-to-date information about the best lightweight gear and apparel, including the manufacturers that make it and the retailers that carry it.

Lightweight Backpacking & Camping is the most comprehensive and rigorous text ever published on the subject. In addition to chapters about gear and basic skills, consider its more advanced topics: why the biomechanics of walking justifies the use of running shoes instead of boots; how an examination of thermoregulation science suggests why today's high-tech synthetic clothing is too heavy and poorly engineered; how super-ultralight backpacking with a five pound pack can allow someone in average physical condition to hike a 30 mile day, and why some inclement weather conditions can be ideally suited for sleeping under an ultralight tarp, rather than a heavy tent.

Lightweight Backpacking & Camping not only sets the standard for backcountry education, it raises the bar to heights never before seen in the outdoor industry. Unlike other texts, Lightweight Backpacking & Camping justififes its claims with good science, proper technique, and rationale discussions: not marketing, hyperbole, and guesswork.

Yes, lightweight backpacking works for everyone.

Lightweight backpacking (often, with a pack weight of less than 20 pounds) is the fastest growing trend in backpacking. Going light makes backcountry hiking more accessible to families, Boy Scouts, and aging baby boomers - groups normally excluded from enjoying the backcountry because of their inability to carry absurdly heavy backpacks.

Lightweight Backpacking & Camping is targeted not only to "heavy school" backpackers trying to get the motorhome off their back, but also to advanced wilderness travelers trying to do more with less. To that end, the volume is as well-suited for beginning hikers as it is to elite mountain athletes..
Price: $15.51 [Notify me when price goes down.]

"The most up-to-date and comprehensive guide to equipment and technique available anywhere "—Backpack (UK)

This enormously practical guide includes everything from essential techniques such as map and compass work to the skills needed for more remote wilderness journeys—such as how to ford rivers safely and how to choose a route through untracked terrain. As a gear advisor, this book is unequaled. You'll find the last word on:

• How to choose packs and footwear—and make sure they fit
• What clothing to take on the trail
• Tents, tarps, stoves, water purifiers, and other gear
• GPS, cell phones, and other electronic devices
• And much more

Now in its third edition, The Backpacker's Handbook also covers desert hiking, ultralight backpacking, and adventure trekking in distant corners of the globe. Indeed, there is little about backpacking Chris Townsend does not cover. This trusted reference will prepare you for the challenges and excitement of backpacking the wilderness.

"A clear and comprehensive primer on backpacking gear. Townsend's knowledge is immense."—Sierra

"Belongs in every bookcase dealing with outdoor topics. . . . Chockablock full of useful, practical, commonsense info. . . . If you tramp the outdoors, get this book."—Maine Sportsman

"For those thinking of taking a backpack journey, The Backpacker's Handbook is required reading."—Daily Local News (West Chester, PA).
Price: $11.30 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Ultralight canoes and small boats are things of beauty, their apparent delicacy concealing great strength They are lapstrake-constructed from marine plywood planks, each plank overlapping the one below it in a gracefully curved hull. Epoxy glue along the laps gives the hull structural reinforcement, minimizing the need for framing and permitting an amazingly light structure. Round-bilged and elegant, they are built over jigs, but the method is straightforward and not time consuming. You can build a boat that will give you fun and satisfaction, one you can be proud of, in a winter of leisurely weekends. No fancy tools are needed, and care and patience will make up whatever you lack in woodworking skills.

All the information you need is here. Tom Hill, the chief proponent of ultralight boatbuilding and its leading practitioner, describes the method from start to finish using a skiff and canoe as examples. In the appendix is a gallery of ultralight designs, all but one of which you can build without lofting. If you want more flexibility, however, you can adapt almost any lapstrake small-boat design, traditional or modern, to the ultralight method. With some lofting (directions for which are given) you may then build a wide range of boats whose offsets are available. And you may adjust planking thickness and scantlings to give your boat extremely light weight with normal strength, or moderate weight with great strength.

Particularly if you lack an extensively equipped workshop and professional skills, Ultralight Boatbuilding will unlock exciting possibilities you considered out of reach..
Price: $10.49 [Notify me when price goes down.]

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Price: $7.25 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Developed primarily for long-distance treks, the ultralight method is considered by many traditional backpackers as too austere Author Ryel Kestenbaum shows that thanks to recent improvements in equipment design and manufacture, as well as in food processing, ultralight backpacking now offers a safe and comfortable alternative to traditional backpacking methods. In The Ultralight Backpacker, he dispels the myths surrounding this rapidly growing trend. Kestenbaum acquaints readers with the ultralight philosophy and shows how backpackers can once and for all do away with heavy packs and move quickly and comfortably on the trail, whether on a day-trip or season-long trek. He also provides the most complete survey available of ultralight equipment, clothing, and footwear, along with tips on how to select the right gear for each reader’s unique interests, needs, and personality..
Price: $5.76 [Notify me when price goes down.]

A Comprehensive and realistic guide for the purchase, operation, and maintenance of your ultralight or light sport aircraft. This 254-page book contains ten chapters and a thorough appendix. The material in the book is comprehensive, well-illustrated, and easy to read. The chapters cover such subjects as, Choosing an Ultralight, Training and Instruction, Maintenance, Meteorology, Ultralight Aerodynamics, and Frequently Asked Questions. The material is valuable for both newcomers to ultralight flying and veterans. The book is certain to become a must-have addition to every ultralight pilot's library..
Price: $22.00 [Notify me when price goes down.]

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Price: $12.31 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Ultralight spin-fishing provides much the same challenge and excitement as fly-fishing--with a mere fraction of the investment in equipment. More accurate casts, more strikes, and a better feel for what's happening at the end of the line are just some of the benefits of this popular angling method. Despite its name, ultralight equipment is robust enough for pursuing trophy-sized freshwater fish as well as more aggressive saltwater species.In this classic, comprehensive guide to ultralight fishing--voted one of the best 25 fishing books in print by Field and Stream--professional guide Peter Cammann presents the latest information on equipment and clearly explains the key tactics, techniques, and lures you need to be most effective with all kinds of fish. Tips for catching trout, bass, salmon, northern pike, walleye, panfish, and such saltwater species as bluefish, striped bass, and barracuda are all covered in detail. Casting and other techniques are fully illustrated. Includes resource appendix for recommended equipment..
Price: $8.90 [Notify me when price goes down.]