by The Yomiuri Shimbun
A person relaxes underneath a tarp in a mountain in Kanagawa Prefecture. “It makes me really feel a deep reference to nature,” he mentioned.
Mountaineering and climbing fanatics are embracing light-weight gear to cut back the burden on their knees, again and different physique elements. Referred to as ultralight (UL) backpacking, the idea permits hikers to focus extra on having fun with nature.
An organization worker from Iwate Prefecture was enjoyable in mid-Might at a tent website within the Tanzawa mountains in Kanagawa Prefecture. He was not mendacity in a tent. As a substitute, he was underneath a tarp, which shelters customers from the solar and rain like a roof.
“I gaze on the stars, really feel the wind blowing and listen to animals’ footsteps. It’s fairly easy, however I discover the extraordinary fascinating,” he mentioned with a smile.
The campsite is situated at an altitude of 600 meters. The temperature was barely lower than 15 C, and the person was snug in cold-weather clothes, he mentioned.
When he began climbing mountains about 5 years in the past, he carried a 15-kilogram backpack and walked together with his head down, at all times out of breath.
Sad with the expertise, he switched to lighter gear similar to a big backpack with a easy design that’s manufactured from a skinny material and a tarp as a substitute of a double-layered tent. Doing so diminished the load of his baggage to 5 kilograms, together with requirements like meals and cold-weather garments. He now enjoys his three-day hikes higher.
Courtesy of the person within the picture
The person’s gear for a three-day mountain hike contains solely the naked necessities similar to rain gear, cold-weather garments, headlamp, first-aid package, cooking utensils and sleeping bag. The load weighs about 5 kilograms together with water and meals.
“In case your load is mild, you have got extra flexibility,” he mentioned. “It additionally reduces the danger of damage.”
UL backpacking began in the USA across the Nineteen Nineties as option to hike 1000’s of kilometers alongside nature trails mentioned Tomoyoshi Tsuchiya, 51, the proprietor of the Hiker’s Depot outside items store in Mitaka, Tokyo, and the creator of “Ultralight Mountaineering” revealed by Yama-Kei Publishers Co.
The idea locations significance on mixing in with nature by lowering baggage hundreds as a lot as potential, Tsuchiya mentioned.
“Many climbing and mountaineering fanatics just like the fashion. It’s a minimalist strategy that appeals to individuals who take pleasure in having solely the naked requirements.”
In a 2021 survey by Yamap Inc., an organization in Fukuoka that produces a mountaineering map app, 35,000 customers of the app had been requested about issues throughout climbing, and solutions included knee ache by 44.5% and fatigue by 41.8% of the respondents.
UL backpacking can be efficient for individuals who get inadequate train as a option to scale back the burden on the physique and stroll comfortably on mountain trails.
A goal weight for gear together with a tent is 4.5 kilograms or much less, excluding water, meals and gasoline.
When Tsuchiya opened his store in 2008, he was typically criticized for selling UL backpacking, which some thought of harmful.
“Your load turns into lighter while you solely carry obligatory objects like meals, rain gear, cold-weather garments and a first-aid package,” Tsuchiya mentioned. “It’s not ‘flippantly outfitted.’ Fairly, it’s ‘making baggage lighter.’”
With ample mountaineering expertise, hundreds may be diminished by carrying much less cold-weather garments — which are sometimes overpacked — on journeys primarily based on a document of temperatures and altitudes at which one felt chilly and wore such garments prior to now.
Pots and transportable gasoline stoves are pointless when not cooking within the mountains.
A backpack manufactured from skinny material that has few pockets additionally lightens the load.
Merchandise primarily based on the idea of UL backpacking have been developed and placed on sale.
The Yomiuri Shimbun
Wallets by Minimalight are light-weight and simple to make use of throughout mountaineering and related actions.
Minimalight, an organization established in Kyoto in 2016, sells a small pockets referred to as Play Pockets for ¥4,400 as its flagship product. The trifold pockets is 9.5 centimeters lengthy and 6 centimeters extensive, and it suits within the palm of the hand. It weighs solely 15 grams.
The corporate additionally sells a easy backpack appropriate for day journeys and a small cross physique bag that holds a map and water bottle.
“I hope my model can be a gateway to the UL idea and encourage individuals to make use of lighter issues of their day by day lives,” mentioned Minimalight designer Shingo Haneji, 41, an avid hiker.
