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A guy at the trailhead said his $300 ultralight tent is a waste of money

I was packing up at the Mount Hood trailhead last Saturday and overheard a guy telling his buddy he regrets buying his fancy Dyneema tent. He said it's too fragile for real brush and the cost isn't worth the few ounces saved. His friend argued that for serious mileage on clean trails, the weight savings are everything. It got me thinking about where that line really is between smart weight cutting and just buying hype. For those who do multi-day trips, when does ultralight gear stop being worth the trade-off?
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thea_knight
Saw a good point on a hiking blog that the best gear is the stuff you actually trust. That Dyneema guy at the trailhead has a point about fragility, but his buddy isn't wrong either. It really comes down to where you hike and how much you baby your stuff. For a weekend on a clear trail, those few ounces feel amazing, but in thick brush or bad weather, you want something that won't make you nervous.
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angelacooper
Honestly used to chase every ounce until a cheap tent failed me in real weather.
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