Lighten Up!: A Complete Handbook for Light and Ultralight Backpacking (Falcon Guide) [Paperback]

Don Ladigin (Author), Mike Clelland (Illustrator)

Book Description

Series: Falcon Guide | Publication Date: May 1, 2005

Short, to the point, and humorously illustrated by famed outdoor illustrator Mike Clelland, this book presents everything hikers and backpackers need to be safe, comfortable, and well-fed while carrying a very small and lightweight pack.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Walking into the wilderness with a pack on your back is an empowering experience - even more so when that pack you're carrying isn't weighing you down. Lighten Up! shows you how to pack light without sacrificing the essentials or your safety. Featuring solid advice and trail-tested tricks from outdoors expert Don Ladigin and more than 150 humorous and helpful illustrations by the incomparable Mike Clelland, Lighten Up! is the ultimate guide for beginners and old hands alike. Make it a staple of your lightweight backpack.

About the Author

Don Ladigin has been hiking for more than twenty-five years and has taught the Ultralight Backpacking class at the University of Oregon since its inception in 2000.

Mike Clelland is a NOLS instructor and illustrator who studied Mad magazine rather than go to art school. He has numerous books with his name on them, including Allen & Mike's Telemark Tips and Allen & Mike's Really Cool Backpackin' Book.

Product Details

• Paperback: 112 pages
• Publisher: Falcon; 1st edition (May 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0762737344
• ISBN-13: 978-0762737345
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #56,461 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #28 in Books > Sports & Outdoors > Hiking & Camping > Camping
  • #80 in Books > Sports & Outdoors > Hiking & Camping > Excursion Guides

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A rather lightweight book ..., June 13, 2005

By 

SlowWalker (Littleton, CO USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lighten Up!: A Complete Handbook for Light and Ultralight Backpacking (Falcon Guide) (Paperback)

With a nod to the author's experience, I'd say the book is light on content.
The author could have provided more (and more useful) info than that which can be garnered web-surfing and hitting sites like www.backpacking.net or www.backpackinglight.com.

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars More like an inflated magazine article than book., September 18, 2007

By 

Christopher Wanko "-C" (Nutley, NJ USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Lighten Up!: A Complete Handbook for Light and Ultralight Backpacking (Falcon Guide) (Paperback)

It's good as far as it goes, which is really maybe twenty pages of material. It doesn't go into so much depth that I become struck by some unknown insight; it is a collection of good tips and demonstrable multi-tasking that can save weight and show off a little of your backcountry skills, i.e. build rather than buy, and make on site rather than haul in and out. All of these tips are things you already know, codified for about one hour of reading.

Worth it? Dunno. If you're an experienced hiker, you could intuit almost all of this. Any reputable 1st Class or above Boy Scout could do the same at age 14. I'm not impressed with it, and know I'll never re-read it. However, it does serve a purpose to the less-experienced, so in that regard, the content was solid and well-presented.

-Fred

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not the usual suspects., January 9, 2008

By 

Bobby D (az, us) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lighten Up!: A Complete Handbook for Light and Ultralight Backpacking (Falcon Guide) (Paperback)

Most backpacking books have a tendency to mainly talk about specific pieces of gear that, unfortunately, become obsolete in six months. The author doesn't fall into that trap. This book will be relevant far longer than six months and far longer than six years. Its really a book about a change in philosophy. It doesnt tell you what to buy but it does guide you on how to decide what to buy. True it is not a literary tour de force like Colin Fletcher's "The Complete Walker", it is more like a Zen proverb that reveals more by stating less. From the introduction and from searching around on the web, it becomes appearant that the author has been doing "ultra light" far longer then some of the so called "pioneers". If you bother to read between the lines you can decipher that the author has created ultra light packs from day packs, camping stoves from pop cans. Its more about changing the way you look for solutions instead of following what mfgs. want to market to you. And that in itself is far more useful then any backpacking book can ever do.