Many of us have a loved one who deeply worries us. Maybe they鈥檝e started cutting perfectly good toothbrushes in half 鈥渢o save weight.鈥 Maybe they鈥檝e started wearing shorter shorts, stopped carrying toilet paper on the trail, or started identifying as 鈥渢rail trash.鈥澨
While you may be tempted to interpret these antisocial behaviors as shameless cries for help, rest assured that they are merely symptoms of an incurable but mostly benign disease called 鈥.鈥 If you have an ultralighter in your life, you might find yourself feeling frustrated鈥攏ot only by their moralistic harping, but by how impossible it is to shop for someone who identifies as a minimalist.听
But, hey. If you can鈥檛 beat them (or join them), you might as well add fuel to the fire. these 10 items to enable your loved one鈥檚 strangest and most obsessive ultralight habits.听
1.听Extremely tiny toothpastes听
The ubiquitous travel-size toothpaste is fine and dandy, but it鈥檚 not nearly as exciting as its smaller cousin, the sample-size toothpaste. Most often found in airline and hotel toiletry kits, these tubes contain just 5g of product and are perfect for a fast-and-light weekend trip. They鈥檙e also .听
You can , though most purveyors are based in Europe or Asia. Some dentists鈥 offices also carry them. If you go in for a cleaning between now and the holidays, it鈥檚 worth asking what鈥檚 available. Need a shorter lead time on shipping? Try听 instead.
2.听A shiny new zip-top bag
Boring? Maybe to a suburban house husband. But to an ultralight hiker, there鈥檚 nothing quite as thrilling as a new zip-top bag, its sleek and transparent sheen representative of all the hope and promise the future might hold. Will it become a toiletries kit? A wallet? A storage receptacle for ramen noodles? A containment vessel for used toilet paper? The possibilities are endless.
If you feel a little lame stuffing a stocking with something you already had in a kitchen drawer鈥攚ell, your feelings are invalid. Still, if you want to go the extra mile, you could purchase a听 for the trail trash in your life instead. (Just don鈥檛 take it personally if your loved one keeps on using a disposable sandwich bag.)
3.听A knife they will certainly lose
At just 1.6 inches long, Spyderco鈥檚 ridiculously small is one of the smallest camping knives we鈥檝e ever used. The blade is sharp and reliable, making it perfect for trimming cord, slicing cheese, and cutting every time a flimsy silnylon tarp or wind shell decides to tear. If your loved one doesn鈥檛 drop it on the forest floor and immediately lose it forever, it will serve them well for decades to come.听
4. Halves of things
Want to give your gifts a home-crafted touch? Buy something moderately useful鈥攕ay a comb, toothbrush, or foam sleeping pad鈥攁nd then . Your loved one will appreciate that you鈥檝e already done the work for them. Bonus: If you have two ultralighters in the family, you can give one half to each. Though, be warned that folks are generally less pleased to receive the back half of a toothbrush.
5.听All the pockets
There鈥檚 nothing ultralighters hate more than a backpack covered in pockets. Paradoxically, there鈥檚 nothing they love more than purchasing after-market pockets to cover themselves with instead. Stuffing your loved one鈥檚 stocking with , , or a swanky will show them you care about their organizational fanaticism, even if you don鈥檛 quite understand it.听
6.听Sharp scissors
If your loved one is a true ultralighter, they may have some strange habits with regards to chopping up their gear (see: 鈥淗alves of things,鈥 above). Enable them by providing them with the right tools for the job. A sharp pair of scissors will allow your dirtbag relative to cut out clothing tags, unnecessary backpack straps, and excess lengths of shoelace pre-trip.
7.听Horrible food
Ultralight hikers tend to favor such delicacies as Honey Buns, Pop Tarts, and most foods involving cheese powder. These meal options may not be vitamin-rich or even delicious under normal circumstances, but they meet a much more important nutritional requirement: a high calories-per-ounce ratio. Fancy ultralight food items like or make nice gifts, but Hostess products tend to be a little more on-brand. (Shopping for someone you actually do care about? Consider pairing your family-size box of Honey Buns with a jar of multivitamins to encourage balance.)
听8.听Single-serving condiments
Lightweight backpackers are notorious for raiding the local Panda Express for soy sauce packets before hitting the trail. Save them the trip by gifting a selection of travel-size condiments this season. , , , and or are all big hits.
9.听A bulk order of Ibuprofen
Nothing says 鈥淚 love you鈥 like expressing concern for the inflammation in someone鈥檚 lower extremities. Keep your gifting practical by purchasing some , which fit beautifully in a DIY ultralight first aid kit. Or, for more humor value, purchase an extra-large-size听 of vitamin I instead.
10.听听Clinical-strength deodorant听听
Love isn鈥檛 always about accepting someone as they are. Sometimes it鈥檚 about compromise. If your ultralighter鈥檚 post-hike odor is interfering with the closeness of your relationship (and we mean, literally, how close you鈥檙e able to get to them without gagging), consider a thoughtful and potentially insulting gift of . Happy holidays!听 听听