yoga9020

Ultralight backpacking? I remember when I first cut my toothbrush handle in half. I thought I was going light then, with thirty-five pounds on my back for a weekend backpacking trip. Now I am going heavy if get near fifteen pounds.

The biggest change was when I reduced the weight of the "big three." These are your backpack, sleeping bag and tent. This article, however, is about some of the "little" things I have learned along the way. They include weight-saving tricks, but also ways to be safe and comfortable as well.

Ultralight Backpacking Tips

- To have warm hiking shoes in the morning, put them under your sleeping bag by your legs, or even in your sleeping bag if you have a plastic bag to put them in. I sometime keep my shoes warm by using them as a pillow - it is more comfortable than you might think. Point one shoe each way, so they cradle your head, and lay a shirt or other piece of clothing over them.

- Use less stove fuel by cooking out of the wind. Block the wind with a improvised windscreen of some sort. Cooking time can double in even a slight breeze.

- Evaporative heat loss results from evaporation of moisture (this is why your body sweats to cool off). To reduce this form of heat loss, you need to stay as dry as you can. Wear your rain gear when walking through wet bushes, and don't sit directly on snow.

- Conductive heat loss results from heat being conducted away from your body by direct contact with colder things. Don't sit directly on cold rocks or snow - use your sleeping pad, or sit on a log (wood is less conductive than rocks).

- The lightest pan? You probably won't find it in backpacking catalogs. Every titanium pan I've seen weighs more than the cheap aluminum pan I bought in a local dollar-store. They make backpacking pans too thick. I removed the handle and added a wire hanging handle to my soup pan, and it weighs about two ounces.

- A light seat cushion can be made from a sleeping bag pad. Use an old basic blue foam pad. Cut a square about 12 inches square out of it. This will weigh about one ounce (3/8" pad). It makes a nice waterproof seat when you want to sit on a wet rock, log or on the ground. Pack it against your back inside your pack and it will also pad you from any sharp or clunky items.

- The cold wind might chill the front of your body, even though your back is hot and sweaty. When this happens, put your jacket on backwards, and leave it opened. This will keep your back cooler while protecting the front of your body.

- When it is hot, soak your hat in every stream or water source you pass. A wet hat is like a little air conditioner on your head. Try a wet bandana around your neck too. This trick works best in dry climates.

- Attach alligator clips to the top of your pack, and you'll always have an easy way to hang clothing to dry while you hike.

- If your damp clothes haven't dried by morning, put them on - unless it is too cold. They'll dry quickly once you start hiking. Drying them this way is generally safer than allowing damp clothes to accumulate in your pack.

- One way you can lighten your load is to carry high-calorie foods. Suppose you need 12,000 calories for a weekend trip. This could weigh from fifteen pounds down to four pounds, depending on the foods you select. Mixed nuts, for example, have twice as many calories per pound as bread. Plan for some variety, and balance the weight savings with decent nutritional choices, of course. Ultralight backpacking can still be healthy.

Copyright Steve Gillman. The ebook "Ultralight Backpacking Secrets" has 150 more of these backpacking tips scattered throughout it. To get it for FREE, as well as gear recommendations, and a new wilderness survival section, visit =>http://www.The-Ultralight-Site.com

These days, the demand and market for voip service is growing at an exponential rate, and for good reason. voice over IP technology has come quite a long way over even just a few years ago, and voip has grown up into a reliable, cost effective alternative (even replacement) for calling services.

As a disclaimer, I will say up front that most industry pros still recommend having one POTS line (i.e. traditional land line) as a backup for emergencies (911.) To clarify, this is not to imply inadequacy of voip 911 directory services, since they have vastly improved in the recent past, and are federally mandated. The recommendation to keep a land line is more about having a back-up alternative for 911.

Sounds almost like a contradiction to our statement above ("...reliable alternative") but it really isn't. If you think about it, there are many reasons that an interruption in power could occur more easily, while land lines are more likely to remain in service, electric storms being one example. And, along with the practical implications of keeping an inexpensive land line along side of your voip service, it also makes strategic financial sense. The reason is, the cost of a basic local access line, in addition to your voip service bill, still represents a considerable savings over the cost of traditional calling plans. The bulk of those savings are realized in the low cost of toll and international calling with voip.

Let voip save you Money

Probably the greatest attraction to voip for the consumer is in the potential cost savings. Many voip providers are offering unlimited local and long distance calling for as low as $19.99 a month. On top of that, with voip service, toll service charges are eliminated, and international calls are significantly lower on average than with traditional telephony. Common estimates of yearly savings range from $350 to $500 annually.

Say Goodbye to hidden Charges

Everyone knows the frustration of combing through your phone bill and seeing charges associated with acronyms you've never heard of, and wondering what exactly you're paying for and why your phone bill is always a few dollars (or more) higher per month than the package you signed up for. With voip, that all goes away.

Free voip features are standard

This is another big reason why people love voip. You get many standard features with a typical voip plan that would prove cost prohibitive with your traditional phone company. Things like call waiting, 3 way calling, and even voicemail are completely free and standard with voip. I recall a couple of years ago paying $29 a month JUST for digital voicemail feature on my land line, in addition to the monthly service charges, tolls, long distance, etc.

freedom and Flexibility

Since a pre-requisite for voip is broadband internet connection, there are a few benefits built into your decision to integrate voip service into your home. Namely, you'll most likely be using a multi port router, which allows you to place more computers and devices on your home's network.

And ideally, you would opt for a wireless router, which gives you the greatest flexibility of all. Besides providing broadband access to multiple computers without the headaches of hard-wire connections, you will also have options for using SoftPhone voip service on multiple devices such as your PC and laptop, and your voip phone. Another perk is that with a wireless router, you can configure other devices to function wirelessly on your network (like the printer in the basement connected to laptop in the livingroom.)

Speaking of voip phones, many of those are inherently more flexible by design. For example, you can buy a voip phone system that includes a "base station" handset with speakerphone, keyboard, etc. and additional wireless handsets with independent docking/charging stations. This is a great way to supply multiple rooms within your home with wireless phones that are built to be totally "feature friendly" i.e. to accommodate the many and varied voip features commonly available, as mentioned above. This even includes "Videophone" in some cases, which is real time video transmission that is delivered via broadband and uses the same software/protocols as voip phone service.

Summing it Up with voip

voip is a valid (if not revolutionary) telecommunications technology that is well supported and standardized within a now-exploding industry. It may soon completely replace POTS (plain old telephone service) calling. voip can definitely save you a significant amount of money, while providing ease, flexibility, and features that traditional calling couldn't touch.

Doug maintains the voip blog at 5PCom, a VoIP Service provider offering exceptional quality, savings, and pricing for residential and small Business VoIP services.