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You can learn a lot from the ultra light dudes. I replaced all my travel electronics to be powerable from USB-C. This saved me from a lot cables and adapters.

You can learn a lot from the ultra light dudes. I replaced all my travel electronics to be powerable from USB-C. This saved me from a lot cables and adapters. Even re-soldered the cable of my electric shaver to use a USB-C PD adapter PCB. As long it's somehow close to the standardized voltages (5/9/12/18/etc.) there will be no problems.

JohnFen 1y ago
If you're taking a shaving device of any sort on your backpacking trip, you've missed a core lesson of the ultra light dudes.
- wpm 1y ago
  They never said they were packing for a backpacking trip.
  - JohnFen 1y ago
    Ah, true. I made an assumption.
- giantg2 1y ago
  Should be one safety razor - just the blade. Just need a steady hand...
  - Lio 1y ago
    You're budgeting for the weight of a safety razor? Surely the hunting knife you use to kill your dinner when combined with the mirror you use for starting your forraged twig fires, that would be the ultimate solution. ...or just not shave for a few days. I guess you could do that too.
    - Nexxxeh 1y ago
      Think of the weight of all the extra hairs though.
      - Lio 1y ago
        That's a good point. Personally, I compensate for that by drinking slighly less water each day. It's a trade off but I think it makes perfect sense after a few nights of not-sleeping directly on the ground under a miniture dyneema tarp.
      - delichon 1y ago
        About 12 days per gram.
- Ekaros 1y ago
  Wouldn't it be logical that ultra light people have no body hair left? And want to keep it so? After all that is lot of grams...
  - binary132 1y ago
    just think of all the excess weight of dead skin cells covering your body!
  - rhinoceraptor 1y ago
    Not to mention all the energy loss from air friction!
  - gitaarik 1y ago
    Well it's only useful if you go on such long hikes that the weight of your hair exceeds the weight of your shaver
usrusr 1y ago
And if soldering is beyond your optimization ambition, there's aliexpress where you can find small USB-PD adapters for most electric shavers. It's little niche innovations like this that drive my ordering flow, not saving a few cents.
- gav 1y ago
  For those that want to travel light the Panasonic MultiShape[1] is great as you can share one rechargeable base with multiple tools. It is annoying as it's not USB, but inexpensive cables are available[2] and work great. [1] https://shop.panasonic.com/pages/multishape https://shop.panasonic.com/pages/multishape [2] https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CMGQWM1B https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CMGQWM1B
int_19h 1y ago
The trick is to make sure to get a power bank that can do all kinds of voltage. 12V is especially useful for obvious reasons. (Coincidentally, the Nitecore power bank briefly discussed in the article supports that.)
nicbou 1y ago
Fully committing to USB C was a wonderful move. It's much easier to pack for the day, but also for hiking, cycling and motorcycle trips. I wired my motorcycle panniers to have USB C chargers inside them. Retractable C to C cables are also worth it.
- averagewagon 1y ago
  Which brands of retractable USB C to C cables do you prefer?
  - nicbou 1y ago
    The random ones I got from Amazon a few years ago have been just fine. I have a longer one for my MacBook on longer trips.
Teever 1y ago
Can you talk more about this? I have a waterproof Braun one and I was thinking of making. USB-C dongle for it so that I don't have to crack the case and ruin the waterproofing.
mc3301 1y ago
I'm not trying to be gatekeepy or anything, but in 2009 (not so long ago), I did an "ultralight" 40-day on-and-off-road motorcycle trip without any electronics. A few years before that, I did a 10 week "backpacker without a backpack" trip with no electronics. This is still very possible. The weight savings, the "escape from electronics" bonus... It's not nothing.
- dangus 1y ago
  I think that it's a bad trade-off. A cell phone is a literal lifeline.
  - dankwizard 1y ago
    Cell phones are a crutch. Us real hikers/backpackers/outdoorians don't need such hand holding as "doing it on easy mode". You look danger in the face and call for help, I look danger in in the face and I say "you ready?". We are not the same.
    - reassess_blind 1y ago
      Why do you need to ask if you're ready? You should always be ready. Not being ready is a sign of weakness. We are not the same.
- neurostimulant 1y ago
  > in 2009 (not so long ago) That's 16 years ago... In some places it's no longer possible to travel without a smartphone. For example, where I live you can't buy a ferry ticket without an app. So if I want to travel to another island with a motorcycle, I'll have to bring a smartphone.

JohnFen 1y ago

If you're taking a shaving device of any sort on your backpacking trip, you've missed a core lesson of the ultra light dudes.

wpm 1y ago
They never said they were packing for a backpacking trip.
- JohnFen 1y ago
  Ah, true. I made an assumption.
giantg2 1y ago
Should be one safety razor - just the blade. Just need a steady hand...
- Lio 1y ago
  You're budgeting for the weight of a safety razor? Surely the hunting knife you use to kill your dinner when combined with the mirror you use for starting your forraged twig fires, that would be the ultimate solution. ...or just not shave for a few days. I guess you could do that too.
  - Nexxxeh 1y ago
    Think of the weight of all the extra hairs though.
    - Lio 1y ago
      That's a good point. Personally, I compensate for that by drinking slighly less water each day. It's a trade off but I think it makes perfect sense after a few nights of not-sleeping directly on the ground under a miniture dyneema tarp.
    - delichon 1y ago
      About 12 days per gram.
Ekaros 1y ago
Wouldn't it be logical that ultra light people have no body hair left? And want to keep it so? After all that is lot of grams...
- binary132 1y ago
  just think of all the excess weight of dead skin cells covering your body!
- rhinoceraptor 1y ago
  Not to mention all the energy loss from air friction!
- gitaarik 1y ago
  Well it's only useful if you go on such long hikes that the weight of your hair exceeds the weight of your shaver

usrusr 1y ago

And if soldering is beyond your optimization ambition, there's aliexpress where you can find small USB-PD adapters for most electric shavers. It's little niche innovations like this that drive my ordering flow, not saving a few cents.

gav 1y ago
For those that want to travel light the Panasonic MultiShape[1] is great as you can share one rechargeable base with multiple tools. It is annoying as it's not USB, but inexpensive cables are available[2] and work great. [1] https://shop.panasonic.com/pages/multishape https://shop.panasonic.com/pages/multishape [2] https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CMGQWM1B https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CMGQWM1B

int_19h 1y ago

The trick is to make sure to get a power bank that can do all kinds of voltage. 12V is especially useful for obvious reasons. (Coincidentally, the Nitecore power bank briefly discussed in the article supports that.)

nicbou 1y ago

Fully committing to USB C was a wonderful move. It's much easier to pack for the day, but also for hiking, cycling and motorcycle trips. I wired my motorcycle panniers to have USB C chargers inside them. Retractable C to C cables are also worth it.

averagewagon 1y ago
Which brands of retractable USB C to C cables do you prefer?
- nicbou 1y ago
  The random ones I got from Amazon a few years ago have been just fine. I have a longer one for my MacBook on longer trips.

Teever 1y ago

Can you talk more about this? I have a waterproof Braun one and I was thinking of making. USB-C dongle for it so that I don't have to crack the case and ruin the waterproofing.

mc3301 1y ago

I'm not trying to be gatekeepy or anything, but in 2009 (not so long ago), I did an "ultralight" 40-day on-and-off-road motorcycle trip without any electronics. A few years before that, I did a 10 week "backpacker without a backpack" trip with no electronics. This is still very possible. The weight savings, the "escape from electronics" bonus... It's not nothing.

dangus 1y ago
I think that it's a bad trade-off. A cell phone is a literal lifeline.
- dankwizard 1y ago
  Cell phones are a crutch. Us real hikers/backpackers/outdoorians don't need such hand holding as "doing it on easy mode". You look danger in the face and call for help, I look danger in in the face and I say "you ready?". We are not the same.
  - reassess_blind 1y ago
    Why do you need to ask if you're ready? You should always be ready. Not being ready is a sign of weakness. We are not the same.
neurostimulant 1y ago
> in 2009 (not so long ago) That's 16 years ago... In some places it's no longer possible to travel without a smartphone. For example, where I live you can't buy a ferry ticket without an app. So if I want to travel to another island with a motorcycle, I'll have to bring a smartphone.