One of the important principles of product creation is to examine niches you already belong to. I recently took up backpacking and in my deep dive into the genre, I discovered a community of “Ultralight” backpackers. Ultralight is vaguely defined by having a set of backpacking gear with a base weight (not including consumables like food or water) of 10 lbs. or less. After my first trip carrying 35 lbs. of borrowed gear for half a day, I decided to make my own ultralight gear set. I simply copied recommendations from other ultralight backpackers and from my own research. The diderot effect was real as I tapped into my inner ounce-counter and found myself fascinated by the entire process. It unearthed a deep childhood desire of mine that I had long since forgotten: gearing up for the next big adventure and battle. My enemy is my own body and the forces of nature.
Adventure Time
I used to love MMORPG’s (Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games). It was like going to a convention surrounded by people who enjoy the same thing. One object of the game was to acquire the most powerful equipment available. Pieces consisted of: weapon, helmet, armor, grieves, belts, pants, shoes, accessories, etc. It was this process of acquiring the best gear that was uncanny to buying ultralight equipment that egged on my spiral of spending. Having full awareness of what was happening, I simply couldn’t resist. The allure of the highest quality and lightest gear, along with scrutinizing every stat and function of my choices gave me a whole new world to play in. It has become a science within itself and the amount of thought has extended even into ultralight food science. It was then where I saw the goldmine. There is a market for quality goods at the lightest possible weight. There are even websites, like lighterpack.com dedicated to sharing your gear set with others that include weight measurements, price, and links.
The Ultralight Premium
People will pay a lot of money to save one ounce. That’s what I discovered as I purchased and returned a plethora of items I thought would be good enough. That is, until I found something better and there seems to always be something better. This uncertainty plays into the psychology of spending as you are never fully satisfied with what you have. If you’re like me and have an obsession with “the best” then it will be a very expensive endeavor. If money is no object, this lighterpack setup showcases a sticker price of over $4,000 for a single person. That’s a lot of cheddar but there are some setups that are under $1,000 as well. The essential items that are the lightest weight charge the highest premiums if targeted for ultralight backpacking. One tried and true example is the Nitecore NB10000 Power Bank. It is the lightest 10,000 mAh power bank in the entire world which I weighed in at 5.5 ounces. I’m in love with this thing because it packs really well when traveling, fits in my pocket when out and about, and I take it into concerts and music festivals. However, at $59.95 it’s about two to three times more expensive than a power bank of the same capacity. That got me thinking. If I could create a product that is ultralight and would apply to multiples niches, it would be a very profitable venture. What idea do you have?
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