It had been a brutal, week-long backpacking trip, and the founders were three days late in returning. They'd long since run out of food, and were chewing on leather boot straps to get themselves down the trail. After a long cold day in the rain, Tony and Chris huddled beneath their ultralight tarp. They'd managed to whittle pack weights down to fifteen pounds or so minus food and water. It seemed there was no where else to go, after squeezing every ounce out of shelter and sleeping gear, you couldn't cut food and water. Could you?

Warm and dry in camp, they were nevertheless famished. Chris's hunger enticed him to an epiphany of a tarp made entirely of candy. Tony did his best to resist the vision but hunger got the best of him and he eventually ended up fighting Chris for the tarp which was ripped to shreds in the ensuing melee. Hiking out the next day in another Appalacian Trail downpour, Tony came up with "where your last mile is your lightest mile..." and Eastern Active Technologies was born. Inspired by the power of their revelation, the two managed to get back to civilization, every step one step closer to the dream of their new concept in ultralight backpacking.

Fast forward four years. Many test models, recipe failures, flavor disasters, and trade shows later, Eastern Active Tech is still here, and thriving. Tony's hearty constitution got him through the great, nearly insurmountable rancid-sleeping-bag-material episodes of the late-nineties, and Chris's tics seem to be self-limiting (if anyone reading this still has a sleeping pad made of first generation Salmon Gummifoam^TM please contact us immediately).

We have recently expanded our line to include what every gourmand hiker relishes: a cocktail with dinner. Why lug a heavy glass bottle only to realize you forgot a corkscrew when you can just drink your stove fuel? Now a complete trail kit provides complete nutrition, complete protection from the elements, and just a touch of class.

So why haul all that gear AND your food, when you can make your last mile your lightest mile and get that pack weight down to zero? Proper planning is essential to this form of extreme ultra-ultralight backpacking, and our approach is not for everyone. But if you are careful and disciplined in your consumption and personal habits we think you'll become as enthused about this next generation leap in backcountry culinary technology as we are. So check out our site and our gear, and let us know what you think!