I've hiked the PCT and, while I didn't follow Jardine's methods, I read his book and know a whole bunch of ultralighters. I think the key with Jardine is to take his writings as a good source of ideas and as an existence proof of what can be done, but not as gospel. There's been a whole lot of corn pasta dumped over the years by PCT hikers who got the Jardine religion

On the topic of ultralight backpacking in general, I've seen a lot of hikers with 10 lb base weights (i.e. packweight not including food or water) that seemed pretty happy with their gear. They certainly had an easier time moving than I did with my 20 lb base. In fact, I've spent enough time being envious of those guys that one of my primary goals for this summer is to see how far I can slash my packweight.

--John