Of course you could just go about with your hair looking like an untidy birds’ nest but few girls especially would want to. I have carried the same old comb below (3 grams) for twenty years. I own that I could probably have found a slightly shorter, lighter one but there is some sentimental attachment.
The broken tooth was courtesy of my daughter Irralee when Canoeing the Seaforth on the Dusky Track (2009) as she had forgotten to bring something for her hair! Memories.
If you have short hair like me a comb will suffice. You can always see your reflection in a cookpot of water if you want to get your part straight, but if no-one sees, it is a bit like Bishop Berkeley’s ‘Tree in the Quad’ really!
Della prefers a brush. The blue one at the bottom (15 grams). She is strong!
I bought these compact-brushes recently from (Louise Maely’s) at Amazon (four for $20). Good for gifts. They weigh 33 grams (each) on my scales and contain a mirror – handy for helping get things out of your eyes or to signal searchers! But better to not get lost! I always carry an ultralight one (2 grams) – mirror that is, for both those reasons though I have only so far needed it for the first.
When you pop the rubber brush insert out though (centre below), it weighs just 10 grams (is still usable) and can be trimmed I guess by at least 1/4″ all round probably 3- 4 grams, so say a total of 6-7 grams which is pretty good for a hair brush. No doubt there are people who would cut it in half too! Della points out that hers would probably also weigh only 10 grams if she cut the handle off, but she is not going to!
Of course you will say fingers are lighter still, or you could fashion something out of twigs, etc – no doubt true.
PS: For those who must have titanium or carbon fibre there is this comb at 10 grams: The Ultralight Comb
The No 1 with its wider teeth is suitable for women’s hair (Della has tried it out) and weighs 10 grams. Being virtually unbreakable it is probably a good choice.
