I do not determine whether they are hard core UL or just every day UL/Light. Most of my contacts with these people have been with those that are unprepared...
Now there's a new distinction for ya: "hard core UL" or "just every day UL/Light." What you're really describing is an unprepared mooch. I've seen hikers with 50 pounds of heavy gear rummaging through leftover food bins because they were counting on others. Not just supplementing their food, they were truly counting whatever people left behind, and they were upset that some PCT hikers wiped out the bins before them. Mooching saves money, which is a motivator regardless of how much weight is in someone's pack.
A map is the UL choice vs a GPS. I can't tell you how many times I've handed out an extra map that I printed, and none of them were to an "ultralight hiker." Poor navigation skills or bringing a bad map is usually because of inexperience or ignorance, not because someone is trying to save a 2-ounce map. A UL hiker might cut the borders off the map, but that's silly, not dangerous.
Same thing with not knowing the weather forecast, no weight saving there, that's just a stupid mistake, the kind anyone can make. And if you're in the woods for more than a few days, the forecast is probably too old to be useful anyway.
I'm clearly defending ultralight hiking here, but only if people do so with adequate knowledge and the extra skills required. It's about careful planning and alternative gear that performs the same function as "traditional" gear. It's not about "going without" or making bad decisions or mooching.
