I'm at 14.5lbs and I'm trying hard to get that to 12 before I add food. Two nights/Three days with food for 15lbs is what I'm shooting for, I understand where you are coming from.
I'm at 14.5lbs and I'm trying hard to get that to 12 before I add food. Two nights/Three days with food for 15lbs is what I'm shooting for, I understand where you are coming from.
couldn't agree more with this ^
A spreedsheet is an invaluable tool, not only for getting your base weight down, but also for packing in genera so you don't forget something.
Take a look at this. It's a web based gear list that was posted on the BPL
forums. Very cool if you don't use or have excel or open office to create a gearlist.
Www.seansullivan.com/gear
On another note, I'd love to see a gearlist forum here since I'm always using the one on BPL, however more often than not you see people being told to ditch their hammocks because there is a ground shelter that is "lighter" and that may very well be the case. I feel that if there was such a forum at HF.net we could show great ways to lighten you load basses on hammocking. Just food for thought.
Last edited by Distortedaxis; 03-25-2011 at 07:20.
medicjimr,
make a spreadsheet and post it on HF... I'm sure there are plenty of us light weight nerds that can help shed some pounds. But first we need to see what you are currently dealing with.
Raul
"If you give a monkey a gun and he shoots someone, you dont blame the monkey"
The end of the world is not coming in December, it is happening now in my living room. - TFC Rick
http://watermonkey.net/
Youtube Channel:
http://www.youtube.com/user/RaulPerez1?feature=mhee
Hi Jim,
I have experimented with different pack loads on short hikes(2-5mi) close to the house and determined 30# is the max I can carry without shoulder or lower back pain.
Once I determined that weight, I started looking for items in the pack I could do without or change to something lighter and not decrease comfort too much.
I was not able to lighten my sleep system very much. Hammock, quilts, tarp, line and stakes are at the min for comfort and safety I want.
It's the other stuff I carry where I could really trim with min discomfort.
For example:
I started with the cookkit.
Swapping my metal coffee cup for plastic, 1 alky stove, 1 pot cooking, etc.
I'm fairly new to this, only been backpacking for a year or so. Can only get out occasionally and have limited money. I still manage to make keep my base weight around 12-13lbs for 3 season with a bunch of "heavy" makeshift gear items. I'm working on a new summer/3 season kit and what's helped me is checking out others gear list. Just copy and paste. Change things around to make it your own. Raul Perez has helped me with this by sending me his gear list and being kind enough to talk to me about it.
Here's my tenative list. Is about what I used last fall for the Loyalsock trail.
UL Backpacking checklist
ULTRALIGHT CHECKLIST
GoLite Jam
KNIFE / Spyderco
Rain Cover (mountain laurel designs)
Cooking pot (6 oz) Snow Peak 900
Coffee cup (1.9 oz)
MiniBullDesigns mini atomic (0.5 oz)
BushBuddy UL
Fuel Bottle (8 or 16 oz)
Ridgearest (half) 10 oz
Hennessy hammock (1 lb 15 oz)
Crows Nest Summer Phoenix (11.7 oz)
Over Quilt Summer Burrow (14.5 oz)
WATER BOTTLE Platypus 17 oz bottle (1 oz)
PLATYPUS GRAVITY FILTER (12 oz)
PLATYPUS Pack Bladder (3.5 oz)
SPORK (.5 oz)
MSR UL TOWEL (1.8 oz)
TOILET PAPER
TOOTHBRUSH/TOOTH PASTE
ZIP LOCK BAGS
TOOTHPASTE
Survivor SAW
RIBZ pack
(in Ribz pack)
LIGHTER
FIRE STRIKER (1 oz) & TINDER
HEADLAMP (3.1 oz)
GPS/compass/map/map case
Camera
LIGHTER
FIRST AID KIT
extra CORD
PERSONAL ID/MONEY
Food (in Pack)
To be determined (Mountain House Pro Pac & Enertia Trail Foods) for 10 days. Probably cereal for breakfast so save on fuel weigh then I just have to boil water for coffee.
Extra Clothing
SOCKS (1pair)
Wool hat
L/S shirt
Leather gloves
Patagonia Down Sweater
....lbs
Wear
Kuhl pants
BlackHawk Ops boot (lightweight/good ankle support)
Socks
Tshirt
Hat
All my clothing is wicking for fast drying and doesnt start to smell so quickly. This way I can cut alot of weight in that area. I may bring two pair of socks.
'Most people have a few skelotons in their closet, I have a few tents.' ~ d Allen
Here is my take. I'm not an ultra light backpacker, I'm more like "comfortable light". I have cut 10 to 13 pounds from my load over the last 4 years. My sleep gear is a 1.1 double WBBB, 11x10 SpinnUL tarp, JBR Nest and Hudson River long, whoopies, straps etc. and tyvek ground cloth. I use a ULA Catalyst pack. Summer base weight (no water, no food, no quilts) is roughly 18 pounds. Winter base weight (no water, no food) is roughly 23 pounds ( includes extra clothes and quilts). When you are comfortable and rested is what makes your hiking enjoyable, so now that means we are back to HYOH. The older I get the more I think "Stop and Smell the Roses" is a good idea.
+ however many on the spreadsheet. Only way to really find out where to cut things out or down.
Rockdawg69
It's a long way to the top if you want to Rock and Roll ----- those hills!!!
Professional Prevaricator: Part-time dealer in Yarns, Tales, Half-Truths, & Outright Lies -1st half-hour session at no cost (Lawyers and Doctors excepted).
Totally agree!
Get a scale, and start by weighing EVERYTHING. It helps.
Clothing was a biggee for me.
Gear can be trimmed down when money allows. Or eliminated. Or DIY'd.
Kick out all the redundancy items..two+ knives, three lighters, a hundred feet of extra line, large first aid kit, extra pots and pans, extra fire starters, etc. it all adds up.
Try to multi-purpose your items. Practice with your down-sized kit and see if it all works for YOU. If at worst you have a bad experience for one or two nights. I'm not saying "life-threatening" down size. Shelter and warmth are a necessity. But those can be lightened.
Once you see all your items weights, you can best determine what is really important to you.
Another thing, bigger guys (speaking from experience here) will have a harder time getting pack weights to equal another hiker who is 6" shorter and 50-100 lbs. lighter than you. Your clothing will proportionally weigh more. An XXL shirt of the same material as a medium shirt, will weigh more.
The quilts can be smaller, the clothing is smaller, the pack can be smaller. Might not seem like much but it all adds up.
Trim where you can, and enjoy.
Ambulo tua ambulo.
The answers are all here, take a look at Srg Rocks UL set-up, take a look at Rauls list, GLP's, TeWa's, Trout's, and many/many more! Reason I say this is you will see a common theme amongst them all, there list is "Very Short" but compiles everything "They" would need for "Their" area of hiking, remember the differences in weights between summer and winter as it all plays a roll!
UL is also not just a number, it's a mind-set! This is something that most do not understand, unless you have been there/done that! You can go UL and still be comfortable, Rock did it, as many others have, but it doesn't work for everyone! I think Shug said it best in one of his videos and that was he has done the whole Ultralight weight thing a square of Tp per day thing no this, no that, which has helped him get where he is now, "Happy"! And that is what I took from it "Happy", Hooch says it all the time, "I don't weigh gear I just throw it in and hike", but that was and is his choice!
Others have mentioned about posting your list, and this is "GREAT" advise as there are a whole lot of very experienced lightweight and UL hikers on here that will help chip away at the list!
I have gotten that UL set-up but I don't carry it anymore, as I am a gear *****, and I change my gear like most change undies, pretty much daily!
Good luck Jim, I'm sure you will get to where you want to be!
"yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift---thats why its called a present" - Master Oogway
It's always best if your an early riser!
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