Priority?? Weight or Bulk?

[Sky kid]

IMO, you have to choose. Do you want to hike well, or camp well. I've always found myself trying to do both, so in the end I ended up doing neither well. I now put consideration with how long the trip is. If I'm doing over 10 miles a day, i'm going to pack light in order to hike well. If it's shorter than that, I'm packing to camp well. I'll even throw in an additional "luxury item".

[sargevining]

I can hike with a base weight as low at 8 pounds - but seldom do because I like to have separate sleep clothes. I generally go out with a base weight at about 12 pounds for up to three nights. With more food I have to go to a frame pack and the base weight goes up to about 15 pounds.

I'd never even consider not taking separate sleep clothes.

Never sleep in the same clothes you cook and eat it.

Kinda sucks when something in the woods is hungry and you smell just like food.

[Rolloff]

There's not a more valid reason at all,
which is why I enjoy this thread.

Another one that intrigued me was Grizz's thread about the
journey to ultra-light. He packs so small, I consider him to be UL,
but he views that he has further to go (I forget the weight of UL).

For me, as long as my pack is not too bulky, I can load it correctly
and the weight does not bother me. Of course, I'm use to a military
rucksack and a ton of gear!

I might have a much more enjoyable trip if I am around the 30 pound
mark. I am in the middle of evaluating my loadout to see how low
I can actually get to. For this reason, I am using smaller "day packs",
and I have a second "antenna bag" that straps around my waist for
my shelter and insulation. I plan to leave this second bag at camp,
with my hammock, and have the smaller day pack for in and out hikes.

For this reason, the majority of my bulky items (regardless of their weight),
will be left in camp, and only my small pack will go with me.

ZPacks has a great angle on this. They make a CF inner pack bag, that you use as a dry bag for the inside of your pack. It also has straps and a rolltop closure, to be used as an UL day pack, away from base camp.

One of the big secrets to UL are double duty items. This adds a waterproof day pack at zero additional weight penalty.

[Trambo]

ZPacks has a great angle on this. They make a CF inner pack bag, that you use as a dry bag for the inside of your pack. It also has straps and a rolltop closure, to be used as an UL day pack, away from base camp.

One of the big secrets to UL are double duty items. This adds a waterproof day pack at zero additional weight penalty.

I think that sil is more in my price range, but a dry bag to
be used as a day pack is a great alternative.
I am going to be testing out some new loadouts, and see
how they work.

Double duty and triple duty is the way to go, this is why I am
trying to figure out what I can do with some goretex. I think
that I am going to make a pack cover and grizz beak combo.

[Rat]

Weight...
If I have two items and:
Item one fits into a 4 liter bag but weighs 16 ounces...
Item two fits into an 8 liter bag but weighs 8 ounces...

All else being equal, I take item two.

[ringtail-THFKAfood]

Bulk is good for items that you sleep on. If you have a fleece coat and a down coat that both keep you comfortable in the same conditions while vertical, then the fleece will be warmer while horizontal.

Light does not always equal expensive. Compare the 400 ml mug at 2.6 oz. and $30 to the Ball 8 oz. plastic canning jar at 1.2 oz. and $1. I prefer drinking hot liquids from plastic and I think it keeps beverages hot longer. But the mug can replace a pot. Sometimes the lighter AND cheaper can be replaced with a multiuse item.

Potty warning!!! The lightest stove is no stove. It is possible to eat well without a stove. But if you have your body trained for a bowel movement right after your morning coffee and then going stoveless is not an option.

Carry what ever it takes to create the experience that want.

[Fish]

Looks like not many of us pack the way I do... I think about what I want to have with me and bring it. Anything I won't use gets left at home (excluding emergency kits).

I have a respectable pack weight to begin with but let's face it, I'm no distance hiker or ultralight gram weenie, and if I wanted to shed weight, there are better places to lose it than what I'm carrying with me

[Jcavenagh]

Since I'm still a car camper, I go with items that are less bulky or pack up a certain way to fit in a certain area. Although since I've been looking into backpacking, I DEFINITELY WILL start thinking about weight once I move on to longer hikes.

fixed it for ya'

[Trambo]

If I have two items and:
Item one fits into a 4 liter bag but weighs 16 ounces...
Item two fits into an 8 liter bag but weighs 8 ounces...

All else being equal, I take item two.

This is EXACTLY the question of this thread. Thanks for the explanation.
I wonder how many people would choose item 2 over item 1. F

If I wanted to shed weight, there are better places to lose it than what I'm carrying with me

Very good point.... I could easily shed 10 pounds of my
everyday packed weight.

[Jcavenagh]

First I worked to reduce weight on my back. Then I realized that my pack had become just too big and I was never coming close to using all the real estate.
So then I got the smaller pack.
Then I started looking at voulume and worked to reduce my volume a bit. Then I got a smaller pack to carry a summer load a little more titghtly.
Now I have got myself to a pretty aceptable base weight of around 12-14 lbs that packs into a Zpacks Blast 30 and a winter base weight of around 16-18 lbs that packs into a GG VC Crown 60.
I am still thinking about weight and volume...maybe a lighter single layer hammock and ....