On a similar topic... lightweight gear choices?

[Koda]

and the Summerlite is about 11oz lighter...
Dont get me wrong, that's a good comparison to a synthetic equivalent and for about half the price for the synthetic, and Mt Hardware makes good gear.

[Lumpy]

Mountain Hardware == Columbia Sportswear. Both brands that I have no problem buying when I can find what I want at the outlet store on clearance.

[drm]

5 years ago a simple single overnighter in mid-summer and I would carry 35 pounds. I knew it was considered heavy, but I really didn't care. The weight didn't bother me.

As the aging process has started for me (mid 50s now) I have started to care. It still doesn't bother me in the way it does some people who hate to put that pack on. But my body is starting to care in that joints and other body parts feel the wear. Now a simple single overnighter in warm mid-summer conditions weighs 20-25 pounds. A savings of 10-15 pounds is quite successful.

While I don't consider myself an ULTRAlighter and really don't know what by base weight is, I obviously am working to get the weight down. And the first caveat is that I don't scrimp on clothes. I will NEVER go on a multi-day trip planning to wear the same clothes every day. Just won't work for me. Even in a heat wave, I just cannot stand drying sweaty clothes on me. When I get to camp, the first thing I do is take all that wet stuff off (this works best in very remote places ). When compared to friends with lighter packs (even now), clothes is always the biggest difference.

So how did I save 10-15 pounds on short trips without being an ultralighter? (I suppose I would call myself a lightweighter) I focus on the big stuff. I switched from a 5+ pound tent to a 2 pound Tarptent. They are reasonably priced in that their various solo tents are all between $200-300. And they are ROOMY. I switched my sleeping bag to an 800 fill down and saved another pound (this IS expensive). My pack itself dropped from 5 to 2 pounds as well (in two steps).

Although I don't scrimp on clothes, I don't bring as much emergency extreme stuff. I used to leave my down mittens and bomber hat in the pack always. Not anymore. I also switched from books and magazines to a Kindle. Reading material is mandatory for me.

I also don't carry a lot of water on the trail. I'm fine waiting out a dry section of an hour or two and don't feel the need to drink constantly on the trail. I never use a "hydration system" and I have to stop and take the pack off to get a drink. This works for me and probably saves 2 pounds on the avg person. I don't think I had a single trip this year where I had more than a liter of water on me, and often only half fill the water bottle.

Otoh I don't take extra food. Nobody dies in the wilderness from starvation. I don't understand why extra food is considered necessary. I have it down and never get out with more than a Cliff Bar and an inch of trail mix left over, if that. After 4 days in the Wallowas last weekend I had no Cliff Bars, one inch of trail mix in a baggie and a few teaspoonfulls of coffee left.

I have started taking a lightweight chair on some trips and this adds about a pound and a half. I make the decision on whether to take it individually on each trip. This is another sign of the aging process in that I simply cannot be comfortable sitting on logs and rocks and a chair lets me sit in (or out of) the sun, as conditions dictate. I also am going to have to switch from a yellow Z-pad to a air pad of some sort next year, but I don't think that will affect weight much.

I think that as others have said, it is important to consider this a process. Make changes one at a time, then look for another. In the mean time, if necessary, just backpack shorter distances. Since I don't think I will ever go as light as some do, going shorter distances is the long-term solution for me as well. Each of us has to make these tradeoffs based on our personal preferences.

PS - When I first started backpacking, I was a climber and the trips were to access high mountain climbing routes. My packs weighed between 60 and 80 pounds in those days, and 50 pounds was light and easy. Climbing gear started at 10 pounds for the easier climbs requiring modest gear racks. So in some ways I've come a lot further.

[Crusak]

I'm thoroughly enjoying this thread, and I'm soaking up everything I can from the knowledge and experience of the contributors. I have a long way to go to achieve a lightweight pack. It seems that there are certain items that I find difficult to leave home. And from what I'm reading it seems that the best way to lighten up is to buy some of the modern (expensive!) ultralight gear.

In packing for this weekend's backpack trip I decided to trim back a bit on the gear. I tossed all sorts of items aside. Then I added a 15" Sven Saw, Ka-Bar knife, tripod stool, fishing gear and... Well, at least I switched out the 6# Camp Trails Wilderness pack for my vintage (2005 era) Golite Trek pack (that only weighs 2.1 pounds!). That saved 4 pounds in pack weight alone. I plan to take a full change of clothes - but leave them in the car. I'm taking a pair of swim trunks that I can wear as shorts if I feel the need to dunk my hiking pants in a lake (while dunking myself in the lake). Overall my pack doesn't feel all that heavy, especially compared to what I've carried on some previous trips. In the old days I'd have loads in the 55# to 65# range. Nuts, huh?

It's tough to know exactly what to take. I've had mid-August trips to Jefferson Park that turned out to be so cold that we froze each night (in expensive 800-fill power 30-degree down bags). On those trips I learned that having one of those flimsy mylar emergency space blankets was a really good idea. Other times I've had my 3# Big Agnes 15° bag and it's been so warm at night that I wished I'd saved two pounds in sleeping bag weight and brought the lightweight 30° down bag instead.

I haven't found a way to part with taking a stove. Hot meals seem to really lift my spirits, and freeze dried food is so light. On long trips it seems to cut weight to take freeze dried meals and a stove.

Something else that occurred to me today: I do day hikes and backpack trips in very different ways. On day hikes I understand that I might be out all day on the trail, sun up to sundown. But when I'm backpacking I prefer to get to camp at 1pm, set things up, snoop around and relax. Enjoy the moment! Take a nap! Go fishing! Read! I treat backpacking more like a camping experience. So if I have a little extra weight it's not such a big deal. But if I can budget in some lighter gear that certainly will be great.

[xrp]

Here's my normal summer main gear list:

39 oz - Big Agnes Fly Creek 1 tent with footprint
12 oz - Thermolite X-lite
24 oz - Mountain Hardware Phantom 32
02 oz - Sawyer Mini Squeeze
13 oz - Sleeping bag liner (I need to get a 4oz silk one)
24 oz - Osprey Hornet 46M or REI Stoke 29M backpack
11 oz - The North Face Verto 26 backpack (sometimes take this instead of the Osprey or REI)

There's plenty of other little stuff, like hygene, headlamp, etc -- that normally adds up to 2-3 pounds, then I add a pound of food per day.

My total pack weight rarely exceeds 12-15lb.

I didn't get into backpacking until I was 38 and I researched gear extensively before buying. Even then, I've returned [to REI] several of my original items in favor of spending more money and going lighter. Around age 35 is when I started to notice minor aging signs, body wise, and I am extremely fit. I made the investment to prolong my wellness and youthfulness as long as I can. I'm 41 now and the investments in gear has paid off.

I like to hike fast and far and my total pack weight of 12-15lb definitely helps facilitate this.

I figure an extra $500-$1000 overall is worth the reduced medical costs I may have related to future joint/knee pain.

Get back to me in 19 years and I'll tell you if it did pay off.

[theslowestpersonever]

The most helpful thing I did was to buy a scale and weigh everything. Also if I know there is a water source nearby I do not carry water, I have my water drops premixed and ready to go.

[Chazz]

I'm doing a cost/benefit analysis on a lot of my gear these days, mostly because much of my current equipment is old, heavy or both.

Backpack: Current one is a 80's-era REI internal frame pack. Tons of straps, built like a tank and heavy (6-7 lbs). New 60l Granite Gear pack will run $130 - 200 and will weigh less than 3 lbs. Even at the high end, that's $50/lb weight saving, which is pretty cheap.

Tent: Using an REI Half Dome I got for $50 a couple years ago. 5 lbs. Just purchased a Mountain Hardware SuperMegaUL 2P tent at the employee store on a bit of an impulse. New weight is 2 lbs with a cost/weight ratio of $90/lb. Not the best purchase but not awful.

Sleeping bag: Using an REI mummy bag that isn't too old. Can't remember what I purchased it for. Warm but very bulky and not very light at 3.5 lbs. New 2 lb bag (32 degree synthetic) would run $200 or a 1.5lb bag (32 degree down) for $350. Potential cost/weight savings would be $133/lb to $175/lb. Conclusion: not a high priority.

Sleeping pad: I have a Therm-a-Rest RidgeRest SOLite pad I bought recently for $35 and weighs 19oz but makes me look like a hunchback when I strap it to my pack. It's huge. A new REI Flash pad (http://www.rei.com/product/845300/rei-f ... eeping-pad) is $100 for 16oz. Cost/weight savings: $534/lb. Conclusion: stick with my current pad.


This could go on for a while but my threshold for replacement versus keep the old stuff seems to be around the $100/lb weight savings. Getting a new pack should clearly be a priority but the other stuff can probably be very slowly replaced because it just won't impact my total carry by more than 5lb's even if I was to get the top-of-the-line gear and it would be a significant financial (and marital) impact if it was purchased all at once.