And So the Quest Begins...

The lightweight quest, that is. Now...before you rake me over the proverbial campfire coals with scornful jeers like: "is this the same guy who carries plasma tvs and barcaloungers into the wilderness for a 4 hour hike?" or "Hey, how about trimming off some of that gut instead of your Lexan spork handle!" just hear me out.

I am still (and will probably always be) "Old School" in the sense that I don't like to wake up with my eyelids swelled shut from the 600 mosquito bites I acquired on my face overnight as I slumbered on a slice of saran wrap under a silnylon napkin propped up with dental floss and titanium toothpicks. I am not innovative enough, smart enough, nor patient enough to be a real minimalist. But, like we've all said before a class reunion: it wouldn't hurt to shave off a few pounds.

So today I put on my best drug dealer outfit, headed to Wal-mart and asked the most innocent-looking blue smock-wearing girl where I could find the digital scales. "You know," I said, coughing slyly, "so I can weigh out my stuff."

"Kitchen appliances," she said with a smile. It was as if she'd sold ten of the damn things this week.

So I paid for my scales and headed down to my friendly neighborhood Outfitter (Hi Don!) and grabbed a few items. Then I was off to weigh my stuff. Here's what I came up with:

First Aid Kit: 6.7 oz
"Top Pocket" items (Polar pure, lip balm, repellant; things I grab often during a hike): 8.1 oz
Osprey Aether 60 Backpack (with empty 70 oz capacity Camelbak): 5 lbs.
Small rope: 1.5 oz
Toiletry Items: 6.75 oz
Polyester Pullover jacket: 16 oz. (Yes, there are lighter ones out there, but this one just works for me. Not too hot, not too cool...)
Plastic Trowel: (Yes, I actually dig catholes) 2.75 oz.
Tech Blanket: 1 lb 7.4 oz
Extra Clothing (1 pair smartwool socks, 1 t-shirt, 1 pair briefs) 13 oz.
Marmot Rain Jacket: 14.5 oz.
Jetboil (with fuel) 1 lb 6 oz.
Small Microfiber towel: 1.8 oz.
Random Equipment (Compass, notepad, pen, pencil, tiny maplight, duct tape, fire starter, emerg. water purifier, etc.): 12 oz.
Headlamp: 2.9 oz.
Viperine II Tent (Body, Fly, Stakes, Poles) 4 lbs 15 oz.
Therm-a-Rest ProLite 3 Mattress (Small): 14 oz.
Nalgenes (2, empty): 10 oz.

This would be pretty much my standard kit for any outing. Of course this is dry/no food. Also, add 3 or 4 pounds for a full size Therm-a-Rest Mattress, Sleeping bag, and extra outer layer for winter, and subtract a few things for other conditions (one or both Nalgenes if I have constant water access, etc).

Anyway, I'm weighing in around 20 lbs. So I'm getting closer. I chucked a few items tonight, but there will be more. I'm also aware that my pack and my tent are my heaviest items, and that can be remedied with the proper funds (read: "more").

So this is my starting point. Now you know. Have at it!

Hammock Forums

Hennessey Hammock

Jay,

Check the above links for hammock shelters. This ideal for this time of the year. There are lightweight versons of hammocks.
Also some of the best sleep in the backcountry will be in a hammock. Outlawpacker and I have both got the Hennessey Hammock
Explorer which is 2lb 12oz. Any way food for thought. If you ever want to try one I will set ours up behind the camper and you
can come try it out.

Jay:
Drop the Nalgenes for 1 2-liter Platypus bottle. It folds up to nothing and weighs only 1.38 oz.
In warmer months, you can leave the pullover at home. If rain is not in the forcast, leave the rain jacket at home. You can always have an emergency poncho in your top lid.
Your 2 biggest items are probably the 2 that you would fight the most to change. Your pack and tent. They weigh as much as my total winter base pack weight - 10 lbs!!!! Anyway, that is where you will make the biggest change in your pack weight. For instance, let's not change anything else but those two items. ULA makes a pack called the Catalyst. It has a capacity of 4600 cu.in. and weighs just 43 oz. It will also handle total pack weights between 30-40 lbs.
http://www.ula-equipment.com/catalyst.htm Just an example.
Next, lets look at that house, I mean tent that you are hauling around. Henry Shires at Tarptent makes some great lightweight shelters that might fit your needs. For instance, the Rainshadow 2 is the biggest tent he makes. It will sleep 3 and weighs only 42 oz.
http://www.tarptent.com/rainshadow2.html
If we substitute these two items for your two, and don't change anything else, your total packweight drops 74 oz. or 4.625 lbs.
If I was going to make this transition slowly, then the last thing that I would change would be my pack. Get everything else first, and then make the pack change last.
Good luck and we're here for you brother.
UL

Also, since you are weighing your gear, you have to have a place to keep that information. This little gear calculator will let you add in all of your gear and its weight, and then you can check off what you are going to take that trip. Keeps everything well organized. If you have problems with it, let me know.
http://www.backpacking.net/featured3.html

Just click on "Download Gear Weight Calculator."
UL

Cool gear calculator this is what I have in mine so far...All dry weights except for Fuel bottle...I don't know the weight of it dry....I am sure I am missing something. These are weights from my last trip. It is a good start. The only new thing is the the Platypus water bottle...

Lew

Category Item Weight (oz)Notes

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kitchen Light My Fire Spork 0.30
Kitchen MSR Fuel Bottle 13.00 with fuel
Kitchen MSR Whisper Lite Stove 14.80
Kitchen Platypus Bottle 2 Liter 1.30
Kitchen Snow Peak Titanium Pot 6.80
Packing Pack Rain Cover 3.50
Personal Pack Towel 2.00
Personal Potty Trial 1.80
Shelter Contrail Tarptent 29.60 With stakes and guylines
Shelter Equinox Tarp 10x12 30.00 Stakes and Guylines included
Shelter Tyvek Ground Sheet 5.30
Sleep System Pro Lite 4 full Sleep Pad 25.40
Sleep System WM Alpinlite 31.00

Total Weight of Selected Items 164.80 10.30lbs

lew:
Man, you're getting off to a good start. You need to think about getting a lighter stove. Before you buy one though, think about the type of cooking you are most apt to be doing on the trail. If you are only going to be boiling water for freezerbag cooking, then a MSR Pocket Rocket would be a good choice. If you are going to be cooking your meals in a pot, then a small stove like the Optimus Crux would be a good choice, because you can simmer with that stove. The Crux should be small enough to fit inside your Ti pot.
I hate to see you have to carry both the tarp and the tent. I know how you had it set up last time out and it worked good, it's just a lot of extra weight to carry. Almost 2 lbs. extra!!! Jeeeeezzzz.
You may want to think about a smaller tarp if you are going to be carrying one.
One thing that you forgot to list was the weight of your new pack.
Keep up the good work,
UL

Oh, I see how it is...

Lew gets a "Keep up the good work." and all I get is a lousy "Good luck, we're here for you."

So that's how it's gonna be huh?

Pfft.

That's it. Where's my oversize marble chess set? It's going RIGHT back in my pack!

LOL on the good luck Jay....

ULhlker the only reason I put the tarp on there is because I took it last time and yes it was worth the extra weight during all that rain. I would like to get another lighter smaller tarp just for that reason to add a larger vestuble area to the Contrail for cooking area or to stay out of the rain. I am down with the tarp for sleeping when there are no bugs... As for the stove.. I ordered the esbit stove off of backpackinglight.com. I need someone that can drink 24.5 ounces of beer so I can get my Foster's Beer pot empty... I also have a trangia alcohol stove... I still don't own a canister stove. I don't really know why.... I generally just boil water... I forgot to put the new Amigo water purifier system. My ULA pack is just ok. I love the pack but the shoulder harness is to small. I am going to send it back and he is going to alter it for me. I too need to loose some weight... Lew

Jay:
I'm sorry for bruising such a fragile ego. From now on, it will only be praises and platitudes. LOL.
UL

ulhiker wrote:Jay:
I'm sorry for bruising such a fragile ego. From now on, it will only be praises and platitudes. LOL.
UL

That's more like it.

lew:
If you are looking to use a tarp for a vestibule for your tent, then you could use a piece of plastic drop cloth, cut to your specs, and then use these tarp clips to tie it off with.
http://shelter-systems.com/gripclips/
All together would cost around $10 and weigh about 6-8 ounces.
UL

Tom, I think I may try one of those hammocks. The explorer looks good. They're cheap enough, so I'm gonna try one out when I get back from Arizona.

Good list. I agree with UL about the Nalgenes and pack. I have a Golite Trek pack that only weighs 2 lbs and holds 4000+ cu. in. More comfortable than my high-end Dana Designs. I traded my Sierra Designs Orion for a 2-man Tarptent and love it. Only 2 lbs with poles, stakes, and a homemade footprint.

Ditch the trowel and use a stick. Use a bandana instead of a pack towel. That jetboil is a great thing, but it is heavy. I use a MSR Pocket Rocket and a titanium kettle...about 9 oz with fuel....and packs much smaller. What's in your first aid kit for it to weigh almost 7 oz? Mine has a few band-aids, a couple of anticeptic foils, some motrin, and a small ace bandage. Anything else and I need an ambulance anyway. Oh...I only take extra clothes if I'm out more than a weekend.

If going to the high peaks, like in the Rockies, I always take some kind of long sleeve synth t-shirt and add gloves and a wool cap. Finally, my Garmin is always hooked to my pack.

Going lightweight is all about sacrificing camp comfort for less trail weight, and finding the balance so that you're having fun at both.

Jay,

When you get back come over some weekend, Sun. if you like and try out one of our hammocks. No matter whick model you get the comfort is the same. Just back from working on the trail.. No more trail work till fall!!!!

Just throwing this out there for Jay and Lew (and anyone else who would listen). How about taking on a DIY project and making yourself an alcohol stove? They're light, and can be very efficent with fuel. They can consume very small amounts of space and weight in your pack, and they are cheap and easy to make. Did I mention you get to make it yourself?! If your interested, on the top left of my website (sorry for the shameless plug) has a lot of links to all the stove info you'll ever need. I've read all of these sites, and while I'm no expert, its where I got my start and all the info I know about stoves. Don't know if its something you'll be interested in, but I love making these. Good Luck!

Note: Also on this site is a crude set of directions to get you started making a hammock that is easy and fun to have with you on the trail. Just a little FYI.

Willky:
Glad you took the invitation and checked out the site. I'm glad to see that we have some more "lightweighters" joining the forum. BTW, like your website.
UL

At first the man is disgusted, but being the adventurous type, he decides to try this local delicacy. To his amazement, it is quite delicious. In fact, it is so good that he decides to come back again the next night and order it again. This time, the waiter brings out the plate, but the meaty objects are much smaller.
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