My SUL setup ,what i like about it and some questions !

[Michaael Gingras]

Hi there, my name is michael i've been backpacking for 4 years.
I speak french so i am sorry for my crappy writing !
I,ve been reading this forum for a long time now(1-2 year).I just decided today to finaly subscribe and see all the article the site had to offer , also i wanted to share my setup whit you guyz to help me adapt it even more.

What i like about this setup is that it contain :
1.Fully enclosed shelter :
i know i could go alot lighter by using a Poncho-tarp setup and i have done it a couple of time , but what i dont like about it is bug protection.I also like the feeling of having a little home and having some privacy while i'm whit friends .

2.Air matress :
For a living i got a furniture moving compagny and my back is really important to me,In fact it is the first reason that got me into lighweight backpacking , also i dont seem to have good night of sleep on Closed cell foam mats.

3.Water filter :
Whit the weight of the Sawer filter i only see advantage , it is fast, it filter alot better than a bandana it alow me 1 more liter of water carrying capacity, i also really like not having to put chemicals in it , i still have some micro pur tabs in case of failure.

4.Rain protection top whitout puncho :
why whitout puncho ? because did you ever had to go to the toilet in the middle of the night , just to realise its raining real bad and you cant get your rain gear unless you plan on undoing all your sleep system ? well i hope you wont have to :)

I shall make picture on my next trip for you guyz

So for the weight ?
Disclamer: the Zero backpackweight is guesstimated as it is currently being made i used the 52 arc blast before that but had alot of free space.Please see question #6

i actualy split it in 3

First : on june and july when its at the warmest im at the lightest 4.94 lbs
Second : to allow me to hike from may to september i add the Mt bell x light jacket :5.2 lbs
Third : this one is heavy but it allowed me to go as low as -10C i will try to push it next winter :8.48 lbs

3 season pack :
http://lighterpack.com/r/6ii17
Winter pack :
http://lighterpack.com/r/cauh01

So what do you think of it ? all critic good or bad are welcome it will help me improve !
i am ready to try almost anything as long as it keep the advange i posted above.

Now for the question i had :

1. What would be the lightest 550 ml Pot wich is durable /no foster pot

2.On the net i saw the xlite for female had 10g less, was a little shorter but had an higher R rating meaning it could handle lower temp whas is behind it ? would it be worth the switch

3.I was thinking about asking joe at Zpack if he could make me a custom Challenger shorts , instead of pants to hike in instead of my swimming shorts , figured it could go at 50-60 grams i really like the material , but i only put it on some ocasion , do you think it would be a good idea as main short ? it seem durable to me but again i dunno i guess i just want some opinion on it, im thinking that a short would ave that much problem breathing since the fabric is already breathable .

4. Would you trust a plastic -disposable spoon for a week long hike instead of a Ti one ? mine is at 18 G and im thinking i could do sometime about it

5.i guess not really Sul but i am thinking of a trip were i would just go bush wacking off trail for a week whit a friend for the trill of it and i was thinking of buying the Delorm explorer whit a member ship , have any one tryed it ? is it worth its money , and would it require a battery bank/solar charger to make it last 7 days ?

6. if anyone could give me the exact weight of a zero hybrid cuber fiber/large pack from zpack ,also do you think i should have chosen the normal 1.43 cuben instead ? i know my arc blast is in the hybrid cuben and it is so durable even after 2 years it got no sign of wear, all i want for this pack is to stay alive 3 years , afther that i would not mind buying another.

I am sorry if some question have already been answered on the forum i just subscribed and though i would post them at the same time.

Thanks for reading this have a good one ,
Mike.

[todd]

Welcome Mike!

You came to the right place. Great job on having an SUL and being comfortable!

As to your questions:

1. What would be the lightest 550 ml Pot wich is durable /no foster pot

Been using one like this for a long time: http://toaksoutdoor.com/titanium550mlpot.aspx

durable, light, works great as a mug too

2.On the net i saw the xlite for female had 10g less, was a little shorter but had an higher R rating meaning it could handle lower temp whas is behind it ? would it be worth the switch

If your are around 5'6" tall this pad will work for you. If you sleep ok with a pillow on the ground (not the pad) it works up to 6'2" (I used this setup with a Montbell pillow before). They add a little insulation to the women's version to make it warmer.

3.I was thinking about asking joe at Zpack if he could make me a custom Challenger shorts ,

If you are looking to use waterproof/breathable shorts, I don't think it is worth it.

4. Would you trust a plastic -disposable spoon for a week long hike instead of a Ti one ? mine is at 18 G and im thinking i could do sometime about it

Plastic is easy to break, Lexan is light and much more durable than most disposable plastic.

5.i guess not really Sul but i am thinking of a trip were i would just go bush wacking off trail for a week whit a friend for the trill of it and i was thinking of buying the Delorm explorer whit a member ship , have any one tryed it ? is it worth its money , and would it require a battery bank/solar charger to make it last 7 days ?

I don't know about this one

6. if anyone could give me the exact weight of a zero hybrid cuber fiber/large pack from zpack ,also do you think i should have chosen the normal 1.43 cuben instead ? i know my arc blast is in the hybrid cuben and it is so durable even after 2 years it got no sign of wear, all i want for this pack is to stay alive 3 years , afther that i would not mind buying another.

I don't know the weight, but heavier, hybrid fabric won't increase the pack weight by more than an ounce compared to 1.43 (probably less) so stay with the durability.

I hope this helps!
Todd

[Michaael Gingras]

Hey thanks alot for the fast answer !

I ll definitly check the toaks and the lexan spoons

As fort the cuben short i didnt really look for water proof but id like to replace my 235 g swimming short by something lighter wich dont look like a speedo lol

Im happy i chose the hybrid Zero :)

Id have to look into the female x lite but maybe id need a bigger pillow than just tossing some clothe under my head wich would counter the 10g quite easily

Thanks again for taking the time !

[Ilan Rubin]

I noticed Toaks has ultralight pots on their website now. Their 650 ml ultralight pot is actually lighter than the normal 550. http://toaksoutdoor.com/titanium650mlpot.aspx I think the pot sold on the zpacks site is the lightest 550 ml pot I've come across. Don;t have any experience with either of these though.

[jimmer ultralight]

Mike.

As far as small Ti pots go, if you want a mug style, the TOAKS 550 with no handles is the winner at 2.2 oz with a lid. And, its only 28 bucks.

http://toaksoutdoor.com/titanium550mlpotnh.aspx

If you require handles, then that will cost you an extra .5 oz.

Probably the cheapest and most versitile (especially if you have a seperate drinking cup), is the Snow Peak 600 Trek bowl at 1.8 oz. Its only $16 and holds 2.5 cups of liquid. With a fairly sturdy DIY aluminum lid, it will weight just over 2 oz. Its also easier to eat out of and clean than the 3.5" diameter mugs.

If you are just heating water or drinking beverages,then mugs are great..

[Michaael Gingras]

the toaks seems like a good option however

i did not know the snow peak bowl was so light !

Am i right guessing than a wider bowl would be more effective whit a side burner alcohol stove like the elite from minibulldesign that i use instead of a mug style pot ?

[todd]

Jimmer is correct about the bowl's usefulness.

Something is needed to lift it when hot, so keep that in mind. Someone (Bob Gross?) had a good solution but I can't recall for sure.

It just comes down to what you want – if you eat out of the bowl, then the bowl is better. If not, narrow it down to a pot/mug / handles/no handles.

[Michaael Gingras]

I normaly repackage mountain house style meal into freezer zip lock
Wich i rehydrade inside a empty MH foil zip long that i pre cleaned
i may on rare occasion use the pot itself to brew green thea ,so you think i should stay whit a mug style instead of bowl ?

As for the handle i dont really mind ,what i use for a wind screen is a carbon felt windscreen so i can grab hot things whit it

Thanks for the follow up btw !

[jimmer ultralight]

Based on how you use it, the mug style pot with lid would be the best option ( with or without handles)

What kind of stove burner are you going to use? It makes a bit of difference with regards to pot handling. An alcohol or Esbit stove with a windscreen tends to get the side of the cup pretty hot.

A gas cannister burner tends to concentrate the heat at the bottom and would likely allow quicker handling of the pot rim, especially if you used a silicone band lip guard, etc .

[Michaael Gingras]

Here is the stove i use https://www.minibulldesign.com/productcart/pc/viewPrd.asp?idproduct=195&idcategory=2

Its called the elite stove
i normally get by whit ,5-,6 oz of fuel/meal and boil time between 6 and 8 min outdoor

Its an alchohol side burner wich dont require pot stand.

I use it whit a carbon felt windscreen.

See :elite cook kit under the wick stove category for the kit i use.

It came whit a 10 cm walmart cup and a custom beer can lid.

I would prefer getting a Ti pot instead of it tho and the handle is kind of annoying ,kind of like the sierra cup wich have a big handle that make packing it more troublesome because it dont fold.

I like the custom lid tho and may like to get a ti pot wich also have a 10cm diameter so that i could use it on it but its not that important ,it would just be a bonus.

Thanks
Mike

[Link .]

Get lightweight running shorts, they only weigh a couple of ounces and would be a lot more comfortable than shorts made out of the Challenger rain jacket material. Here is Andrew Skurka's recent article Running Shorts

[Michaael Gingras]

Hey thank you for the reminder ,it has been a long time since ive looked at Andrew's Website actualy .I remember when i was a lil bit yougner i used to have fun of poeple wearing those short and i may end up wearing them haha

Mike

[Ricardo Gayol Iglesias]

Snow Peak Trek titanium bowl is the lightest pot I know of at 1.6 oz. And it's not expensive either!

[Aaron Sorensen]

I just added a handle to mine.

[Ken Thompson]

"Snow Peak Trek titanium bowl is the lightest pot I know of at 1.6 oz." Except that in actuality it weighs 1.8 oz FWIW.

[Window walker]

+1 on the toaks UL 650.

I removed the handles and made an aluminum flashing lid, weighs just a hair less than 2oz and I use gloves that I already carry to handle the pot.

[Cornelius Jaeger]

Talk to Marco from As Tucas about SUL hiking shorts. Mine have a merino liner and I use them for hiking/swimming, weight is 62 grams for a size medium. They are in his custom section on his website: http://www.astucas.com

[Eric Hine]

Just to add to the mug/pot conversation: I was using the Zpacks .6L pot for quite a while, and just recently picked up MLD's 475 Ti Mug. It's not 550, but still holds almost exactly 2 cups of water, is durable, somewhat cheap ($25), and fits nicely on an esbit stove. It does not have a lid, however. Weighs 1.45oz on my scale. Haven't seen too much lighter than that.

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