Summer SUL with pics! Caution, long w/lots of pics

[Sam Riggle]

Summer in the Southern Appalachians. Lows usually above 60F highs into the 90s F.

Item worn or carried.

Nike DriFit hat- 1.9 oz
Costa Del Mar Sunglases- 1.3 oz
Original Buff- 1.3 oz
Patagonia Sol Patrol II LS- 7.7 oz
SmartWool PHD Shorts- 4.9 oz
Adidas Climacool Socks- 0.9 oz
Brooks Cascadia 10 size 10.5- 25.4 oz/pair
Leki Summit AS- 19.7 oz/pair (Heavy!)

Big 4 (ish)

Exped SummitLite 25- 11.3oz
NeoAir XLite Short- 7.1oz
EE Prodigy 50 Reg/Slim- 11.6oz
MLD Cuben Cricket Tarp w/lines- 8.1oz
TiGoat Kestrel Bivy in Stuff Sack- 7.2oz
7 MSR Groundhogs in Stuff Sack- 4.0oz
Subtotal- 49.3oz

Clothing Carried

All tops size small. Houdini pants are extra small

Pata ForeRunner LS- 3.7oz
Pata Houdini Pants- 2.8oz
Pata Houdini Jacket- 3.4oz
Montane Minimus Smock- 4.9oz
Wigwam Merino Mesh socks- 1.8oz
Subtotal- 16.6oz

Water/cook/miscellaneous

Water-
Bleach in dropper bottle- 0.4oz
700ml water bottle- 1.2oz
1L water bag- 0.9oz

Cook-
Toaks 375ml Mug w/sack- 2.5oz
Esbit Triwing stove w/sack- 0.6oz
Windscreen- 0.2oz

Misc-
Cheap headlamp- 2.7oz
FAK- 0.9 oz
Tooth brush w/cap- 0.1oz
12ml CampSoap- 0.6oz
Several Feet Duct Tape around card- 0.6oz
~15 feet cordage- 0.3oz
Subtotal- 11oz

Total weight Worn or Carried = 63.1oz or 3lbs 15.5oz
Total weight carried in pack= 76.9 oz or 4lbs 14.8oz

When I compress everything i can fit about 3 maybe 4 days of food (see comparison shots below). I have a very simple diet in the summer. I for the most part go no cook and only heat water for coffee but may have ramen noodles. That's the extent of my cooking.

Compressed

Full size

I know this was really long but I hope some of you may have enjoyed it. Thanks for taking the time to check it out. Any comments or questions welcomed. Have a great day!

Sam

Edit to say that pack weight really doesn't matter all that much too me. I take what I need and hardly weigh anything. I didn't even realize this kit was sub-5 until I weighed it out of curiosity. So, I got happy because I hit an arbitrary number and wanted to share my "awesomeness" with everyone. ;) no offense to anyone.

[Ben C]

Funny we've arrived to a point where we feel we have to apologize for weighing or gear or being SUL. I appreciate that you've done this.
The weight of that smock is really impressive for a rain jacket. The chlorine is really not a great choice for the larger bugs like Guardia/Crypto

[Jon Fong / Flat Cat Gear]

Looks good.

The biggest upgrade looks to be your poles but you know that.
If you have a tarp do you need a bivy (I'm a tent guy so I am just want to learn more)
Not a big fan of the Sawyer bag (reliability) and would upgrade to an Evernew 1.5 liter.
Are you through hiking? I myself would want another pair shorts so that I could washing/rinsing a pair out.

My 2 cents

[Sam Riggle]

Haha yeah I guess that is pretty funny. I'm just not a "gram weenie" so I don't care about cutting anymore weight. Didn't want people thinking I'm posting for advice to shave weight. Which is pretty dumb of me I guess. I'm actually thinking about adding weight too it. I don't know though.

The smock is awesome. Big mesh backed kangaroo pocket and the deep zip aid in ventilation and the elastic openings seal off really well. So far it's been reliably waterproof.

The bleach… I don't know about the bleach. I'll probably add back my sawyer squeeze. Or get some MP tabs. The sawyer bag has been good to me. No problems yet, although I do have two 1L platypus bottles. The sawyer bag was just more convenient to grab for this post lol.

My poles are heavy. Got those for Christmas so I'm not complaining. They're really nice albeit heavy. I carry them midshaft most of the time unless it's a steep section.

The bivy is mainly to keep me positioned in my quilt and on my pad. I move around a LOT in my sleep. I run in my sleep. I've woken up almost outside of my shelter before. So I think of it as a mobile groundsheet that keeps me in my sleeping arrangement. It also is my bug protection and in really heavy rains, I will get some spray under the tarp. I'm hoping to upgrade to an inner tent once I save up the money.

And this isn't for thru hiking. More like 3 nights. I'll probably add in some boxer briefs for sleeping in with my wind pants.

Thanks for the comments guys! This reply ended up really long as well. Good lord.

[Bob Moulder]

Great job, Sam!

Headlight Petzl e+lite is .9 oz, or a photon freedom with hat clip is .45 oz

BD ultra distance carbon z with no straps and connecting hardware removed and sections glued weigh 8.6 oz/pair.

Didn't notice a fire starter in your list… mini Bic?

[Sam Riggle]

Forgot to include my lighter in the OP. So add 0.5oz or whatever. Lol.

Also, the NeoAir is a recent addition. I was using an XS ProLite before this. I need to warranty the NeoAir because it's already delaminating straight out of the box. It's just so dang comfy though

And, I'm planning to use this kit or a variation of it for a 3 night trip during Independance day weekend holiday. Super excited about it!

Edit. Bob, You read my mind on the fire starter. Thanks for the encouragement and suggestions on the upgrades. I really appreciate it.

[Ben C]

How do you feel about the short Neo air. Is it comfy? I have a big one and would love to be able to shrink it.

[Sam Riggle]

I really like it so far. It cuts off just right on my lower leg that I don't get any pain in my back from the drop off and consequent arching of the spine. I actually have some back issues so I'm hoping it'll improve comfort and recovery while on trail. You could try just scooting down on your large to simulate the small. Measure out the length of the short and center yourself on that section. Hang your legs off about mid calf. Should help you get a feel for it at least.

[Sam Riggle]

Well, maybe I'm not SUL. Haha. Adding in the lighter plus my 1fl oz spray bottle of deet that weighs 1.5 oz and my sunblock face stick which weighs 1.2 oz, I'm over the limit. Gotta have the deet though. Mosquito bites swell up on me and turn from itching to stinging and burning. So that's mandatory.

Meh, who cares. I'll probably add in my Cap 4 hoody at 6.5 oz for my upcoming trip just in case I get a RARE cold night. Lol oh well

[Bob Moulder]

Close enough. Comfort is more important than a specific cut-off number.

I tried to love the Neoair Xlite shortie, but something was always hanging off, or the pad was squirting out from under me. The shortness was not so much a problem, but the shortness plus the taper just didn't work. After trying a couple of other pads (Xlite regular… then traded for the Exped Syn7 MW…) I finally had my "Goldilocks Moment" with the Neoair Trekker in the torso/wide format, which is the only such air mat I could locate with extensive googling. It weighs right at 13oz — 5 oz more than the xlite — so that is my "luxury item" and 5 oz extra that I carry happily. Hey, I've given up my camera, tripod, GPS and Jack Daniels, so I can afford it! ;^)

[Sam Riggle]

That's just how I feel. Close enough!

I have not slept a full night on the Neo short yet, so we'll see how it ends up. I did notice the taper and height makes it feel much narrower than me XS Prolite. I hope it works out.

That Wide Torso trekker looks awesome! Definitely worth the weight I'd say. If the XLite doesn't work out or the delaminating gets much worse, I may trade it in for one of those.

And I can't believe there aren't more wide torso models out there! Weight savings of a short, but added comfort of a wide.

I bet you'd need that Jack back if you still used the shortie XLite. ;^)

[Garrett McLarty]

Just my 2 cents….

For poles, I really like heavy vs lightweight. The two reasons for this are

1. I put a lot of weight on my poles sometimes. I have used them in some shetchy steam crossings where I would have been swimming if they broke as well as some self belay situations where it would have just been bad if they failed. Wise? Maybe not, but I was glad for stout vs lightweight.

2. I am glass for the bit of seen exercise from lifting them. As a climber, it can be hard to maintain arm muscle of just walking, so beside pushups, dips, or pull ups, it is nice to have a heavier pole.

I know many like to have lighter poles to save energy, but for me, heavy is good. (To a point).

It us also helpful to have them collapse for packing or climbing.

Peace

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