Trying to lighten- proposed 16 pound gear list

Can I suggest the Six Moon Desgins Gatewood Cape? It weighs in at 11 ounces and will double as a tarp and rain protection. Between your jacket and biy that is 34 ounces. Remember every once counts.

Bill's 16 pound gear list:

Normal Sub 5 Pound Gear List-5 lb.
Camera stuff – 5 lb.
Laptop Computer with DVD Movies and extra battery – 6 lb.

This is in fun.

You have done a lot better than my first try at lowering my gear list.

The extra clothes, the Thermarest and the Bivy account for 6 lbs.

Dump the extra clothes for a pair of zipoffs and a insulated jacket only, switch to a gatewood cape with no bivy, and go to a foam pad.

You've reduced your weight by over 4 lbs …. then you can carry a lighter pack than the starlight, like a Maraposa for half the weight … saving another lb.

… That takes you to 11 lbs right off the bat.

Wondering if you really need the balaclava for the JMT in August, but I'm not familiar with temps in that area, so maybe you do. If so, I'd think you'd also need at least a light pair of gloves? I can't imagine needing a balaclava but not gloves.

Lose the deodorant crystal. You will likely swear all over, and you will stink regardless of whether you apply deodorant or not.

There's another 6 oz.

Take a really close look at your FIRST-AID KIT. I'm sure you could cut that in half – Think simple wound care and meds only. GOODLUCK

I've recently been trying to lighten up as well. I'm at the point now where I'm starting to look at the price per ounce to replace an item. Some of the things I had been looking at are not the most cost effective things to change. This has made me look at replacing other items I had not thought of. You also have to evaluate your hiking style and see if changing to a different way of doing things to eliminate a piece of gear is a better way to go.

In addition to the items mentioned above (especially first aid), here are some items on your list that stand out to me:

43.00 Ounces Bear Can Garcia Machine (replace)
4.50 Sunscreen 4 oz. (1 oz tube)
2.00 Deodorant Small Crystal stick (0.5 oz or drop it)

Tony

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Unfortunately money is a pressing concern.

Sleeping bag/bivy:
I would love to get a new bag but I don't see that happening this year. My 28 oz. liner bag requires the bivy and balaclava for me to be comfortable down to the frosty temps that hit 10,000 feet in late August. Since I need the bivy for warmth there's not much point in a tarp. I also like the speed, ease, and flexibility of setting up/breaking camp with a bivy. Maybe next year…

I will experiment with my Ridge Rest to see if I can tolerate a foam pad. Otherwise the Thermarest is coming as my luxury item.

Raingear:
The Marmot jacket and ULA rain skirt were impulse buys. I didn't expect the jacket to be so heavy, but it's still way, way lighter than my old one.
I'll consider substituting my 5 oz. windshirt and a superlight poncho.

Clothes:
I'm going to drop the long pants, long sleeve shirt, and third pair of socks. Head net stays as long as I'm sleeping out.

First aid, toiletries:
I can cut a little but I want a class-A blister care kit. I'll drop the deodorant down to 1/4 ounce, take only 2 oz. sunscreen (2 more in my resupply), and cut the handle off my toothbrush.
Regarding compass I know it is seldom needed in the high Sierra but one near death experience in a blizzard caused me to promise myself I'd always carry one.

Cooking:
Bear can is required and the only significantly lighter option is over $200.
I'll drop the spare lighter since I have matches as backup. My cooking plan is 12 oz. hot water for midmorning coffee and 20 oz. for dinner/soup. 2 oz. alcohol per day may be excessive; I'm doing a second family trip in a few weeks to sort that out- truly I'm still undecided between a cannister and the Caldera Cone.

Pack:
With the bear can and plans to use the pack on family trips I had homed in on the Starlight. There aren't many that appear to work well with a horizontal bear can.

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you really need gloves. thats an essential. wind and rain without gloves, early morning or evening– thats no fun. lose a lot of heat and energy.

and, it seems a balaclava in summer is too much– plus weighing in at 4 ounces… it has to be winter weight too.

i agree with the above post. you have too much extra clothing too. dont need that.

cook system seems solid.

your sleep system weighs a lot; a lighter bag and pad at some point. my buddy wont go to foam, but he has back problems. i gave up the air based sleep pads when i went light and have never gone back.

last note:

ALL WATER IN THE SIERRAS IS SUSPECT. treat it all.

but dont use that soap your packing near, in, or around it.

Thanks for all the comments. I did some tweaking and cut 2 pounds from the list. See the original post with marked edits.

Most of the savings were simple. Saved 3 oz by picking up a hat for $5 that will be much cooler than my old hat. Plan to switch cameras with my wife and save 5 oz. Simply deleted the extra shirt for 6 oz.

The 2 pair of spare socks and multiple foot care items are worth it if I need them. I did a three day trip with the family a couple weeks back and my feet were fine. Mileage was low and the trip was short; for the longer trip I think insurance is good.

I agree that the sleeping system is too heavy. I should have bought the BMW quilt here on Backpacking Light when it was on sale last week. I took a nap the other day on my Ridge Rest- it was fine for an hour on a hardwood floor but I have concerns about all night on rocky soil.

Finally, on water treatment. Other than the section from Tuolumne Meadows to Yosemite, I plan to generally drink untreated water.

Jim

"Finally, on water treatment. Other than the section from Tuolumne Meadows to Yosemite, I plan to generally drink untreated water."

I know it's your colon and your decision, but why not treat water? A little preventive care can keep you from a month or more of gastrointestinal suffering.

I agree that the sleeping system is too heavy. I should have bought the BMW quilt here on Backpacking Light when it was on sale last week. I took a nap the other day on my Ridge Rest- it was fine for an hour on a hardwood floor but I have concerns about all night on rocky soil.

Hi Jim,
I would have the same concern…for two or three days out..no problem. There are no places to find soft turf that I saw…mostly hard dirt and rock.
My boys had l bs 4 oz Therm-a-rest pads and I had my BA air pad…they would of gladly traded with me. Even those 1" pads Therm-a-Rest Pro 3 was not want you would call a great nights sleep.

Each to there own…but sometimes the extra pound makes the difference of just why you are out there to begin with.
I know I like to enjoy myself and have a good time.

Then again you could carry the extra weight in say Wild Turkey and you would not feel the hard ground at all lol :)

Gail,

Sorry the snow cut you guys short.

My wife has a 7/8" (so- called 1") Thermarest. I think it's worthless for side sleeping. To me the Ridge Rest is more comfortable.

I find 1-1/2" Thermarest marginal for side sleeping. My 1-7/8" Thermarest LE is super cozy and lets hips, knees, and shoulders nicely sink in. It is 27 ounces though.

Jim

…

My pack is pretty much together for my JMT hike. It didn't hit 16, according to my bathroom scale it's 17.

Note it does include a 43 ounce bear can. Theoretically I was looking at about 12 pounds not including the bear can. My comfort level got compromised though. I added my 3 pound sleeping bag, Jetboil stove, and some assorted doo-dads which upped the weight.

One interesting thing is I bought the Six Moon Designs Starlight. I was concerned that this pack, being half the volume of my Lowe Expedition, would be a tight fit. Not at all- even with the bear can my gear is swimming around. This will be good for family trips where I carry my kids' extra gear.

I want to thank everyone for providing input. I'm pretty happy with cutting my base weight from 30+ pounds down to 17. Loaded with a week's food I'll start out less than I used to end a trip with.

Jim

> I'm pretty happy with cutting my base weight from 30+ pounds down to 17.
Just as a thought: go with this, and don't try to lower it any more. Do a few trips with this weight, get used to this lighter gear, and then look again. Trying to stage a huge reduction in a single go is probably not even smart.

It probably does bear repeating (many times!): going UL does require both skill and experience. Fortunately, neither has any weight. :-)

Thanks Roger.

I like to think that my techniques are pretty good. Much of the weight has just been excess stuff, redundancy, etc.

For next year I'll look at the sleeping system. I figure with an infusion of money I can cut 3 pounds from pad and bag.