Little weight “sins”

[Eric Blumensaadt]

I make small weight "sins" when deciding on items I purchase. For example, I do have a Vargo Jet-Ti canister-top stove but I just bought a 0.7 oz. heavier Brunton Flex burner.

Why? Because it has a larger flame ring for more even heating and larger pot stands B/C I use a JetBoil 1.5 L. pot for all my cooking. (Efficiency & fuel savings on long trips) The wider pot suppports make for a much more stable cooking setup.

So there is yet another small "sin", the JetBoil 1.5 L. pot – minus its steel wire handles. I use a very light aluminum pot gripper.

Also, in the kitchen, I use a plastic folding 3-legged gas canister support, again for stability. Ever dumped your entire meal because your stove was wobbly? Hmmmm? Betchya have.

OK, so I like to cook and I "live to eat", not the other way around. A few ounces extra in the kitchen equals faster and better meals.

I do freezer bag PREPARATION of ingrediants but don't like the idea of plasticizers in my food so I cook it in my pot.

Other little "sins"? Carrying MSR Groundhog "Y" cross-sectioned aluminum stakes for far better holding power than the ti stakes that came with my Contrail tent. A teensy bit more weight with no aggravation from popped stakes in loose or rain-soaked ground at 0 Dark Thirty at night. Plus these suckers take a beating when pounded with a rock.

Another "sin" is a Garmin Colorado GPS on some trips where I've never been before. Plus two spare AA lithium batteries.

Finally, my Danner 453 boots. Not running shows by any stretch, but they are SO comfortable on a week long trip. And, having Gore-Tex, they keep my feet dry when it rains all day.

So, yeah, I have a few weight "sins", for which I do my mild repentance with every mile. But "at the end of the day" as the overused saying goes, I like my little venal weight sins more than the discomfort of not having them. Are they much more weight than the left over Cliff bars you have at the end of a trip? likely not.

What are your "Little Weight Sins"? You can confess to Father Eric. 'Twill do ye a lot of good to unburden yer soul, my Son/Daughter. And don't forget to be sending along a wee bit of absolution money to me to be extra sure your sins are forgiven. Now then, do as yer told.

[ben wood]

i have an uco candle lantern that i really like but don't necessarily need.
and i too use boots asolo PM400, considered a big "sin" here. but i like them for the same reasons you mentioned above. not only that, i use full size gaiters as well. i like being able to walk through anything and keep my boots and socks free from mud thorns etc.
however, to save weight, i didn't pack my absolution money. forgive me father for i have umm…. "sinned"

[Sarah Kirkconnell]

I carry photos of my husband with me. Even though I have them on my ipod…I like the big printed ones. I decorate my tent with them. They ride in sandwich bags.

Oh yeah, and I admit it: after years of Snapple bottles I went back to Nalgenes. I like them better. And I realized I was willing to carry the extra ounces.

Guilty? Yes. ;-)

[Adam Rothermich]

I use a Caldera Cone system for my cooking needs. For me a Supercat and foil windscreen work fine, but for the slight weight increase the Caldera Cone makes my life far simpler. I don't have to worry about balancing the pot just right or the windscreen blowing away. It all just works.

I also carry GoLite Y-stakes. I like them for the ridgeline tieouts on my tarp. As stated before, they're a little heavier but for me the peace of mind is worth it. I still use Ti stakes everywhere else.

8'x10' silnylon tarp- I like all the extra coverage even though I only use it as a solo shelter. I like that I have a little room to move around during hard rains and don't have to worry about finding a place to keep my gear dry.

Finally, I just switched to using a Ridgerest after using a GG Nightlight Torso pad. The Nightlight wasn't bad, it just wore out faster than I liked. So I bought a full length Ridgerest, cut it in half, and now have two 36" pads that weigh about 9 oz a piece. That may be more than double the weight of the Nightlight, but it makes a little better pack frame and is a little more comfortable because its a little longer (I'm a taller guy).

Adam

[Dan Cunningham]

Granite Gear Vapor Trail – overkill since the gear in it is < 10 pounds, but I love the comfortable carry

GSI Cascadian cup (1.9 oz) and an GSI nForm bowl (1.5 oz). Yes, I could use my Tibetan Titanium 1100 for cookpot/mug/bowl, but I don't like eating or drinking out of it, and I like to have coffee with my breakfast, or a real cup for a nip of spirits.

2 oz thick fleece pillow case to stuff my clothes into. Not muti-use at all.

1.5 oz 10×20 closed foam sit pad cut from a ridge rest. The earth is hard, so I like cushion between it and my derriere.

So there ya go, 6.9 ounces of stuff I don't need, plus a pack that is at least 1/2 pound more than necessary. I love that we all hike our own hike. :)

EDIT: Even though most of my hiking is with my wife, I also use my Lunar Duo for solo hikes. A 2.5 pound solo shelter – GASP!

[Brendt Jacobsen]

Well I guess you can count the luxuries of Cigars and a little flask of my favorite beverage, those are worthy sins!

I also now take a short mummy aircore. After years of only sleeping on Ridge rests, my shoulders and hips are refreshed on the Big Agnes when I wake up in the morning so that is weight I like carrying. I also know that there maybe slighty lighter stakes than the MSR Groundhogs, but they are industructible and are a no fail, no brainer.

With all the gear I have shed over the years and having gone to strickly tarp/poncho only, I guess that make them forgivable sins!

[Eugene Smith]

I never thought the first time I'd attend confessional would be on a lightweight backpacking forum…with that said, I guess my "sin" would have to be my Granite Gear Nimbus Meridian (trimmed down though…my attempt at justification). There are much lighter packs, but this pack is so comfortable. I did just pick up a Jam2 so I'll wear that when I'm feeling "holy".

My other little "sin" is a Princeton Tec Quad headlamp, not light at all, but it works so well. Again, I also have a Photon Micro style LED for when I need to make a good impression, for appearances sake.

MSR Titan Kettle, my last "sin", I just can't squeeze a good meal out of a Ti-600ml cup, I like boiling a small meal to fill my gut after a long hike, this thing will probably always come with me.

[Richard Matthews]

Father Eric, it has been three days since my last confession.

I sleep in a hammock. I sleep better than at home.

I cook on a Caldera Cone stove. I eat almost as good as home.

I carry my gear in a Six Moon Designs Essence. A half pound heavier than the zpacks Blast 32.

I have invested all my absolution funds into Titanium, but would be happy to contribute my extra Caldera Cone.

[Jim MacDiarmid]

I bring a 2lb DSLR instead of a 8 oz point and shoot, even though I don't have the skills to make use of the DSLR, but I like to pretend I do.

I'll bring a book, because what do you do when you camp alone, and it gets dark at 8:30, but you're not ready to go to bed till 10pm. Star gazing only takes you so far.

This is not so much a weight sin, but I just used my new NeoAir small this weekend, and it feels sinful to spend so much on a sleeping pad, but it was so much better than sleeping on a foam pad it felt like cheating. John Muir would probably make fun of me for being a soft urbanite.

[Tony Wong]

Oh Father, forgive me for it has been years since I have last confessed my sins and I have recently committed a big UL sin.

I must admit that I have taken my NeoAir pad and converted it into a blow up doll and I have named her Sally.

Oh Father forgive me, but the nights are long and the times are lonely upon the trail and I am weak!

Tell me how many Hail Marys I must cry out and how many turns of the Ti Pray Beads must I do to seek salvation of my soul for the corruption of my Neo Air. :)

Okay, now that I have confessed, the other minor confessions that I have:

I could easily move to something lighter and smaller than my Titan Kettle, but I like that my large MSR fuel canister fits in it, which is another sin because one of those canisters can last me a whole year.

I carry a gravity filter when I know that Aquamira is lighter, but I mentally don't like the idea of chunky water.

I use a Platypus Hydration system when I know that a Playtpus bottle would be lighter, but I enjoy the convience of having a sip of water on demand.

I also carry an aluminum snow stake as a light weight potty trowel vs. using the heel of my shoe or one of my Ti Stakes that I use for my poncho tarp.

Lastly, is it a sin to pee on a squirrel on the side of the trail???

-Tony

[Henry Blake]

What's it fit? Wanna sell it?

[Eric Blumensaadt]

Ah there, now don't we all fell a wee bit closer to the Trail Gods for havin' confessed of our little sins? Of course we do. The spirit is willin' but the flesh is weak and must be given a bit o' leeway from time to time -but only in order to keep the spirit strong.

But Tony, you've done an unnatural act with yer Neo- Air and need to circle yer tent three times and say ten Hail Marys and five Our Fathers for such an affront to Thermarest's designers, who, Heaven knows, never, ever had such a lustful thing in mind when they developed that soft and comforting mattress. (Now how, exactly, did ye accomplish that transformation of yer mattress?)

Father Eric

[Richard Matthews]

It fits a Brasslite 600 ml pot. If I sold it I would want to sell the pot with the stove. $45 bucks including shipping to the lower 48?

[Richard Matthews]

Tony,

Do you have a pattern for Sally?

When I watched Stepford Wives I never could get over the idea that if you had the pattern for Katherine Ross why would you make other models?

[Lynn Tramper]

I am a saint! I have never sinned. I carry only what I think I will want and need, and no more. I once carried a 12lb turkey (pre-cooked) on a trip. Others in my party carried candied yams, bottles of bubbly and lots of other yummy food and drink. We did this to celebrate and make an offering to the trail gods, and the gods were very pleased and blessed us with clear star-studded skies, mild weather and no insects.

[Roger Caffin]

> blessed us with clear star-studded skies, mild weather and no insects.

That can't have been in NZ!

Cheers

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