Consumables?

IMHO, how you the split hairs is not as important as getting them identified, and weighed. I can always "adjust" to your categories – or rearrange them to match my standard template.

But I feel strongly about a "Full Skin Out" total. That is the telling number, regardless of how you get there.

Pete:
I'd include acqumira, tylenol & other meds in my FAK, or as a separate meds item, don't use TP so not relevant for me, but… food, fuel & water is a variable versus part of your static base weight, so it is hard to include in a base gear list.

I would probably allow 1.5lbs per person per day for food, plus up to 2 lbs for water and fuel combined, as a PLANNING assumption… therefore my skin out weight for an N day trip would be: 7.5lbs [base] + 2lbs [water] + (N x 1.5lbs [food])… so a 5 day trip would be 7.5+2+(5×1.5)=17lbs. Make sense?

Peace, James.

Not that it really matters as long as everything is accounted for in your skin out weight, but I would classify something as 'comsumables' if you are likey to consume it, not just if it can be consumed.

Things like band-aids, bear spray, medicines, ointments etc are not likely to be consumed so I would include them as gear, not consumables. Stuff like bug spray, sunscreen etc is debateable but if you normally do use it up then I'd consider it as consumables.

The whole point of seperating out a 'consumables' section on your gear list is so you can see how your pack weight will change as the trip progresses. This is valuable if it is a significant amount of weight, like food, but not really important if it's something like 0.1oz of bendadryl.

Yeah, I can see the point. I look at my pack weight as items that I use up on the trail (consumables) and items I generally won't use up on the trail (gear). The gear includes the pack, clothes, sleeping and shelter stuff, water and fuel bottles, stove, and personal items that usually won't disappear over time (band-aids, matches, tylenol, aqua-mira, etc). However, I will consider food, water, fuel, and TP as consumables. No matter what, these will get used, and their weight will vary depending on the length of time I'm going to be hiking.

>> I would probably allow 1.5lbs per person per day for food,

That's only about 3000 calories, assuming the "standard UL hiking goal" of 125 cal/oz average. If that works for you, all the more power to you. But I recall seeing a calculation once that a day with an 18-mile 3000 foot elevation gain burns over 6000 calories (including basal metabolism). That strikes me as a pretty fair hike.

That is, admittedly, just "something I read somewhere once." I wouldn't even know how to BEGIN calculating it for myself.

Anyway, I try to aim for 2 lbs/day, for 4000 calories. I figure I can live with a 2000 calorie deficit. :o)

I usually take 20-24 oz of food per day and never eat all of it. This includes 25 mile days with significant climbs. I find I don't get nearly as hungry when I hike as I do when I sit around the office all day.

I know that I'm hiking with a significant calorie deficit, but my hike are usually in the 2 to 4 day range so I dont worry much about it. Kinda glad I dont need to take that much food.

As far as my accounting sustem I use the following….

* Consumable are Food, water, alcohol (drinking or stove fuel).
* Base weight is the weight of items typically in my pack (minus consumables)
* Worn/Carried is the weight of items I wear or carry not included in base weight.

But honestly I say find your own system and run with it. Don't sweat the accounting police.

Jamie

I count water, fuel, aquamira, balm, deet, TP, alcohol gel, and sunscreen as consumables.

But the water bottles, fuel bottle, alosak for TP, and all the mini balm containers and dropper bottles I count in my base weight.

I did this mostly because it was easier to weigh all the various containers I use for these consumable items when they were empty. And it makes it easier to maintain my lists.

First aid and emergency fire kit always gets counted in the base weight since the items are rarely used.