3 Season Nearly SUL

You’re only cheating on Worn if you carry them part of the time.  Are PT bands and sunglasses always worn?

A few thoughts:

• You have 2 ponchos. Drop the emergency one for 1.75 saved.
• I find the BeFree opening wide enough to easily fill.  Could drop your scoop for 0.2 ounces saved.
• I’m curious how you use dryer sheets for bug protection.
• Personally I need more insulation (layers and sleeping) for 3 season use.  It’s not worth a lighter pack if you’re cold at night.

Ditto on dryer sheets?

Good list, gotta love the 3 ounce backpack. Some other thoughts:

• You could save lots of worn weight by dropping the 10.5 oz nylon hiking pants and use your wind pants plus some 4 oz long undies instead (more versatile combo, less combined weight).
• You could save 4 – 8 ounces with lighter trekking poles (aluminum for 12 oz or UL carbon for 8 ish oz).
• Another 6 oz or more savings by going no-cook, or cook with Crotch Pot if you must have hot food on short trips.

Very lean setup.

If a 3 oz pack is comfortable enough, then good for you. Seems a little too Spartan though.

The Titan w/lid is a tad heavy. You could go with an Evernew EBY 265 400 ml cup and aluminum foil lid. That would be around 1.9 oz.

I’d scrap the emergency blanket and emergency poncho, a 3.25 oz savings. Redundancy. Those are good for just in case day hikes, but with the ZPacks poncho, tarp and bag they certainly won’t be needed, UNLESS you keep them in a pocket as a safeguard against losing your pack. Even then I’d just take the blanket because it’s waterproof.

Nice gear list.

Thanks for the feedback!

Agreed about the 2nd poncho… Over the years I have created this habit of always toting the combo of emergency poncho and blanket. Very rarely do I ever use the poncho. Emergency blanket is sometimes used if its extra cold to throw down underneath

Dryer sheets are excellent at keeping bugs off. I put one inside my hat, one in my pocket and another inside each gaiter. I cant really say how they work, but I have found them to be very effective. I hate the feel/smell of bug spray/deet/suncreen on my skin.

About needing more insulation/layers… I run pretty warm and am fine with this setup to nearly freezing at night

I probably could go for something different/lighter with the pants… my typical alternate is a pair of tights with lightweight basketball type shorts.

I am fairly hard on the poles and since I use them for my shelter I have been reluctant to use something else. I have wanted to try some lighter carbon poles… suggestions?

Cooking… I have done both…. cook and no cook. If I go for a night, I done miss hot food. More than that and I tend to miss it.

The 3 oz pack has been great for this type of trip. Rarely are we ever over 10 lbs total even with consumables. The straps have come a long way in terms of comfort. I did make a couple modifications to the pack. I cut out the carry pouch and key clip that are in a pocket on the top… not for weight, but because they were between the blue ccf frame support and my back (uncomfortable). I also added a piece of elastic to create a sternum strap. The pack is much more comfortable this way.

As you might be able to tell… much of what I have packed is for 2 people (tent, groundsheet, cook pot). My son takes a similar setup but with less gear (no tent, lighter poncho, no cook pot). If bugs will be an issue he carries a sea to summit nano duo mosquito net (4.5 oz). He also carries an MSR Trailshot in stead of the BeFree (4.8 oz). He uses a different pack by Naturehike (3 oz) Between the 2 of us we have a lot of redundancy for the small amount of weight we carry

I have not seen a comparative study between dryer sheets to DEET or similar mosquito repellants, however there is actually some research showing that Bounce brand dryer sheets do in fact repel some types of insects:

http://gpnmag.com/wp-content/uploads/11_000_gpn0711_Cloyd%20JR.pdf

I am fairly hard on the poles and since I use them for my shelter I have been reluctant to use something else. I have wanted to try some lighter carbon poles… suggestions?

I personally use sturdy CF poles from Black Diamond and wouldn’t want a lighter set.  If you’re always on a groomed trail and a lighter person then you could go lighter safely.  If I stumble I expect my pole to hold my weight.

A sturdy pole also will do better in high winds under your tarp/tent.