6 pounds for base pack – OK?

What sleeping bag do you have? How warm do you need your bag to be?

You may be able to save there.

" Is this "good enough?" "

It depends. Where do you propose to use this? Death Valley or Mount Everest or somewhere in between?

It sounds to be in the ballpark for some trips, but if you add up all of the little stuff, you might get a rude awakening. The bulk of the total load might dictate something different in the backpack, either smaller or larger. A load with five days worth of consumables might be a lot different from a load with ten days worth. It seems as though you are headed in the right direction.

–B.G.–

Sleeping bag is Mountain Hardware Phantom 15, 800 fill.

I use it all year. In the Summer, I wear less and keep it vented. In the winter, I wear more and keep it zipped up. I tend to sleep cold and prefer to be warm but not hot.

I am pretty happy with it. I think I can lose 5 pounds of fat before I buy another bag in order to lose a pound.

Most of my other gear is fairly light/minimal. I've been carrying it up to this point, and it is always getting lighter. The big thing is I want to start carrying my heavy DSLR, so I needed to drop 6 pounds from my pack weight. I still wanted a backpack with some comfortable belt and shoulder straps along with a back vent option. I suppose if I was willing to sacrifice comfort, I could go with a lightweight closed cell foam sleeping pad, go with a lighter, more basic backpack, and buy a new sleeping bag. With all that, I may be able to drop a little over a pound, but I don't think it is worth it.

Maybe I've overlooked something?

My goal is as close to 20 pound or under as I can get for a 3-7 day trip. That's mostly what I do. As far as extremes in weather, I have a good setup of lightweight clothing that should be fine for me.

In Scouts we had something like 50 pound packs (tubular metal external frames and all) and my gear was terrible. I survived the snow camping, but barely. :)

You list generic descriptions for gear and then pretty much state that you can't live with less on tents sleeping bags etc. I think you have answered your own question.

[oops, original post was a mistake — ignore]

I think thats an excellent weight as a base weight. My pack alone is 6 pounds, plus sleeping bag, pad, tent, and any other necessities and its already up around 15 pounds…. And I also like to bring my DSLR along, so add another 5 pounds onto that.

So, good on ya for having it that low!

Greg – generic descriptions.

So, as it stands, proposed gear list:
Tent: tarptent Sublite Sil 2010
Pack: BPL Absaroka 2010
Sleeping bag: Mountain Hardware Phantom 15
Sleeping pad: Thermarest neoair small?

I am not set on that gear specifically. However, I do want a full tent in terms of floor and netting and I do like the vestibule. For a pack, I do like the shoulder straps and belt along with the belt pockets, and the venting on the back. In terms of the sleeping bag, I do like my bag, I don't want to go to a quilt, and it would be difficult for me to pay for a second bag, but I would consider it. Sleeping pad, I had a separate post on this and the neoair was very highly recommended, so I am leaning towards that, and don't think it is worth sacrificing comfort for a lighter solution.

I am still open to suggestions though. If my thinking is off, or that weight is abnormally large, or if you have alternative ideas, I am happy to hear them.

I was just trying to explain my thought process for picking the items that I did and to get a general idea on how that weight stacked up in terms of UL vs SUL.

Zack,

It is all good enough if it works for you.

What pack to buy is dependent upon all your gear. As we par our gear, the volume and features of a pack's requirements decrease also. This parring down process can take years as you gain knowledge and skills.

What I thought I needed decades ago, is a far cry from what I truly need today. For me it is aboslutely amazing that at the age of 59, I can hike further, faster and longer than I could at the invincible age of 18. And my hikes are truly more enjoyable, than those of my carefree youth.

For great gear list, you might want to look at Steve Evan's Zion trip. A great hike with varying conditions and some difficulty, and a base weight that is SUL. Other than his sleeping pad, most people would be comfortable, and safe in most 3 season conditions. And after a few nights on his pad, most should get comfortable on his sleeping pad too. The caveat here is that Steve uses a lot of cuben gear, which requires careful use, and over time will not last as long as some of the more bomb-proof gear available. Also, it would probably cost around $1,000 to dupicate his gear if you bought it all new. I can pictue him merrily bouncing up and down the trails with ease. And to me that is the goal.