Telltale signs your kit has evolved.

i'm packing for a quick overnight 26 mile trip. my McHale Chasm is truly that, a chasm. small packs are uncomfortable for me, so i use the compression straps and pack vertically. it's so tempting to fill that extra space, isn't it.

i have decided to bring a book, not sure WHERE i'm going to put it. in this void over here, or that void over there. hahah :)

For a 5 day/4 night trip, I'm going to be carrying 15lbs less in total pack weight (I didn't know what 'baseweight' was back then so this is food + gear) than I did on my first overnight getting back into backpacking 2 years ago. If you figure in skin out the difference probably jumps to 18 pounds due to trading boots for trail runners.

I'll feel like my kit has fully evolved when it only takes 30 minutes to pack for a trip because my gear closet is as UL as my gear kit.

I know my kit has evolved when:

There are fewer items
Less weight
Less volume
Better performance
Greater safety
I'm thinking about it less
I'm enjoying the hike more
Lower cost (that is a dreaming wish)

I've found my trips to be getting longer and my pack heavier as I want to carry what I need without resupply for two weeks or more. I just got back from an 18 day trip and decided to take a couple more books and alot more food than usual, like apples, an avocado, a loaf of bread, some eggs, etc.

The old saying, "The more experienced you become, the lighter your pack", doesn't really apply in all cases. I find the more time I spend outdoors, the more I want to bring out with me.

I had to get my base load to be pretty light so that I can carry it and also the 30-40 pounds worth of camera gear. We have to keep our priorities straight.

–B.G.–

Or my 40 lbs of food.

Hmmm, 40 pounds of food for 18 days? That seems a touch on the heavy side.

For summer trips, I normally pack about 1.5-1.6 pounds of food per day, and then I return with leftovers. On a recent trip, I packed only 4.5 pounds of food for the first six days (before resupply), and there was still a pound or more of it left.

–B.G.–

I like to eat, obviously. Fresh fruit, Tasty Bite meals(they are heavy), dates, raisins, walnuts, 3 lbs of cheese, etc etc. Walk. Collapse. Eat. Walk. Collapse . . . .etc.

"I opted for a Talon 44 which I got yesterday. "

Travis, what happened to the Swift dude?

I want to hike with Walter! Add 2lbs of coffee and we're set.

I knew my kit had evolved when packing it up was no longer a chore.

Many years ago when I carried a traditional load, I kept a 50-pound scale in the trunk of my car so that I could a last-minute weighing of my pack.

Now I still keep a scale in the trunk of my car, but it is a 25-pound scale.

–B.G.–

Jeffrey hit on it…I just realized I too no longer have to carefully pack my backpack so that everything will fit, or just barely fit, like I had to in the good old days.

Now I just sort of put things in according to a general plan, then ponder whether I should buy a smaller/lighter pack (but since I'm so cheap I never do it, so this is a regular occurrence).

Way back when I would regularly ponder whether I needed a larger/heavier pack.

Alex,
I still have the Swift, and I do like it for overnighters. However, when I start doing week-long outings, the framed packs are more comfortable for me.

I knew I was doing something right when I noticed my laptop, it's case, cord, and an external hard drive is heavier than gear and food I need to survive for a week.

Because your wallet is empty!

Actually in all seriousness, I too have noticed a change. I can hike faster, further, and longer than I used to when covering the same ground as I did in previous years.

After barely getting everything inside your new, lighter, smaller pack, you eventually move your sleeping bag and jacket to larger stuff sacks to help fill out the same pack.

"I had to get my base load to be pretty light so that I can carry it and also the 30-40 pounds worth of camera gear. We have to keep our priorities straight."

I'm glad I'm not the only one… though I got my camera kit down to under 20 pounds by sticking almost entirely to a 4×5 instead of a bulky digital SLR ;)

The weight and bulk of two DSLR bodies is insignificant compared to the weight and bulk of big lenses.

–B.G.–

Yeah, that's one thing that I like about the smaller LF lenses — since they don't have barrels or moving parts, they're a lot smaller and lighter than lenses for SLRs. Of course, the down side is that they take a lot longer to shoot with, but you can't win 'em all :)

It is when you realize that you are selling the lightweight gear that you bought earlier because you have replaced it with lighter weight gear.

Party On,

Newton

I'll be glad when mine has evolved enough to have grown legs and follow me around.

I'll know my pack has evolved when my wife and I have a combined base weight under 20 pounds…and then again for under 10 pounds but I can't see the latter happening for a long time.

oops