How low will you go?

[Jeffs Eleven]

Southern Sierras is way drier. Even when it snows. I think PNW= synthetics. Minimal down. Softshells. That's what works for me.

[David Ure]

I don't use synthetics on Vancouver Island – doesn't get wetter than that. Sorry, disagree with your comment.

[Eugene Smith]

Thought I should note, my 5lb. kit is very specific to my locale, and the type of trips I take. I could very easily see myself having to adjust my gear significantly and acquire the appropriate tools for the job if I was to head up to the PNW for even a fairweather trip up north. I too Eric, would love to learn from someone proficient enough to tackle the conditions you proposed with a 5lb. base weight.

Here is a shot of my gear for a 2 day trip taken with my father. I cooked for 2, and we shared shelter. Sub 6lbs. I would've been fine with this gear for another week. Conditions were mild as a Pabst.

[Dan @ Durston Gear]

Eric…you're in Squamish?

[Jeffs Eleven]

I only have down bags. I carry a down jacket. I havent done a week in the rainy season yet but I would be tentative about keeping it dry for a week. A couple days no prob, but for a week, rain basically 24/7, especially around freezing I'd be a little nervous. That's just me. Or should I say Taht's just me? Maybe I'm clumsy. Maybe I need a thicker fly…

[James holden]

thats where i climb … im in coquitlam right now

[Thomas Burns]

In my youth, I was on my prison's 43-man squamish team. They wanted to play 52-man squamish, but it was a small prison. Sadly, I was the third Underblat, so I rarely got to play.

Thread-hijackingly yours,

Stargeezer, er, . . . gazer

P.S. Anybody who gets this reference is, as the euphemism goes, of "a certain age."

[George Matthews]

Right at 5 lb for summer up to two nights

+/-10 lb spring and fall up to 3 nighters

[Anonymous]

"I once 'dated' my girlfriend's mother. That's pretty low……."

Not if you made a sincere effort to better understand the former's unhappy childhood and how it was affecting your relationship. ;-)

[Mike W]

…

[John Roan]

For me, getting down to 5 lbs means simply leaving my extra clothes and electronics at home. This doesn't increase risk of injury necessarily, I find that a change of clothes to wear while my others are drying, and at least a good camera are items I won't go without. The Blackberry is debatable, but I like being able to journal during trips and upload when in towns.

[Mike M]

w/ my wife right around the 10 lb mark (looking to get that closer to :)) so that's probably as low as I'll be going

[Ben Egan]

Right now I've got a pretty bomber kit that sits around 10 – 12 pounds at the lightest. Only 3 season though.

But I'm trying to create a 6 pound kit. I'm in the process of replacing or modifying nearly everything on my list. And because I'm in the PNW, the quilt that I build will almost certainly be synthetic. And emergency-wearable.

So… 6 lbs? But I mean, I used to say 15.

[Brad Groves]

8-12 pounds for 3season. I could easily get lower, but would sacrifice things I'm not willing to cut out of my pack… like a thick/warm pad, a little fixed-blade knife, a ti coffee mug, a bugproof 2-wall shelter… maybe even some kind of camp shoe (!!!).

[Lynn Tramper]

Around 5kg most of the year if sharing cooking and sleeping gear.

[Luke Schmidt]

I've gone sub 5 lbs before and love it. If I don't need a lot of insulation I can even have a seperate shelter and rain gear. If I need more insulation than I can us my poncho tarp to save weight. I would not us a poncho tarp in combo with a down quilt however if I expected a lot of rain. In that case my weight would go up to more like 6 lbs because of the rain suit and tarp. I'm basically happy with my current kit. At some point I might look at a better snythetic layer and a 10-15 degree snythetic quilt for winter camping but thats all I would change.

EDIT – Eric you bring up a good point about the PNW. I came up with a list that I would take to the PNW that comes in at just 5.5 lbs. This list includes a fairly nice rainsuit, sythetic quilt, sythetic jacket and a cuban tarp. I don't own a few of these items (cuban tarp for example) but I've used gear that is equivolent in funtion if a bit cheaper and heaver so I'd be comfortable with it. If the nights were long I would add another layer to make hanging around a campfire more enjoyable.

[David Loome]

I have my usual 3 season base down to 8-9 lb, 3+ season about 11-12. :) I just see a point of diminishing returns… I really like and am very comfortable with the gear I use now, and only see marginal benefits to changing anything significant in my pack- Which is what I would have to do to see any real further weight loss.

When something wears out now, it generally gets replaced with the exact same thing, or the closest thing still being made.

I look at new gear and toys now and again, but I get tired of gear. I just see it as peripheral to what I really like, which is walking. Walkin's about as easy with 8 lbs on my back as it would be with 6.

[Andrew F]

Probably not below 10 lbs… my solo base weight sans bear canister tends to be around 11-12 lbs.

I do just as much climbing/mountaineering as I do backpacking, so my gear tends to be multi-use which makes it a bit heavier. For instance, I'd shred a 7-denier shell down jacket on my first climbing trip, so I have one with a 30d shell instead. My backpack (Lowe Alpine Zepton 50) is a bit of a porker at 41 oz, but the full internal frame lets me carry the odd 40lb load of climbing gear when I need to.

When I go with my wife, it's easy to get below 10 lbs since we share a tent and cook system. Unless we have to bring a bear canister, then I'm back up to 11-12 lbs again.

Andrew

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