Gear List for an Ultra-midweight Hiker

(granted I am pretty new to this too, so take all of this with a grain of salt)
Things that stood out to me
Little heavy for the bag. You could easily drop 1/2lb there, though it would probably be the biggest expenditure.
I think the Ohm only weighs that much with all the accessories? That's what I like about ULA, you can take only what you need. That pack can be dropped a few oz depending on what you have included in it. Free
Thermarest Z-lite, drop 8 oz, for only 30$ (the z-lite's come in under spec)
I really hope the fuel bottle is full? If so, take off 9oz of base weight. There goes another half lb. If not, then definitely look into a lighter bottle. A 20l pepsi bottle is popular for about 1oz. also free
H2O bottles can be cut to an oz a piece for free by using gatorade/powerade bottles, or a nice piece of multiuse gear would be to get the platypus 2 liter (1.5oz IIRC), and have that double as your pillow. That would cut 3oz for your pillow, and take your water system down to 3.5 for all of 20$. Knocks off 5oz
7oz is kinda heavy for a book, think about taking only the section that you think you will get through
6oz for misc? what's in that?
that takes off 25oz or so, not counting the sleeping bag. Would be around two lbs with that.

Thats a pretty good list, especially since you have the bear container listed in there. Like previously said, I would assume that your fuel bottle's listed weight is full? You can subtract that weight of the alcohol, as that is a "consumable". That takes off 9oz right there. Other than that, without having to spend major money, it looks pretty good. You could drop 6oz pretty easily off that rain jacket, with a cheap breathable alternative like DriDucks

I always bring a book too, it's one of those things that is worth the weight, especially if you are going solo

Yea… that was a full 12oz of alcohol included in that weight which is my starting weight with 4-5 days of cooking/coffee.

I round up on all my weights so what you see are high numbers for a given piece of gear. I could buy a 16oz summer weight bag but I won't. Just isn't worth the money for me and I hike year round with the same bag. Same with the Thermarest. I already have a RidgeRest which is 9.5oz. but I carry the 3/4" inflatable because it packs down smaller and is just more comfortable.

The misc. category is for toilet paper, compass, drugs, suntan lotion, map and other little nick-nacks I manage to forget to add to my list. Just giving myself some wiggle room.

The Dri-Ducks I've considered since it is only $20 bones. My old rain jacket that I've hiked with for the last eight years is still in great shape though and it isn't THAT heavy.

The book goes with me on every trip. I hiked 1200 miles with at least one book on me (sometimes more) at all times so doing a 60-70 mile stretch isn't going to kill me. My base weight for my 1200 mile trip was probably 18lbs or more. I'm significantly lower these days.

All good suggestions though. I think the DriDucks is probably worth the $20 to save somewhere around 6oz.

Yeah, the DriDucks are definitely worth dropping the 6oz, Ive spent alot more money saving weight than $20.

I agree with not spending huge bucks to save a little weight. You already have a really light bag with Arroyo, and a pack that is just as light as mine.

Some things I see you could save for little money is

the rain jacket – driDucks – 6oz saved – $15

Socks – what do you hike with? If you use trail runners, get some crew wool ones, mine weigh 1.8oz for the pair – 2.2oz saved – $7

polar pure – I used to carry the exact same thing around, but it tastes bad and takes a long time to work, and only works with water above 50F. So now I carry a small micro dropper bottle full of bleach. 3-4 drops does the same effect as the polar pure, and is perfectly safe. Chances are your local tap water has more than that. The miscrodropper with bleach weighs .5oz – 3.5oz saved – $3

so for like $25 you are cutting off 11.7oz, which is quite a bit for really cheap. That weight would add up alot over the course of a 10 mile hike, and would drop your base weight well into the 12's

edit: I see you live in Port Angeles, I'm biking along the pacific coast this summer, and was looking to do a quick backpacking trip in the olympics, and reccomendations?

I agree… the DriDucks is worth the money. I bought some drops of this Aqua Marina stuff that is listed as 3oz and treats 30 gallons. The Polar Pure may be "old school" but I used a bottle of the stuff for over 2000 miles of hiking and outside of the heavy weight bottle (and taste) it still has usable life. To be honest in the Olympics I think I could go without. Most of the water around here is crystal clear.

Socks…. I'm not a trail-runner kind of guy. I've tried ultra-lightweight boots and I always end up coming back to my heavier ones with thick wool socks. On most 3-4 day trips I don't even carry an extra set of socks. In the summer wool works great wet or dry. In the winter or when I'm going to be in snow I'll carry a change of socks. I don't like thinner socks. Just a personal choice I guess.

How many days do you have to hike? I can suggest several.

I'm thinking probably a 2-3 day trip, maybe a loop or in-and-out of about 20 miles?
Thanks.

Probably my favorite on the north side would be starting at either Obstruction Point or Blue Mountain (you can start/end at either). If you start at Blue I'd drop down to Three Forks, go up Cameron Creek. It is probably a day to lower Cameron taking your time (11-12 miles, 4000ft drop, 1500ft climb). Go up and over Grand Pass on day two and cut it short and stay at Moose Lake or there abouts. There isn't any really good spots once you climb the ridge for camping. You can stay at Roaring Winds but there is a reason it has that name and there is no water so you would have to carry. I think the last water point is somewhere up the Beaver Creek trail. I don't know why they have these names. We don't have any Beaver and certainly no Moose. You climb Elk Mountain up the Beaver Creek Trail (we have Elk).

The ridge line from Obstruction Point to Green Mountain (right next to Blue) is very pretty when the weather is clear and you are above tree line most of the way. If you have a clear day when you get to Blue or Obstruction you may want to go down the ridge first. The Cameron Creek portion is in the woods and if it is overcast no great loss. The ridge hike is best taken when we have clear weather for the outstanding views.

If you are biking it may be easier to consider something closer to the road. Out on the west end by Lake Crescent there are a few possible loops. I've only done a portion of that area. The Aurora Ridge Trail would be one. You could probably catch a ride if you came out along Lake Crescent. I've not done all of that one though so I don't know how it compares with the other loop.

If you need a ride or a place to stay for a shower/bike storage point just drop me an email. I'd be happy to help.

http://www.nps.gov/olym/planyourvisit/loader.cfm?csModule=security/getfile&PageID=251840

Thanks for the trail ideas Kevin. I'm thinking that I'll probably do the one that starts at Obstruction Point, I looked some trails up around there and it looks like a neat place.

I might actually take you up on that offer if I happen to go on a backpacking trip around there, that would be awesome. I'll let you know when it gets closer to me leaving (not leaving until May most likely)
Thanks again

The only concern is snow for that section in the spring. If we get a high snow season Grand Pass & the ridge can be impassable early in the season without technical gear for covering ice. I just avoid it until it is mostly melted off because I don't play on ice when I'm by myself.

There is no way to know until the time arrives but you can usually get up and over that section in June. You may be able to do it in May if we have a light snow year.

The Ranger station usually has fairly good information on those trail conditions so check before you start your trip west. We can find some place for you to hike no matter what the conditions.

Ok… I've trimmed a little… spent some money and too much time.

Main Stuff:

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Backpack: ULA Ohm 24oz.
Tent: Tart Tent Sublite: 19.5oz.
Tarp: Cuben 6'x6' Luxury baby… front porch for the tent 3oz.
Stakes + rope: 3oz.
Ground Foam (1/4" GG foam as ground sheet…luxury) 8oz.
Sleeping Bag: Marmot Arroyo: 27oz
Pillow: Exped 3oz.
Pad: Prolite Women's length Thermarest 16oz.
Pad Winter: Add trimmed RidgeRest inside bag 5oz.

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Total 104-109 oz.

Clothing:

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Polypro Top: 7oz.
Polypro Bottom: 6.3oz.
Fleece Top: 9oz.
Rain Jacket: 5.6oz.
Fleece hat/neck warmer: 2oz.
Inner gloves 1.4oz.

Cold Weather
Wool Socks: 3oz.
Down Top 16oz.
Rain bottom: 3.7oz.
Goves Inner Outer 3oz.
Hat 2oz.

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Total 31oz.- 59oz.

Kitchen and Misc:

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Caldera Fosters System (everything I need to eat and drink coffee): 8oz.
Fuel Bottle twelve fluid ounces alcohol: 1.5oz.
Aqua Mira 3oz.
LED headlight: 1oz.
Knife: 0.6oz.
H2O bottles (x2 .5L, 2L collapsible) 4.3oz.
Garbage Bags x2 & zip lock 1L bags x6: 3oz.
Pack towels: 0.6oz.
Compass + map: 1oz
Bear Container: 33oz.
Bug Juice & suntan lotion: 2oz.

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Total 58 oz.

Worn:

Shorts: 3.5oz
T-shirt 4oz.
Socks: 3oz.
Boots: 32 oz.
Baseball cap: 3oz.
Trekking Poles: (carried) 22oz.

Total for summer (including bear container) is now 12 lbs. base weight. Late Fall early spring jumps a couple pounds.

Nice, looks like without the bear canister you would be looking sub-10 lbs. Just curious, what LED headlamp are you using at 1oz.? I haven't seen much under 2.5oz.

Looks good to me! I finally got down to 12 lbs. base too, but without a bear canister–without it you're definitely down in the UL (under 10 lbs.) class! However, my "model trip" is for high up in Wyoming's Wind Rivers, not exactly warm weather, so I suspect that with your colder weather clothes we are pretty even!

Ryan, that 1-oz. headlamp may be the same one I have, the Petzl e+light, which is quite adequate in the summer. By the end of September, I switch to something more robust because the shorter the days, the more stuff I'm doing after dark.

http://www.petzl.com/en/pro/headlamps/emergency-and-signal-lighting/elite

You have to pull it out of it's case to keep it at 1oz. In the case it is 1.5oz but the case doesn't seem to be necessary to keep it from being turned on accidentally inside the pack.

It was an impulse purchase…. I kind of wish I had a AAA lite so that I don't have to replace those little round batteries. I may grab one from Wally World.

The main thing to watch out for is the delicate switch. Treat it with loving care!

Got it, thanks for the responses.

My first one had early switch failure. My replacement has been well abused for a couple of years and is doing fine. YMMV.