Need help with gearlist

[D G]

It's been over 6 months since my last backpacking trip and I'm trying to refine my gear list for an upcoming trip this May. Temps will probably be above freezing. 3 days/2 nights.
I have to confess my gearlist has suffered from item creep over the last 2 years with the weight slowly climbing upwards and I want to get back on the wagon with reducing the weight of my items.
Would appreciate any advice for reducing my weight. I'm a little bit embarassed that I don't actually have weights for all these items but the pack on my back does feel a bit heavy.

Thanks!

Backpack Osprey Aether 70
Boots Asolo Fugitive
Head lamp Princeton Tec Fuel
Knife/multi-tool Gerber Clutch multi-tool
Pack rain cover REI Duck’s Back rain cover
Sleeping bag REI Zen 25+ degree
Sleeping pad Therm-a-rest ProLite
Stove and fuel Snow Peak Giga Power and MSR IsoPro 400g canister
Cooking pot 2 L Aluminum pot
Eating gear Spoon (or spork), bowl, and cup
Tent REI Quarter Dome T2 (two person)
Water bottle/bladder 2 Nalgene bottles or 2-3 L Camel-bak hydration bladder
Water treatment Portable Aqua Iodine, Portable Aqua Chlorine Dioxide tablets, or Katadyn Hiker Pro water filter
Whistle Fox40
Toilet paper (lots) Plain, white, unscented in a plastic bag to protect it from rain
wet ones wipes
Hand sanitizer
Cat-hole trowel Orange plastic kind
Small First-aid kit prescription medications : zolpidem, zoloft, ambien (for sleep)
few small gauze pads, moleskin, blister bandages, hydrocortisone cream, benadryl Bandana 1-2
Fleece or wool sweater 1
Hiking (wool) socks 3
Liner socks (polypropylene, coolmax, or silk) 2
Hiking shirt (short sleeved wicking t-shirt or
long sleeved wicking shirt) 1
Hiking shorts/pants (hiking convertible pants)
! 1
Lightweight long underwear (tops and
bottoms) 1
Lightweight stocking cap 1
Lightweight gloves (or liner gloves) 1
Breathable rain coat and rain pants 1
Sun hat 1
Wicking underwear 1-2OvCamp shoes or sandals 1
Down booties 1
Heavy gloves and/or mittens 1
Heavy long underwear (top and bottom) 1
Insulated vest or fleece vest 1
Insulated jacket
fleece jacket 1
Insulated pants or fleece pants 1
Button down shirt with convertible sleeves
(e.g. ExOfficio Air Strip) Headnet

Camp towel (small sized)
55 gallon trash bags (3)
Camp hatchet
Camp knife
Lighter
Fire starter balls
Colt 1911 revolver
100 rounds 45 Long Colt bullets
2 extra bullet clips
quik clot emergency trauma pak
•
Compact binoculars
bird watching scope
BPL Skurka bobble head talisman (for luck)
•
Small digital camera with extra lenses
•
Lightweight camp chair or sitting pad (i.e. Crazy Creek,
•
Therm-a-rest chair kit)
Buff
•
Sleeping bag liner
•
Individually wrapped personal wash wipes (used ones must
•
be packed out)
Dedicated sleep clothing (e.g. silk camisole, underwear,
•
t-shirt, long underwear, etc.)

[EndoftheTrail]

Please put weights next to the items. I'm curious to see if you really need the Osprey pack — but hard to tell without knowing your overall pack weight. Also, will you be sharing your tent?

Camp hatchet? Revolver, 100 rounds plus 2 extra clips? What type of hike will this be?

[D G]

Ben,
I don't have a scale, so I have not weighed the individual items.
I did weigh myself with the pack on and off (Not the most accurate I know) and the difference was (GASP) just under 34 lbs.

That's without food and water of course.

Re tent:
This is a solo trip, but I'm kind of messy with my gear and like to spread things around, hence the 2 person tent.

Re protection:
I'm a bit afraid of bears, and being that they'll be out of hibernation at this time (pacific Northwest cascades) and HUNGRY, I don't want to take any chances.

[Bob Gross]

"Colt 1911 revolver
100 rounds 45 Long Colt bullets
2 extra bullet clips
quik clot emergency trauma pak"

Well, that says a lot right there!

–B.G.–

[EndoftheTrail]

Daniel:

Everyone here argues over everything except one: you need a good digital scale. Get one off Ebay — they are quite inexpensive. I recommend something up to 30 lbs in 1/10th ounce increments. Anything over 30lbs, you can use your bathroom scale.

[D G]

Digital scale is definitely next on my list. I'm sure if I saw the individual weights of all these items I would see which are the big hitters with regards to weight.

[EndoftheTrail]

Yup. Get the scale now, though, so you will have plenty of time to whittle down / make substitutions, etc.

[Mary D]

Step 1–Read this article: http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/backpacking_light_101.html Then look at other gear lists on this site at http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/gearchecklists.html

Step 2–Get a postage scale that weighs to the nearest 0.1 ounce or in grams. Hopefully you don't have a single item that weighs over 5 lbs. If so, a scale that weighs up to 5 lbs. will do. If you have a single item over 5 lbs. it probably should be replaced anyway. Weigh every item in your gear. Without this information, there's very little we can tell you.

Step 3–Set up a computer spreadsheet to record each and every item in your gear with its weight. In addition to being an analysis tool, the spreadsheet will be your gear checklist for trips. The computer will add up the items for you. Use a format similar to the lists on this site, grouping your gear items into systems (sleeping, shelter, pack, cooking, etc.).

Just those three steps will tell you a lot on how to cut back on weight. For more ideas, come back with your revised gear list with weights.

[D G]

I can see now that a small scale is a "must have" item.
I'm going to see if I can find one tomorrow.

[Sam Farrington]

Thank you, Mary D.

[Jerry Adams]

Dan Durston turned me onto 2000 g scale on ebay for $8

takes several weeks to ship from China and get through customs

for example http://cgi.ebay.com/2000g-0-1g-LCD-Display-Digtal-Pocket-Electronic-Scale-/280496177001?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item414edfff69

[Ryan Teale]

Even without the weights I can pick off the low hanging fruit for you quite quickly. You have enough clothes for a mountaineering trip at altitude. What type of trip is this and what temps are you expecting?

Break your list down by items worn, and items carried at the least. You can also break down further with categories for shelter, sleeping, and miscellaneous.

Pick just one shirt to hike in for the entire trip. You have about 3 listed. I like a long sleeved nylon shirt if bugs are expected.

2 sets of long underwear tops and bottoms of different weights…….
I would take the thinner bottoms and one of the two tops. With temps above freezing I would pick the lighter long sleeve shirt.

Above freezing you don't need a wool sweater, fleece jacket, fleece vest, plus an insulating jacket. You are already carrying an extra long sleeve shirt. Most of us just carry a lightweight down jacket. I do like a fleece vest under my shell for cold rain.

I havn't used insulating pants unless temps will consistently dip into the 20s or teens and I plan on doing a lot of hanging around camp. I am usually walking most of the day and finish eating just before dark and then into the bag.

Get a SMC snow stake and get rid of the plastic trowel. Snow stake works better and is lighter.

Eat out of your pot and ditch the bowl. Find the lightest cup you can for hot drinks.

3 trash bags plus a pack cover……
1 trash compactor bag as a liner is 2oz. That is all I use except for 2 stuff sacks for organization. Ditch all the other stuff

There is more to cut but it's a start.

[EndoftheTrail]

Or something like this for weights up to 35 lbs – $20 shipping included.

[Travis Leanna]

Just out of curiosity, how accurate are those eBay scales? Or any cheap scale?

[EndoftheTrail]

Travis:

The no-name model I got from Ebay (which is very similar to what I linked above) is quite accurate and reliable. I've been using it since 2004.

[Matt Stone]

Does anyone else use one? I have one that measures up to 11 pounds, to the nearest gram. I mainly use that. Any difference between that and a postal scale other than having to clean it off well before putting food on it?

[Ryan C]

The cheap eBay scales are ok, I have a "Weight Max" brand (I think) that is accurate to 0.2oz (0.1oz if the screen flickers between two values) and can handle up to 75lbs. Good value for $10-15. Also, get one with a working zeroing function which can come in handy.

[Ken Thompson]

Are packing for a solo or a group. 2 liter cookpot, bowl and cup. Just take the pot. and a smaller one at that. Lighter choices for water containment. Muti tool a hatchet and a knife, ?????really? What are the 3 55 gallon bags for. One compactor bag would be all that is necessary for a pack liner. Then no pack cover needed. Too many clothes.

Once you get a scale you will be appalled at what things weigh.

I feel Mike C. watching. Get ready…

[Jerry Adams]

My 2000 g ebay $8 scale is accurate to 0.1 g or 0.01 oz

2000 g is 4.4 pounds which is just a little small compared to some thing I want to weigh, although I can't think of anything except my loaded pack that exceeds that

The only time you need that accuracy is if you're weighing down

Otherwise 1 g or 0.1 oz or 1/8 oz is fine

I have a kitchen scale with 1/8 oz accuracy, but it is inconvenient to use units of 1/8 oz

Which would take us to the thread about why aren't we converting to metric, but I won't go there

[roberto nahue]

I got a kitchen scale (not digital that works good enough… i just round my stuff to the next ounce…

but since some of you are saying that the cheap digital scales from ebay are worth i might just get one :D

to the OP… i am just a beginner in regards to backpacking and i am into knives a lot… and i like camp fire whenever it is possible to have one… my system on knives changed to save weight and now i just carry a 3 inch fixed blade on my belt and a small saw… a hatchet is good but it is heavy… the saw should be enough to cut wood… and the small knife is good to split small logs… small enough to start your fire…

in regards to your gun… do you really need a hundred rounds? i don't think the bear will let you reload… and if you are really scare of bears be careful you don't shoot someone knocking on your tent…

Like others have said, you do have plenty of clothes for winter camping, but if it won't be too cold then your light long underwear should be enough to keep warm (if you are a warm sleeper)… i've used my 30F bag down to low 20's with just long underwear and a light fleece jacket and at times i would wake up sweating… but then again, different people sleep different…

you definetly have extra of everything… cut it down a bit based on the suggestions given… recreate your list and repost it… also, repack, get back on your scale and give an approximate with the new list… Don't delete the original list so others looking at the thread know what you had and what you currently have…

[Kevin Harper]

If your like me you will start out with a list like above on your first trip and on your way back to the car you will have an idea what needs to go first. Its trial and error. As for the ammo, I am ok with a gun my-self but 100 rounds might be a tad excessive. Not that I would shoot a bear but if you don't hit with the first two shots its probably not going to matter anymore. Load up the cylinder and thats probably all you will need. Again, I don't think I would ever shoot a bear but use it to fire a shot and the bear will probably run off anyway.

[David Drake]

Looks like an excellent list for any trip around the first of April.

[D G]

If this trip was on the first of April I would probably need to add more gear for the lower temps. LOL

[Chris S]

When you get your scale can you tell me how much the bobble head weighs? I was thinking about getting one as well.

[Jason Delso]

I would take two silk camisoles (in case one gets wet)

See if TiGoat can make a meaner, leaner, lighter version of the 1911 (or the ammo)?

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