3 Season Gear List for relativly new ultraliter

Great list not much I could see were there was obvious weight reductions your gonna have to think outside the box a heini pot or similar would drop just over a ounce you could find lighter rainware you could ditch the bivy and just take a headnet you could us a polycryo ground sheet and drop about a ounce "if it's nasty weather I would still tale the bivy" but overall really good list I am in the same boat as you I am hovering at 6lb base and after you do all the obvious things you have to think outside the box to drop weight "or drop comfort level which is no fun"

Thanks. Any Suggestions on lighter rain gear? I thought it was lite until I put it on the scale. Still working on the Heini pot but can't get the top off without a sharp corner. The safety can opener I bought doesn't like the top of the can and keeps chewing it up.
Where would one find a polycyro ground sheet? I am counting on forgetting the ground sheet if I am using the bivy (good idea or not?), and have considered leaving the bivy on nice nights, problem is I always seem to choose the rainy ones :(

You can get polycyro at home depot or ace it's the window insulation stuff a dress bag cut in half works great I made a 16ounce pot out of a monster can and them made a caldera cone like stove for it that uses esbit complete system without fuel weighs 1.6 ounces I just cut if the top ring leaving the lip and then used a dremel to smooth the metal to give a mental picture I cut from the top angling straight down and cut along the indent then smoothed it out and made a wire bail handle if your using the bivy and you clear your sleeping area no need for a ground sheet when I bring my bivy i don't bring a ground cloth since my bivy protects my bag and prolite pad rain gear wise I don't have the best answer living in new mexio it's not a huge deal if the temps are above 45day time i ditch rain pants althogether and just take a treated windshell that weighs 5ounces i know there is some dedicated rain jackets hood and all that weigh about that I just improvised and dwr treated my windbreaker but if the weather is good I nix the pants and just use a small camp towel or bandana to dry myself off before bed since cold isn't a promblem hope I helped

VERY NICE LIST!
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(minimal feedback below)
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Lawn bag ground cloth 2 — NIX the ground cloth altogether, no need with the bivy sack.

First aid kit 3.5 – Just a little bit high, nix a tiny bit, and be careful about packaging.

Classic Swiss Army Knife 1.3 —- REPLACE with something lighter, a single edge razor blade is the lightest!

Signal Mirror (mostly for checking for ticks) 0.63 —- One option is to get a compass with a mirror, and then you'll have a multi-use tool (a superior compass too) – Alas, there might be no weight savings.

Hand Sanitizer 1.75
—- I would add a small vial of soap, and NIX the hand sanitizer altogether, soap is a superior hygiene tool

Biodegradable Toilet Paper 1.25 —- easily NIX'd

Also —- Alcohol fuel can be stored in any ol' plastic bottle, no need for a special flask. A platypus works great! A squirt lid from a hot sause bottle is super helpful.

—- Question —- Do you take a bandana? If not, right on for you! (I take a partially cut down bandana, less than one oz)

Good tips. I will definitely lose the ground cloth.
Any suggestions on what to keep in a first aid kit? I am storing mine in a little op sack right now I will switch it to a ziplock and should shave a lot of weight. (turns out is exactly the same so went back to the more durable opsack)
Here is my current kit.
tick tweezers
1 roll of sterile gauze
1 pad moleskin
1 3×4 sterile dressing
1 3×3 " "
1 2×2 " "
3 butterfly bandages
2 band aids
1 odd shaped band aid for knuckles, hands, toes
1 little roll duct tape
2 packets antiseptic towelettes
2 insect bite packs
2 antibiotic ointment
2 antihistamine packs
2 ibuprofen packs

Anything obvious that I am missing that could be removed? I am eye balling the sterile dressings as a possibility and only carrying one.

I take the Swiss because I end up using the scissors in my emergency kit and I like having the screw driver for repairs in the field(makes a great pry bar also).

I never thought of the mirror on my old compass I replaced it with the lighter one. I will switch it back and check out the weight difference. Turns out after weight the mirror compass comes in at 2.5 oz vs 1.51 oz for signal mirror and lighter compass. The mirror one has an adjustable declination and the other does not I have to do it in my head. Is the better compass worth the extra weight? So far I have never needed it since the trails I am on are so well marked, only pull it out to practice just in case.

I carry a little vial of soap as well (is included in the weight of the insect repellent) but a lot of places I hike water is scarce so I carry both (and sanitizer makes a great emergency fire starter and I don't have to keep it dry like tinder). I will consider going to just soap since it should not really use that much water, probably lighter to carry tinder anyway).

Not sure I am ready to go all natural with the TP just yet. Although I am getting ready t read HOW TO SHIT IN THE WOODS to get some ideas. The tarp is my latest step so I am sure I will get there eventually. Not sure what to do with out TP.

The bottle in question is just like the old lil' niper play bottle that was discontinued and only weighs in, according to someone else here at like .3 oz so thought I would give it a try.

I don't carry a bandana anymore but use a uv and bug repellent buff. Keeps sun off my neck, ticks off my back, can be soaked to keep me cool, great emergency bandage or tourniquet, and can also be used as a mask to keep dust, sand, bugs, etc. out of my mouth and eyes. With so much use and the ability to use less sunscreen I find it worth the 1.3 oz. Last trip my neck got pretty toasted in two days without it.

Thanks for the advice! I will slowly work it into my system.

I would just ditch the hand sanitized and just bring 1-2 alcohol prep wipes per day they double for my first Aid kit drop of 1 ounce if you need a emergency fire starter get some wetfire or just carry a half esbit tablet I will look through my first aid kit"which I have spent about 4-5hours refining" and list the items from it

Thanks Will. I like the idea of the alcohol wipes. I will pick up some more and give it a go. Looking forward to seeing your first aid list.

Ok weight of my first aid kit is 2.02 ounces or 57.4 grams here are the contents
Small roll of gauze 2.3gms
Single nitrile glove 6.4gms
Small sicors 4.0gms
2in pencil with 2 5ft sections of medical tape wrapped 6.9gms
10ft of duct tape wrapped around plastic cutip 10gms "doubles as repair kit duct tape and general use"
6 pain killers 6 zyrtecs 2asprin 2.9gms
4wax dots for braces 0.6gms
1 small bandage 3sm packets of antibiotic 2medium waterproof bandages 2 butterfly bandages 2 1in by 3in bandages 2 2inx4in bandages 1 3×6 inch sheet of moleskin 14.9gms I could drop some moleskin and basses but this is my up to 10day kit so I leave them there hope my list helped btw I dropped about 10gms by trimming of exes paper packaging on the bandages

Thanks. Looks similar to my kit. I think a lot of my weight is coming from the duct tape which is much bigger then I thought. weighs in at 1.5 oz!!! so 3.5-1.5 =2 oz for the rest of my kit. Not to bad. I will make up a smaller roll of duct tape and should be considerably lighter.
Thanks again for the help!

And on the concept of tp that's also something I'm not ready to drop living in a desert suitable natural alternatives are a little harder to find I don't think sage or cactus would work very well lol but I have found alternatives what I use is one of those blue heavy dutie workshop towels cut into 3×5 inch stripa one towel weighs 2.5gms and they double as mess kit cleanup there heavy dutie enough to give yourself a dry shower and if you use them as tp it's the method that counts wipe fold wip fold wipe fold lol that way you keep your hands clean and use the majority of the towel just my
2cents take it for what its worth

good point. My thought is that you can use tp as a non sterile gauze in an emergency. It works great to stuff an open wound if you don't carry a lot of sterile gauze, like most of us and will at least help treat the wound until evac is complete.

Ya I never thought of using it for packing for open wounds that's a great idea hopefully I won't need to try it though

One time I got a severe slice to the knee from a sharp rock on the trail, and it was bleeding like crazy. All I had for sterile gauze was what was on the band-aids. However, TP is kind of semi-sterile, so it was used. It can shed paper fibers, but it is much better than nothing. It is cheap and lightweight and obviously is multiple-use.

–B.G.–

William,

You don't REALLY lest each 3×5 strip serve double duty for your mess kit, do you? :)

Talk about a bad after taste!

Toilet Paper free expeditions.

LINK:
http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/toilet_paper_free.html

I work at NOLS, and in 17 year and over 3 years of my life in the mountains, I have NVER used toilet paper. It's easier than you might think. In the desert, I use sandstone rocks.

–

I bet the tape in your first aid kit is most of the 3 oz. Just carry a smaller roll of medical / sports tape in your first aid kit. And then add some duct tape to your poles before you head out, and it's weight NOT carried in your pack.

"Black Diamond Trail Shock Trekking Poles 19 oz"

Replace these with Gossamergear LT4's and save ~12 oz.
A lot bigger savings than 1.25 oz by eliminating TP. Sorry, Mike. The devil made me say it. ;-)

Good idea Mike. I will throw that into my list of adjustments to make this week.

How durable are they Tom? My poles take a beating. If they are tough enough I will make the switch.

"How durable are they Tom?"

Hi Justin,

I've been using them for 3 years now on trips that typically take in some pretty rough terrain, on trail and off. I've found them to be very durable so far. They are flat out the best poles I've ever used. The only down side that I can think of offhand is the price, $160/pair. Like all expander design poles the rubber expanders will wear and have to be replaced, but I do not consider that to be a significant problem.

are the expanders easily available from the manufacturer?

Yes, they are. You can ask them to send a pair with your order. It has also occurred to me that you should check out others' opinions of the Lightrek 4 poles. If you do an advanced search with the search argument of Gossamer Gear Lightrek 4 you can read user reviews and Doug Johnson's staff review of the poles. That way you will have a much more complete picture of the pros and cons of the poles before you decide whether or not to purchase them. I would not want you to make an expensive purchase based on my recommendation alone, as confident as I am of my recommendation.

I don't carry or use trekking poles, thus their weight is zero – same as toilet paper.

And – I have never had to clean up and deal with someone else's trekking poles!

I have to admit I love poles. I used to laugh at everyone who used them until I finally did a 15 mile day hike on Mt. Diablo and my knees were shot coming down. Tried poles the next time and have been a convert ever since. Also good for dealing with the rattle snakes that frequent my favorite hiking and backpacking spots, and as splints for emergencies.

Justin,

Great list. Do you need a bivy with a 8' X 10' tarp. This is one of the reasons I went back to a larger tarp on larger trips, my cuben tarp is lighter than my poncho/tarp and I can leave the bivy at home.

I am going to disagree with Mike C on the full bandanna. You can probably get rid of some 1st aid stuff, and substitute the bandanna in an emergency. Big enough to wrap around a limb, or even cut it up if needed. In the desert it really cools you if you wet it and place it over your head and dropped around your neck. Can probably find a least a 100 uses for it. My standard bandannas weight 0.9 oz. Here is my 1st aid kit.

First Aid Kit: 1st Aid Ointment (2 ea) 0.1 oz
First Aid Kit: 1st Aid Towelettes 0.1 oz
First Aid Kit: 2" X 2" gauze (2 ea) 0.1 oz
First Aid Kit: Cuben sack 0.1 oz
First Aid Kit: Leuko Tape 0.1 oz
First Aid Kit: Medium Bandaids (4 ea) 0.2 oz
First Aid Kit: vial w/7 Advil 0.3 oz

Also it would be fun to see Mike go without TP in the lower Colorado desert, where some days all you can find is gritty sand, beavertails, jumping cholla, or a greasewood branch :)