My JMT list for 2012

I am new here too and I don't really know your goals or what portion of the JMT you are doing. The whole thing? I also don't know conditions but some feedback I can give, again from a new-to-this perspective:

Consider:
Mini bic lighter instead of matches
Ground cover for tent
Platypus reservoir instead of Camelbak to save weight
Patagonia Torrentshell pullover instead of jacket to save weight
Patagonia Ultralight Down Sweater to save weight
Do you really need the belt?
Pack seems kind of heavy.

Sorry, all my ideas require you to spend money :(

Low hanging fruit:

>Pack is way too big and heavy. Under 2# with plenty of volume is easy to find.
>Drop most of your cook set. My Snow Peak 600 Ti mug weighs 3 oz with MYOG lid. You don't need more.
>You will need a windscreen for your stove. MYOG for few dollars and about 1 oz in weight.
>Aquamira instead of filter. 1 oz (repackaged) vs. 14.6. $15.
>Sleeping bag can be half that weight for 20* in down. But $$$. Or use your clothes to boost temp of a lighter bag, save more weight and the bag will cost less. I bought a GoLite 1+ season quilt for $120 (40% coupon) and have had it comfortably in the 30s wearing clothes and down jacket. Not sure what JMT (or your physiology) requires.
>3/4 length Prolite is 10.7 oz ~$80.
>Too many clothes.
>A lot of your smaller items have lightweight equivalents (half the weight or less) which don't cost an arm and a leg. Save close to 1/2 # altogether.

Added:
>Your Tarptent has a bathtub floor, I believe–no need for another groundsheet esp. with good site selection. But a tarp will save lots of weight (mine is MYOG, shaped for good weather protection, and weighs less than 16 oz including all stakes, guylines and polycro groundsheet.).
>I have a Torrentshell and like it, but mine weighs 12.3 oz in size small. A DriDucks jacket weighs 6 oz and costs $15.
>Your down sweater is a little heavy but IIRC, also a bit warmer than a Montbell Down Inner (the jacket I have–6.5 oz, $155 retail). Still, a new down piece is $$$. You could get a new pack for the same or less money that would shave *pounds* off your base, not ounces.

Some suggestions:

Pack
– You’ll definitely want to switch this out. Check out something like the Mariposa Plus from Gossamer Gear. It has a frame and would be a good size for the JMT. I love mine.

Water purification
– I actually use bleach combined with the aquamira frontier pro filter. It’s a nice little system and really light. The filter actually rids the water of the bleach taste for the most part. The filter costs $25 and weighs 2 ounces. Just a thought.

Cook system
– have you considered an alcohol system? A inexpensive alternative to what you have now is the 3 cup pot with the supercat stove. The stove only costs .50 to make and is SUPER easy to make. Basically just need a sharpie and hole punch. Or you can buy a diff. alcohol stove – they don’t cost a lot.

Sleeping bag
– This is a bit heavy. It will cost some $$$ to replace though. You have to decide if you want to spend money there or not. My 15 degree bag is 34 oz., and you can get quilts that weigh even less. Do you already own a lighter 30 degree bag that you could supplement with your clothing?

Sleeping pad
– Heavy. Different options for replacing it depending on your comfort level with different types of pads. The POE Peak Elite is only around $65 and weigh around 10 oz. It’s worth checking out.

Jacket
– Consider a driducks jacket as previously mentioned. They’re inexpensive (around $20 for jacket and pants).

Additions
– compass/map
– soap
– first aid kit
– no TP? – good for you ;)
– mosquito head net (depending on when you go)

Pack – This pack is heavy, I would recommend something like the GG Mariposia Plus or Gorilla, the SMD Swift (with belt and stay), or the ULA Ohm.

Cook Set – You could save some weight here too. You could cut this in half. Do you really need the bowl and the frying pan? I suggest one mug/pot to cook in, eat out of, drink out of, etc. Something 500-700mL seems about right for one person.

Replace the match kit with a mini Bic (0.4oz). If you feel the need for a backup, a paper book of matches works well and is really light.

Fuel – Do you really need both canisters? I use mostly alcohol these days, but I can get 17 – 12oz boils out of one 4oz Snow Peak Canister. You could always ship one ahead to your resupply point.

Filter – Replace with repackaged Aquamira (1.1oz)

Knife – Holy Crap what are you doing with a 4oz knife! Find something in the 0.6oz range you like (Spyderco Ladybug, Gerber Micro LST, Mini Swiss Army, etc) and go with that.

Sleeping Bag – You could lighten this up a bit, by going to a high quality high fill power down bag. This will cost a bit, but will also be a long term investment as nice down bags last for years.

Pad – 22oz seems like a lot unless you are doing winter backpacking. I am guessing this is a Prolite Plus or Prolite 4?

Camelback – Drop, you already have a 32oz Gatorade Bottle. If you feel you need more storage (on the JMT you probably don’t) get a 1.5oz Platypus.

Rain Jacket – This is quite heavy for a jacket you probably will only use for warmth. You could look into a Dri Ducks (5oz) or another light jacket like the Marmot Essence or OR Helium.

Patagonia boxer brief – drop. Wash your hiking pair while in camp wearing your silk weight bottoms.

Utility Cord – Drop, For 4oz that must be some cord.

T-Shirt – Drop, you already have a sleeping shirt and a hiking shirt.

Shorts – Drop, you already have sleeping pants and hiking pants.

Wearing-

Why are you wearing two shirts?

I would specifically warn you to test the pack with friction belt before heading out. I bought an Aether 70 in 2008 and wore it while using a Patagonia friction belt. The belt and pack waist belt combo created serious hotspots and I had to ditch the belt after two days.

The other recommendations are all great. You might want to look at Granite Gear packs. There are relatively light options that have enough support to take more conventional loads above 25 lbs with ease.

Since you aren't planning on your trip until 2012 you have enough time to see how much you can pare down from your kit and possibly look at lighter and less expensive options in backpacks that might suit you.

I am an extremely happy SMD Swift 2011 owner. I keep my pack weight below 20lbs and use a GG torso pad for a frame without the stay or hip belt. Great pack. I can even jog with it on when I get below 13lbs. Inexpensive without the stay or belt but this option requires low total weight and may not suit most.

Sounds like you are well on your way with some solid items. There are lots of upgrades you could make that would cost some cash (sleeping bag/pad etc.) Here's a couple of cheap and easy ideas.

Ditch top lid on the pack and use it as a roll top Free
Trim Pack straps carefully Free
Gerber LST $15 (If you are a bushcraft/survival guy stick with your knife)
Driducks $15
Ditch the canyon shirt and MH tee and sub with a MH long sleeve tech shirt $45
Ridge Rest or foam pad. $20-$40. Cut to knee length and put your feet on the pack
Steripen instead of the filter $70

Let us know how the prep goes!

Along with all these recommendations I would caution heavily against just buying a bunch of gear just because it's lighter and assuming it will work well for you. Change one thing at a time, take it out on a few multi day trips and test it, then go home and evaluate it's performance. You've got plenty of time until next summer (I'm assuming that's when you're going) to get your pack lighter, so don't rush it. With that being said, here are my thoughts:

Get a much lighter pack. Even something like the ULA circuit, which weighs a little over 2lbs, will greatly reduce your overall weight. A lot of guys on here advocate going completely frame-less but I found the Circuit to be a good in between for guys like myself, who aren't completely willing to go that route just yet. If you do a little searching on the used gear sales forum, something almost always comes up.

You're cooking system weighs 28.3oz and that's way too much. Are you actually cooking meals or are you just boiling water? If only boiling water, then look into something like the Caldera Keg. Mine weighs less than 3oz and each esbit tab weighs half an ounce. I found that I would only use one tab per day with one hot meal and big cup of cocoa at night.

I would look into a lighter knife. All you need is a sharp blade and some people like scissors.

Sew your headlamp onto your beanie. I got the idea from Mike Clelland's book and I love it!

Get a lighter sleeping bag. Probably don't need a 15 degree bag, especially since you are bringing warm sleeping clothes.

Your pad is really heavy. Lay down on it and see if you could do without the portion below your butt. Then cut it off haha.

Swap out your Camelbak reservoir for an Evernew 1.5L bladder. It only weighs 1.3 oz

You can rent a Wild Ideas Bearikade for $55 for your whole JMT trip. And it weighs ten ounces less than your current one.

Rain jacket is good but the Driducks one is lighter and really cheap.

I would get rid of: silk weight crew, silk boxers, extra shorts, extra shirt.

Instead of all that rope just bring an extra shoelace. Dual purpose too.

Socks? How many pairs? what are the weights?

Wearing:
pants (might get pretty hot, depending on the time of year)
2 shirts at the same time? I'd rethink that. You could wear a short sleeve and then get a windshirt in case you needed extra sun protection.
get rid of belt. instead, buy shorts/pants that have an elastic waist or drawstring. Every time I've worn a belt it's ended up chafing.

First Aid?
Glasses?
Map/Compass?
Toiletries?
Repair kit?
Any stuff sacks/dry bags/ziploc bags?
Book/iPod?
Pillow?

What are you goals? Do you want to spend a lot of time in camp or do you want to put the miles quickly behind you? I ask because I spent a couple months in the Sierras this summer and to me it seemed like most JMT hikers placed great importance on the camping aspect. They would bring folding chairs and big tents, hike 8 hours and stay in camp for the rest of the time. They wouldn't hit the trail until 9 AM and would be done by 5 PM. There were some JMT hikers that hiked like PCT thru hikers, but they were in the minority.

Thanks everyone, great insight.
Fortunately I don't actually have that pack or sleeping bag yet. Those are just ones I've tried and liked…
Pack: I want to go much lighter, but honestly the Osprey and similar packs are so comfortable and seem to carry heavy loads easier. So I know part of the solution is to lighten the load, but the ula and similar packs (especially gossamear) don't seem to have much in the way of comfort. In their defense I've never tried them.
So any ideas there? I want lightweight but with some comfort.

I will be hiking the entire trail, yes, with my dad and uncle and brothers/cousins. 6 of us I think. We are probably looking at taking 19-21 days. Ish.

Bag… I know I really need to drop some weight here as well. What are everyone's thoughts on quilts? Not sure how cold it actually gets on the JMT in August (We may start late July).

First aid kit- I have it covered. I have several variations, but for this hike will be just packaging my own with a few simple items. I have experience in this area so I'll mostly improvise. I haven't decided what the final small kit will include but have some ideas.

Too many clothes? I agree. Check.

Stove/cooking… My dad and I love to cook. And all of us love to eat. We're also admittedly inexperienced with backcountry cooking. So I'm on a learning curve at the moment, and trying to balance delicious eats with exercising restraint.

J

I also had an Aether before my lightweight days. I ended up switching to a Granite Gear Blaze AC 60 as I liked the idea of being able to handle a bit more weight if need be. The padding is high quality and it is super comfortable even as you start to reach its carry limits. It's under 3. lbs and has silly long straps so there is some additional weight to be saved. I've had it out for about a dozen days and it is holding up really well. I think the only time I've touched the aether since was car camping when I just wanted something I could toss around and beat the heck out of.

Oh awesome, thanks. I'll have to check that out.

Also… Do you think the gear capacity on that Granite Gear pack is enough for 3 weeks on the JMT?

How long are you planning to be out between your resupply points? Are you traveling alone? Your biggest challenge will be carrying enough food. I'd think that this pack could carry 13ish days worth of gear/food without getting sloppy. There is a top lid which is sold separately which can add some additional ci if you need it.

Comfort- for what its worth I find the gossamer gear pads very comfortable. As long as you keep the weight to a reasonable level (25-30 lbs), they're great. They won't carry heavier loads well though. Another pack you could look at is the osprey exos 58.

Sleeping bag – I use a quilt and love it. They are usually lighter than bags. If you're a side sleeper just make sure you get one wide enough.