First Time Lightweighter. Hows It Looking?

It may be helpful to state where you operate. Gear for the Arctic Circle might be a little different from gear for the Sahara Desert.

–B.G.–

Good point.

I'm going for a three season list for Michigan. Although I'll be taking a trip to the Gila National Forest in New Mexico in early march and was hoping to use the same gear.

The SL2 is a great shelter, but I seem to hear a lot about bugs in the midwest. Do you have the inner?

On a side note, I moved from an Exos to a ULA Circuit and the difference is incredible. If the exos works for you, great, but if you feel it can't comfortably carry more than a couple days food (i did) maybe consider it.

8 oz for pillow and case? Can't you use stuff you already have with you like the Thermarest stuff sack with extra clothes, shoes, bottle, etc.
Why not eat with your stirring spork?
What the diff in "food bag" under Pack and "bear bag" under Misc?
Do you need both towel and bandana?
What's in the toiletries at 5 oz?
Flask = adult bev?
Do you really need 1.7 PPD of food? Most use 1.4-1.5. I use 1.2. If it's all dry and repackaged and you don't return with extra then keep the 1.7.
What poles do you have that weigh 32 oz? Even the cheapos from Walmart I use are 20 oz.
Do you need a watch? Your camera should have date/time.

Overall pretty good for first attempt – well under 20 lb base.

New Mexico – Have spent some time there. Be sure to shake out your shoes in the morning ! Before I went the first time when I was 19YO I said yeah right, then the first day I shook a Scorpion out of my boots.

Not Bad – Good start just trim a bit.
Ounces here and there add up to pounds PDQ.

Ideas below >>>>

PACK – Lighter pack – Easy way to lose 1-2 pound.
I say 24oz max like a GG Miraposa but make sure everything fits, IE keep the volume down when you buy. If you use a lot of stuff sacks you could build some out of cuben scraps. FYI a stripped Golite Jam II weighs 18 oz and is cheap but you need a small volume for it to work. Good 3 day pack if you have small gear.
A Zpack would save you 2 pounds.

SHELTER – IMO Add a bug tent – 8oz. Dont leave home without it.
Also you can chop off about 1 pound with a Cuben Tarp – expensive though. 8×10 cuben tarp is about 6 oz for just the tarp.

SLEEPING – Not bad but you have a 20dF bag and no insulating layers that I see unless I missed something.

In mid summer a 20dF bag will be too hot anyway unless at altitude.
IMO You might be better off to swap to or add a lighter bag for a more versatile Summer setup, like a lighter bag for summer in the 16 oz range and some layers etc if you need them and swap out to your 20dF bag when its colder.

For instance you could use a 32dF bag like a summerlite down bag – 19oz with a montbell UL down parka with hood – 10 oz = 29oz total. A driducks suit as a layer assuming its not wet and would be versatile.

A montbell UL #5 40dF bag weighs 16 oz reg, 18 oz long. Nice bag but no zipper baffle which I might correct.

Another option is to build or buy a 2.5 climashield XP M90 quilt for summer. Cost about $80-90 in materials. Good to about 45dF. I use mine as a topper on the above MB #5 down bag to extend the warmth. Weighs about 13 oz.

Also have a 5 oz climasheild quilt weighs about 23 oz and good to +- 25-30dF on its own

Go for a lighter pillow in the 2 oz range.
BTW, if your bag is a synthetic bag it probably wont fit in a small pack like a JAM 2 etc. Too bulky.

CLOTHING – Add an insulating layer of some sort. For mid summer when I dont need much, I use a nice Joe boxer very thin fleece shirt I found at the Salvation Army for $3. Weighs 9 oz for XL and its very warm combined with a smartwool Tee. It is one of my layers I use a lot. Wish it had a hood though.

For colder weather I have a Thermawrap parka, Montbell UL down vest and a few other odds and ends.

COOKING – You can get this down to 5 oz

That said 20# is not bad. About half of what I used to carry.

@PorcupinePhobia. I do not have the liner for the tent. I figured the door zipped up would be adequate, although not great, bug protection. My other thought was a tarp which would have had no sort of door, so I thought a floorless tent would be a step up in bug and weather protection. Have yet to camp with it though so I guess we'll see.

@topshot. Yeah its kind of a heavy pillow. I was surprised after I weighed it. I've tried the rolled up clothes method though and it just isnt comfortable. Does anyone have any recommendations for a relatively cheap dual chamber blow up pillow? that would cut out a bit.

Also, the bear bag is the rope used for hanging, and a bag to hold a rock for throwing. The 32oz poles was a rough estimation. Seems to be a bit high.

I am a little worried about not having enough food when I go out, as I've never really thought about food weight before BackpackingLight. I thought 1.7ppd would be a conservative estimate that I could slowly reduce as I become more comfortable with my food selection.

@tammons. A lighter pack and shelter would be ideal, but I'm on a college budget and am trying to make one pack work for all my trips. Hopefully pushing the 58 as long as a 5 day trip.

Ill definitely look into some insulating layers though. Ive seen some guys who just throw their sleeping bag inside their rain jacket which is what I was going to try. Ill be sticking with my 20df bag though, unless you know of a good bag for under $150.

Any ideas of how to bring that cooking weight down? I was thinking cat can stove, but have been with my canister stove for a while and I'm reluctant to give it up.

Thanks for the input guys.

$150 is tough for a good bag, but there is a WM summerlite 35dF bag on the for sale forum for $210. Its a long though. A regular weighs 16 oz. Long weighs 17 oz. There was a guy selling one here that was cut down to a quilt. Think it was going for $150 or so ??

I personally just snagged a GG miraposa Pack on the for sale forum for $110, Normally $170. Weighs 24 oz.

5 oz alcohol cook set.
There are a few people on whiteblaze and maybe here with a similar setup as this.
You need to practice with one of these a bit before you take off.

This setup weighs 4.5 oz without a fuel container.

Cut down Fosters can (18oz or so) with a bail handle. Short country time lemonade container. They make koolaid containers like this too. Folding titanium Spork, bubble wrap, wind screen, pot support, cup stove, 1/2 a microfiber wash cloth from Publix. The pot support is made from the top of a heineken can but they cant take too much heat although they seem to do pretty good with alcohol.
One guy here used one with an esbit cube and it melted.

I also have a very light wire pot stand that is more heavy duty.
The alcohol container is the bottom of a red bull can about 1″ high.

This gives you 3 containers to work with and is crush proof. With a freezer bag inside the plastic container in warm weather you dont even need the wrap for normal
instant food.

Instant fire starters from Ace hardware will boil a cup, but will smoke your pot.
Same thing as Wetfire from what I can tell and cheap.

Found it.
WM modded bag into a quilt.
13.8 oz.

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=58479

> A lighter pack and shelter would be ideal, but I'm on a college budget and am trying to make one pack work for all my trips. Hopefully pushing the 58 as long as a 5 day trip.

A lighter pack is not always the way to go. It works for some people, but a frame often more than makes up for its extra weight by offering better load carrying capability. The Exos is a great lightweight pack, as long as it fits you comfortably. As you refine your gear, you should have no problem fitting a weeks supply of gear and food in that pack.

I took mine to Arizona a few years ago because I needed the volume and load carrying capability. I was prepared to carry gear, food for 4 nights, and up to 8 liters of water. It turned out that I was able to find enough water to only need to carry 2-3 liters at a time, but it all fit. I've since moved down in size to a Talon 44 which I took on a 6 day pack rafting trip this summer and it carried all the gear and food (packraft was strapped to the outside of the pack).

My point is, keep your pack and refine your gear. You'll naturally find out if you need something different for a pack.

That minimalist quilt made from a sleeping bag, says its 36" wide.
IMO thats too narrow so you might want to ask him to be sure.

I used to have a golite ultra 20.

Nice quilt and seemed more like a 25dF quilt.
Still it was 21 oz for a long and packs down to nothing.
I slept in it one night down to 14dF in a hammock
with heavy johns on.

They are not made any more but they come up for sale every now and then
for a reasonable amount.

Andy,
Sorry, I took it that you were already experienced at BPing and just a newbie to going lightweight.

There have been several threads on Pillows in the past so do a search for those. I find it odd that someone who can be comfortable on a single generic CCF pad would be concerned with pillow comfort. :) If you have never tried using only that pad before, make sure you do before your trip!

Put 21 oz for the poles. If they are heavier than that then get the Walmart ones (flick-lock version).

Better to err on the side of caution your first few times out regarding food. Once you have it dialed in more, you can reduce and there’s no harm if you run out of food your last day.

If you really want a 20F bag, I don’t know one under $150 that doesn’t weigh near what you already have. I personally think an accurately rated 40F bag would be fine if you have proper clothing layers.

You can definitely save weight with an alchy stove system. Alcohol is lighter overall until you start staying out for a couple weeks or more.

Have might have a look at my paper, but it seems you’re well on your way to a decent kit.

Eventually Shoot for a summer sub 4# big 4.
As you come into more $ some things to check out.

Any Montbell UL SS bags – Superb – a lifetime investment.
Very roomy and very comfortable.
I think the perfect pair are the #5 40dF for summer at 16 oz and
the #1 15dF bag at 36oz – expensive.

I dont care for the #3 because at 30dF you really need a zipper baffle which it is missing. A mistake in marketing if you ask me.

Neoair small – 9oz
More comfort – Synmat UL 7 full size – 16 oz
Anything Cuben – all expensive.

It's really light just a little too small for me. Let me know if you are interested. I'm in Wisconsin & if it fit better would be perfect.

Also try making a penny stove….fun & practical if you can get your fuel/cooking measurements acurate. I can send you one too if interested.

Have you hit Sylvania wilderness ares or Isle Royale yet…if not add them to your list :)

http://hunts-upguide.com/watersmeet_sylvania_wilderness_area.html

PM me or send to david dot styers dot msn @ gmail dot com

Thanks for the input guys. I really appreciate it.

Looks like I'm heading to Zion National Park in early March with a group, so what I posted above along with the few changes will be what I am taking. Yeah sub-15 base weight!

Does anyone have any input on the amount of clothes they normally bring? Right now I'll be wearing trail running shoes, short smartwoll socks, zip-off pants, synthetic t-shirt, and a long sleeve thin wool shirt. As far as extra clothes go I'll be bringing a pair of sleep socks, thin shorts (for sleeping, if its warmer than expected, or the pants get wet), as well as a driDucks rain suit. I figured I could wrap my bag around me at night under the driDucks and wouldn't need any heavy insulating layer. Does this seem like an adequate amount of clothing or am I missing something?

@tammons
Checked out the montbell #3 and it looks awesome. I've already dropped quite a bit on gear, but when I can save up a bit more I'll definitely be considering it. Do you ever see these on sale or gearTrade?

@dstyers
Just got a pair of DriDucks. Hopefully thatll be all I'll need for a while as far as rain gear is concerned. Thanks anyway though. Also, those trails in the UP look pretty legit. I've never heard of the Sylvania wilderness but if I'm ever up north I'll check it out. Also, I've been back and forth with an alcohol stove. Its gonna be hard for my to drop my canister stove. I guess I'm just used to it.

The MB #3 is a good bag, but its huge flaw is it is missing a zipper baffle, so at 30dF you will have a long cold streak down your side. If you are a side aleeper, it will be down your back.

See them every now and then on gear swap.

If I ever buy one, first thing, I would sew on a zipper baffle.

A much better bag is the MB #2 UL down hugger which is not made any more.
Very hard to find.

A quilt is an option too, like one by Tim Marshall or a golite ultra 20.