Summer List for a 1st Time SUL’er

[Charles Schaefer]

Hi, I've been lurking here for a while, first time posting. So a little intro first. I'm a currently going to school at Weber State University in Utah, I grew up camping with family and friends, got my Life Scout before school got too busy to allow time for scouts (I graduated high school with an associate's degree from Utah Valley University). Most of my camping experience has been car camping and I've only just started getting into back packing with friends the last year or so.

When I have gone I've tried to stay pretty light weight, just because I don't want to carry 50 pounds 5 miles uphill. Usually I find myself in the low to mid 20's on my base weight. Well someone pointed me toward this sight saying that if I didn't want to carry a lot I'd find good info here, and have I ever, almost more than I can take in.

So with this in mind I started looking at gear, my goal was under 15 lbs. But as I started reading I decided I could probably go even lighter for the same money, and I've come to the point of assembling a list that looks pretty complete to me for a summer SUL list. Here it is:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AgbvB50IGNN0dDNzMjJ0dTlTV1lVNHRQeEhFdnJFaGc

For my stove set up I plan on copying this fairly closely: http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=61204

If you see any holes in the list or any ways that I can lighten up for little to no money is appreciated.

Also, I know the headlamp is heavy, I'm going to spend some time looking for a flash light that I like.

[Greg F]

Have you tried out the blizzard bag yet? I am interested in first hand experiences of using at a shelter. I have one still vacuumed packed. The weight of mine is 13.8 ounces. You have 19 listed.

What is the lowest temperature you are going backpacking in? I would probbly add a poofy down or synthetic jacket just for comfort during breaks. Check out the Montbell jackets.

I dont know if the cuban rain coat is worth 160 dollars, that is 1/3 of your budget to save 2 oz over driducks. At 80 dollars an ounce that is quite expensive.

What are you wearing while hiking? When I run in colder weather i use polypro bottoms and put running shorts over top. This reduces one set of pants. So if you are brining hiking pants and polypro you can reduce that to running shorts and polypro and reduce your skin out weight by about 4 – 6 ounces.

For these SUL lists environment is critcal in terms of what you need.

[Luke Schmidt]

Charles I couldn't get your link to work for some reason but here are two ideas from what you've mentioned.

If you really want to go SUL I suggest trying a weekend trip or two with cold food and see how you like that. I did 409 miles without a stove (not counting food at a couple resupplies). It worked well for the most part.

As far as lights go there are some 1 oz. lights on the market. One idea is to attach a tiny light to your hat with a spot of velcro or just hold it in your hand. One word of cautiion though, if you plan on hiking at night just bite the bullet and carry a good bright headlamp. And if you're on a long trip carry extra batteries so you can use the battery hogging high beams when you need them. I know it will add some weight but it is weight well spent if you are out at night a lot.

I always carry a backpack up light as well. A friend of mine misplaced his once and we only had one light between us for a nasty "bug out" hike in a snow storm. Usually I have a key chain style light hanging around my neck where I'll never lot it.

[M B]

No shelter? no groundcloth? stakes?
fuel container wt?
Just use aqua mira and forget the filter
compass but no map?
try a photon freedom light, heck take 2 + spare batteries for 1oz
get rid of the exra underwear
If you need rainpants, depends on temps
no knife or razor blade
no food bag?
bear rope may or may not be needed, etc.

[Charles Schaefer]

Greg: I haven't used the blizzard bag yet, I was planning on bringing it with for an over nighter in addition to my heavy bag so that if it doesn't work out I have a back up and then I can re-evaluate my plans for sleeping.

I plan on hiking in the summer in the mountains of Utah mostly, with lows at night in the mid to upper thirties. The base layers are mostly for sleeping in to extend the warmth of the blizzard bag. I'll be wearing a t-shirt, running shorts and minimalist trail runners, and maybe put on the polypro if it gets cold unexpectedly, but since it rarely drops below 70 until the sun goes down I should be ok. I'll check out the dri-ducks.

Luke: I'm definitely looking at flash lights, the big reason why I like the headlamp is for setting up in the dark, but if need be I can also attach a flash light to a hat or hold it in my mouth.

M B: I'll touch on these one by one
Shelter, groundcloth, stakes: From my research the blizzard bag is ok to be used on it's own without shelter or ground cloth unless you're expecting rain, my schedule is loose enough that if rain is in the fore cast I can go the next weekend.
Fuel container: I'll be using esbit so I wont have a special container for fuel.
Aqua mira: For some reason the drops just don't seem right to me, I like having a filter, so I'm using the lightest I could find.
Light: See above.
Extra underwear: I like having an extra pair, but it's not out of the question.
Rain pants: I shouldn't need them, it'll be warm when I'm using this kit.
Knife: I have one of the tiny SAKs, I forgot to put it on the list.
Food bag: Hadn't thought of that, I'll probably look at an opsak, bears aren't a problem where I am so if I can contain the smell it should be safe from critters.

Thanks for the suggestions, I'll make some changes and update the list.

Edit: A search on Amazon for Dri-Ducks brought up 2 pages of results. Is this the set up that everyone uses? http://www.amazon.com/Duck-Light-Weight-Hooded-Rain/dp/B00279IZEU/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1334449179&sr=8-2

[Dan Quixote]

"A search on Amazon for Dri-Ducks brought up 2 pages of results. Is this the set up that everyone uses? http://www.amazon.com/Duck-Light-Weight-Hooded-Rain/dp/B00279IZEU/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1334449179&sr=8-2"

that looks about right, but I think you can 'em cheaper at http://www.thegearlessmachine.com. That's where I got mine, and they had had a sale where I got both the pants and coat for about $16 shipped.

edit: http://www.thegearlessmachine.com/dridukhbira.html This is the pair I got.

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