do you need 4 liters of water? leave a liter bottle at home and save 1.4 oz
Your fuel bottle weighs 3 oz. it could weigh .5 oz
gsi bowl 2.8 oz eat out of your pot or the bag you re hydrated your food in if you want to keep your pot clean.
how about 2 oz rain skirt instead of 6 oz rain pants
double rain gear? drop the 1.7 oz poncho
that's 12.4 oz.
The circuit is an awesome pack that can help you haul that 8 lbs of water when you need to carry all 4 quarts regularly, but I think you could get away with a much lighter pack on trips where you're carrying less water at any given time. I have a 37 oz granite gear crown vc and I personally have been eyeing the zpacks arc blast at 13.5 oz. I'll probably add a pair of belt pouches so it comes in at 15 oz. That's my 1 big gear upgrade for the year.