Thanks! The Lighter Side

[Gerald L]

A big shout out to BPL and it's Members. I began backpacking 20+ years ago and found myself making the typical mainstream equipment purchases. As I have grown older I found myself gravitating more towards car camping with the occasional day hikes and truly missing the trail life. The thought of grunting under the weight of a heavy pack became all the more less appealing. Since joining the forum I have enjoyed the vast wealth of knowlege and experience that can be found here. I have since gone from a pack weight of 50lb to 30lb. Not only has my trail mileage increased but also the level of enjoyment since I can now focus more on the surroundings than the grueling weight of my pack. I hope to continue reducing my base weight as the budget allows and now have a renewed passion to getting back on the trail.

Cheers!

[todd]

Congrats on cutting your weight by almost half! It is "freeing", huh?

[Rob E]

It's great that you're finding ways to bring down your weight. There is nothing wrong with car camping, I think everyone here probably does a fair bit of that as well as self propelled trips.

I have found that BPL/UL communities have really influenced my car camping trips as well as my backpacking.

For car camping, I now try to do all of the food prep at home (cutting meats and vegetables), repackaging of food, and gear substitutions such as tarp tent instead of department store tent, canister stove instead of propane range, bringing a little bit of precut and dried kindling instead of an axe, silnylon tarp instead of a bulky poly tarp. It has really reduced the volume of stuff I bring car camping. I really like the feeling of getting in my car and going on a trip without it being absolutely full to the brim with stuff.

[USA Duane Hall]

30 lbs! That's where I was just a few years ago. Either money or myog projects cut gear weight. I still bp as much as ever, but since I've been collecting stoves the last three years, I go car camping more too so I can use all the neat old stoves. I usually bring 2 or 3 to run, sometimes that is helpful if one acts up.
Duane

[David Thomas]

>"I have found that BPL/UL communities have really influenced my car camping trips as well as my backpacking."

Rob: It has also influenced my business travel trips. I just need to survive the twin-prop in Kenai and loading the jet in Anchorage. I don't need warm clothes at my destination, typically. So a wind shirt and a puffy let me handle that coming and going but pack down to nothing afterwards. Wash & wear undies and socks cut down on laundry and hotel sinks and a hotel hair dryer are resources BPers don't have (a bit of Tide detergent helps). Micro toothbrush, etc. Really nice for when I'm stuck in the Anchorage airport from 1 am to the first flight home at 5 am (about 10 times a year) is to bring my UL inflatable sleeping pad. Lots of people are sleeping in the airport each night, but I'm the most comfortable. And at 10 ounces and a liter of volume, it's easy to bring along. All of this combines into not just a carry-on but simply a book bag. So I walk fast and comfortably through the terminal. (I've had 16 flights in the last 10 days).

I plan to, someday soon, take a overnight business trip with NO luggage. My iPhone, a travel toothbrush and a clean pair of underwear (or just use hotel soap at night) in my pockets. No book bag, briefcase, no nothing.

>"Bringing a little bit of precut and dried kindling instead of an axe"

I like doing that, also. Shipping pallets are often decked in oak and they are all VERY well seasoned when they get tossed. I snag one now and then, chop the slats to about 6" on my electric saw in my shop and then table saw or split some of it with an axe (at home! at waist level! with a huge, great chopping block!). For a lightweight trip, I'll load it into a gallon ziplock. For a car camping trip, I'll fill a 12-bottle cardboard beer box (the box burns too). I toss in a few squares of wax paper, too.

[michael levi]

What sleeping pad do you have that weighs 10oz Thomas?

[David Thomas]

Michael: I've got an assortment due to family backpacking trips so I select from:

Therm-a-Rest NeoAir XLite Small (47") 8 oz
Therm-a-Rest NeoAir XLite Regular (72") 12 oz and
Therm-a-Rest ProLite Small (47") 11 oz.

It's a pretty undemanding application because the airport floor is perfectly flat, always 70F, and there's no possible abrasion to worry about. For carpeted floor, the 47" length works fine. For some 4-wide seats, the 72" length is nice because it smooths / eliminates the three bumps/gaps between the seats.

[Rob E]

Dave,

Since it seems like you use NeoAirs a fair bit, can you comment on the frequency of leaks or their all-around robustness in your experience?

Cheers,

Rob

[David Thomas]

Rob,

No problems yet, but I have to admit, I don't push it (always a tent under it). If I don't need it for lightness, I'll take my old brown and orange thermarests from the 1980's and "camp rest" sized ones from an off-brand for car camping, boating, etc.

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