Northern California backpacking list

[Jeremy Fassler]

Here is my current list that I plan to use this summer (and all 3 seasons hopefully) for backpacking in Northern California.

I am a pretty new backpacker and have quickly begun to trade in all my crap gear for lighter fare. I really enjoy dorking out on lightweight options, and I just threw quite a bit of cash into it to get fairly light.

I'm looking for suggestions on things to remove/replace, etc. I am trying to follow lightweight principles and just bring things that I need for the trip.

This is my exact list that I have come up with for taking on a 4 day packing trip to the Lost Coast this Thursday. I plan to use a similar list this year and modify as needed.

I got the Osprey earlier this year before I had some of these new lightweight items and I am considering going lighter there.

Also, the tent is something that I have been looking into. The REI quarterdome is a huge improvement over my last tent, but it is still obviously much heavier than the other things on my list. I should note that during the summer I typically do not take a tent at all, but my wife does always want a tent, so I'm open to lightweight options there. I would prefer things that are carried by REI so I can shop locally, but I have been considering a tarptent as well. My wifes requirement would be that it would have to be bug proof. I would prefer freestanding also because I don't use poles at this time.

Onto the list!

Weight (oz) Item

<<< Gear >>>

66 REI quarterdome UL tent
50.5 Osprey Atmos 50 – M
20.6 TNF Propel 40 sleeping bag
11.1 Therm-a-rest Z-lite – short
10 MSR Sweetwater water filter
4.6 1st aid kit
2.5 3 cup pot
2.4 Princeton Tec EOS headlamp
1.8 32oz Powerade Bottle
1.8 Spyderco Knife
1.8 32oz Powerade Bottle
1.4 REI 25' braided rope
1.1 3 AAA NIHM Batteries
1.1 Lightmyfire w/5 tinders
0.9 TP
0.8 Mirror
0.7 Purell
0.6 Garage bag
0.6 Mini Swiss Army knife
0.6 Lighter
0.5 Foil wind shield
0.4 Chapstick
0.3 Duct tape
0.3 Matches
0.3 Tooth paste
0.3 Lexan spoon
0.2 Photon LED light
0.2 Supercat stove
0.2 Tooth brush
0.1 Foil pot lid
0.1 Drivers license

---

183.8 gear sub-total

<<< Clothing >>>

1.9 Suunto watch
13.8 REI Sahara convertible pants
9.4 SmartWool midweight zip t – long sleeve
4.6 Polyester shirt – short sleeve
3.1 Wool baseball hat
1.2 Poly underwear
3 REI Lightweight Crew Socks
33.5 Soloman XA 3D Pro Shoes

---

68.6 wearing clothing sub-total

9 REI midweight long johns
12.4 REI Woodland jacket
3.7 Outdoor Research Ion windshirt
2.2 REI lightweight low socks
1.2 Poly underwear
1.4 beanie
1.1 bandana

---

31 clothing sub-total

99.6 clothing TOTAL

<<< Consumables >>>

5 Alcohol Fuel

---

5 consumables sub-total

<<< Food >>>

96 food for 4 days

---

96 food sub-total

<<< Water >>>

33.36 32 ounces
33.36 32 ounces

---

66.72 water sub-total

315.8 Starting Carried Weight (no water) 19.7375 pounds
214.8 Ending Carried Weight (no water) 13.425 pounds
384.4 Total Weight (no water) 24.025 pounds

Couple other items not factored in.

Where required, I have someone else carry my BearVault BV-400 (it doesnt fit in my Atmos 50) and I carry something of theirs.

Also, if we plan on rain, I have a top and bottom of Stearns waterproof silnylon top and bottom, 10oz each. This weekend there may be a little rain, so I may have to bust out the garbage bag, or I'll bring a walmart poncho, which I need to add the weight to the list.

Feedback is appreciated! Thanks!

[Theodore Hall]

Hello Jeremy. A buddy and I hiked the section from the Mattole trailhead to Shelter cove about 3 weeks ago. We finished it in roughly 2 days, and I've come to the conclusion I've got to loose some more weight (Skin in and out). I'm relatively new to UL backpacking myself, but here's a couple of ideas.

On the shelter, I realize you'd prefer to shop local, but looking at REI.com it looks like the choices are limited. As my buddy and I found out 2 people can sleep comfortably under a GoLite Hut 2 with the Lair 1 nest for an estimated total of 40 oz. I've also read good things about the "Tarptent Squall 2" which is listed at 32 oz. You can always substitute hiking poles for sticks.

You could also save some weight by swapping out the Atmos 50 with a lighter pack. The GG Vapor Trail (in medium) weighs about 33 oz and has a 3600 cu capacity (definitely holds BearVault BV-350, and the 4" difference for the 400 shouldn't be a problem).

Why the spiderco and the mini swiss army knife?

Are you carrying the woodland jacket and the smartwool T for backup, or versatility in your layering system?

List looks pretty good to me, only thing I didn't notice listed is some sunscreen. Have a great hike, I wish I lived alot closer to that trail.

[Jeremy Fassler]

Thanks for the advice! I'm really looking forward to it.

Yes, the shelter is definitely something I need to work on. I've been eyeing the Big Agnes Seedhouse 2 SL and it's on sale at REI for the same price I paid for the quarterdome. I may swap those out saving a little over a pound.

The vapor trail is definitely something I've been considering! I had my choice narrowed down between it and the Osprey and I ended up getting the Osprey because I got a deal, but this was before I got my weight down so low.

Those two changes would save me 2lb which could be pretty signifigant.

I didn't note it in my list, but I do have some sun screen in my first aid kit. I'm blessed with a natural tan, so I don't use it too often, but I do carry it just in case!

Re: the spyderco and the mini swiss army. That's a pretty good point. I had a larger swiss army that weighed in at 4oz and I swapped it out for the mini+spyderco. The main reason for the spyderco is that it is a "real" knife as where the mini swiss would be limiting if I actually had to do any kind of serious cutting. However, I'm trying to think of legitimate reasons where I'd be doing any serious cutting, and I can't think of too many, that could be a good thing to cut (pun pun)…

The smartwool long sleeve and the fleece are for a layering system, but I'll have to see if that makes sense for over here. I may be able to cut out the smartwool. I haven't typically hiked much in cold weather situations are we are blessed with pretty warm weather most of the time. I'd also considered maybe getting something lighter than the smartwool, maybe a long sleeve poly shirt which would also be used for sleeping. For summer times though, I'd probably cut both, or definitely just bring one of them.

Thanks for looking!

[Jason Brinkman]

Chemicals are lighter than a water filter.

A BMW Cocoon pullover is lighter than your REI Woodlands jacket. I personally use a vest for 3-season purposes. Why carry the sleeves?

Looks pretty good otherwise. You're down to the heavy scrutinization stage.

[Jeremy Fassler]

I seriously considered the vest but I found a deal/steal on the jacket so I went for it. I'll have to see what the weight of sleeves are, could be significant.

I just noticed that the vest version of the jacket is indeed on sale as well. I think I'll look into that!

Thanks for the advice.

[Jeremy Fassler]

Back from the trip and everything went great! I was a little cold in my bag the first night, but later nights I wore all my stuff and I definitely wasn't hot but I wasn't all that cold either.

For next trip, I'm planning for a few changes:

Thanks to REI, I'm also swapping out my quarterdome tent with a Big Agnes Seedhouse 2 SL, netting me about -1 LB!

Also, I'm going to do a test run with a Granite Gear Vapor Trail instead of the Osprey, so next time I can hopefully carry my own bear can if I must. This change saves me another -1 LB.

I'm swapping out the fleece top for a down vest. It's about the same weight, but should be warmer and compresses much easier. After trying to compress the fleece, I really see now that BULK can be as much of a factor as weight, and should be considered.

I also picked up a OR Sunrunner hat to help keep the sun off my face and neck. Same weight as my ballcap and much more functional.

Also putting tweezers back into my kit after a run in with a bunch of ticks (only one bite, but wished I had brought my tweezers instead of just a needle).

I'm feeling really good about the list now and I hope to try it out again very soon with the few slight changes. I'm under 10lb now in my base weight, even with a tent and water filter. Pretty stoked about that.

[Jeremy Fassler]

Oh yeah, I also had an issue with my Soloman XA Pro's. They ended up fitting pretty well on the trail, but I lost a tread on day 3. This was only with about 25 trail miles on them, and this was really dissapointing. Not sure if it's just a fluke. Maybe I hit a really sharp rock just the wrong way, but it's really got my questioning the durability.

[Mark Verber]

> Thanks to REI, I'm also swapping out my quarterdome tent
> with a Big Agnes Seedhouse 2 SL, netting me about -1 LB!

If northern California conditions I would recommend taking a good look at tarptent.com and sixmoondesigns.com shelters. You could shave another pound or two.

> I'm swapping out the fleece top for a down vest.
> It's about the same weight, but should be warmer
> and compresses much easier.

If you already have a down jacket… great. If you are looking to buying one, there are a number which will not just compress more, but are lighter as well.

> Also putting tweezers back into my kit after a run in with
> a bunch of ticks (only one bite, but wished I had brought
> my tweezers instead of just a needle).

It takes a delicate touch to remove ticks using tweezers. I have found pro tick remedy http://www.tickinfo.com/protickremedy.htm (REI sells them for $3.95) to be easy to use, significantly effective than using tweezers, and light weight.

[Jeremy Fassler]

Thank you for that link to the tick tool, that looks awesome, I'll definitely take a look!

I have been looking at the tarp tents and that may be a good choice. I just have a hard time buying them without being able to try them out.

I did just purchase a down vest from Cabelas. It was on sale and I couldn't resist. For 24.95, I got a 650 fill power vest that is quite lofty. It doesn't have much to it, but does weigh more than some of the UL vest's that I've seen (13oz for a large). It does compress very well however and for the price I went with. If I'm happy with that I may look at other lighter weight options in the future.

Thanks again!!!

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