What’s your big four weigh/cost? Me- 2 lbs 8.4 oz/$773

Thanks David. I'm waiting for the big guns to come out ya know the ones that got $2000 + into the big four come on let's see some BPL bling.

Pack- homemade 50 liter with stay. 16 oz
Shelter- Zpacks Hexamid Solo w/bathtub floor & stakes. 15 oz
Sleeping bag-WM Summerlite + 2 oz overfill. 21 oz
Pad-Thermarest Prolite 3, short. 13 oz

Total, 65 oz or 4.1 lb.

For below freezing, I use a Marmot Helium at 28 oz so then total is 72 oz or 4.5 lb.

Total cost about $900 over five or so years.

Through Hiked the PCT last year with this

Zpacks Arc Blast: 13oz, $225
Zpacks 20 deg bag: 22oz, $410
Gossamer gear the One:19oz, $275
Neo Air Xlite long: 16oz, $180
4lbs 6 oz,$1,090

My wife went to London for 10 days and spent $5,000 while I was on the PCT for 5 months . She dare not say a word about how much I spend on hiking stuff.

Let's see…

Shelter: Cuben Duomid/Solo inner, 23 Ounces, $400 (used).

Pack: HMG Porter 3400, 33 Ounces, $295

Quilt: Katabatic Alsek 22, 21 ounces, $280 (used)

Pad: Exped Synmat UL 7, 16 ounces, $90 (sale)

Total: $1,065, 5.8 lbs

Gossamer Gear The_One (16oz, $295)
Zpacks 30 deg quilt no/zipper (14.4oz, $325)
ULA CDT Pack w/some trimming (20.7oz, $135)
Exped SynMat UL7 (16oz, $165)

Shelter: Cuben Duomid/Oooknest Nano 27oz $720 (haven't used the Nano yet) may sale the Nano

Pack: MLD Exdous 18.5 oz $195

Quilt: Katabatic Palisade 30°F 18 oz $465

Pad: thermarest neoair Xlite women's 11oz $99

74.4 oz 4lb 10.4oz $1,479

I can't really answer this question, because the four items (pack, sleeping bag, sleeping pad, and tent) are not the biggest weight items for me. I have to start with a big camera and a big lens and a bear canister. Oh, well.

–B.G.–

Well, You're obviously off to a great start if your camera gear or two-pound bear canister weighs more than your shelter, bag, pad or pack. I like to take a fly rod with me hiking, though I don't consider it part of my "big 4." Keeping those light is how we are able to – without much of a sweat – bring along the items that make our adventures fun. Face it, a bag or pad you use while asleep, or a pack you can't really even see most of the day, are nowhere near as interesting as cameras, fishing gear, or even skis or snowshoes. Not to mention my Col. buddies who require rifles and/or bows for their adventures.

Tent: 14oz (tarp, $70)
Pack: 10oz (Murmur, $125)
Bag: 20oz (40F, $275)
Pad: 13oz (NeoAir, medium, $110)
Total: 57oz or 3#9, $580

I just like the fact that my "Big Four" weighs less than my first pack. (A really old jansport, which I still have out in the shed somewhere)

Many big four combos depending on season … this one for:
low temps >40*F
and biting insects

oz $
24.4 $40 pack Granite Gear Virga bought here on gear swap
15.2 $20 shelter MYOG shaped tarp (materials cost, Noah Lamport sil 2nds)
9.3 $35 shelter MYOG adapted from SMD Meteor plans (materials cost)
9.3 $120 pad original small TAR Neoair
16.4 $90 quilt MYOG, 3oz/yd Climashield, adequate to upper 30's (F) (materials cost)
74.6 $305
(4.7 lbs)

REI Flash 65 (trimmed down to 38oz) – $85
Thermarest Prolite+ (24oz) – $85
MH Phantom 45 (19oz) – $140
TT Rainbow with stakes (38oz) – $125

7.44lbs for $435

I got all 4 of these at great prices thanks to posts on Gear Deals or Gear Swap. So thanks yall.

5.875 lbs/$630

Tarptent Notch 31oz with everything and seam sealed. $259
Exped UL 7 16 oz $100
GoLite 1+ season quilt. 21oz $100
Gossamer Gear Gorilla 26oz $170

Love this thread. Would have been very helpful when I was starting out just to see what folks out there actually use. I do most of my hiking in Texas. East Texas = hammock. West Texas = tent.

The Air (preferred): 85oz/5.3lbs $1,045

Warbonnet Blackbird hammock w webbing and buckles: 24oz $140 on sale
Zpacks hammock tarp w lines: 8oz $250
EE RevX 30 degree wide: 22oz $200 approx.
Te-wa 3/4 underquilt 20 degree custom: 14oz $160 discounted
Zpacks Arc Blast: 17oz $295

The Ground: 68oz/4.25lbs $925

Zpacks Hexamid Twin w lines, stakes, and groundsheet: 20oz $360 gear swap
EE Rev X 30 degree wide: 22oz $200 approx.
TR Neo Air Short: 9oz $70 on sale
Zpacks Arc Blast: 17oz $295

for avg trip i.e. 3 season with wife

Scarp2 shell — 42oz $365 (Incl inner)
LG and reg Xlites — 28oz $200
Zpacks twin quilt — 24oz $575 (technically free- Thanks, Pops!!)
Zimmerbuilt — 32oz $200 (incl aftermkt hipbelt)
REI Flash 45 — 32oz $160

=158oz $1500
=10lbs

Prices and weights are approximate

Again: list is for two people

Unless I camp "Wizard Style", then its:
Find a TaunTaun to cut open and sleep in. its my tent, pad, and insulation 0oz and $0
and I don't need a pack cause I enslave children to carry my other gear 0oz and $0

Game over

SMD Swift – 18.5oz (with belt) $100 (40% off sale)
Tarptent Contrail 29oz, 32oz fully outfitted with groundsheet stakes etc. $200
Thermarest Z-lite small 10oz $25
EMS Velocity 35, 29oz on deep sale, I forget $125?
(replacing this with a MYOG down quilt, 90% sewn, ~18-20oz, $160).

89.5oz / 5.6 lbs (5.0lbs when the quilt is done). $450.

Zpacks Zero – 8.6 oz / $ 210 (New)
GG Nightlite (Modified) – 4.2 oz / $ 20 (New – Sale)
Zpacks 30 degree, long, wide w/down hat – 18.3 oz / $ 445 (Bargain Bin Bag, New Hat)
MLD Patrol & Serenity Shelters, lines & stakes – 15.4 oz / $ 600 New

TOTALS = 46.5 oz (2.9 pounds) / $ 1,275

Gossamer Gear Gorilla 23oz $50 used on Gear Swap
EE RevX 20 (850 fill) 22oz $220 new
NeoAir XLite 12oz $85 used on eBay
SMD Gatewood Cape 11oz $85 used on Gear Swap

Total: 68oz, $440

Weights are approximate, as listed. Add ~1.5oz for polycryo ground cloth. Also, the Gatewood Cape saves ~12oz by doubling as rain coat & pack cover.

Let's see… currently

Big Agnes Seedhouse SL1/footprint – 2 lb 12 ounces
Golite Feather 20 – 1 lb 15 oz
Exped Synmat 7 UL M – 16.2 oz
REI Flash 65 M – 3 lb 2 oz

so 8.825 lbs total… heavy by standards around here.

All were bought used or clearance so… around $475 I believe.

Depending on season, but here's the mainstays …

Pack: ULA Circuit, 34 oz, $225
Pad: Exped Synmat UL 7, 15 oz, $150
Bag: MB UL Spiral #3, 20 oz, $259
Tent: BSI Revo 1P, 34 oz, $329

For a grand total of 103 oz (6.4 lbs) and $963.

Murmer w/ backpad 9 $100
Hexamid + line + stakes + ground cloth 13 $275
Zpack proto 20F quilt 17 $275
neoair small 9 $80
Total = 48oz (3lbs) $730

If I don't include prototyping, the costs and weights are as follows:

Base:
DIY Molly Mac Pack: 40 oz, ~$75.00
DIY Gathered-End Hammock: 13.5 oz, including suspension, ~$30.00
DIY Tarp: 8.75 oz, ~$40.00
Poncho Liner Top Quilt: 24 oz, $20.00

20º to 40º F:
DIY Underquilt: 16 oz, $140.00
Supplementary Clothing: 24 oz, ~$60.00

40º to 50º F:
DIY Underquilt: 16 oz, $140.00

Above 50º F:
Poncho/Undercover: 8 oz, $35.00
Space Blanket: 0.5 oz, $7.00

Totals:

20º to 40º: 126.25 oz/7 lbs, 14.25 oz, $365.00
40º to 50º: 102.25 oz/6 lbs, 6.25 oz, $305.00
50º+: 94.75 oz/5 lbs, 14.75 oz, $207.00

I'm pretty happy with that. I do intend upon switching to a different (probably lighter) pack this year, but that's a ways off. I also intend upon doing a down top quilt some time this year, but…again…yeah…

Denial is my friend…………..
And it ain't just a river in Egypt.

"If I don't include prototyping, the costs and weights are as follows:"

Ha, ha, ha,… that's a good one : ) I guess the costs of prototypes are entertainment.

prolite pad – 16 ounces – $100
frameless MYOG pack – 16 ounces – $50?
MYOG hybrid down quilt/bivy – 24 ounces – $100?
MYOG "half pyramid" tarp – 21 ounces including stakes and pole (which is also part of my pack) – $100?

5 pounds total

Above 32 F I use synthetic vest that weighs 7 ounces, below 32 F down to about 20 F I use down vest that weighs 8.5 ounces. I also add balaclava that weighs 3 ounces and booties that weigh 4 ounces so I only add 8.5 ounces for very cold weather.

I assume that you are inquiring about "typical 3-season kit?"

WM Megalite
$400? 23oz

MLD Duomid
$215 20oz

MLD Superlight bivy with cuben floor
$245? 5.7oz

MLD Burn pack
$175 11oz

GG Thinlight pad (x2)
$16 2.5oz each

Total:

$1067

64.7oz = 4.04 lbs

Caveats:

I got the Megalite on sale for significantly less than $400, but I don't remember what it was exactly. Likewise, I got a deal on the Superlight (it had been sitting on their shelves) but I don't remember it exactly.

The MLD Burn is my usual 3-season weekend pack, but for longer trips I tend to use an Osprey Exos 58. One of these days I'll get a larger MLD pack and sell the Exos.

I have a stack of Thinlight and similar pads and I just take as many as I need. Usually this is two- one outside the bivy and one inside.