I’m converted to light wieght

Since you use trekking poles, here are a couple lighter tripod options that I know of: the Trailpix and the A Pod R2.

I use the trailpix frequently but haven’t tried the Apod. The trailpix requires three poles – since you already carry trekking poles that’s two of the three. When I can’t borrow a third pole from a companion, I carry another trekking pole (a z-pole). The accessory pole that you can order from trailpix doesn’t seem stable enough to me for my night photography use. It would be fine for single shots but not for an hour or two of shooting. Even carrying a z-pole that’s still a 9-ounce tripod solution that’s tall and stable. I have a Ricoh GR, similar in weight to the Sony RX 100.

The Apod requires just one pole, which you stake out in multiple directions. I’ve been meaning to give it a try. One of these days…

Hey Doug…yeah, you have a fair amount you can ditch/lighten up.

By the way, why doesn't the dog carry the kibble? CharlieDog carries his own (and my trash, as he eats his food) and anytime he needs a water carry (usually he just helps himself to streams). And he has really bad hips – he does just fine with the pack as long as it sits over his front shoulders and NOT on his back. The most he's every carried was food for 8 days – and he eats my leftovers (and those of everyone else in the group) as well as high-calorie treats to supplement. I also mix in puppy food to his normal kibble to add protein and calories. I hear you can get dehydrated food for dogs, too…. I hike with my dog all the time and my full pack weight for a summer weekend is around 10-12 pounds (depending on how fancy i want to get with my food).

Anyway – Mountain House meals, while horrible on the GI tract, can certainly take up a lot of space unless you repackage them. So before your trip, if you want to stick with MH (or any commercial dehydrated product for that matter – even Pack it gourmet) take the stuff out of its original packaging and put it in ziploc freezer bags. You can squeeze all the air out and roll it up to a really small package rather than that whole huge bag. It also helps with garbage collection on the way out.

First of all, ditch the nalgenes. Those things are SO heavy and huge – no need. Take a gatorade or smart water bottle and some water bladders for a water carry if you need to (i.e. for camp). then they can roll up and take up much less space and much less weight once you're done.

You'll get a lot of people who say there is no good place for a softshell in an UL backpacking kit, and as much as I really like to wear them around town I have to agree. They are way too heavy and way too bulky for what you get. Go for a light puffy or regular fleece depending on where you are hiking (i forgot…)

And really, really look at the dinky stuff in your first aid kit and in your toiletries, etc. Truly list out every little thing you have – lip balm .05 oz, toothpaste 1 oz, sunscreen 1 oz, etc etc. You'd be AMAZED at how much that stuff adds up and turns into very real weight. Be VERY critical about what you absolutely need vs what you THINK you need. Your first aid kit should be only about 1-2 oz, and add some vet wrap for the dog on top of that.

I can appreciate your love affair with the pack – but all I ask is that you keep an open mind as you lighten up. I felt the same way about my huge and heavy 8 pound gregory….but as the rest of my stuff got smaller and lighter i found that i ended up having similar love affairs with other packs, too. When you don't need to carry 50 pounds you find that lots of packs feel pretty darned light. And 4 pounds is an awful lot of pack for a lightweight gear list.

good luck!

Gatorade bottles instead of the nalgenes. 1.5oz vs 6.5 each.

down or synthetic puffy vs the softshell (depends on the weight)

do you have a smartphone? can get an free Apps to do books and be more multipurpose..

2nd mini bic lighter over the fire starter

lose the outer packs.. cordura is heavy and soaks up water.

12 mtn house for how many days/meals? they are not the most calorie dense things in the world and have heavy packaging. Look into more food with better Calorie/ounce ratio especially for breakfast, snack, lunch options. dry cereal w/ powdered milk, pringles. pop tarts, builder bars, etc

geargrams.com plug stuff in and see how it adds up. a small food/postage scale to weigh stuff to go with it… "roughly" can be surprisingly off.

Iodine is pretty much right out – not effective at all against crypto, hardly does anything to giardia, and so many people develop a reaction to it resulting in horrible reactions to things like iodized salt that I really don't see the point in it. I have a Sawyer, and a Mini, because I'm one of those silly people who leaves packs packed – at one point the SAR, day and backpack sat together on a wall ready to go (but for the down gear which was nearby in a closet hanging unstuffed). Neither the Sawyer nor the Mini are particularly impressive as gravity feed filters, but do well enough inline (the Mini is great for that) or with squeezing. Alternate containers are useful – I was one of the rare people with an intact stock bag, until like so many others, it developed hundreds of pinholes and became a sieve. I love my ULA Amigo (sadly no longer in production but easily duplicated or there is the Platypus system) with a Cleanstream inline, pull the filter off and it's a shower. The weight is comparable to a Sawyer with container and syringe.

As for dog food, I dehydrate burger and rice – usually turkey burger. My dog loves it and it's much more compact and lighter than kibble. She loves the hiking, loves the food, but isn't too thrilled about the camping part… the minute we set up she goes into guard mode and starts to bark at anything that moves. (We hate camps on deer trails, or with lots of mice or squirrels. No sleep for anyone.) I bring some kibble as well, and occasionally a tuna packet. I forbid any food with preservatives as it has made her turn into a barf machine in the past. She carries her stuff in a Ruffwear pack, including booties and sleeping pad.

Things that made a huge difference for me were clothes (fleece and heavy cheap stuff out, wool and down in), altering food habits (taking what I'm really going to eat instead of overpacking – that took experience – and going with couscous and rice meals I make myself, instead of wasting money on prepackaged gut-busting junk that frequently didn't stay down), and putting in a Platypus hydration system instead of juggling all those bottles. I do have Nalgenes. I use them in winter. They make better hot water bottles than soft sided containers. And, I ditched the sleeping bag – but you've already done that. I now have a 0 degree quilt and a 25 degree quilt. Made a huge difference in bulk as well.

Look at Lightheart tents if you can't part with a double wall. Tarptent for spacious and light tents – my extra big, extra tall boyfriend just got a Cloudburst 3, which weighs as much as his old cheap one person but has quadruple the space. It's a three person tent – with the two of us, and gear, and the dog in one of the vestibules, it's just big enough. I used to take a GoLite Shangri La for the two of us, but after he got mud all over his head in a rainstorm (yeah, he stuck out a few inches no matter how we set it up) he was pretty set on something overkill.

Nick, thanks for the head's up on the Trailpix. I'd seen them before and then completely forgot about that as an option. I will absolutely get one before my next outing, regardless of what size camera I'm using. If I happen to still be using a tent with a pole system, I wonder if the tent pole can be used as the third support with the trailpix…

Jennifer, weight was only a minor reason that I'm considering leaving Vixen at home. The primary reason is her enjoyment (or lack thereof). When we get into the exposed, high elevation terrain, she goes from bush to bush, laying down in the shade each time. She really hates hot weather and bright sunlight. By the time I got to my destination I felt like I was forcing her to keep going, and I could tell that just wasn't any fun for her. The weather this last trip was gorgeous, by the way, about mid 70's in the afternoon. I think it had to do with the high elevation and exposed terrain.

I'm certainly open to ditching the softshell. It really doesn't provide a lot of warmth, and it takes up a ton of room in the pack. Since I have a down bag, I'm leaning towards a synthetic puffy…I like to have at least a small safety margin, and I figure a jacket is more likely to get damp than a quilt.

Jake, I'm sold on the flint firestarter, after having one save my bacon. I was on a camping trip where the temps dropped much lower than I'd expected, and my butane lighter became completely useless. The flint and a knife was the only way I was able to start my campfires on that trip. I'm of the firm belief that fire starting tools need to be two different sources, not just two of the same type.

Thanks for the other tips, folks. Nalgenes will be out for the next trip, and smart water bottles and soft containers in. I'll take a close look at my toiletries, food, and survival items. I know I can shed some weight in those areas.

"Iodine is pretty much right out – not effective at all against crypto, hardly does anything to giardia"

Reference please!

–B.G.–

I just remembered one item that I will probably be adding to the list (yes, I know that the goal is to reduce items hahaha). My wife is going to insist that I take some sort of SPOT/ EPIRB, especially if I'm not taking a dog into the high Sierra. My buddy has one that he's offered to loan me for backpacking trips.

"So I really don't go overboard in clothing, survival items, or sleep system. Sure, they aren't "ultralight", but they aren't massive either. Where I really will shed the most pounds is my shelter, food, water (I go way overboard), pet food, camera gear, spare pouches, etc. A little weight will be saved by moving from the BV500 to the much smaller BV450, since I won't be taking as much food for myself or a pup. I believe I can drop my weight in half fairly easily. 25 lbs is quite realistic I think, for a 3 or 4 day trip. Where I will really have to do some soul-searching is if I want to go to the sub-20 lb mark.

By ditching the camera gear in exchange for a 10 oz point and shoot like the Sony RX100 III, and going to a lighter shelter, I think I would easily be halfway to my goal."

Doug, I think this is a very good approach and should work well for your next trip. Make small simple changes until you find your happy medium.

With respect to your backpack, 4 lbs. isn't that bad for something that can comfortably carry 50+ lbs. I say hold onto it and only after you've dialed everything else in maybe consider something lighter. Until then, it should serve you well for your next adventures. Have fun.

A specific model of the Ursack is now approved for some parts of the Sierras. If your route avoids the areas where the Ursack is not approved (not sure how do-able that is) you could drop even more weight on food storage.

Thanks for the head's up, Kat. The truth is now that I've come to grips with the Bear Vault being part of my list, I kind of want to keep in the habit of it. That way it stays a "known" factor to figure in regardless of where I go backpacking. I've got to say, I also enjoy how simple they are to wash out after a trip as well as making a halfway decent camp seat.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/11990150/

also reference the CDC's pages on water treatment.

The CDC no longer recommends emergency water treatment with iodine, either.

"Thanks for the head's up, Kat."

Hey, I've been meaning to mention to a few recent posters: I'm not Kat.

Katarina P., who takes amazing photos of cats, is "Kat."

I want to avoid confusion and not impinge on her identity!

For something short, I can be "Kath" with an H at the end.

" http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/11990150/ "

That article refers to iodine tablets only.

Elemental iodine hasn't been condemned.

I agree, though, that some people are very sensitive to iodine.

–B.G.–

hmmmm….

http://backpackbasecamp.com/basecamp/blogengine.net/post/2009/06/26/Iodine-Water-Treatment-Banned-in-Europe3b-Alternative-Water-Purification-Methods.aspx

Lori, that article speaks of drops or tablets, not elemental iodine.

Also, it states that iodine has low to moderate effectiveness on Giardia. That is the primary risk that most backpackers are concerned with in the Sierra Nevada.

–B.G.–

http://www.cdc.gov/healthywater/drinking/travel/backcountry_water_treatment.html

Katherine, my apologies! :-)
I haven't been on the forum in a little while and didn't look closely at your name or photo, I simply assumed you were Katarina. Awkward…hahaha

Thanks for pointing it out and not just letting me go on longer making a fool of myself. ;-)

Doug

Doug – no worries. and you are not the first.

btw, you have something stuck in your teeth.

Take a look at Tarptent's solo tents. So far I've had a Contrail, a Moment single wall and now the Moment DW. All top quality and great designs.

There are some newer TT solo tents that use your hiking poles to cut weight even more like the Stratospire 1.

"btw, you have something stuck in your teeth."

Hahaha Well played! It took me a second but I'll blame that on me being tired. ;-)

Eric, I've checked out some of the Tarptents in the past (not in person, but on their website and other reviews). I've heard good things. That said, at the moment I'm mostly wavering between getting a lighter double walled tent or jumping down to a true tarp system. The Tarptents feel like too much of a middle ground compromise to me.

I have the Lightheart Solo which is a hybrid single/double wall that also uses your poles for a similar weight as the Contrail (which i had and didn't like)

they also make a longer SoLong if you are taller or need more space

Attending the GGG at Sam Taylor in Jan? See what you can't believe works for people, and working fine.

As far as iodine goes, reference hundreds of thousands of soldiers, with little choice or regard as to the source, successfully using iodine for decades in real field conditions domestically and abroad.

One of the quoted source states only 35% effectiveness in water with a pH of 5.
That means pretty much…nothing. Surface and ground water are generally neutral. A pH of 5 is low enough that fish can't live in it.

I recommend the dip and sip for most of the Sierra. Anything ice cold, flowing and clear will do you no harm. There are streams often enough at least on the JMT that you really don't have to carry more than a liter at a time. Check your map to see where a dry stretch might be ahead and carry extra there. Carrying 2 liters less and no filter will save you 6 lbs for $0.

"As far as iodine goes, reference hundreds of thousands of soldiers, with little choice or regard as to the source, successfully using iodine for decades in real field conditions domestically and abroad."

CDC: "Disinfection with iodine or chlorine has a low to moderate effectiveness in killing Giardia"