anyone find their pack weight going up?

[Mike M]

I know, it’s heresy :), but mine has gone up.  I’ve done a lot of trips at or near “SUL” weights and while I learned from all of them (and enjoyed them too!), I’ve been slowly gravitating towards heavier bits of late.  I bought a sleeping bag that is 6-7 ounces heavier than what my quilt was for the same rating, but I don’t have to futz w/ getting straps hooked up, fighting drafts and bringing additional head gear for sleep.  I’m using a heavier pad, it’s warmer, more comfortable and the material more robust.  I already owned this pad for colder shoulder/winter use and thought why have two pads for saving a few ounces?

My pack is also heavier, it has (gasp) an external frame, but it carries more comfortably.  It also opens up opportunities to go even heavier in arid environs where water loads could double or triple.  My clothing choices are less spartan; I’m not packing much in the way of “extra” clothing, but my choices lean more frequently for more durable and warmer pieces.

I have several very light stoves, but they are futzier and boil times are slower- I’ve gone to almost exclusively a canister stove- yes more weight.

I think part of my shift is that I’ve been putting on more miles on my trips, I know it sounds counterintuitive- you want lighter to cover more miles and that makes sense, but after very long days you want your evening (and morning) meal fast and easy, you want to crawl right into your bag and not futz with straps or worry about drafts, long days usually mean I’m colder too- I don’t want clothing (or a sleep system) to just keep me alive- I want warm clothing!, when covering a lot of country and putting in long days- you want your pack to be very comfortable.  Hell I’ve even been looking at tents- God forbid! :)

Now before the pitchforks and a call for a an outright banishment, my base weight is now right at ten pounds, so please take at least some pity on me.

Mike

 

[Andy Berner]

I’m right there with you.  Tarps and bivies no more.  Full size pad for comfort, new tarptent motrail for simple set up with lots of space and bug protection, larger more comfortable pack.  Even picked up a MSR guardian for super simple fast water.  A knife and a saw is a must for me now most of the times.

I enjoy it all that much more.   Don’t matter the miles or weight anymore, but the time spent outdoors.

[John S.]

quitters…

[Stephen M]

Same here, I am happy to carry a few extra pounds for better comfort.

[Jonathon Self]

I don’t really bring more gear, but I’m tending towards heavier gear.

For example, I’m seriously considering picking up a Montbell Trekking Poncho. It’s 12 oz., but I like ponchos, and it looks like a nice, full-featured poncho. At a certain point, packweight is splitting hairs. Will I notice the difference between 5lbs or 7lbs before food? Probably not, unless I’m carrying a lot of food, and those two extra pounds might mean a fully-enclosed tent and more friendly simplistic gear.

I’d gladly take simplistic over lightweight. If I can turn two pieces of gear into one, I will, even if it causes a weight penalty.

@Andy, I’m jealous! I wanted to try out a MSR Guardian. :) They are just so expensive though. Do you like it?

[Valerie E]

I never bothered with the whole SUL thing in the first place, because I’m a wimp who doesn’t like to be uncomfortable. (And I did all that as an adventure racer in my past, so I’m over it…)

I’m small (5’5″) and smaller people can carry more weight more easily.  I don’t do short trips.  Period.  Less than a week doesn’t appeal to me, and these days, I like the 300-500 mile trips best.  I average about 15-17 miles per day (I’m not as young as I used to be, and have some illnesses and arthritis I didn’t use to have, sigh).  When I’m out there for a month or two, everything Mike M said is exactly how I feel! I want a pack that stays comfy, even on those 5L water carries that seem to be inevitable on a thru-hike, I want an easy-to-pitch shelter that lets me escape bugs ‘cuz I’m tired, and I need to sleep, which brings me to my cushy sleeping pad and fluffy WM bag.  I take a lighter down jacket now, because I go to sleep/get up very early, but that’s not much of a weight savings… I’m considering taking an umbrella this summer (undecided).

I took all the “frills” last summer for the CT and never regretted it!  My pack weighed maybe 5-7 lbs more than some of the UL’ers I met, and I was still a faster-than-average hiker.  The most SUL person I met on the CT was using a Sea to Summit Ultra Sil 20L Daypack (!) and had a tiny tarp, no stove, a tiny quilt, no extra clothes… I was agog with admiration, but I couldn’t do that now, I’d be too uncomfortable, and quit by Day 2.  All my stuff lets me stay on the trail — happily.  YMMV.

[W I S N E R !]

I’m in the same boat Mike.  In my case it’s primarily a function of turning towards more durable gear.  I’m taking a few trips a month (short and local but I’m out nonetheless), and I’m not too interested in gear that feels disposable. At this point I’ll take greater weight and durability (to a reasonable extent) over ultralight.

[Jennifer Mitol]

Yup.

But I find that I’m just not paying attention to the weight much anymore.  I like simplicity…fewer things, easier to use, etc.

I do like my starlyte stove tho, so I don’t see myself going back to canister unless it’s required – I don’t like futzing with the used/partial canisters.  And that caldera cone/starlyte stove is just so damned easy!

I’m really digging my Katabatic Gear Helios pack – which is heavier than my Zimmer was, but wow it’s just so nice to carry!

I also really enjoyed using my mirrorless camera on this past weekend’s trip to the Trinity Alps – definitely NOT lighter than my point n shoot, but it was fun and made the hike far more enjoyable than it would have been otherwise.

So I guess it’s just a question of not really caring too much about overall weight anymore – I’m pretty damned light compared to some of these folks we saw hiking up the canyon this weekend! – and there’s not a whole lot of difference between 10-12 lbs honestly.

[Lester Moore]

If you’re enjoying yourself, keeping the pace you want and your body is holding up well, then you’re doing it right, regardless of your pack weight. LW skills and gear are highly useful tools, but if your ultimate goal is to enjoy the outdoors, then those tools are simply a means to an end.

+1 on “I’d gladly take simplistic over lightweight.” – a few extra pounds in the pack in exchange for more simplicity or ease of use is a good tradeoff most of the time. While it’s enjoyable and rewarding to push the pack weight low for its own sake, a 10 pound base seems to hit a pretty good balance of comfort, flexibility and efficiency for me.

[JCH]

+1 on “I’d gladly take simplistic over lightweight.” – a few extra pounds in the pack in exchange for more simplicity or ease of use is a good tradeoff most of the time.

+2. This is why I ditched the Alky stove setup and went back to a canister…just too easy and QUICK!. Also why I added 2 oz to my water filtration system to go gravity…it’s just so much easier.

UL is no good if you are uncomfortable. The trick is finding the minimum weight at which are your perfectly comfortable. At that point hiking is bliss.

[Art …]

. . . and of course, carrying extra weight is just plain good exercise.

[James holden]

the brits call it faff …

if yr faffing around trying to make stuff work because of a few oz of saved weight when you could be using something thats “stupidly easy to use” …

well skurka coined a term for that one …

;)

[Jonathon Self]

+1 on “I’d gladly take simplistic over lightweight.” – a few extra pounds in the pack in exchange for more simplicity or ease of use is a good tradeoff most of the time. While it’s enjoyable and rewarding to push the pack weight low for its own sake, a 10 pound base seems to hit a pretty good balance of comfort, flexibility and efficiency for me.

Definitely! I’m still pretty low-weight, but that’s because I have cranky knees, and I generally prefer a pack without a waist belt. As crazy as it sounds, I’ve seriously considered adding a small bear canister (Lighter1 or Bare Boxer) to my kit regardless of where I go. It’s a small stool, it stops rodents and small animals getting into my food, and I’d never have to worry about bear bagging.

I enjoy watching videos of people’s gear lists on YouTube for thru-hikes, and I’m always shocked how much stuff they bring. Even if it’s lightweight, I’m not sure if I’d want to worry about 300 little tidbits of everything. I’d lose half of it a month in.

I have enough little tidbits in regular life.

[Dean F.]

I never got to SUL- my lowest BPW was around 8.5 pounds- and yes it has creeped up, now.  But I knew it would.  Getting fanatical was a learning experience, so now I know where my personal comfort limits are and I’m making some esthetic choices as well.  Like food.  I bring decent food, not tasteless everything-is-fat high-density stuff.  That stuff gets old.  Hell, I’ve been known to steam bake.  Also, I’m getting older and like a full-sized pad now, too- I finally recently broke down and bought a NeoAir that I have yet to try.  And I carry a Klymit x-Pillow.  Stuff like that.

I also understand the simiplicity mindset that others have mentioned.  Among other things I follow an ideal that I call my “95% solution.”  I have a kit that will work great in 95% of the conditions I can imagine, so that I can just grab it and go without thinking about it too much.  For instance, my shelter is a 2P pyramid and a lightweight bivy, which I feel can do almost anything, including bugless cowboy camping.  And mids are (comparatively, for a UL shelter) pretty bomber, but a tarp would be lighter.  I’m an athletic side-sleeper so I have a roomy 25-degree WM Terralite bag, which incidentally can be completely unzipped into a quilt, and which is almost 2 pounds but which I also think covers me for almost any conditions that I’m going to willingly put myself through.  Similarly, I had an unpleasant 33F and raining hypothermia experience so I now carry a fixed-blade knife in case I need to make kindling in an emergency (the Leatherman Squirt failed me, sadly).

And now (horror!) I just bought a McHale pack, because I like to bushwhack and I figure that everything else can be made of gossamer if the pack it’s in is sturdy.  I also wanted a pack that would be My Pack, for aesthetic reasons as mentioned above.

So I’m usually pushing 15 pounds BPW, now.  But I do still love my alcohol stoves…

[Valerie E]

Hmmmmmmmm, interesting how many folks are “coming out of the closet” here, LOL!  Ha! I knew it!

[Alex H]

Totally with Mike and Jennifer and the rest.  Got down to 9 pounds or so and now back up to around 11 and happy and comfortable with the dialed in system.  As I get older (60) I just want it all to be simple and easy.

[Jonathon Self]

Hmmmmmmmm, interesting how many folks are “coming out of the closet” here, LOL!  Ha! I knew it!

In a certain sense, I think lightweight backpacking is more process than ethos. Going lightweight forces us to consider what we value. If I never questioned how much I carried, I’d probably carry a lot more than I do now.

It’s difficult to know oneself unless one tests the limits of their preferences.

 

[BlackHatGuy]

I still use quilts for warmer weather, sleeping bags for colder weather. I like my Reactor 1L stove, I’ve been using it for a couple of years now. I always bring light camp shoes – I like to let my feet breathe at the end of the day and I don’t like going barefoot. I’ve even started bringing an REI Flex Lite chair, so darned comfortable sitting around eating dinner and such. Some of my hiking companions were a bit envious of it this past weekend!

[Jason McSpadden]

I hear what all you “fatties” are saying.  I completely understand it and admire your continuation in the making of wise choices that fit your circumstances.  We all know that each trip can present a different set of circumstances that need different packing strategies.  I have MS and the “backpacking light” discipline has given me a brand new set of horizons in which to hike.  Going as light as I can–being more comfortable on the trail than in camp–gives me (and my legs) the opportunity to cover more terrain and do what I love to do–backpack.

[Dean F.]

Yeah, I bring a pair of flip-flops for around camp, too, as well as stream crossings in some conditions.  But instead of a camp chair I’ve taken to a Hummingbird Hammock when I’m being indulgent that way.  They’re really too small for comfortable backcountry sleeping- you can’t get an asymmetrical lay- but they work great as a camp chair and for random lounging.  7.5oz including suspension, which is a heck of a lot lighter than any capable camp chair you can find, and much more comfortable.

[Kattt]

Yeah my pack weight went up a bit over the last couple of years. I was never SUL and only made the UL cut on one trip. I like my hammock, a warm underquilt, a nice liter pot to cook in, a good knife, a solar lantern, a sweet comfy pack. I no longer know the weight of anything but I remember that everything added up so I am still conscious of what makes weight creep up.

Doug’s chair was sweet, yes, but when we got to the lakes for the day, I got to chill like this ;)

 

photo courtesy of Idester

[John Vance]

I have crept up a bit as well, all for more comfort on the trail and in the sack.  I have a wide quilt and a large pad that increased the weight a bit over 6oz.  After having gone frameless for the past six years at 18oz for my pack, I am now at 38oz…a whopping gain of 20oz.   With all the changes, some heavier and some lighter, I have gone from 9-10lbs to 10.5 to 11.5lbs but I am more comfortable and sleep much better.  For seldom used but always carried items I was able to shave some weight as well.

The largest impact has been the ability to eat less for most trips under 10-12 days. 16-18oz a day is more than enough which puts my total pack weight very low even with an increase in weight for gear.

[Stephen M]

So we need to start an over Ounces Anyoymous group.

 

 

[Aaron Sorensen]

I may be a SUL nut but it’s more like I’m a weekend warrior SUL nut.

I find it very easy to have around a 4 pound base with no rain or electronics.

You stretch that hike into a week or longer and it’s not that it’s heavier, it’s just a few mor creature comforts that I want plus better rain coverage that comes out to weighing more.

My PCT Thru-hike will be around 6.5 – 7 pounds because I want to have the maps downloaded and see where I’m at. Also need to be able to solar charge it.

SUL has its place but pushes too many limits on longer hikes.

[Window walker]

My base weight is going down down down…..

I am learning more skills that allow me to bring less. Bringing less allows me to go farther and faster. I am a bit of a nut though, I am constantly trying to cover more ground, see more sights, push myself to the limit. When I get to camp I am exhausted and barley get some food in me before I crash. I am never uncomfortable, in camp or on trail besides the usual hike-all-day sort of discomfort but I do not believe I could remedy that by adding weight/comforts.

Whenever I hike with my lady the weight goes down further as we share gear. With friends where we share less gear and the group is not so crazy as me (not as fit) I tend to bring more camp comforts.

Someday I am sure the weight will start to creep back up, not there yet.

Ben

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