Can you possibly go lighter than this??

Well if you take things that you have a choice on that are represented as 0 in the weight column, you are taking more weight than you list. Like a shell. There are lighter wind pants too.

Haha, I got confused for a moment and read that as MINUS 60F (remember, I’m an Alaskan) and was trying to figure out how you made a +30 bag work.

Nice set up! Would like to see a picture of the camp if you’ve got one.

Very impressive.  I would ditch the lantern for one of these (or similar).  Hang it from above, lots of light, 100 hours of burn time, and only 10 grams.  (I used to use a candle lantern on kayak trips.)

http://www.mec.ca/product/5013-117/mec-coloured-turtle-white-led-light/?Ns=p_min_sale_price&h=10+50037+50520&f=10+50037

Nice gear list.

When you say MLD Bug Net I assume you mean MLD Bug Bivy. What if the 4′ 8″ wide poncho/tarp doesn’t block enough rain in a major blow? Water will pool up in the Bug Bivy.

Alcohol stove? A DIY Gram Weenie weighs 1/2 oz.

Not to be a wise guy, but what’s with all the light?  You scared of the Boogie Man or something? Just kidding. I like to be super stealthy at night, however, I realize others want illumination.. Personally I wouldn’t carry the quarter pound lantern for all the tea in China.

Good to see that there’s still some hardcore UL people here at BPL.

That’s an impressively low yet comfortable and safe looking base weight Gary. You probably want to add a compass. Do you really need base and insulating leg layers in addition to wind pants for 30F lowest temps? For short trips go no-cook to save weight and time, or try out the new Crotch Pot from GG. And +1 on omitting the lantern. If you want extra or backup light, consider carrying two Petzl eLights, just 1 oz each including batteries and spare batteries are light too – you could hang one from the tarp and use another on your head.

In addition to the changes that Monte and Lester suggest especially about all the pants( you’ve got chaps, windpants, insulated pants and longjohns):  You could nix the tarp poles and use found sticks, shrubs or bushes.  Nix the bug bivy because you already have a headnet.  Nix the thermometer.

For the level of comfort and warmth you will get from your sleep system and clothing, NO – you can’t go much lighter!  Great job.

I personally think you can nix a few things mentioned above without sacrificing comfort, but why bother at this weight!?  Unless you want to go lighter or smaller for some reason, then HYOH with what you have here…looks comfy.

@septimius The poncho is the first thing I’m hoping to test in the back yard during a major rainstorm. So far it looks like it’ll work really well, since MLD bug bivy is quite narrow. But, not 100% sure. If poncho is too narrow, I’ll swap it with a thin cuben tarp (9x6ft) I got from John Abela – thing weighs 3.4oz! That will mean adding a rain jacket. Coming from Duplex that has tons of room, but I really wanted to go as bare as I can on weight. The lacy stove is one of the four stoves that Zelph was selling here on BPL. It’s a Starlyte stove (1/2 oz) and integrated 550 Toaks cup/Caldera cone. The main thing about is crazy efficiency of the integrated caldera – saves about 50-70% on fuel.

@bcbob Can’t omit the lantern – I like the warm light of the fire soooo much more than any LED. Have about 35 led lamps at home (can you say OCD) and a few DIY LEDs that I converted to warm candle-like glow using photo filters. But it’s still not the same. I’m a photographer and not showing 3lbs of Leica gear in this list, which BPL’ers would laugh at. :)

@satori The two insulated pants are prob going to be reduced to one. Trying to figure out how comfortable I’ll feel at 30F in just cap 4 and wind pants when hanging out in camp for a while. Any ideas?

@jbmcsr1 I’ll nix the thermometer, good point. Can’t nix the bug bivy because there are so many bugs in non-windy spots, it just won’t be doable. The headnet is for short stops and camp when outside the bivy. Good point about sticks – I’ll try that.

@funnymo at this weight this list became a project of principle, so if I can cut an ounce that would be something. :)

Here’s a pic of the setup. Give me some more ideas on losing those oz!

Bug bivy is heavy.  You would have to go homemade and you can take a few ounces off it.

Agree with the lighter pants.

Pillow again homemade can be much lighter.

You could go lighter pack and short pad but all of the above mentioned would only be about 11-12 ounces less and much more finicky and much less user friendly.  Sometimes easy is worth the weight.

Worst-case scenario is 34 degrees and rain.

For those conditions I personally would really want some fleece and some rain mitts such as MLD or ZP.

Worst-case scenario is 34 degrees and rain.

…and sideways rain :)

It’s hard for me to imagine how that shelter would keep you dry in such a scenario.  DIY polycro “doors”?  I guess this is why I’m not a tarp guy.

Edit: Those photos are really nice

That’s a surprisingly large amount of gear for a little bit of weight. Impressive! Couple points, and I’m not sure if you’d be willing to cut from them, but. :)

1. EE Minion – Not sure if this would fit your style, but if you swapped your gloves and pillow for a minion, you might lose an ounce. I’ve considered picking one of these up myself, but it’s difficult to justify the wait time for such a small item.
2. Headlamp – Could probably go a bit lighter, but headlamps are largely personal preference, and I wouldn’t discount your opinion if you like your option.
3. Borah Cuben Bivy – BG claims a chest bivy is 4.2 oz. In my experience, his bivies are a bit big, and you might be able to shrink it down via customization. A full bivy would help sideways rain, too. Just a thought. Could always consider a Ruta Locura Wasatch bivy, too. I know nothing of it, but it’s very, very light.
4. Mosquito Bracelet – If there wasn’t sideways rain, and the point of the bug net was primarily to avoid mosquitoes, have you considered one of these bracelets? There’s numerous brands, although I’m not sure how effective they are. You might buy one and test it out sometime. You might even look into a Thermocell, but I’m not sure if the weight would be worth it. Something to consider, at any rate.
5. Sunscreen and Lotion – You might be able to use Desitin for both, just to simplify things. I’m not sure if I’d trust Desitin as a primary sunscreen long-term, but if we’re playing a numbers game, it might make more sense to use multi-use items. Might be a little gross on one’s hands, but the cod liver oil probably is an amazing moisturizer, as long as you don’t mind smelling fishy. :)

That’s all I got! Or at least that’s all I got that isn’t already mentioned.

Great post!

…

Wearing two shirts?

Only one water bottle? That seems like the riskiest choice here. Am I missing a redundancy for water?

I would want more hiking socks, but then again I sometimes carry 3 or even 4 pairs.

Blade? Sewing?

…

Nix the booties, or choose lighter? Those possum socks are pretty warm.

I assume you’ve tried the MB wind layers and opted for Arcteryx, but that would be a few ounces saved.

Cap4 plus wind pants would be plenty warm for me, even hanging out in the cold, but I run relatively warm. I wouldn’t carry either bottoms, just the wind pants. So, that said, yeah, I think you can pick one of your bottoms. But you seem well experienced, and seem to run a bit cold, so… You’re call.

…

I’m interested in your worn shorts and pee bottle. Links possible?

Have you used the shelter in prolonged rain? Have you set up your camp in heavy rain using the poncho/tarp?

I hike in pants and wear running shorts as underwear. I have Montbell down pants I bring in case it gets really cold, but generally those end up being my pillow. Doing something like that could cut out a lot of redundancies for you and the pants protect from the sun/bugs/sticks while hiking.

The MLD FKT Bivy would be a much better choice with the poncho/tarp. Weighs 4 oz more, but the FKT adds a little warmth, therefore allowing you to leave a layer or 2 at home. Getting caught out in big weather with the poncho/Bug Bivy could make for a long night.

The FKT Bivy is only $375… lol!

• Are the shelter poles, at 1.3 ounces, noodley?
• 10 stakes at 1.9 ounces? You must have really soft ground where you backpack.
• Booties for 30 degrees F low?
• You wear a Cap 4 (or similar) over a t-shirt while hiking in 60 degree weather?

@feetfirst

Shelter poles – they hold solid, no bend. Reason why is the tarp is not very big and not very tall – small area for the wind to mess with.

Stakes – Yellow Jackets. These are the lightest carbon / metal laced stakes in the world. Long, thick stakes that hold very well in the ground. Using them for over four years now and on the same set. For much softer ground I would switch to Ruta Locura carbon stakes.

Booties – I’m always cold in the feet for some reason. Also, I find that just by upping foot warmth really boosts the wartmth of the whole bag. Thus, the booties multi-task: 1) work well in the camp as uber-comfy walking shoes 2) sleep with them at night to boost the sleeping bag warmth

Cap 4 – wear this one at night or when cold. Rab poly/wool tshirt during day

@septimius
Might have to give the FKT bivy a try. I might customize it to have the net go much higher as a pyramid above the face – much better sleep that way.

@callmeammo
I actually do the same thing – stuff the insulated pants or jacket into the pillow/stuff sack. Had the stuff sack made with lots of fleece on one side and bungees so it doesn’t slip on the pad at night.

@ngatel
“Have you used the shelter in prolonged rain? Have you set up your camp in heavy rain using the poncho/tarp?” – that’s the biggest question I have so far. The poncho/tarp work in normal rain, for prolonged, heavy rain with side wind, I’m not quite sure yet. That’s the thing I’ve been trying to figure out. As an alternate have the Duplex (muuuch heavier) and MLD Serenity cuben shelter modded to be wider/logner with higher bathtub and cuben back and 3/4 front. You’ll laugh, but I don’t like that shelter as much because it’s not photogenic. Stupid, I know. But I’m a photographer…

@mocai
Thanks for the good words. One water bottle because lots of water sources along the trail and in camp. If on another trail, would add one or two more bottles. No need for blade or sewing, I think. I might reduce the number of pants, seems like too many – agreed. The Cap 4 pants breathe really well and work great up to 50F while walking. Then I switch to my Montbell Dynamo converted shorts – less than 1oz and super comfy, breathable, even with some DWR. Wind jackets – tried pretty much every wind jacket out there, the Arc Squamish, EMS Ultra and 2016 Arcteryx Incendo (awesome mesh pits) work and look the best. Love the oxblood red color of the Squamish. What do you think?

@bobmny10562

@pastyj-2-2
34F and horizontal would be the weak point of this setup. In those conditions would def add the fleece and shell gloves and bigger, more protective tent – MLD Patrol or Duplex. Any other advice? Really want to test these conditions, but it would take good timing to test in the summer – New Hampshire Whites are rough, but not as much in the summer.

@neist
Totally getting a mosquito bracelet! Anyone know which one actually works best? Headlamp – if LED, I use zebralight, but I find LED lights too cold and not very good for night photography with my Leica. Borah Gear bivy – actually about to start with Borah Gear designing a new, more breathable and roomier bivy using parachute-tyvek/SOL/argon/cuben and lots of mesh. Will post more once it actually gets made.

I tried a mosquito bracelet (forget which brand) last summer and it was a total failure. I even got a mosquito bite at the base of my thumb, about 1.5″ away from the bracelet, and this was on Day One with a fresh bracelet. Also had that strong citronella odor that I find annoying.

But maybe it works for somebody, just not me.