If you had $1200, how would you upgrade this 20lb kit?

[Teresa D]

https://www.geargrams.com/list?id=31467

This is a thru-hiking style kit I’ve put together of things I currently have. It’s at 20.2 lbs. I’d like to reduce that weight and get more comfortable while maintaining similar functionality. I have some money to upgrade stuff, and plan to do 100+ nights of backpacking this summer so it’s a worthwhile investment. It’s been tonnes of fun to look through all the possible modifications I could do while I wait to get out there. I thought it might likewise be a fun thought experiment for some of you folk! I’d appreciate any ideas–it would sure be interesting to see different approaches.

A couple notes you can consider (or not):

1. I don’t want to be too specific for only one area/climate. I’m looking for items that are generally useful anywhere.
2. I am hoping to be able to cover most 3-season conditions.
3. I may not always carry everything in that list (ie, bug spray) but am trying to stay general and ere my estimate on the heavier side.
4. I understand it seems I would be carrying excessive amounts of some toiletries and the like (contact lens, hand sanitizer, etc) but I’m trying to find a balance between PITA resupplies and carrying too much. Having to mail contacts every 5 days and refill teenytiny bottles every time I get more food sounds like a logistical nightmare.

Thanks in advance for any comments, and hope you get some fun out of this!

[Bob Moulder]

2650 grams (5.8 lbs!) for a 50-liter pack is super heavy.

That would be item #1 for me.

Something from Zpacks would lop off more than 4 lbs in one fell swoop.

[Ken Thompson]

Your sleeping bag says borrowed. Get your own perhaps? That would be my #2

Other than those two items what in your kit are you unhappy with? If nothing stands out, then use the rest of the money elsewhere.

[Adam Kilpatrick]

Check out a quilt from say Enlightened Equipment. A Revelation or Enigma in 800 loft down will go a long way for the money. Be generous to yourself and get a 20F bag if you think you need it-quilts vent well in warmer weather, especially the Revelation.

You can trim grams here and there from much of your gear without spending much money.
For example, don’t worry much about carrying those spare matches, lint etc (well maybe just a couple of grams of lint somewhere in a tiny snap lock bag, leave it down the bottom of your pack and forget about it). Mini Bic lighters are awesome. Carry two-for about an ounce. They last ages and you can easily buy replacements. You are cooking with gas-easy to light, even if your lighter runs out of gas you will still light your stove. Lighters are so much easier to start a fire with when you REALLY want to vs matches.

There are a few relatively cheap and very light trowels on the market these days that will save you about two ounces for about $20.

Kitchen towel…neccessary? Half a chux at most is all that is required (most I know don’t take anything at all, just shake dry).

Your pot seems a bit heavy. I wonder if you could get away with a smaller pot. Smaller aluminium pots will save you a few ounces maybe. Eg grease pot. Or an Open Country pot.

Scrubby-leave behind and use leaves, etc.

Do you need to carry spare AAA batteries all the time? Your princeton tech should get a couple of weeks of use for sure around camp where you will mostly be running on low. Over time your skills in camp will get better too and you’ll be able to do most things in the dark or by moonlight, etc. Don’t stress about spare batteries.

45m is a lot of spare cord. Need a few m at most.

You can probably be a fair bit under 100g for your FAK.

Practise. Get to know temperatures and what you can handle. Take note of your condition (Are you tired, wet, well hydrated and fed, not sick). Take note of what you are wearing from your list. What is the temperature, wind speed? How far can I take my layers right now? If it gets colder, what am I going to do? (ie, you can always camp and get in your bag/quilt, have a hot meal, etc). Put all your layers on, including your rain jacket, overmitts. Then decide if your warm layers are enough for you. Its hard for us to give advice on warm clothing given people are quite individual in this area (if it was me, your clothing would suit me down to sitting around at -10C no worries…). Nothing wrong with practising this near home before your trip, in fact that’s an ideal time to (as you can push the limits safely, and also, you can easily look up real time local temperatures and wind speeds to build your knowledge base on)…go for walks at night in bad weather without a pack. Stop and sit in a park in a bad spot in the wind for a while to force yourself to cool down. Etc.

Best of luck :-)

[James Marco]

Pack: 6 pounds for a PACK!!? Wow….  Trade it in for something lighter. You can shave about 4.5 pounds off and never miss it. ~$200

Bag: Get a good 800fp bag/quilt around 20F/-5C. EE, Western Mountaneering, etc. ~$300-400

X-Lite for all three season camping is a good choice.

Kitchen: Get rid of all that. Use a long handled spoon(~$10) and a trimmed 3.25oz, Grease Pot(~$6), a small remote gas stove(~$50-80) and a 10oz cup(~$5) Carry 2 bandanas: one clean, one dirty. A couple lighters works for up to two or three weeks.

Notch is good enough, consider a tarp to save even more weight or larger for living under for a day or two in bad weather.

Cloths: Well, this is variable. Depends….

Stuff sacks: I would go with two. One compression/dry bag for sleeping stuff (bag/quilt/long johns/socks) and one dry bag for food. You can skip the liner. STAY DRY at night. Lets you reduce the size of the pack a lot.

Light: 2 E+Lights. No spare batteries.

Water: 2-3Liter platty.  Two 500ml water bottles. Should be good for 24 hours depending… I usually use a Steripen and carry the bag empty, it saves between 4-6 pounds.

Bandaids/Duct tape, and a small bottle of alky.

Get a pair of glasses. You can use these forever and nobody really cares out in the woods.

Lots more but you forgot the most important item: Fun!

[Link .]

Over 18 oz for a down jacket seems very heavy, I have a fully baffled down parka with 9 oz of down fill that weighs 13oz and I wouldn’t carry something with that much down on a thru hike.Is your shell mitten waterproof? I would carry a lightweight waterproof shell like ZPacks™ Challenger Rain Mitts at an ounce or Luke’s Ultralight Waterproof/Breathable Over-Mittens 1.8 ozBorah Gear eVent Rain Mitts .9 oz or something  like the waterproof The North Face Runners 3 Overmitt  at less than an ounce and just a pair of fleece  or powerstretch fleece liner gloves or mittens(which ever you prefer) at about an ounce for the pair and when needed you can put on the shell over the fleece.. I wouldn’t carry leather.A 1.8 liter pot seems rather large for 1 person I think a .9 liter pot like THIS would be plenty and it weighs 3.8 oz with a lid, I don’t see a category for clothing worn while hiking and I assume the 3 oz pair of socks are for sleeping( my fleece socks are lighter) will you be carrying an extra pair for hiking? I use a quilt instead of a bag and it is much lighter, not everybody likes quilts but there are much lighter bags out there than the one on your list

Enlightened Equipment Enigma

Enlightened Equipment Revelation

Enlightened Equipment Convert

Zpacks 900 Fill Power Down Sleeping Bags

Katabatic Gear Quilts and Hoodless bags

Western Mountaineering Bags

Here are a few companies to look at for packs and other Lightweight gear(I am sure people will have more suggestions)

Zpacks

Gossamer Gear

Elemental Horizons

Katabatic

Hyperlite Mountain Gear

Mountain Laurel Designs

[Lester Moore]

Teresa – some good suggestions above, especially about your pack weight and testing out if you really need or use some of the items on your list. After some use, your preferences for some items will likely change. Here’s a good thread about the best way to select replacement gear on a specific budget, keeping your criteria and other considerations in mind (including quality and resale value of any new gear you buy):

https://backpackinglight.com/forums/topic/48135/

[Link .]

Here is some general info for you to look at that I post for newer members(maybe you have seen it I don’t know) SUGGESTED GEAR LIST ETIQUETTE
Mike Clelland(NOLs instructor and author, his books are very good),he has some great free videos on lightening up be sure to watch(his clothing system,the entire contents of his pack,water treatment and part 1 and 2 on the dinky stuff for ideas),this is pmagsBackpacking: A Beginners Primer, Lightweight Backpacking 101, Jack of All Trades gear and The Frugal Backpacker – The $300 Gear Challenge alsoThe Budget Backpacking Kit.These are some other articles and videos for you to check out

MY 11 LB GEAR LIST FOR $207 TOTAL

LIGHTWEIGHT BACKPACKING, WAL-MART STYLE

Backpacking for Cheap: Gear for the Gearless

Backpacking Checklist (Gear List): 3-Season, 3-Day

Lightweight Backpacking 101: An Introductory Manual for Lightening Your Load Today (1st Edition – August 2001)

Cheap Ultralight Gear List

You Can Get An Ultralight Backpacking Kit At REI!

Oregon Field Guide: Ultralight Hiking

Lightweight Testimony: Lighter, Farther, Faster
Jamie Shortt talks about his progression and shows his gear list for each stage,Lightweight Testimony: My Journey into Lightweight Backpacking
CleverHiker Light weight Basics
CleverHiker Trail Skills

Adventure Alan 9 Pound – Full Comfort – Lightweight Backpacking Gear List

Adventure Alan Quick ways to reduce backpack weight

Andrew Skurka has a very good website with trips and gear lists for you to check out, here is a talk he gave at google
Ultimate Hiking Gear & Skills Clinic
His book is worth checking out also
The Ultimate Hiker’s Gear Guide: Tools & Techniques to Hit the Trail

Why “waterproof” shoes will not keep your feet dry

Minimizing the effects and aftermath of wet feet

LAYERING FOR BEGINNERS

THE BEST CLOTHING COMBINATIONS FOR BACKPACKING OR HIKING?

A NEW PARADIGM FOR UNDERSTANDING GARMENT WARMTH

Andrew Skurka’s Core 13 Backpacking Clothing

Dave Chenault’s response to Skurka’s Core 13

On hiking in winter

Dave’s All about insulation

Dave’s 30s and raining: some suggestions
You can get little repackaging containers(like the ones you see in Mike Clelland uses in his videos) many places including your local stores and pharmacy but here are some examples
USPLASTICS
USPLASTICS
Ultralight Designs
GossamerGear
MountainLaurelDesigns
You could make toothpaste dots like Mike C. shows or there are Archtek Toothpaste Tablets so only bring exactly what you need in a snack size bag for any given trip instead of a whole tube and THESE are good for little thing like pills, toothpaste tablets ect. so you are not packing a whole bottle(you can also get them very cheap at most pharmacies) .

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[Ken Thompson]

I bow to the Master, Link.

[Link .]

I don’t know Ken you have been giving me a lot of competition lately…and I like it :)

[Mitchell Ebbott]

Here’s what stands out to me:

1. Your gloves are heavy. Get a pair of 1 oz glove liners (wool or fleece) and bring your shell mitts when the conditions demand.
2. Which brings up… you might want a pair of trekking poles. I love the Cascade Mountain Tech carbon fiber poles that Costco sells for $30. You can get them from Amazon too, but they cost a little more.
3. That parka is overkill for 3-season trips. Something in the 8-11 oz range would be more appropriate. Something like the Patagonia Down Sweater, for example.
4. Your socks are heavy. The pair you list would work well as sleep socks on cold, wet trips. For dry and warmer conditions, rotate through two pairs of lighter, shorter socks, no more than 1.5oz per pair.
5. Are you hiking solo? If yes, 1L pot will be enough. Try the Stanco grease pot for $10, it’s 3.7 oz with the lid.
6. Get a small single-AAA light. I have the ThruNite Ti3 and love it—it’s got a super-bright option for when I need it, and the medium brightness is enough to walk by and saves batteries. It clips onto my hat brim for use as a headlamp. 0.85 oz.
7. You can probably ditch the notebook. Just use the voice recorder function on your iPhone.
8. As others have mentioned, you need a new pack. There are a lot of options out there, but if you want something with a frame and have the money the Arc Blast gets great reviews. It’s waterproof, so you can ditch the pack liner.
9. Instead of the matches, use a Bic lighter. For an emergency backup, keep a half-dozen of those fancy waterproof matches and a striker in a small ziplock inside your first aid kit.
10. Consider picking up or making an alcohol stove setup. In some places, you’ll still want the Pocket Rocket due to fire regulations, but where it’s allowed the alcohol stove will weigh a lot less.
11. Are you going off-trail? If you are, the Silva Ranger is a great choice—just make sure you know how to use it! But if you’re staying on trail, you can downgrade to a lighter compass like the Silva Starter.
12. As others have mentioned, you’ll need a new quilt or sleeping bag. The EE and WM offerings mentioned are great, I’ll just throw out another option—I’ve had good experiences with my Hammock Gear Burrow 20.
13. Get a new trowel. I own and like the Deuce of Spades, and Dutchware makes a Titanium option.
14. I don’t like bladders. Some people do, but I had a bad experience and don’t trust them. Two Smartwater bottles would be slightly lighter, and if one of them gets destroyed you’re not completely sunk.
15. If you’ve got money left over, consider picking up a Steripen. I have the Freedom model and it’s fantastic—it’s rechargeable, so I always start my trip with a full battery and I can bring a USB charger battery for longer trips when I’ll need extra juice. It’s quicker than a filter or chemicals, and contrary to popular opinion it’s more effective—chemicals don’t work on Cryptosporidium unless you let it treat for four hours (which nobody does), and filters don’t deal with viruses (also they clog). The SteriPEN takes care of cysts, viruses, and bacteria, and it’s had bomber reliability for me.

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