SUL kit for temps > 50* F – pictorial and detailed gear list
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Total base pack weight 5 lb 2 oz. Does not include food, water or Esbit fuel cubes. Close enough to the 5 lb SUL maximum.
Pack – ZPacks Sub Nero in Robic 9.7 oz.
It came with a blue folding ccf pad, but I found that woefully inadequate, so I opted for a more solid piece of Ridgerest ccf instead to act as 1) pack frame 2) sit pad 3) to place under legs with inflatable torso length pad. I also included a 1 oz MYOG shoulder strap bottle holder and a 540 ml bottle (1.3 oz). I’ve used the pack for about 20 nights and I love it. Very simple.
Sleep System – 1) Enlightened Equipment 50 degree Apex Revelation Long/ Wide (13.6 oz) with DCF 11 stuffsack (0.5 oz). I also added a poncho head slot and I find that helps tremendously on cool mornings when sitting around camp. 2) Klymit Inertia X-Lite inflatable pad (6.0 oz) It’s a tad Spartan for many people, but I find that if I place the 0.7 oz blue ccf foam under the shoulder area and have a good pillow the X-Lite is comfortable enough for an SUL mission. The pad and blue foam is only 1.3 oz less that my torso NeoAir X-Lite, but I’m able to use the Klymit double duty as a camp seat in a way I’d never risk with the NeoAir. The Klymit folds up nice and has a 70 bottom to make it more durable as a camp seat. Makes a ton of difference on the ole bum when lounging around. CCF just doesn’t provide the same comfort. 3) Thermarest Air Head pillow (2.6 oz) Very nice.
Just need a tree, rock or something solid as a back rest. Can be folded and situated a number of ways for a custom fit. This pic is just a basic representation.
Shelter and Rain Gear – I use the GoLite poncho tarp and MLD Bug Bivy combination I highlighted in a thread I posted last fall. Total weight (20.5 oz) is broken down on all items. https://backpackinglight.com/forums/topic/poncho-tarp-101-with-big-bivy-sul/
Hydration – 1) 900 ml Evernew bag (1 oz) 2) 1500 ml Evernew bag (1.2 oz) 3) Shoulder sling bottle holder with square Hawaiian Punch bottle (which rides much better than a round bottle. 3.8 oz). 4) Sawyer Mini (1,7 oz). Fits onto the Evernew bottles almost perfectly with very little leakage when filtering. 5) Plastic dip cup for scooping water out of streams or lakes (0.4 oz). A very vital piece of gear. 6) 540 ml bottle on pack strap has already been mentioned.
Miscellaneous – 1) simple 3G cell phone with ziploc and DCF bag (2.8 oz). Holds a charge for 10 days if I hardly turn it on. 2) S2S mosquito head net in black 7d stuffsack (0.9 oz). 3) Vargo Dig Dig Tool (1.3 oz). Far superior to the Deuce of Spades and the other UL shovels on the market IMO. 4) Toilet Paper (1.5 oz).
Accessories – 1) Aquamira for backup in 3 ml micro dropper bottles. Also includes mixing cap and mini DCF bag (0.5 oz) 2) BD head lamp (1 oz) Simple 1 setting 25 lumen light. Works fine for my purposes. I don’t hike at night. 3) SPF 30 sunscreen in REI leakproof plastic flip container (0.4 oz) About 4 days worth. 4) Light load pack towel (0.3 oz). Amazing little towel that is reusable and very absorbent. Expands big time when wet 5) Liquid soap in 3 ml micro dropper bottle (0.2 oz). I remove the small dropper portion of the bottle when I put soap in it. 6) Photon backup LED light (0.2 oz). 7) waterproof matches with striker (0.1 oz). 8) Compass (0.1 oz). Works pretty well really. 9) Sewing Kit (0.1 oz) 10) 7d stuffsack and ziploc (0.2 oz).
Pocket Essentials – 1) Buck Nano pocket knife (0.6 oz) 2) Mini Bic (0.4 oz) 3) Deet in 3 ml micro dropper bottle (0.2 oz). Just a little around face, neck, ears and arms can work wonders when the mosquitoes are out. 4) More waterproof matches with striker (0.1 oz). 5) Yellow pocket bag (0.1 oz).
Cook Kit – This is the 1 oz Esbit cook kit I highlighted in a thread last Fall. https://backpackinglight.com/forums/topic/absolute-lightest-instant-trail-coffee-kit-fuel-xul/
TNF Wind Jacket – Size XL (3.0 oz) Multi-use for a)sitting around camp, b) sleeping in when temps dips lower than expected, c) DWR is water repellent for awhile when setting up poncho tarp in the rain.
DCF 11 Groundsheet – MYOG (1.7 oz) Measures 38″ X 28″ X 48″. Multi purpose for a) sitting around camp, b) to keep from getting wet/dirty when sling into poncho tarp shelter and bug bivy, c) 4 tieouts allow me to secure it over tarp opening when heavier, blowing rains are approaching. Very useful piece of ultralight gear.
I’ve done some 3 day and 2 night trips with the pack and I’d say that’s about the maximum because with food volume more would exceed its limits. Of course the 1 liter shoulder sling bottle holder does free up space in the pack, but unless there’s a resupply somewhere along the way, 3 days is about the most it will handle, even with the most dense foods. Also, the pic of the Sub Nero I posted at the top of the thread doesn’t show the full volume potential of the pack and I wish I’d posted the pic below instead. I’d say 30 liters is a pretty accurate estimate for the Sub Nero.
Whenever I post a thread and it doesn’t get replies I attribute it to either 1) the readers don’t find the subject matter of interest. I know SUL is the fringe of the fringe and many consider its proponents to be masochist nut jobs, and I get it, but after 2 knee surgeries I’ll kill to shed grams. At 59 I can still do 15 miles a day as long as the pack is light enough. 2) the second reason I attribute to garnering little interest on a thread is the way it’s presented. Just looking at gear lists on a spread sheet bores me and doesn’t give me a comprehensive visual image of a kit. What do you think? What is the best way to display a gear list for the reader to consume? Thanks.
Thanks for the encouragement. Since the late John Abela is no longer with us, I figure someone has to take up the SUL mantle here on BPL, albeit in a more amateurish kind of way. It’s also starting to dawn on me that my hatred for weight is probably more intense than the average BPL’er. It’s gotten to where a total pack weight (with water and food) of over 12 lbs isn’t enjoyable for me anymore, even with a framed pack. I understand everyone is different though and when backpacking in cooler temps and on longer trips I do of course have to carry more weight. Nevertheless, I still try to practice the elements of simplicity, multi-use, bringing along only that which is absolutely necessary and not packing my fears. I might add that everything posted on my gear list threads has been field tested many nights out so I know exactly what I need (and don’t need), and how much sunblock, soap, Esbit, TP, food and water is absolutely necessary. It’s not just some theoretical spreadsheet.
Sorry to hear about your misfortunes Matthew. I hope you’ll be able to get out and do more backpacking soon. He who spends the most time outdoors wins. At least you have a nice wife and child to make your life fulfilling, whereas I’m a single, childless, dirtbag hiker who’s lonely.
I forgot to post my meager 1.2 oz FAK in the OP, but I did include it in the overall base pack weight. Includes 3 large Band-Aid Tough Strips, two 4″ X 4″ gauze pads, 6 feet of cloth medical tape, antiseptic wipe, triple antibiotic ointment, and 3 alcohol pads. Not much, but it is an SUL kit.
Hi Michael, I will by no means say that my head slot technique is the right way to do the mod, but it works fine for me. I had no reference to go by because I’ve never seen a head slot on an MLD or EE quilt, therefore I just had to think this up on my own.
Please excuse the crude drawings, but I’ll try to convey how I did the mod as well as possible. Any further clarification needed feel free to ask and I’ll do my best to explain further. Anyway, I start by cutting four 15″ X 1 3/4″ strips of 20d silnylon and four 2 1/4″ X 2 5/8″ pieces (almost square) and then I fold all pieces under 1/2″ (dotted line on diagram) around perimeter and iron on warm setting to make a single fold hem. Next I place 2 long strips next to each other and then I place 1 smaller piece OVER each end of the strips and sew squares on (hem fold underneath). I then make a second exact copy of the first. Now I have 2 parts that measure 14″ long and 1 1/2″ wide and with a 12 1/2″ slit in the middle to fit head in. I then sew a 3/8″ wide velcro loop strip 12 1/2″ long on the lower portion of only 1 of the 2 completed sections (red line on diagram). On the other side of the slit I sew a 70 nylon strip of silnylon 1 1/4″” wide (yellow line) with a 3/8″ wide hook velcro strip sewed onto the 70d strip. It will go over the slit to close it up for quilt mode. The 70d strip will work as a flap so only sew 1 line at top of rectangle.
Now that both components are ready I place the section without the velcro underneath the quilt and the section with the velcro on top of the quilt and pin it HEAVILY trying to line each piece up precisely. Helps to use a little scotch masking tape around perimeters to hold. Now sew through both sections (perimeter) with the quilt sandwiched in between. Lastly I take an X-acto knife to cut open slot. The Apex stays together so I’ve found I don’t need to do any more, but a more professional finishing touch could be done with a little more effort.
I hope all of this doesn’t sound totally confusing and as I stated I’m not a professional. Nevertheless, the head slot works great and I so appreciate it when sitting around camp on cool mornings. It makes all the difference in the world.
I MEANT TO WRITE 1 3/4″ WIDE STRIPS ON DIAGRAM. ERROR, SORRY.
I just managed to knock off another 5 gm by ditching the 7 gm stuff sack the Thermarest Air Head pillow came in and went with a 2 gm MYOG 7d stuff sack instead. May not seem like much, but all the little things add up.
I also ordered an S2S Nano mosquito head net that weighs 11 gm instead of the 25 gm conventional S2S head net I’ve been packing and included on the gear list. The 15d Nano has far fewer holes per square inch than the regular net so it’s probably doesn’t protect against midges, but I mainly carry a head net for the rare occasion when I run into swarms of gnats. Of course I use a head net to guard against mosquitos as well. The Nanos are hard to find though. Only one US website I can see that carries them.
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