Light weight hiking/back packing

[teotwaki]

The biggest places I have shed weight is in my pack choice, switching from boots to trail running shoes, and ditching the tent altogether. After that it is just a matter of saving an ounce here and an ounce there in my experience. If you look at everything you bring with an eye towards making it lighter there are a lot of places to save a little weight. Stuff sacks, clothing, food, etc.

I am not yet completely sold on trail running shoes from the standpoint of protecting my feet from accidental injury. I have used them and I've logged some good miles in mine (ex: 22 miles in one day) but the chance of injury is higher if you don't watch for foot placement. I came down hard on a rock roughly on my right foot's inner arch area and really bruised it. Made it hard on the return hike.

A boot with thicker leather and wider reinforced soles offers more protection and demands less thought as to placement. Lighter shoes may allow you to be more nimble on the trail if you pay attention to the terrain.

 

[calamaridog]

We used to always put our Bourbon in plastic flasks so we didn't have to carry the glass bottle. Good weight saver there

As far as food, we would carry heavy stuff for the first couple days eats. Ridiculous stuff. Steak, cheese, salami, hard boiled eggs. Once it was gone, your pack was nice and light!

Then again, we had more time then and didn't have to be anywhere at any specific time.

Footwear is a big one though. I used my heavy boots on several trips where I could have just used medium weight boots. I don't like trail shoes for hiking with a heavy pack, but I think this would be personal preference.

 

[Dirty Harry]

Footwear is a big one though. I used my heavy boots on several trips where I could have just used medium weight boots. I don't like trail shoes for hiking with a heavy pack, but I think this would be personal preference.

Part of the reason to get rid of that heavy pack I suppose. I agree that I would not want to carry a heavy pack for days with only trail runners, but most of the trips I do are only a night or two and my pack only weighs about 20-25 pounds at the start. I carry more weight than that on trail in my camera bag!

 

[7wt]

If you are considering the Jetboil for the bling factor I would suggest a MSR reactor.

http://www.msrcorp.com/stoves/

They are not out to the public yet but the reviews on the thing are outstanding. You want bling? It has it in spades, this thing has a clear lexan lid so you can see your junk boiling. Besides, it's MSR so you know the quality is top notch. I want one although I don't need one. I have a Windpro for actual cooking in most conditions and a Simmerlite for white fuel benifites at altitude. I like the Windpro better because it will actually simmer but the Simmerlite is fun to futz with. I like the smell of white gas.

As far as tents go, I have a Big Agnes SL2 which weighs in at a whopping 3 pounds fully loaded. I can cut th tent itself and use just the rain fly and the footprint and shave about a pound, what a cool paice of gear that thing is.

Sleeping bags? Big Agnes Mystic 15 and a Big Agnes Lostdog. The Lostdog is the smallest lightest bag I have ever seen. There may be lighter but this one is the ticket for me. The Mystic is a cooker clean down to the coldest I have had it in, about 20 degrees or so. These bags are huge, you can actually roll around inside them which is what I need because I sleep like a tasmanian devil.

As far as Bazing Saddle......"Does anybody got a dime? Somebody's got to go back and get a ****load of dimes"

 

[Dirty Harry]

They are not out to the public yet but the reviews on the thing are outstanding. You want bling? It has it in spades, this thing has a clear lexan lid so you can see your junk boiling. Besides, it's MSR so you know the quality is top notch. I want one although I don't need one. I have a Windpro for actual cooking in most conditions and a Simmerlite for white fuel benifites at altitude. I like the Windpro better because it will actually simmer but the Simmerlite is fun to futz with. I like the smell of white gas.

The Reactor looks really cool, but it is still heavier than the Jetboil. :sport_box I suppose I would just use an alcohol stove though if I was really THAT concerned about weight.

http://www.msrcorp.com/rock_ice_reactor.pdf

As far as tents go, I have a Big Agnes SL2 which weighs in at a whopping 3 pounds fully loaded. I can cut th tent itself and use just the rain fly and the footprint and shave about a pound, what a cool paice of gear that thing is.

Great tent! They were actually on sale for $100 off the normal price when REI had their anniversary sale last month. I wanted to pick one up but unfortuantely it was not in the budget. The thing that I like about the Seedhouse that my Clip Flashlight tent does not have is the pole in the middle that will allow it to be freestanding if you are camping on slickrock or somewhere else that you cannot use stakes.

 

[4runnerteq]

dude,ya gotta ck this out.http://rayjardine.com/i have made the tarp & quilt,both are great.i do not wear boots anymore either.Vasque Velocity

 

[Streakerfreak]

I know this is an old thread, but I am that guy who cut his toothbush in half and cut the tags of all my gear.

It may only be 0.0002 oz but it actually adds up pretty quick. I did this on two 90 mile backpacking trips. Before the trips we would weigh each pack with all gear seperated out. My pack always weighed between 35-40 pounds even with photography gear and everyone else who laughed at me were around 50-60 pounds. Who was the one laughing 50 miles into the trips:hehe:

I brought all light weight quick drying clothing, zip off pants, quick drying underware, two heavy duty hiking shocks and sock liners for each day.

I used my old Teddy Ruxpin baby bowl and my old gerber metal baby spoon for as a backpacking group we never ate anything we could not eat or cut with a spoon.

A month before the trips I would lay EVERYTHING down in front of me. I would pack, unpack, and repack. Then try everything out. Whittle down through everything and take out what I really did not need or could find something better to replace it.

I know this won't help and its an old thread, but I am that crazy guy with no tags on my backpacking stuff.

 

[schio]

weight vs comfort

Certainly, reducing weight is critical, especially on those non-essentials. There is alot of talk about ultra-light weight hiking shoes nowadays but sometimes people forget that when carrying all the other weight, you need a sturdy shoe to cushion the ride and reduce the stress on your foot. Often times, to light en the weight, they take weight out of the sole which can result in a flimsy ride. If you hike on trail, perhaps it is not that important. But as soon as you go off trail, you'll understand the importance. Investing in pair of hiking shoes with good underfoot support allows the rest of your body to handle the trip. Zamberlan makes a decent pair of hiking shoes called the Crest. Slightly heavier than the 'ultra-lights' but a much more protective and comfortable ride.
-for what its worth

 

[Rallyroo]

I reduce weight but it's completely offset when I gain the weight back in photography gear.

 

[durangodds]

I ran into this guy http://www.andrewskurka.com/index.php last fall when I was archery hunting near the continental divide. He stopped and took a short nap in my camp. He had been out for something like 168 days and was traveling 36 miles/day when I met him. His pack weighed 7.5 lbs less food, fuel, and water. It was pretty impressive. Caused me to take a serious look at what I had hauled in.

If you visit his site and look under advice/tips you'll find his gear lists for all his various hikes. It's pretty cool.

 

[jeepmedic46]

I know this is a old site but I checked out the above site and its pretty cool.

 

[Photog]

I switched to the ultralight shoes (Solomon Tech Amphibians). The soles are very flexable, super high traction, and no protection from rocks. I pulled out the insoles and replaced them with Super Feet. The sole now feel like a light hiker, with the plastic shank. Feet get wet easily (PNW is always wet), and they dry out easily. You can see right through the mesh. No more soggy feet.:wings:

Using a Gregory Z Pack (2006), Tarp, alcahol stove, and a down bag, I easily keep my weight down to 23 pounds (food, water, etc., for 3 nights out). I could use a lighter tarp, a lighter pack, and a couple other details, and get below 20 pounds.

What I really need to do to save weight, is exercise. I could drop 20 pounds, and gain some strength, and hiking would be much more enjoyable.:chowtime:

 

[jeepmedic46]

I need to lose about 40lbs and I know hiking would be much more enjoyable:arabia:

 

[Something]

Hello all!

Jardine's book is a good source.

I'm an ultralite backpacker.
I've thruhiked the AT, PCT, and have summited numerous peaks, including Kilimanjaro and Rainier.

If anyone has any specific questions I'd be more than happy to help.

Also check "Flyin" Brian Robinson's gear list:
http://royrobinson.homestead.com/GearList.html

 

[RgrBox]

I work in an outdoor adventure store.. I do enjoy selling lots of kit to people, but due to the fact that I believe that knowledge is king, I try to explain to clients, and students in my outdoor courses, that all fo the kit in the world won't help, firstly if you can't carry it, second if you don't know how to use it.. but comfort is a priority for me, but i do go on weekend hikes with around 10kms of kit.. I use less kit due to more knowledge, and of course I use light weight backpacking kit..