Gear audit requested

[ekalina]

I was going to post this in the hyperlight pack thread but realized it would be a hijack...

For any of you gear heads that have a 10-15 lbs (or lower) base weight, I'd love to see your lighterpack (or spreadsheet) if you have one. Or tips if you want to share. I realized my current summer backpacking kit comes in at a whopping 27 lbs without consumables (insane, I know). At least that's "skin out weight" with shoes, phone, wallet, watch, etc. By ditching the tent for a bivy, getting a lighter sleeping bag and pillow, and making a few other tweaks I see that I could get things down to 20 lbs or so, but getting it under 15 seems less obvious.

My lighterpack if you're interested:
https://lighterpack.com/r/tqhpan

I feel the weight is holding me back because I'd like to be able to traverse across a bunch of peaks with my gear, but instead feel the need to drop most of it at a base camp and return there each night. This isn't particularly efficient since most basins only have so many peaks ringing them. I also don't think I'm finishing any thru hikes hauling around 27 lbs (plus food, water, fuel). Am I wrong?

[zootloopz]

Here is my lighterpack that I use for essentially all of my ultralight adventures at ~8.3 lbs

https://lighterpack.com/r/d42yvm

Adding a cookset is less than a pound including the fuel with a SOTO windmaster and 750ml titanium pot. I'll use a two person tarp if the rain / bug pressure risk is low to shave 10 oz. Food is generally 2 lbs. per day, and water is the biggest oscillating factor depending on whether I'm dry camping or not.

I'd mark your clothing worn during the day as worn weight (ofc).
You can easily find a 2 lb. pack with the same comfort and carrying capacity as your current pack to save almost another 3 lb. Rain cover is also not necessary if you have an internal pack liner for your sleeping bag and sleep clothes.
A bear can isn't really necessary most of the time in Colorado.
What exactly is an emergency beacon? Is that a satellite communication device?
Get the mini versions of everything possible including sunscreen, hand sanitizer, etc.
Bring only your car key and keep the rest in your glovebox.
Bring a credit card and some cash in a plastic ziploc if you're thru hiking. Otherwise just leave it in your glovebox.
Get a sawyer squeeze to shave half a pound off your water filter.
This is all without touching your sleeping bag and pad which you could easily spend a few hundred to save another 1.5 lbs if you so desired.

[daway8]

Wow, I would be floating in heaven with a summer backpacking setup that only weighed 27lbs!!! 8.3lbs just seems like ludicrous made-up nonsense. I guess I really need to research this ultralight stuff some more... (and I already have a supposedly ultralight tent!)

And don't even get me started on winter backpacking - ooofff, almost killed myself on the last one with that pack! But I did stay nice and cozy despite temps in the low teens!

[justiner]

Here's my lighterpack from my second Sangres Traverse which I think took 6 1/2 days and was designed so I could sleep multiple times at 13,000':

https://lighterpack.com/r/t3v0tv

I wrote a freakin' PHD dissertation on what I brought in 2023, while comparing it to what I had brought in 2019:

https://justinsimoni.com/gear-breakdown ... -traverse/

And here's a lighterpack from my unsupported CT FKT attempt from last year:

https://lighterpack.com/r/chdi87

This one is much lighter (<10lbs) but would be kind of crazy light if I wasn't packing for being out for 10 days without a resupply (lots of batteries!).

[HikerGuy]

Here's my spreadsheet, feel free to copy. It's kind of like a lighter pack. Once you have entered your list of items, you can create two packs and compare them. All of my gear is pretty old. I only get out about once or twice a year for a one or two-night trip. I could easily get my base weight lower, but I am happy with the 15-20 pound range for what I do, comfortably light vs. ultralight.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/ ... sp=sharing

[astranko]

I have used this setup for up to two weeks:

https://lighterpack.com/r/ume8nw

I have used this one for a few nights with lots of movement:

https://lighterpack.com/r/l9bz7l

[astranko]

I was going to post this in the hyperlight pack thread but realized it would be a hijack...

For any of you gear heads that have a 10-15 lbs (or lower) base weight, I'd love to see your lighterpack (or spreadsheet) if you have one. Or tips if you want to share. I realized my current summer backpacking kit comes in at a whopping 27 lbs without consumables (insane, I know). At least that's "skin out weight" with shoes, phone, wallet, watch, etc. By ditching the tent for a bivy, getting a lighter sleeping bag and pillow, and making a few other tweaks I see that I could get things down to 20 lbs or so, but getting it under 15 seems less obvious.

My lighterpack if you're interested:
https://lighterpack.com/r/tqhpan

I feel the weight is holding me back because I'd like to be able to traverse across a bunch of peaks with my gear, but instead feel the need to drop most of it at a base camp and return there each night. This isn't particularly efficient since most basins only have so many peaks ringing them. I also don't think I'm finishing any thru hikes hauling around 27 lbs (plus food, water, fuel). Am I wrong?

I switched things to grams to be able to talk with more granularity.

Your stove/stove system is pretty heavy. A pretty large ti pot and stove is only about 150g, compared to your 300g.
Lighters? 45g of them? A mini-bic is 10g. Get a stove with an igniter and then it doesn't matter really.
A modern lightweight headlamp is 1/2 the weight of your current one.
Do you need a whistle? Have you ever used it? I've never seen a (current) recommendation that people need a whistle.
A tick remover?
A 22g pair of scissors? 200g of sunscreen? There are lighter/smaller versions of each of these.
Try toothpaste tabs in lieu of 100g of tooth care stuff. My tooth kit is 12g.


The mindset that works for me is "What is the minimum viable function?" and cutting (almost) anything above that. Luxuries can be added on top of an already lightweight kit by discretion. The suggestions above, if replaced by alternatives, would save you ~500g, nearly 1lb and change no functionality. Replacing the scissors, repacking sunscreen, a new brush and tabs, new headlamp, and leaving a few things would save you 0.75lb and cost you about $40.

[HikerGuy]

I realized I posted a link to my backpacking list, but did not provide any feedback. Some of this has already been covered.

Pack - you could make a big reduction in weight, I would start here first and you will get the most bang for your buck.
Pack cover - agree ditch the cover and use plastic bag inside to keep contents dry.
Tent - you could save weight here, but it will either be costly or less comfortable. Save this for later.
Tent footprint - use a polycryo ground cloth (window shrink film) much lighter.
Sleeping bag - you could improve here, but again, will be costly. Circle back to this one once you have saved weight elsewhere.
Pillow - sounds heavy, but some people can't do without a large pillow. Small pillows weigh around 3oz.
Water filter - as mentioned previously, there are much lighter squeeze options.
Bear can - I've had a hard time giving up my bear can especially when camping above treeline, but you can save a ton of weight by switching to an Urack with Opsak odor proof bags. I would prioritize this after reducing pack weight.
Clothing - make sure to mark your shoes, some of clothes, hat, sunglasses, trekking poles (fight me on this) as worn weight, this should not be included in your base weight.

Start with pack, water filter, bear safety, and mark some items as worn weight. That will get you much lighter on your Lighterpack list. Then work from there, sleeping bag (maybe go with quilt instead) and shelter.

I need a new main pack too and probably a new sleep and shelter system. I just don't want to spend the money since I don't get out that often.

[DaveLanders]

I use a mid weight painter's drop cloth (3 mil I think) for my tent footprint. Cheap and easy to cut to size. The lightest ones (sort of like Saran wrap) are too flimsy IMO.

[daway8]

How is it that none of these lists appear to show any weight for water other than the weight that appears to be for a filter and some bottles?

Do y'all ultralight gurus seriously not carry one single drop of water on you as you hike to your camp? When camping, I'll carry some empty bottles to fill up at the campsite but I'll have at least one bottle filled with water to drink along the hike in - and I'm pretty sure there's no such thing as ultralight water...

[supranihilest]

and I'm pretty sure there's no such thing as ultralight water...

Someone's never heard of dehydrated water.

[SkaredShtles]

and I'm pretty sure there's no such thing as ultralight water...

Someone's never heard of dehydrated water.

I can vouch for dehydrated water. It's SUPER light and very convenient.