Lightweight BPing vs UL & Featherweight

[ppine]

I am in Seattle this week seeing family and stopped by the main REI store to chat with a couple of gear heads about recent BPing equip. as the joints age it makes sense to be more weight conscious

I have been working on the big three, pack, sleeping system and shelter. I am also reading about ultrlight techniques and equipment. I will be under 30 pounds next time out, with some movement downward in terms of weight. The plan is to be a lightweight backpacker, but not a fanatic about it. How do you define your style of BPing and what philisophical changes have you made?

 

[IndianaHiker]

My big three is somewhere around 7 to 7.5 lbs. Sorry don't remember off the top of my head. However I don't fret over it. I carry what I need and what I want to have with me. I do carry some extra items that are not needed but I want to have. For example pillow, MP3 player with small speakers, camera, always seem to have extra 550 cord and about 2x the tent stakes I need for my tarp to hang over my hammock. Seems the most extra weight is in clothing in colder trips. Always tend to have more layers than needed but that is better than not having enough layers when really needed. Could drop 3 to 4 lbs off my pack weight by not taking extras of some things but the security of having them to me is worth more than the weight.

 

[wvbreamfisherman]

I'm not a hardcore backpacker. I guess I'm closer to old school. I like white gas stoves and use an alice pack, and I mostly use home-assembled meals. I probably carry more weight than I need to, but that's a work in progress.

 

[Grandpa]

I stay under 30 lbs except for week or longer trips but I don't consider myself a lightweight by any means. I could ditch the tent for a silnylon tarp but I don't like sleeping with bugs. I could carry only freeze dry and dehydrated foods but by the end of the week I'd walk ten miles out of my way for a roast beef sandwich or hamburger. I could drop the stove and fuel but I'd have to add heavier pots and pans. I could wash my socks out each night but I prefer the fluff the dryer seems to put in them so I carry several extra pair. I could skip the camp shoes but it sure feels good to let my hikers air out at the end of the day. I keep talking cutting weight but in the end I like these little comforts and trip after trip, I keep taking them along.

 

[Theosus]

I think I'm 30-35 pounds in cool weather. I dropped about 4 pounds of useless crap after my first overnight. My deuter act 75 pack (empty) is heavy, but it's very comfortable to carry. It's a little big for overnights, ok a lot big... But my sleeping bag and underquilt are sort of bulky (light, just don't compress well).
I carry what I feel comfortable with, and on my last trip I had the biggest pack, but when the others were huffing and puffing and stopped on the side of the hill, I was still walking. I usually have lots of empty space, which I prefer to a pack bursting at the seams. Also I like everything inside. Some of the people with 40L packs had stuff strapped all over the outside and dangling about...
I have a canister stove but for an overnight I like my cat food can stove. It's light and simple and cheap. If I'm cooking more than three or four meals I'll take the gigapower, despite it's weight.
The key I think is to follow the advice people often post. Pile your stuff on the floor. Put all your luxuries in one pile, your wants in a second pile, and your "I need this to survive in the woods" stuff in a third pile. Put the first two piles in the closet, and pack the needs in your pack.

 

[Grandpa]

Each trip is different. Next week in Yellowstone, we'll be fording the Bechler and other creeks several times. Also will be soaking in the geothermal attractions. This requires a couple of big microfiber towels rather than the one small I usually carry. It also requires more sock changes, bear spray, and heavier water shoes than I normally carry. This is a mixed group with teenager girls through us older folks so a larger tent is required for clothes changing etc. For 5 days, I expect to be in the 25 lb range. Last week, with just dog and I, we hiked part of the Middle Fork. Dry, low altitude, and small risk of predatory animals, I was under 20 lbs for 5 days but still had those little comforts I like.

 

[Gunny Webb]

I have a 2 lb tent, 2 lb bag and 2 lb backpack. My summer overnight weight when using a shelter is only 6 lbs, plus water. Winter 4 day with tent weight in January with wet gear was 16 I think.

 

[ppine]

Grandpa got to the crux of the matter. We could leave lots of things at home by why would we? To prove its possible? To impress the other lightweights? I revel in comfort in the outdoors and will only go so far with the margin for error arguement. As I said in another post "the margin for error gets razor thin in cold wet country when it can snow any day of the year."

 

[Gunny Webb]

Grandpa got to the crux of the matter. We could leave lots of things at home by why would we? To prove its possible? To impress the other lightweights? I revel in comfort in the outdoors and will only go so far with the margin for error arguement. As I said in another post "the margin for error gets razor thin in cold wet country when it can snow any day of the year."

I wouldn't say light is "going without." At 18 lbs I have more, and better stuff than 25 years ago at 45 lbs. Lighter and better things have been coming down the pike for years. At 2 lbs the Western Mountaineering sleeping bag is warm at 15 degrees. The old 6 lb chicken feather bag I used was marginal at 20 degrees. Old 5 lb Moss tent replaced by 2 lb UL tent. Cook kit weighs 1/3 of old kit. Clothes? Now that is a whole different world than 20 years ago. One forth of the weight and twice the warmth.
If you have the money, somebody makes a very good lightweight one.

 

[ppine]

Gunny also makes a valid point that stuff in general is getting lighter and if you spend the money a lot lighter. It makes sense to upgrade some items to save weight alone. There are definitely diminishing returns however. I think getting under 30 pounds is a huge milestone for most people. Getting under 20 pounds is a lot harder and takes some money and a fundamental change in outlook.

I am on another forum that is run by gearheads. They seem more interested as a group in equipment rather than experiences. I think that is a real mistake. Equipment in itself is not the ends but the means.

 

[Theosus]

I am on another forum that is run by gearheads. They seem more interested as a group in equipment rather than experiences. I think that is a real mistake. Equipment in itself is not the ends but the means.

I'm glad someone brought that up. On my first trip a few people seemed so gear obsessed they seemed to miss out on the big picture. "my tent weighs six ounces less than yours", "if you changed to pack X you could save a few pounds", blah blah blah. Unless someone is a serious drag on the group (because he's carrying way more than he should), leave them alone. Out on the trail, "helpful hints" can quickly become snooty-sounding. My hammock is 2.9 pounds. I don't care if your tarp tent is 9 ounces, I like my hammock. My trowel may weigh twice what your $30 titanium model weighs (even though I cut most of the handle off) but I paid $2 for it, if I lose it or break it, I'm not fretting.
I carry more weight than some, but I keep up. Sometimes I'm even in front.

 

[wvbreamfisherman]

I'm glad someone brought that up. On my first trip a few people seemed so gear obsessed they seemed to miss out on the big picture. "my tent weighs six ounces less than yours", "if you changed to pack X you could save a few pounds", blah blah blah. Unless someone is a serious drag on the group (because he's carrying way more than he should), leave them alone. Out on the trail, "helpful hints" can quickly become snooty-sounding. My hammock is 2.9 pounds. I don't care if your tarp tent is 9 ounces, I like my hammock. My trowel may weigh twice what your $30 titanium model weighs (even though I cut most of the handle off) but I paid $2 for it, if I lose it or break it, I'm not fretting.
I carry more weight than some, but I keep up. Sometimes I'm even in front.

+100 I really don't go hiking/fishing/camping/hunting/whatever to get in an arms race.

Looking at and buying new equipment can be a lot of fun in and of itself, but as long as you're happy with how you're doing things, you will have a good time.

As I said upthread, my backpacking gear is a work in progress. I learned a lot from the thru hikers I encountered back on the AT section hike I took, but what I'm doing is not the same as what they are doing.

I doubt if I'll ever be a minimalist.

 

[tramp]

I know this thread is old but I will post on it anyway.I found Eric the blacks blog online and his backpacking gear list and it made a lot of sense to me and i patterned mine after that.now I'm down to about 30 pounds with food and water for a 5 day hike.