Ok, heres my problem with the ultra-light thing. My clothing choice. I currently carry BDU (camoflage military) pants 1 pair and a pair on me since the hold up better and are more comfortable to wear then most pants I have tried. 1 extra shirt. Gore-tex jacket. and Polar fleece shirt. 1 set of polypro long underwear for cold weather and 2 pairs of wigwam hiking socks. My problem is with all the clothes I bring, I am hauling 8 lbs. of clothing. I cant for the life of me figure out how to lighten the load. I dont want to not have a change of clothing if I get wet, but I cant figure out what is comfortable and still light. Any suggestions on what to try? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

http://www.basspro.com/servlet/catalog.TextId?hvarTextId=52018&hvarDept=600&hvarEvent=&hvarClassCode=5&hvarSubCode=4&hvarTarget=browse

These pants are very durable. I have several pair and wear them for work( construction )as well as hiking. Literally can't seem to wear a pair out even after 2-3 years.

You might consider viewing your polypro as your change of dry clothing and leave the extra pants at home.

Well to start off with there is a lot of cotton in those BDU pants, so no wonder you want another pair to change into when you get wet. If it were totally wet conditions you probably won't change because you second pair would get just as wet very quickly, so my guess is you wait until you get to a dry place to change in the first place to avoid having two pair of wet pants. So you could change to something that drys faster and only have one pair of quick drying pants plus your rain pants. This way you can hike in them with rain pants and keep them dry in the first place, or you could hike in them without your rain pants and then when you get to camp, you can either change into just your rain pants or (depending on the material of your rain pants) just put your rain pants on over your pants and let them dry from body heat inside the rain pants. Personally for me BDUs are only for work, I prefer nylon cargo shorts for hiking since they don't hold sweat and dry fast - weight about 5 ounces. With this I carry a pair of microfiber underwear and carry a spare pair - weight about 1.6 ounces each.

Now to your shirt. I don't know what yours is made out of, but if it is cotton that is probably going to be a problem too - just like the BDUs. A cheap wicking T-Shirt weighs about 5 ounces. In the summer I just have one, in cooler weather I sometimes add another one for camp so I can change. But saying that, most times it drys out so quickly once I stop it doesn't really matter.

You didn't say what sort of Gore-Tex jacket you have, so I assume it is probably a multi layer laminate - heavy. I also don't like Gore-Tex anyway. There are some good lightweight jackets out there that won't kill you for price like the Red ledge which has breathable material in a single layer. You can get one that weighs probably around a pound.

to your fleece, I personally don't like fleece that much because it is not the lightest and most compressible of insulation layers. You might want to look for a military parka liner since it compresses well and has about the same thickness of loft as your polar fleece. The weight of it will be around 10-12 ounces. There are some even better things out there, but much more expensive like the Patagonia Puffball jacket and such.

Your polypro long underwear, I don't know the type, you can probably continue to use that just fine. I like my old brown army issue polypro.

Wigwam hiking socks - probably just as good as anything else you can get.

Also, think about when and where you are going. Since you probably already follow a layering system, think about it as a indicator of what you need for your kit when you go somewhere. I break mine down like this:

Rain Gear (always carry):
1 rain jacket………………………….11.5 ounces
1 pair rain pants……………………….6 ounces
1 pair rain mittens……………………..1.2 ounces
Total………………………………….18.7 ounces (1.1 pounds)

Clothing – In Pack, Warm Weather (60F+):
1 spare pair socks……………………….1 ounce
1 spare shirt……………………………..5 ounces
1 spare pair underwear………………….1.6 ounces
Total……………………………………7.6 ounces (0.5 pounds)

Clothing – In Pack, Cool Weather (33F-59F):
1 long sleeve top………………………..9.5 ounces
1 pair long pants………………………..8.3 ounces
1 fleece hat……………………………..2.4 ounces
1 pair fleece gloves……………………..1 ounce
1 pair warm socks………………………2.6 ounces
Total…………………………………….23.8 ounces (1.6 pounds)

Clothing – In Pack, Colder Weather (below 32F):
1 insulated jacket……………………….9.7 ounces
1 pair insulated pants…………………..8.5 ounces
1 pair heavy wool socks………………..3.3 ounces
1 pair mittens…………………………..1.9 ounces
1 neck gaiter…………………………...2.1 ounces
1 pair Gore Tex socks…………………..3.5 ounces
Total……………………………………29.0 ounces (1.6 pounds)

Clothing Worn, and Items Carried (always):
1 pair trail runners……………………….32.4 ounces
1 pair socks……………………………….1 ounce
1 t-shirt……………………………………5 ounces
1 pair underwear………………………….1.6 ounces
1 pair cargo pants………………...5.5 ounces
1 ball cap………………………………….2.5 ounces
Total……………………………………….48.0 ounces (3 pounds)

So when I hike, I have on 3 pounds of clothing including footwear and I carry an extra 1.6 pounds of clothing. When I expect cool weather I add about 1.6 more pounds of clothing, and when I expect below freezing temps, I add about another 1.6 pounds. So even at the lowest levels I have hiked at (single digits) I only need to carry 4.8 pounds of clothing and wear another 3.

I'm kinda like Rock - drop the extra pants. If you need dry pants when you get to camp, put on your rain pants. If it's cold, put on some lightweight thermals under your rain pants. That's all you need. If it's colder than that, get into your bag!

When you start hiking again, change back into your wet pants so your thermals stay dry (you'll stay warm by moving). In colder weather, carry thicker thermals.

Ditto on the shirt - Walmart has Athletic Works and Starter synthetic shirts for about $6. Long sleeves are about $8 if they're on sale.

Rain gear - my Red Ledge pants are awesome, and I wish I had seen the Red Ledge jacket before I spent $80 on a GoLite one. When these wear out I'll probably get Frogg Toggs.

I used to sing the praises of BDUs, too - they're pretty good for what they're designed for...but even the military is replacing them with the new materials. Try a trip or two without them and you'll probably never go back (unless you're bushwhacking or something).