View Full Version : absurd things to lighten pack
modiyooch
07-02-2010, 08:24
What absurd things do you do to lighten your pack?
For example, I've been known to trim the pages on my data book map, and burn as I go.
Or, I won't put a patch on my pack because....
I've already mentioned that I squirt my toothpast in a ziplock bag.
I know it's stupid, but...
Anyway, maybe I'm looking for ideas.
fiddlehead
07-02-2010, 08:39
Make a tent with no zipper or door.
Simply pull up a corner stake to get in and out.
No floor needed either
Simple is lighter.
The Solemates
07-02-2010, 09:15
cut all the extra straps and extraneous strap lengths off your backpack.
dont carry stuff you dont need like so many people carry, like a first aid kit or duct tape or hiking poles or cell phone or wallet or soap or a change of 'bed' clothes or more than a liter of water, etc etc.
but these arent absurd.
garlic08
07-02-2010, 09:17
I started hiking without a stove or cook kit a few years ago. I never expected to enjoy it more. I was a lousy camp cook anyway.
I switched my pocket knife/multi-tool for a single-edged razor blade. After I left the stove behind, I didn't have anything left in my pack that needed a tool to repair, anyway. The razor blade works fine for opening food packages, cutting cord or cloth, removing splinters, etc.
About the most absurd thing I've done is leave my camera behind. I have a box full of thousands of photos of me and friends with mountains, woods, snow, creeks all over the world. At some point I figured I had enough.
Sometimes, like when the moon is full, I leave behind my headlamp. That's about the last thing I own that needs batteries, and it sure is a great feeling to not have any batteries in the pack.
couscous
07-02-2010, 09:19
What absurd things do you do to lighten your pack?
People that see me carrying my Gossamer Gear Whisper 4oz/2000ci pack on the A.T. probably think I'm absurd. ( http://www.gossamergear.com/cgi-bin/gossamergear/whisper_uberlight.html ) Best way for me to lighten my pack was to start with a smaller pack , which limits the space for just-in-case items. My map, compass, flashlight, sleeping clothes, quilt, hammock, first-aid kit, prescriptions, pocket knife, matches, water, water treatment, food for 4 days, stove/fuel/windscreen, mug, spork, whistle, insect repellent, raingear, sandals and a couple trash bags weigh less than the pack's 15# limit.
skinewmexico
07-02-2010, 10:13
I've done some absurd things that lightened my pack, by lightening my wallet!
I used to not carry a tent. All I had was a bed-top mosquito net to sleep under. When they started making tarp tents that weighed the same as my mosquito net, I got one. Now I've sewn my own floorless, doorless mosquito net that weighs only 6 ounces so I might go back to my no-tent ways.
I've only recently started bringing rain gear with me when I hike. I didn't even own rain gear in the past. I didn't even have a rain jacket on the PCT, but I did have rain pants and an umbrella, which was the most rain gear I'd ever taken with me anywhere.
I'm thinking of not bringing a down jacket anymore. I'm pretty sure I can just wad up my quilt under my Houdini and stay warm enough with that.
I only grudgingly take a headlamp. I have the weakest, wimpiest one you can find. I don't do any night hiking and I prefer to grope around in the dark when I have to get up in the middle of the night. I just put all my things in the same place every night so I know where to find everything without seeing. I figure if blind people can get along in life, I should be able to manage the darkness.
fiddlehead
07-02-2010, 10:36
I agree with SB hikes above.
Flashlights and head lamps are way overrated. Except in late fall or winter or early spring.
If you hike hard in the day, you dn't need to stay up past dark.
If you do, they make LED's that weigh fractions of an oz and are plenty bright.
I remember a hiker on the AT in '89 who only used his Bic lighter for a light and only flicked the flint without using the butane inside for the whole hike (one bic did it)
I guess you could use the word absurd for him. I doubt he thought so though.
The Solemates
07-02-2010, 12:24
i have to have my headlamp. but then again I usually take 3 books with me when i hike.
brooklynkayak
07-02-2010, 12:55
I don't bother carrying a crack pipe anymore. That's not so absurd, I always found it hard to find crack on the trail anyway:-)
cowboy nichols
07-02-2010, 15:31
Hike in a loin cloth cuts clothing wt. eat grubs.weeds and cold food sleep in a thick thicket or a brush shelter since that cuts out amost everything you can skip the backpack of course you might not enjoy the trip as much.LOL
Danielsen
07-02-2010, 21:35
Well, as far as the pack itself is concerned, I took a razorblade to a $30 Outdoor Products Wal-Mart variety pack (which was actually a surprisingly comfortable pack the few times I used it before moving on to a GG). Removing a large and useless back pocket, the aluminum stays and thick nylon that housed them, the lame lid pocket, the hydration sleeve, etc... All in all the trimmings amounted to about a pound and I think it's now a sub-2-pounder, and when I drop in a rolled sleeping pad for a frame it handles shockingly well up to ~25 pounds... not bad for a $30 walmart purchase. I now skip the 3+ lb. GG for most hikes.
Also, while it isn't technically a reduction of weight, I hang my water (a 2L bottle) in front of me rather than carrying it on my back, with a strap that runs up behind my shoulders and puts the weight on the pack frame (not directly on my shoulders). Since it acts as a counterweight, I'm using less energy to balance the weight on my back, effectively reducing the overall physical effort.
modiyooch
07-02-2010, 22:54
If you consume the heavy food that's in your pack, are you still carrying the weight?
fiddlehead
07-02-2010, 22:57
That's absurd!
Sarcasm the elf
07-03-2010, 01:02
So far I do nothing to lighten my pack.
I just finished loading my pack for my first ever 8 day, 7 night trip with no resupply besides a lunch at a deli (for which I have to get up in 5 hours to drive to Massachusetts for, yay!). This is the first time that my pack has exceeded the 50lb threshold and it looks like a giant bag of food with some camping gear shoved in around it.
Hopefully I'll learn my lesson in the next week and see what I can do without. I'm convinced that I can shave at least 5 pounds off of this pack without causing any issue, possibly more, but I just don't know what to ditch yet.
mark schofield
07-03-2010, 06:33
Hey Danielsen; A bit off topic. I've got a 2L camelback that slips in the sleeve of my Exos pack. Did you make your own thing to carry your water or buy one. I know what you mean about balancing the pack.
modiyooch
07-03-2010, 06:42
So far I do nothing to lighten my pack.
I just finished loading my pack for my first ever 8 day, 7 night trip with no resupply besides a lunch at a deli (for which I have to get up in 5 hours to drive to Massachusetts for, yay!). This is the first time that my pack has exceeded the 50lb threshold and it looks like a giant bag of food with some camping gear shoved in around it.
Hopefully I'll learn my lesson in the next week and see what I can do without. I'm convinced that I can shave at least 5 pounds off of this pack without causing any issue, possibly more, but I just don't know what to ditch yet.been there; done that. You'll figure it out.
kayak karl
07-03-2010, 07:32
If you consume the heavy food that's in your pack, are you still carrying the weight?
no, most heavy food is water weight. ill even carry a can of Diny Moore stew for the first nite.
Danielsen
07-03-2010, 12:38
Hey Danielsen; A bit off topic. I've got a 2L camelback that slips in the sleeve of my Exos pack. Did you make your own thing to carry your water or buy one. I know what you mean about balancing the pack.
Originally I bought one while backpacking in Bolivia, lost it in Colombia, and then made my own when I got back to the states. The original was some touristy thing but it was solidly made and had a cool inca-esque fabric pattern. I wish I hadn't lost it. :( It might not have worked for the typical 2L bottles here, though, as they're a little squatter and fatter than the bottles in South America were.
A bit of duct tape and webbing were all it took. :-) Should be easy to make your own if you like.
I, uh hum, used to, but never anymore, uh hum, weigh all my food into portion sizes and for nutritional content while being aware of the wt of packaging like noticing the wts of various types of plastic baggies and even rubber bands that I packaged my food in. Got to be insane! Chose to step off that merry-go-round of chasing the holy grail of the ultimate SUL gear kit. Frees up more of my time to do more of what backpacking/hiking is really about - backpacking and hiking!
to keep budget low i bought a ten dollar wind breaker and wind pants and cut out all the lining material and cut out the pockets and sewed the openings shut. Trimmed about 10 oz total off of them.
Wise Old Owl
07-04-2010, 16:08
Removed the straps from the Leki poles, replaced them with plastic wire ties. Left the one man tent deliberately in favor of a tarp. Wear waterproof clothing instead of taking a heavy rain jacket. Dumped the First Aid kit - replaced it with a small pharmacy. Dumped the lexan water bottles in favor of a Katadyn filter bottle.
beakerman
07-05-2010, 22:19
If you consume the heavy food that's in your pack, are you still carrying the weight?
only if you pack out your "waste" as per some prior discussions on this site.
If you are "regular" you deposit a little each and every day along the way.
jeepcachr
07-05-2010, 23:18
I brought my 8 yr old this weekend on her first over night hike. 6.5 miles round trip. I was surprised how light my pack was when I put a bunch of my stuff into her pack. I'm thinking of putting a pack on my dog next time and between the dog and my daughter I probably won't have to carry a pack. :eek:
theThriftstoreMtneer
07-06-2010, 15:36
I'm not sayin' to do it My Way, but, I do many 7 to 10 day stretches and my pack weighs 25 lbs MAX. Please do some research, take good advice, and take action. You will find that some things do improve with time and effort.
chris948
07-08-2010, 21:02
The craziest thing to me was the idea to use extra socks as gloves. Kind of works, but I'll go ahead and bring gloves when it's cold. :D
I left the firewood at home
We aren't the only ones trying to lighten the load, back in my bicycling days (near weekly 100+ mile trips) I saw an ad, mostly tongue in cheek, for a "Drilled out water bottle, it will save you nearly 5 grams" I think it cost about $2.00 more than a regular biker's water bottle. Naturally, it would not hold water. :p
MedicineMan
07-09-2010, 07:15
used to carry a Katadyn filter bottle or one of the variants for expedient cameling....subbed that out with a 1 ounze filter straw and a baggie (thanks MillerGear)...scoop with the baggie and suck it down :)
After having spent a considerable amount of time drilling extra holes in a pot lifter and filing the sides I finally saved 5 g (0.18oz)
The absurd part is that I don't use a pot lifter.. (my pot/mug has handles)
Franco
Sarcasm the elf
07-17-2010, 02:22
been there; done that. You'll figure it out.
Yes Sir, you are correct. We only ate about half the food despite carrying the amount that I saw commonly recommended for a trip of this length. I unloaded two pounds of it to a thru hiker at Upper Goose Pond Cabin who replied "Your mistake is greatly appreciated." I'm still not sure what else made my pack weigh so much, but after hiking with it on 90 - 100 degree days I plan to see what else I was carrying that I can do without.
Whilst I am aware of every gram I put into my pack, there are some things I refuse to compromise on, my Exped Downmat 7 that is definitely a helluva lot heavier than the miserable blue foam mats. Lets face it, people hiked the AT long before UL became the in thing!!!
Yes Sir, you are correct. We only ate about half the food despite carrying the amount that I saw commonly recommended for a trip of this length. I unloaded two pounds of it to a thru hiker at Upper Goose Pond Cabin who replied "Your mistake is greatly appreciated." I'm still not sure what else made my pack weigh so much, but after hiking with it on 90 - 100 degree days I plan to see what else I was carrying that I can do without.
on a week-long hike, get a seal-able bucket, put half your food, change of clothes, extra fuel, change of scotch (or whatever) in it and stash it at the half-way point. dump your trash, soiled clothes and anything you don't use/need when you hike to it. works for me.
johnnybgood
07-17-2010, 20:15
on a week-long hike, get a seal-able bucket, put half your food, change of clothes, extra fuel, change of scotch (or whatever) in it and stash it at the half-way point. dump your trash, soiled clothes and anything you don't use/need when you hike to it. works for me.
That works great but you must not forget where you cache it.
Write a detailed account of where you stashed it , unless of course you're smarter than a 5th grader.:rolleyes:
I used to hike with a pencil that had no paint on it. Just bare wood.
Panzer
Siestita
07-18-2010, 04:37
When I started fishing on backpacking trips the weight that I carried went up considerably. So, I brilliantly decided to leave my little plastic cutting board at home and use the bottom of a Sigg aluminum pot as a fish cleaning surface instead. Starting out I was very proud of of the weight saving achieved by this multi-use trick. My pride diminished the first evening when the pot, which had previously served me well for many years, sprung multiple leaks.
I've found that leaving my problems behind when I hike has done more to lighten my load than almost anything else.
scooterdogma
08-01-2010, 06:38
i've found that leaving my problems behind when i hike has done more to lighten my load than almost anything else.
touche!!!;)
I don't bother carrying a crack pipe anymore. That's not so absurd, I always found it hard to find crack on the trail anyway:-)
All UL crackheads know that you can make a UL crackpipeby rolling a single walled tube of foil.
Any lighter than that and you will just have to hold the rock between your teeth and light it. Hope you have dentures!
On that note, if you DO have dentures pull all but one tooth out to go UL.
sixguns01
01-26-2011, 08:42
So far I do nothing to lighten my pack.
I just finished loading my pack for my first ever 8 day, 7 night trip with no resupply besides a lunch at a deli (for which I have to get up in 5 hours to drive to Massachusetts for, yay!). This is the first time that my pack has exceeded the 50lb threshold and it looks like a giant bag of food with some camping gear shoved in around it.
Hopefully I'll learn my lesson in the next week and see what I can do without. I'm convinced that I can shave at least 5 pounds off of this pack without causing any issue, possibly more, but I just don't know what to ditch yet.
With time, experience, and some Advil, you'll learn what to ditch. Do some research and shop around on eBay and some forum gear swap sites and you can usually replace what you have with some much lighter gear without sacrificing comfort or safety. The amount of food to bring is something you'll learn from experience.
My old pack was 50lbs. My bad knees and smoker lungs did not like that. So searched and did some research and found deals cut my load down to 20-30lbs on a week long trip (depending on weather and geo location).
Have fun
Sickmont
01-26-2011, 09:22
You REALLY wanna lighten the load? Then have an out of body experience.....Leave your physical form at home.
4eyedbuzzard
01-26-2011, 10:23
On that note, if you DO have dentures pull all but one tooth out to go UL.
No need for ANY teeth to eat most one pot hiker slop. And if you got real teeth you could have them pulled. At approx 3 gram average per tooth that's 32 x 3 = 96 grams! Almost 4 ounces! And you can lose that pesky 10 gram sawed off toothbrush as well.
Yep. Another 1/4 lb saved.
You're welcome.
Wise Old Owl
01-26-2011, 10:39
Make a tent with no zipper or door.
Simply pull up a corner stake to get in and out.
No floor needed either
Simple is lighter.
OK, SO NOW ITS A TARP WITH POLES AND NOT A TENT:eek:
wrongway_08
01-26-2011, 13:13
I bought a scale and then it turned into a game to see how many grams I could knock off of crap.
- Shortened all charger wires.
- Then made interchangable tips from all the chargers.
- Cut tags off
- Cut extra strap length off.
- Shortened pump hoses, tossed useless pump hose weights.
- redid headlamp strap and used thinner band to save weight.
Bunch of other stuff but can't remeber now - have to go through my "check out how i saved weight" photos.
Buffalo Skipper
01-26-2011, 13:18
I bought a scale and then it turned into a game to see how many grams I could knock off of crap.
- Shortened all charger wires.
- Then made interchangable tips from all the chargers.
- Cut tags off
- Cut extra strap length off.
- Shortened pump hoses, tossed useless pump hose weights.
- redid headlamp strap and used thinner band to save weight.
Bunch of other stuff but can't remeber now - have to go through my "check out how i saved weight" photos.
I would be real intersted to hear if you collected the cut out lables, cut off straps, and such to see how much weight was actually saved this way.
Not being critical, just curious.
wrongway_08
01-26-2011, 13:26
I weighed each one, post the differences on W.B. when I did my hike in 2008. Over all it was only around 3/4 - 1 pound total for the small stuff like these items - other stuff I can't remember off hand.
One thing I did was cutting my rain jackets back out and sewing/water proofing my pack cover in its place - that saved about 6 ounces right there.
Was something fun to do while waiting for my hike to start.