Shedding pounds and adding ounces

[hikerjohnd]

OK - I have finally got my base weight to the 10 pound range. My most recent trip saw the last minute change of my knife and it was kind of nice to have a bigger blade around the camp. The total weight addition was one ounce - a reasonable price to pay for the comfort. At one point I switched to a torso closed cell foam pad for sleeping. It took about three trips for me to switch back to my therm-a-rest. I sold the torso pad, but lost money on the deal.

So, my question is this - what changes did you try to make to your set-up that just didn't work for the long term? While I am shedding pounds form my pack, I do not want to make costly (as in price) mistakes for gear when I can add an ounce or two and be more comfortable.

[Skidsteer]

OK -
So, my question is this - what changes did you try to make to your set-up that just didn't work for the long term? While I am shedding pounds form my pack, I do not want to make costly (as in price) mistakes for gear when I can add an ounce or two and be more comfortable.

Trekking poles.

One trip convinced me to go back to my hiking staff.

[Jack Tarlin]

Don't sell yourself short on warm clothes, especially clothes for night/camp.

On at least half a dozen occasions, I've had to lend clothes to some ultralightweight idiot who tried to save weight by not bringing along adequate clothing. Saving weight by skipping the long underwear, the hat, and the gloves, is not the way to go.

On at least one of these occasions, the guy was half hypothermic and would've been in serious trouble if a bunch of people hadn't bailed him out.

Same holds true for food. I've seen quite a few lightweights (and I mean that in more ways than one) who figured they'd fly thru a section in just a few days so they didn't need to bring much food. Invariably, when they ran out, they'd end up pitifully begging scraps from the guys with bigger packs.

[Frolicking Dinosaurs]

Snowpeak Titanium cookset. I now use the pots as a combo cups, bowls and plates, but I went back to cooking in my 5 qt aluminum pot - 35+ yrs old and still best for cooking for two.

[BigToe]

Tried mason string (.0160 oz/ft), 155 lb test for my bear bag, and HH tarp lines. Went back to TripTease (.0280 oz/ft), 188 lb test because the mason string is just to hard to untie, and was a pain to pull over branches for the bear bag.

Used a Freeform Zip mini pen two section hikes ago. It's one of those tiny pens with a ring you slip on your finger. Was just too hard to write with so I went back to a full size pen.

[Hana_Hanger]

32 oz Naglene bottles for the 1 Liter Naglene cantene bladder. Not pound for ounces...but the difference of 6.5 oz for a 2.1 is just not worth it to me anymore. I am bringing both from now on...only the soft cantene one will be for water only!
Nothing beats being able to grab that bottle and drink a hot cup of java or tea and not have to worry about it being too hot to touch or worse you grab the soft cantene to hard and lose some of your precious drink and burn yourself while you are at it.
Same goes for the ziplock bags...fine I will continue to use them as well (cooking in the bag etc...) but eating out of a ziplock type bowl from now on. Plus the lid is wonderful to keep out ants and flies.

[Alligator]

Same thing with a t-rest. Went from the thinnest to the next size up. I'm really not found of my Leatherman Micra and am looking to get a 2 oz. straight blade with a little length. I think I will opt for something nice looking, maybe a wood handle. I saw one a few months back but didnt buy it as I didn't need anything else at the time.

I made a headlamp from a small LED, but it wasn't bright enough. I went to an Aurora instead.

I used a Trangia for a while, but I didn't like its fuel efficiency. Bought a Simmerlite, but then I picked up a Brasslite and use that in the warmer months. It's pretty fuel efficient. Ping pong there.

I tried a fleece sleeping bag. Big mistake. I picked up a summer bag soon after.