Good gear?

[Jarhead16]

Here's my gear minus clothing, any advice is greatly appreciated! The total pack weight is 22 lbs 2 oz.

Pack ALPS Mountaineering Denali 5-4
Tent Sierra Designs Iota 1-man 3-season 3-12
Utensils Jetboil Jetset Utensil Set 0-1.4
Companion Cup Jetboil 1 liter Companion Cup 0-8.7
Cooking System Jetboil Personal Cooking System 0-15
Titanium Cup MSR Titanium Cup 0-1.9
Platypus 3 Liter 0-4.5
Potatoes and Beef Mountain House 0-4.34
Lasagna Mountain House 0-3
Eggs and Bacon Mountain House 0-2.6
Chicken Stew Mountain House 0-4.8
First-aid Adventure Medical Ultralight 0-9.5
Chair Crazy Creek Original 1-10
Towels MSR Packtowl Ultralight 0-2
Water Purifier System MSR Sweetwater Purifier 0-14
Replacement Cartridge MSR Sweetwater Cartridge ----

Shower Sea to Summit Pocket Shower 0-4.25


Compression sacks Granite Gear Air Compressor 0-7
Tent Repair Adventure Medical Tent Repair 0-4
Knife Leatherman C302 0-3.2
Sleeping Mat Thermarest Pro-lite 4 1-8
Sleeping Bag The North Face Cat’s Meow 2-10
Sleeping Bag liner Sea to Summit Silk Liner 0-4.4
Headlamp Petzl Tikka XP 0-3
Trekking Poles Black Diamond Trail 1-2

[Froggy]

Get a lighter pack (Six Moon Designs Starlite?),

A lighter tent (Tarptent Rainbow?),

Dump the Jetboil for an alcohol stove (Anti-Gravity Gear?),

Drop the shower off somewhere along the way, but on the other hand, that's only 4.25 ounces, and if you have enough water, what a refreshing thing that'll be.

Look carefully at the required medical and repair kits, there's too much weight there too, and I'd think that a review of the likely accidents and illnesses, combined with considering how far you are from help, might lead you to a lighter, more focused kit.

Get a lighter knive (Micra?).

Add maps and a wristwatch, bags for a packliner and sleeping bag liner.

So far, that's about six pounds saved.

If you can afford it, there are lighter sleeping bags out there for the performance. And a determined knee combined with some silnylon sacks will save you the 7 ounces of the Air Compressor.

Also, there are lighter lights. I think the Photon is an ounce or less.

[Frolicking Dinosaurs]

You've done an excellent job IMO. There are few places you can shave off some ozs without sacrificing safety or comfort -- and I'm sure the gram-conscious will be in to discuss that.

You might want to look at some foods that work on the trail other than freeze-dried meals. They are expensive and they get real old, real quick if you do a lot of hiking. Here is a link to a site that will get you started (http://www.freezerbagcooking.com/) and is very compatible with your Jetboil system. Click on the different meals and snacks on the left sidebar.

[Jarhead16]

The food is just there to provide random/accurate weight for a meal, I plan on eating Ramen alot as I do at home. I'm keeping a normal tent...PERIOD, that's just me. ALSO, the pack is on sale for only $100 and I have been told by a "gear guru" that the suspension is super. But other things noted! Thanks for the help thus far.

[Alligator]

Dump the Crazy Creek chair. If you want a chair, get a T-rest chair. Most folks will simply tell you not to bring it, but I always bring mine.

If you want a shower, drill some holes in a bottle cap that fits your platypus.

[earthbound]

There are a lot of backpacks with super suspension that don't weigh that much. I'm very picky about my backpack too and I won't sacrifice backpack comfort for weight. However, just because a pack has a good suspension system doesn't mean that it will be comfortable for you. Every pack fits a bit different. Get your pack last. Try on every pack you can get your hands on and see how they compare. Try the Granite Gear packs, Osprey, and Gregory packs for comparison. I'll bet you can find a pack that fits you well that isn't 5+ pounds.

Your pack weight isn't including clothing. Clothes are surprisingly heavy.

Ditch the camp shower.

Mice ate my pack towel in an AT shelter- fyi

You can make your cook system way lighter. Alcohol stoves are cheap and fun to make! They also weigh very little. mine is .45 oz

[Jarhead16]

I can't find any outfitters where I live so I'm ordering from backcountry.com, they have an unconditional lifetime warranty on everything and they said to send back what doesn't fit or I don't like so I will try as many packs as it takes. My thru-hike isn't until '09 so I'm starting the gear scrutiny early as possible. The shower idea, super. T-rest? Thermarest? Ok, someone else told me that as well as cutting a rectangle of closed cell foam, noted. Alcohol stoves, I don't know, bad experience with burning alcohol! VERY bad!

[Tipi Walter]

I like your pack and tent and BTW, what's the cubic inches of your pack? I think the Prolite 4 is a great pad, it packs small and is light for what you're getting. To help keep punctures at bay with the fickle thermarest I suggest two things: Never hang it on the outside exposed without being stored in a stuff sack, and, get a small silnylon tarp to use INSIDE the tent on the floor and place the thermy atop that. This helps in preventing thorn punctures thru the tent floor and also keeps ground water that saturates the floor from reaching the pad/bag. If used like a footprint under the tent, water can easily get between the tent and the footprint and pool. It can also be used to wrap the rolled thermarest before putting in the stuff sack, one extra layer of protection.

[Deadeye]

You'll get lots of advice about cutting down, but I think it's just as important to be comfortable with your own stuff, and let experience tell you what's good enough, whether you want to cut back, etc.

I have an ALPS pack that I use when I have to haul a load - can't argue that it's a good, comfortable pack, but it weighs 5.75 pounds. For that weight, I have a Granite Gear Nimbus Latitude and my shelter (Hennessey Hammock or TarpTent Squall).

Just get out there and use the stuff.

[Jarhead16]

The c.i. is 5000, it's just a start for where I'm trying to get...PERFECTION! I just want to order packs that I think will work and if they don't send them back!