Gear list Recommendations?

[Rusticus]

Osprey Aether 70 Pack________________ 4.25 lb
REI core lite sleeping pad_____________ 1.68 lb
REI sahara 30* down sleeping bag_______ 2.3 lb
Eureka solitaire tent_______________ 2.27 lb. + 15.2 oz poles and stakes
Fleece layer________________________ 1 lb 1.4 oz
2 pair smartwool boxers_______________ 3.1 oz each
smartwool long sleeve tee______________ 10 oz
smartwool long underwear______________ 7.3 oz
2 pair smartwool trekking socks_________ 3.6 oz each pair
Marmot rain jacket___________________ 13.1 oz
Marmot rain pants___________________ 12.2 oz
black diamond spot headlamp__________ 3.1 oz
Smartwool sock hat_________________ 2.4 oz
2 bandananas______________________ .9 oz each
50 ft. nylon cord_____________________ 2.4 oz
belt________________________________ 3.7 oz
Leatherman micra_____________________ 1.9 oz
Magnesium fire starter_________________ 1.3 oz
Triple anti biotic ointment______________ 1.1 oz
contacts___________________________ .1 oz per pair
contact case_______________________ .2 oz
knife sharpener_____________________ 1.2 oz
Sleeping pad repair kit________________ .4 oz
wet ones__________________________ 2.5 oz per travel pack
2 fl. oz. Saline solution________________ 3 oz
toothbrush_________________________ .5 oz
playing cards______________________ 2.4 oz
silva ranger compass________________ 2.3 oz
2 bic lighters_____________________ .7 oz each
mole skin foam______________________ .7 oz
Platy clean stream gravity filter________ 13 oz
potable aqua 6 pack___________ .1 oz
Platy 3L hoser bag______________ 4oz
Sony cybershot______________ 6.6 oz
toilet paper__________________ 3.9 oz
lexan fork____________________ .4 oz
Pack rain cover_______________ 5.9 oz
Fuel canister________________ 12.7 oz
Primus stove_________________ 8.5 oz
camp shoes_________________ 11.6 oz
Open country 2 Qt pot_________ 8.2 oz

Total______ 22.3 lb + food and water


Im thru hiking 2009 starting march 15th Ive got some things that need to be lightend up like the tent stakes i have are steel ill swap those out for aluminum camp shoes can get lighter. Let me know what i can lighten/ ditch/ missing. thanks

[Nest]

Can do without the rain pants. I only remember one or two times I wish I had them, and that's not enough to justify the weight. Just keep your baselayer dry andchange into them when you get to camp.

What's the saline for?

Maybe nix the knife sharpener. You probably won't use it for anything that will dull it if it is a decent knife.

Magnesium firestarters are a pain in the butt. If you want a backup firestarter maybe a film canister filled with vaseline soaked cotton balls, or stormproof matches. Just carry a couple in your first aid kit along with the striker panel cut from the box. You will only need to start an emergency fire once if ever, so you don't need enough emergency equipment to survive for a month.

Maybe an extra pair of thick socks for sleeping in in the winter? You know what you can do temp wise. So just be able to get down to the low teens with what you have.

That being said maybe a sleeping bag liner to get it a little lower? Again, you know if you sleep cold, or get cold easily. Just make sure that with all of your lothes on you can get into the single digits in your bag. You won't see a lot of nights like that, but a couple of them.

[River Runner]

That's a heavy stove and pot.

[Rusticus]

the saline is for my contacts

I will have 3 pair of socks i only listed it as two because thats what i would be carrying at any time ill have two pair smartwool trekking and one pair smartwool adreniline

The rain pants can go

knife sharpener gone

so nix the pants and sharpener im down to about 21.4 lb. thanks

[Rusticus]

The pots aluminum and that includes the lid the stove is a little heavy but works great in any weather and boils water quickly and sips fuel ive used it over 11 days and still havent run through a whole canister of fuel i have built a couple of pop can alcohol stoves but i prefere the stove i have for the quickness and reliablity the last thing i want to do at the end of the day is wait or have a hard time getting water to boil for a warm meal

[Nest]

the saline is for my contacts

I will have 3 pair of socks i only listed it as two because thats what i would be carrying at any time ill have two pair smartwool trekking and one pair smartwool adreniline

The rain pants can go

knife sharpener gone

so nix the pants and sharpener im down to about 21.4 lb. thanks


Ah, don't wear contacts or anything so the saline never crossed my mind.

As far as ditching stuff, you can always carry it to start with. There are plenty of places to send stuff home as you want. So carry what you think you will need, and see how it goes. I ended up sending over 5 lbs of stuff home over the first two weeks this year. Better to send it home because you don't need it than to need it and not have it.

[buz]

Nest has good idea, if your budget is low, go with what you got, modify as needed. But looking for weight savings, stove/pot and tent are the big items. Do you need a two quart pot? Can you buy some established stoves from makers, like a starlyte, and practice/optimize your cooking techniques between now and your hike? Can you buy some lighter pot? If you change stoves, change your pot to optimize stove.

Tent, same thing. Tarps or tarptents easy 1-1.5 pound savings. But you need to buy. Tarptents now 20% off. These will require prebuy and practice, but there is opportunity in these two items (stove and pot and shelter) to save big weight, that you will be carrying all day every day.

Lastly, pack can be changed out. Same issues as above, money and practice with new equipment. I have the exact pack, and like it, but if I was going on a thru hike, smaller and lighter pack would be investment I would make. Add up all 3, and you could shave 3-4 pounds off.

[KG4FAM]

Osprey Aether 70 Pack________________ 4.25 lb
REI core lite sleeping pad_____________ 1.68 lb -Ditch the blow up doll for closed cell foam
REI sahara 30* down sleeping bag_______ 2.3 lb -if you can drop some cash you can get a lighter and warmer/truer to rating bag
Eureka solitaire tent_______________ 2.27 lb. + 15.2 oz poles and stakes
Fleece layer________________________ 1 lb 1.4 oz
2 pair smartwool boxers_______________ 3.1 oz each -Commando
smartwool long sleeve tee______________ 10 oz
smartwool long underwear______________ 7.3 oz
2 pair smartwool trekking socks_________ 3.6 oz each pair
Marmot rain jacket___________________ 13.1 oz
Marmot rain pants___________________ 12.2 oz -Rain Wrap 2.5 oz
black diamond spot headlamp__________ 3.1 oz -Petzl E+lite >1 oz
Smartwool sock hat_________________ 2.4 oz
2 bandananas______________________ .9 oz each
50 ft. nylon cord_____________________ 2.4 oz
belt________________________________ 3.7 oz
Leatherman micra_____________________ 1.9 oz
Magnesium fire starter_________________ 1.3 oz -you have a lighter already
Triple anti biotic ointment______________ 1.1 oz
contacts___________________________ .1 oz per pair
contact case_______________________ .2 oz
knife sharpener_____________________ 1.2 oz -you won't be using your knife enough to need it everyday or even once a week
Sleeping pad repair kit________________ .4 oz -no doll, no kit
wet ones__________________________ 2.5 oz per travel pack
2 fl. oz. Saline solution________________ 3 oz
toothbrush_________________________ .5 oz
playing cards______________________ 2.4 oz -they make mini cards
silva ranger compass________________ 2.3 oz -kind of useless unless you know where you are and then you can use landmarks to orient your map
2 bic lighters_____________________ .7 oz each
mole skin foam______________________ .7 oz
Platy clean stream gravity filter________ 13 oz -my katadyn hiker is lighter
potable aqua 6 pack___________ .1 oz
Platy 3L hoser bag______________ 4oz
Sony cybershot______________ 6.6 oz
toilet paper__________________ 3.9 oz
lexan fork____________________ .4 oz
Pack rain cover_______________ 5.9 oz
Fuel canister________________ 12.7 oz
Primus stove_________________ 8.5 oz -there are much lighter stoves out there
camp shoes_________________ 11.6 oz -find something else
Open country 2 Qt pot_________ 8.2 oz -2 qt is a lot for one person

Total______ 22.3 lb + food and water

[garlic08]

Great start from Buz. Nicely itemized list, too.

Here's one great lesson I learned on my first long hike, the PCT. I met "The Onion", who, in 2007, was one of the first two hikers to yo-yo the CDT. Now, he's ultra-light, and ultra-experienced. When I met him, he asked if I had any spare TP, he was running out. He asked for six squares! I took out my whole roll and told him to help himself. It was then I realized I didn't have to carry a whole 4 oz roll, 1 oz is plenty. So I saved 75% of the weight on that item. The point is, most of us could apply that concept to most of the items in the pack. I gradually went from 14 pounds on the PCT hike to 8 pounds on the AT last summer.

For example, the last two seasons I haven't carried a knife. I have a single-edged razor blade in my first aid kit for emergency cutting--weighs a few grams, costs a few pennies. And I found out that a cookless diet works well for me, so no stove or fuel, and that saves money too. I don't carry a fleece anymore, either--there are lighter options that work well.

Best of luck!

[Rusticus]

i have a katadyn vario and hate it, ill never buy another katadyn filter again, I like the idea of the platy gravity filter because you can wash it out by running clean water through the opposite way, and i think with a quick disconnect kit i can use it to fill the platy bag without taking the bag out of my pack. I am getting a silk liner for my bag forgot to add that to earlier posts. I really want to get a hennassy hammock and that wouold also allow me to ditch the pad all together, but don't know about starting mid march without a warmer option. as for the stove and pot ill look into it. Forget about me losing the pack, i dont hate it enough to justify the weight savings.