View Full Version : SOBO gear list...How can I drop more weight??
Howdy folks, I'm starting SOBO May 29th and I'm looking for any advice on how I might reduce the weight of my gear. I generally don't count ounces, but considering that this is a pretty long trek, I should probably go lighter if possible. Btw, I'm trying not to spend a fortune in the process :) I know I could drop weight with my sleeping bag, but I want to atleast get a few hundred miles under my belt before investing money into a new bag and I get cold pretty easily. Total weight right now is approx. 22.53 pounds. Any advice is greatly appreciated!
cooking
ounces
snowpeak titanium mini solo w/o cup
5
snowpeak titanium spork
0.6
fuel
12
pocket rocket
3
msr sweetwater
11
1 L plastic bottle x 3
4.5
aquamira
0.8
sleep
Therm-a-Rest Prolite Sleeping Pad
11
MH phantom 0* bag
42
hubba
48
footprint
5
backpack: Deuter ACT Zero 55+10 SL
51
rain cover
4
trash bags
1
clothes
MH long pants
12
MH wicked lite long sleeve tee
4
MH short
7
OR synthetic jacket
11.5
short sleeve tee
5
smartwool socks x 2
2
bra
0.9
panties x 2
2
gloves
1
base layer pants
4
DriDucks® Ultra-Lite2™ Rain Suit
12
gloves
1.2
petzl tikka
3.1
shoes: XA pro 3d ultra
26
new balance minimus
7
sunglasses
2
duct tape
2
food bags
2
bug net
3
Equinox Ultralight 5" x 8" blue stuff sack x 3
1.2
Repel S Pen Pump Insect Repellent - 40 Percent DEET
0.48
camera
8
cell phone
5
toilet paper
1.5
aurelle toob brush
1
toothpaste
1
gerber ultralight lst knife
0.6
stormproof matches rei
0.65
miscellaneous (meds, maps, etc)
16
hiking poles
16
lighter
0.64
trash compacter bag (pack liner)
2.33
pounds
360.6
22.5375
Looks pretty good. Personally, I would drop the filter and just go with the AquaMira. I would probably go with a third pair of socks. There are certainly lighter tents if you want to go that way. You already mentioned that you wanted to hold on to the bag. It may be overkill, but you can certainly go lighter once you hit southern New England and start getting into summer.
TJ aka Teej
04-21-2012, 15:09
Looks like you've put a lot of thought into your gear list, it looks fine.
A 0 degree bag might be overkill, you'll sleep on top of it most nights.
Lose the filter, at least for New England.
Baseball hat, bandanna, and a fleece hat for cool nights.
You'll want some line for bear bagging.
No soap or sunscreen?
Food - eat your fill at the Abol Bridge Store, they have tons more (and better) food options then in years past.
Pack a sub or two and a bag of chips into the wilderness to eat the first day. Eat your heaviest food first.
And please remember that the AT up Katahdin might not be open May 29th.
The Tableland needs to dry out before hikers are allowed up.
Have fun!
Replacing the sleeping bag with a down quilt will drop over a pound, even if it's still rated for 0°F. It'll save even more if you get a 20°F and have a smaller frame. They take typically take a few weeks to make & deliver, so keep that in mind.
A footprint made of window film should be a little lighter, and much more compact when stored. Gossamer Gear sells this as polycro, but you can get it for less at a hardware store or Amazon when it's called window film.
Putting your DEET into a dropper bottle will save weight, and still last a long time. It's not much weight, but it's something. You can reuse an eyedrop bottle instead of buying one. The tip comes out to facilitate cleaning and refilling the bottle.
A Sawyer Squeeze filter weighs about 4 ounces, and the water bag doubles as a water bottle, so it might actually save a little more weight. Some people don't care for the water bags that come with it, so some people replace them with Evernew bladders. Platypus bladder threads are not compatible and will leak.
Your lighter seems heavy. A Mini Bic will do, and still last a long time.
Since I only use a blade for opening bags and cutting cords, and I melt the ends of my cords after I cut them, I tape a razor blade to my Mini Bic. The cardboard blade protector is still on it, and I tape it so the edge of the blade is against the flattest part of the lighter. I've used this for two months on the trail so far without any problems.
Tyvek pants are supposed to be a tiny bit lighter than Dri Ducks pants, and are even cheaper if you buy a few of them at a time from US Plastics.
While expensive, a lighter tent that uses trekking poles for support would save a pound, maybe more. Two good candidates are the TarpTent Contrail and the Lightheart Gear Solo.
I'll see about getting weights for DEET, the filter with and without the Evernew Bladder, lighter, razor blade, and both types of pants later today.
Your gear list looks pretty good. I'd suggest cuben fiber dry bags, i got mine from mt. laurel designs and they were awesome in a very wet new zealand summer. I used varying sizes for sleeping bag, tent, clothing and electronics. these allowed me to ditch pack rainfly. I used water carries by evernew from anti-gravity gear. they're collapsible, very light weight and come in lots of sizes. they can be difficult if not impossible to fill in some situations so I also carried a 16 oz. disposable water bottle with the top cut off for dipping and or skimming and filling water carries. I would store fuel bottle in cut-off water bottle in outside of pack to save space and keep fuel away from food, clothes etc. you should drop the msr sweetwater and just use aquamira. the petzl e+light is awesome at one ounce, just leave the case home. I also use an alcohol stove and only carry about eight ounces of fuel, which is plenty for a week for me. I use the pack-a-feather and was very pleased with it I think it's three ounces with windscreen and its adjustable so you can simmer or cook on high heat. I used an eight ounce fuel bottle with a flip spout and a small tube on spout to suck back up unused fuel into bottle. it was great. I just never liked the added weight of carrying empty fuel canisters. well WB only auto saved half of my post so i lost some. but it was mostly rambling about my preferences anyway. :) If you're using a smartphone i have a few tested and good ideas for waterproof storage and usability for maps, guidebooks etc.
enjoy the trail.
Moose2001
04-21-2012, 16:43
Your base weight is really around 20 pounds. You're counting your boots (26 ounces) and your hiking poles (16 ounces). That's 2.5 pounds right there! I'd suggest leaving the long pants and sunglasses at home. You really don't need them. I see you have a filter and Aqua Mira. Use one or the other but don't take both. I'd agree with Teej on his clothes and bear bag suggestions.
Thanks for your input everyone! From the looks of it, there's an item or 2 I need to add, and a couple I can ditch. It sounds like I shouldn't bother with the filter. My biggest concern there is getting crypto or giardia, but I guess if it happens, it happens, and I'll cross that bridge if I get there. Teej, thanks for letting me know about Katahdin possibly not being open...I called up and spoke with a ranger a few days ago. I'm crossing my fingers and hoping it will be open!
Chemical treatment of water will kill some little nasties that filters won't get -- another reason to leave the filter at home. One pair of convertible pants instead of separate pants and shorts will save some weight.
I think your bag is fine. If you really do sleep cold you will be glad you went with the zero degree bag and the warmth you are getting for that weight (comfortably under three pounds) seems pretty good to me. Your major potential weight savings come from a couple big ticket items -- you can get a tarptent that weighs less than two pounds and you can get a pack with a decent suspension system that's under three pounds. But of course those will cost you some money.
Not a bad start at all here are a few that jump off the page to me:
1) Get rid of sweetwater pump - you have aqua-mira anyway and the pump will break or clog -11 oz.
2) Replace sleeping bag with a 20 degree down bag which should be about 28 ounces packed -14 oz.
3) FYI, The Hubba is a good tent if you already own it - the Carbon Reflex is a little lighter
4) I'd trade the Hubba Footprint for a piece of Tyvek - - this should save 2 ounces and it's better -2oz
5) Ditch the OR Jacket (you have a rain jacket already) - Add a light fleece sweater should save -5oz +/-
6) Most people don't include their primary shoes in their base weight so, I'll take 'em out for fun -26oz
7) Same thing for trekking poles - - unless they are on your pack (which would be rare) -16oz
8) You miscellaneous bag (meds, maps, etc.) could be pared down, I bet. Try to get it to 8oz -8 oz
This saves you about 5 pounds if my rough figures are correct!
If you want to save money, definitely stick with the Aqua Mira. It doesn't really weigh more than the Sawyer Squeeze I recommended though. It might actually weigh more. Aquamira is 3 ounces. The Sawyer Squeeze filter is 2.5 ounces. You need a bladder, and the 2 liter Evernew bladder I recommended is 1.5 ounces. That's a total of 4 ounces for the Sawyer Squeeze system. That Evernew bladder replaces two of your bottles that weigh 3 ounces, which brings the net weight of the Sawyer system to 1 ounce. That difference in weight isn't much, and isn't why I switched. I switched because the Sawyer Squeeze allows me to start drinking immediately. I hated last summer in the Sierras when I'd arrive at a creek and have to wait at least 15 minutes to start drinking. After I got the Sawyer Squeeze and reached my first creek, I drank a liter while standing in the middle of the creek.