Pack Weight?

[Tree Nerd]

So in prep for my Thru I have been fine tuning my gear, I am still waiting for my camp shoes to come in, along with my sleeping bag and sitting pad, roughly 5lbs all together. Yesterday I signed out an electric scale from one of my professors to start weighing out my gear. I compiled a pretty impresses excel spread sheet that included everything from my pack to the earplugs I plan to wear in shelters for noisy sleepers; the list has EVERYTHING I plan to take. Anyway, after weighing everything out I came up with 35lbs, including stove fuel, but not including food or water. On a normal summer day my pack would weigh 30lbs and on a normal winter day my pack would weigh 27lbs.

Now there is room for improvement, but is that a fairly good weight to be at?

The list is as follows:




SOBO Gear List










Category

Use

Item Description

Weight






Grams

Ounces

Pounds






House

Pack

Mountainsmith Falcon 55L

2067

72.91136

4.55696






Rain Cover

Mountainsmith Rain Cover - Size M

118

4.162332

0.260146






Trekking Poles

Generic - 2 poles, both with duct tape on them

614

21.65824

1.35364






1-Person Tent

Six Moon Designs Lunar Solo, w/ storage sack

697

24.58598

1.536624






Tent Stakes

Generic - 6 stakes

34

1.199316

0.074957






Sleeping Bag

Marmot Sawtooth 15 Degree Mummy



0

0






Sleeping Bag Liner

Homemade - 100% polyester, with storage sack

299

10.54693

0.659183






Sleeping Pad

REI, 3/4 length, 1.75" thick, w/ storage sack

751

26.49077

1.655673






Head Lamp

Printon Tech Byte, w/ two AAA batteries

61

2.151714

0.134482






Watch

Casio Module No. 3157

54

1.904796

0.11905






Kitchen

Water Filter

MSR Sweetwater, w/ storage sack and cleaning tool

412

14.53289

0.908306






Water Storage

Camelbak - 1.5L bladder, w/ pack

364

12.83974

0.802484






Nalgene - 1qt., wide mouth

114

4.021236

0.251327






Alcohol Stove

Homemade - Soda Can

11

0.388014

0.024251






Wood Stove/wind screen

Vargo SS Hexigonal Stove

230

8.11302

0.507064






Stove Fuel

Alcon Contact Solution Bottle - 20 fl oz., full w/ grain alcohol

350

12.3459

0.771619






Cookwear

6" SS pan/plate combo

257

9.065418

0.566589






Olicamp Space Saver Cup

147

5.185278

0.32408






Utensil

Plastic Spork

6

0.211644

0.013228






Spices

Coleman Two-Way Spice Shakers - 3 shakers, full w/ six different spices

136

4.797264

0.299829






Cleaning

Copper cleaning pad

13

0.458562

0.02866






Food Bag

Generic

46

1.622604

0.101413






Bear-Bag Rope

30' of 550 paracord w/ carabiner clip

106

3.739044

0.23369






Bathroom

All

TP, travel tooth brush, travel tooth paste, travel bottle of Dr. Bronner's in a ziplock bag

158

5.573292

0.348331






Electonics

Camera

Pentax Optio WG-1, w/ battery and three 1 GB SD cards

172

6.067128

0.379196






Camera Case

Mountainsmith Cyber 2 - Size M

81

2.857194

0.178575






Phone

Samsung Rugby 2

135

4.76199

0.297624






Chargers

Phone Charger and Camera Charger in ziplock bag

235

8.28939

0.518087






Closet

Footwear

Danner Sobo Mid Hiking Boots - Size 10.5

1109

39.11887

2.444929






Danner Pronghorn Heavy Weight Dark Brown Crew Socks - 3 pairs

339

11.95789

0.747368






Chaco Rex Sandles - Size 9



0

0






Legs

Compression Shorts

239

8.430486

0.526905






Base layer pants - 100% polyester

147

5.185278

0.32408






Swish shorts

202

7.125348

0.445334






North Face Horizon Peak Pants - Size M/M

316

11.14658

0.696662






Lightweight Cloth Belt

105

3.70377

0.231486






Red Ledge Rain Pants - Size M, w/ storage sack

221

7.795554

0.487222






Toros

Base layer long sleeve shirt - 100% polyester

229

8.077746

0.504859






T-shirt - Size M - 2 shirts

320

11.28768

0.70548






Columbia Fast Trek 2 Full Zip Fleece - Size M

462

16.29659

1.018537






Red Ledge Rain Jacket - Size L, w/ storage sack

381

13.43939

0.839962






Head & Hands

Bandana

30

1.05822

0.066139






Fleece Hat

56

1.975344

0.123459






Rothco Mittens

101

3.562674

0.222667






Perscription Glasses

24

0.846576

0.052911






Okley Soft Glasses Case

47

1.657878

0.103617






Other

Fire Starting

Magneisium Stick, Bic Butane Lighter, Dryer Lint, Esbit Fire Starters, Small Candle

131

4.620894

0.288806






First Aid Kit

Bandages, Medicine, Vaseline, Icy Hot, Needle/Thread, Repair Kit (Tent & Sleeping Pad), earplugs, extra batteries, back-up flashlight, sissors, tweesers, nail clippers

611

21.55241

1.347026






Multi-Tool

Generic

106

3.739044

0.23369






Valuables

ID, Insurance card, cash, credit and debit card in ziplock bag

19

0.670206

0.041888






Guide Book

AWOL's AT Guide, SOBO, Loose-Leaf, in ziplock bag



0

0






Time Consuming

Deck of Cards, Journal (heavy) and Pencil, in a ziplock bag

432

15.23837

0.952398






Towel

Small Shamwow

18

0.634932

0.039683






Sitting Pad

Closed Cell Sleeping Pad, cut to size



0

0






Total Weight w/o Food or Water:



13313

469.6028

29.35017

[Tree Nerd]

Sorry for the mess ups on the list, the forum shifted some stuff. You should be able to figure it out.

[Tree Nerd]

From left to right the weights go: Grams, Ounces, Pounds

[Tree Nerd]

Here is a better list:
19737

[Tree Nerd]

Can a moderator please delete this post so I can start over? It is way too confusing now....

[Kerosene]

If you don't hear from a moderator then I'd just start another thread.

It appears that you're a male, size medium, which is similar to me (170 lbs). I'd be looking to shave another 5-10 pounds off your weight, so that with 3-4 days of food and water your pack would weigh no more than 35 pounds (mine weighs in at 25 pounds with 3 days of food for spring/fall hikes, but I've been working at it for 10 years). Some of your savings will come by purchasing lighter options, while some with carrying fewer items.

(3 oz) - Get a new pack cover. zPacks.com has them in Cuben fiber for less than an ounce.
+5 oz - Make sure you're using the longer Easton aluminum tent pegs for the Lunar Solo, otherwise you'll limit ventilation. I also carry a single, very strong stake that I use to start holes in rocky ground.
(10 oz) - I'd ditch the sleeping bag liner, or perhaps replace it with a silk liner to save 5 ounces. You should be fine with a 15-degree bag.
(10 oz) - Replace the water filter with Aqua Mira drops and a small flexible cup for dipping in shallow springs. It is extremely difficult to avoid cross-contamination of the hoses, so the only real benefit is pumping from leafy/silty water sources.
(8 oz) - I'd go with either the alcohol stove or the wood stove, but not both.
(9 oz) - That's a huge weight penalty for a pan/plate. I think you will rarely use the pan, and I just eat out of a lightweight titanium cup.
(3 oz) - How often will you really be using that camera case?
(8 oz) - Put your chargers in a bounce box and send it ahead of you.
I'll bet those sandals are pretty heavy. Look at purchasing a lightweight pair of slip-on plastic sandals from Walmart that will weigh about 7 ounces for a men's size 10.
(6 oz) - Replace your fleece with a microfleece 100 (or Patagonia R1-weight) unless you expect temps below 40 degrees during the day or you run very cold
+3 oz - Replace one of your hiking T-shirts with a long-sleeve zip-T to use in camp under your fleece

That's about 4 pounds of savings, and there's probably another pound in your various little stuff. Great job in weighing everything. Now find the bigger stuff and replace with lighter equipment (the Mountainsmith pack is inordinately heavy for only 55L; My 60L Granite Gear pack is half the weight), and get rid of little stuff unless you are highly confident you'll be using it (consider putting in a re-supply box).

[RED-DOG]

Bro 35lbs is pretty heavy with water and food it will be well over 40lbs so i would rethink that list and try and get it down to 30lbs with food and water.

[Stir Fry]

List looks tipical for someone new to backpacking. I would recomend doing some shake down hikes of 4 to 5 days each. Look at what you do not use each day and do not carry it the next time. If you do a good job with your list after about 3 trips you will figure out what you do not need.

IMO the learning curve to long distace backpacking is not in what you need, but what you do not need. In ten years of hiking I can not remember seeing a new hiker that did not have enough. Seen a few day hiker that had the rong stuff, but most over nithers had enough.

[Coosa]

Get ahold of Lynne Whelden's DVD Lightweight Backpacking Secrets Revealed and watch it a couple of times
http://www.lwgear.com/lightweight-backpacking.html

Best advice I ever got.

Coosa

[Datto]

Here's something also to keep in mind:

These three things account for much of the carry-weight of your backpack -- if you can, focus money on these things to make the most positive impact in reducing pack weight since you'll need these three things regardless:

1) Tent/Tarp -- Get this under 3lbs -- under 2lbs would be better -- look at an 8x10 silnylon tarp or a tarptent from Henry Shires
2) Sleeping Bag -- 20*F bag from a known good brand (Marmot, Western Mountaineering, Feathered Friends) and get the carry weight as close to 2lbs as possible
3) Backpack -- definitely get the empty weight under 3lbs --closer to 2lbs is more likely for an AT thru-hiker including the weight of any pouches. The best backpack I've ever owned is a Granite Gear Vapor Trail (woman's version is a "Ki")

Also, you may end up just using a Ridgerest as a sleeping pad later on after you get acclimated to being on the Trail.

Many AT thru-hikers start out with a pump-type Pur water filter and soon dump that (due to weight and hassle factor) in favor of Aquamira, Polarpure or Potable Aqua pills (Potable Aqua isn't for people with thyroid problems).

Be sure to bring a water carrier -- something like a 96oz (water amount, not weight -- weight is just a few ounces) Nalgene Canteen -- use this to get water in the evening for the evening meal as well as water for the morning carry back to the Trail -- the places where you get water can be down a considerable hill/cliff so you don't want to have to go down there more than once when you get to the shelter where you'll be staying overnight.

Water bottles -- use Gatorade bottles rather than Nalgene bottles (Nalgene bottles weight too much and you can throw the Gatorade bottles away and buy new when the Dark Green Slime hits them).

Additionally, most people bring too many electronics when they start out on their AT thru-hike (I did too when I started my AT thru-hike). If you can, reduce your electronics to just a smartphone and associated smartphone batteries and use that for music, typing journal entries, trip/schedule planning and telephone. Keep a bounce box and send your chargers ahead on the Trail so you don't have to lug the weight of chargers/ac adapters with you on the Trail.

Make sure you have a piece of Tyvek (kite-weight preferably) to put under your sleeping bag when you sleep in a shelter -- there's barbeque sauce and the like all over the floor of the AT shelters so you'll want to protect your sleeping bag from being stained by floor gak in the shelters.

Make sure you take earplugs -- use the brown Hearos brand earplugs if you have sensitive ear canals.

Consider taking three eyehooks -- use these with some string to allow you to drape your tent/tarp across the front of an AT shelter so you can block the wind if a storm arrives and starts blowing into the shelter.


Datto