Gear list that needs to be cut 2-3 lbs

[peter2003]

Here is my gear list for this years hike; the problem I am having is the Moonlite pack I am taking recommends keeping the gear close to 15 where my total pack weight is 18.54. I know that weight range is probable below 80% of potential thru hikers but would like some help in reducing it further:

Six Moon Design Moonlite 20.0
pack liner 2.5
North Face 0 down bag 63.0
Ridge rest 3/4 pad 9.0
Cat stove 2.8
Fuel for cat stove 9.4
towel 2.9
2 nalgene water bottles 8.0
Maps and thru hiker handbook 12.0
Six Moon Design Europa tent 38.2
North Face Fleece jacket 21.9
Moonbow water bag 1.1
aqua mira 2.6
.9L titan pot 2.8
soap 4.3
Campmor rain pants 7.8
Campmor rain jacket 8.8
fleece hat 2.6
fleece gloves 3.4
tights 6.4
mid weight thermal top 8.9
light thermal top 5.5
light weight thermal bottom 6.1
ww canoe booties 10.2
liner socks 2 4.0
wool socks 2.9
thorlo socks 3.8
cell phone 6.4
cell phone case 2.9
BD head lamp 1.1
tooth case stuff 1.9
para cord 50 feet 3.5
first aid kit with pain meds 6.3
toilet paper 2.8
silc nylon bag .6
duct tape 3.8
matches .8
cup 3.6
spoon .4


Some things I have thought of is geting rid of are the booties, light weight top, and duct tape (could tape around hikking poles).
The thing is I will probable wear a lot of the stuff in the spring like the fleece gloves, tights, and possible fleece jacket so when these items are warn the weight will come down. I am now for ready for some constructive analysis. Of course, I could also take my Kelty Flight pack, add 3 lbs to weight, and still be around 30 maxium weight.

Pete

[Sparky!]

1) You could replace the Nalgene with gator aid bottles. Are you SURE it is 4 ounce per bottle? I know mine weighed 7.5 ounces EACH. That will cut some weight there.

2) You could also take sections of the Thru hikers hand book and have someone send the section appropriate with your maps.

3) Put the duct tape on you poles

4) What are the canoe booties for?

[Haiku]

As soon as it gets warm enough to switch to a cooler bag you'll save tons of weight off your current 4 lb. bag.
Why do you need a mid-weight thermal top and a (quite heavy) fleece jacket? You could skip the thermal top and save half a pound, or get a lighter fleece to wear with the top (my North Face Aurora fleece shirt weighs 5.6 oz.) - that'll save you a pound.
Why do you need a cell phone case along with your cell phone? That'll save you 3 oz. (hey, every ounce counts).
Like Sparky said, replace the Nalgenes with Gator Aid or soda bottles, and pick up pieces of the guide book and maps as you go along.

Haiku.

[Kerosene]

Water Bottles: I agree with Sparky!, although I weighed my 1-liter Nalgene hard-sided bottles in at only 5.5 oz. a piece. The collapsible Nalgene 1-liter bottles are only 2.5 oz.

Sleeping Bag: Instead of a 0-degree bag, think about a 15-degree combined with a silk liner. The Marmot Pinnacle weighs about 34 ounces and a silk liner is no more than 6 oz. The combination should take you down to 5-10 degrees, plus you can wear your fleece to add more warmth if needed.

Handbook: You can save a surprising amount of paper weight if you reduce your handbook pages. With a lot of cutting, pasting and reducing, you can get 4-8 pages per side of paper. Use the bounce box also.

Fleece: That's an awfully heavy fleece jacket unless it's R3. I'm not sure that I'd bring anything more than R2, which would get you down to about 16 oz., and wear your rain jacket over it if you need more warmth.

Gloves: Consider replacing with mittens. The nice windproof/waterproof OR gloves I bought didn't keep my hands warm when the temps approached freezing, but I think mittens would have. You have to take off your gloves anyway to do much of anything.

Phone: You'll get a lot of feedback on this one. Between the extra weight, spotty reception, battery recharge challenges, etc., I say don't bring it. Besides, there will be a lot of people on the Trail if you start at Springer this spring.

Duct Tape: Wrap it on your poles and don't overdo the amount. Put some more in your bounce box.

Soap: Seems like a lot of soap (a full quarter pound!). Consider a small amount of antibacterial hand gel instead.

First Aid Kit: Seems a little heavy to me, unless you have a lot of foot care stuff in there. Consider the bounce box again.

Good luck!

[peter2003]

My ww booties were going to be used as camp shoes since I have not found a substitute that I like and is light enough carry (since I white water canoe I could of also used them to play in a few of the southern rivers near the trail; I will take advise to carry Gator Aid bottles and put duck tape around poles. I would rather not buy any gear, especially a sleeping bag since I have a nice Campmor 20 down bag that weighs about 2.5lbs that I will pick up after Mount Rogers. I just weighted my LL Bean light fleece jacket (no Zip) and it weighted in at 14 ounces. I live in Northern New England and am used skiing and hikking in the cold so I wanted to have enough stuff to stay warm and hike if and when the temp stays around 20-30, like in the Smokies. I also can reduce the first air kit a bit but being a Wilderness First Responder I always try to have stuff to help out others in need.

On my hike I am going to use a couple of mail drops like Fontana Dam, however, the idea of a bounce box has not caught on with me yet. To me the hassle is more than its worth; I will try and use the hike your own hike principals, go with the flow, and the bounce box just does not work for me now. I will also try cuy the soap down in half; same for the towel in half.

Question, from experience do you need 50ft of para cord.

Thanks for all the suggestions.

Pete

[Kerosene]

You'll use 50' of cord if you hang your food bag from tree limbs that never seem to be readily available at the right height and angle. I brought 50' the last time out in bear country and used 35-40' of it several times (with the excess always seeming to find a way to wrap around my legs and trip me up).

[Trail Yeti]

another wayto cut a few ounces....ditch either the tights or the lightweight bottoms. You dont' need both.

[rumbler]

I'd be tempted to just use your 20 degree bag with the liner and leave the 0 degree bag at home. If it gets colder just wear all of your clothes. That takes care of half of over half of your desired weight savings right there.

When are you starting?

[peter2003]

Looks like I am going to take the Geyhound bus from Vermont to Georgia on March 25; I would then start the trail late on March 26 or early March 27 (takes over a day by bus but price is right at $69.00 one way).

Question wabbit, do you have a place were you can buy a liner and what would be the weight of a liner. Also what is the average low temp one can expect in the Smokies in early April.

I can see where a 20 degree bag and liner would get you down to about 5-10 temp range.

Pete

[rumbler]

Campmor: Under 5 ounces

http://www.campmor.com/webapp/commer...6&prrfnbr=7750

REI: Under 5 ounces, claims to add 9+ degrees of warmth.
http://www.rei.com/online/store/Prod...ory_rn=4500592

Both are silk and about $60. You may be able to find a less expensive one somewhere

[Bonepile]

What are you planning to eat? Am I missing something here? If the pack manufacturer recommends 15 pounds and you are at 18 already, what about food weight. (And H2O)

[peter2003]

Six Moon Design reports that the pack can carry up to 35lbs, however, the owner states that the pack is most effective/comfortable when the basic pack weight is keep around 15 lbs. Food and water of 10+- will add up to around 25 which makes a nice comfortable weight for the pack. The pack is a Golite pack using a sleeping pad case to transfer weight to the hips. I have tried it out a few times and seems to work so far. However, hikking a ton of miles on the AT is a different story so time will tell. From my early test the pack works best will a total weight of around 25-27 lbs.

[Bonepile]

OK. I get it now. I thought the 15 lbs might have been a typo error. I think I would leave the cup behind also. You can drink your hot drinks right from the pot.

[peter2003]

I made the following chances in my pack to get the weight down to 16,1lgs; thanks for all the great suggestions.

got rid of booties
got rid of duck tape - will wrap some around hikking poles
got rid of one Nelgene bottles - substituted 20oz soda bottle and gator aid quart bottle (I will still carry 1 naglene bottle)
substituted a lighter weight fleece jacket (without full zip) for my North Face jacket (saved about 7oz).
cut my backpacker soap in half
got rid of plastic case for first aid kit
got rid of one thermal light weight top

Since I am not bringing a whole lot of gear I decided to keep my 0 down bag until after Mount Rogers as a safety factor. 16lbs base pack weight should work for me. See some of you guys around the end of March.

Peterl

[SGT Rock]

Originally posted by peter2003

Six Moon Design Moonlite 20.0
pack liner 2.5
North Face 0 down bag 63.0

Replace the bag. You can go at least 1/2 this weight, that would save 2 pounds right there

Ridge rest 3/4 pad 9.0
Cat stove 2.8
Fuel for cat stove 9.4
towel 2.9

Cut the towel in 1/2

2 nalgene water bottles 8.0

Replace the Nalgens with one soda bottle and a platapus without the hose. That will save you about 5 ounces.

Maps and thru hiker handbook 12.0

Carry 2 maps and only the pages for the section you hike in. Mail drop the pages with the maps they cover. Save about 6 ounces.

Six Moon Design Europa tent 38.2

Nice tent system. Good choice. You could go lighter, but not by much.

North Face Fleece jacket 21.9

I don't know this exact jacket, but I'm also not a huge fleece fan. I find that field jacket liners are lighter, compact better, and are just as warm. You could use a field jacket liner for about 8-10 ounces less.

Moonbow water bag 1.1
aqua mira 2.6
.9L titan pot 2.8
soap 4.3

Go with a 2 ounce soap bottle with mint soap. Save only about 1 ounce, but bears see mint as a weed, not food.

Campmor rain pants 7.8
Campmor rain jacket 8.8
fleece hat 2.6
fleece gloves 3.4
tights 6.4
mid weight thermal top 8.9
light thermal top 5.5
light weight thermal bottom 6.1
ww canoe booties 10.2

I'm not familiar with these, but Rocky Gortex socks can be worn in camp as booties and only weigh 3 ounces.

liner socks 2 4.0
wool socks 2.9
thorlo socks 3.8

Wool and Thorlo? Am I missing something here. Can you loose one pair?

cell phone 6.4
cell phone case 2.9

Put the cell phone in a bounce box and see if you miss it.

BD head lamp 1.1
tooth case stuff 1.9
para cord 50 feet 3.5
first aid kit with pain meds 6.3
toilet paper 2.8
silc nylon bag .6

Did you seam seal this one yet?

duct tape 3.8
matches .8
cup 3.6
spoon .4

[Trail Yeti]

Rock,
what arethese booties you can wear as camp shoes? you got a link?

[SGT Rock]

http://www.uscav.com/shop/uscitemdet...tk_code=WA2260

[peter2003]

STG Rock:

Were can find the field jacket liners and what is the cost of the liner. I have an Army/Navy store in town so I will check it out.

Thanks

Pete

[SGT Rock]

The liners cost about $5-$10 used. I have been meaning to get a Thinsulate version which you can get here: http://www.uscav.com/shop/uscitemdet...k_code=WA16319

My medium Army issue is green and weighs about 11.5 ounces or so. I have modified it by sewing up the front to the middle button, put elastic on the cuffs, and putting velcro between the middle and top button to make a poor man's puffball pullover. Wear one of these under your rain jacket with a long sleeve polypro top and you will be toasty. That was the set up of choice back in Germany where we called the set up (permanantly sewn into the rain jacket) a Graph Jacket because they would keep you warm and dry in Graphenwoer training area. Another reccomendation is to buy one a size smaller than you normally wear because they make these to fit over bulky uniforms.

[Colter]

A very minor point, but I'd bring only as much duct tape as needed as others suggested, but I'd have it in my pack. Weight on your poles will tire you more than weight in your pack.

I also agree that the best way to cut weight would be with a lighter down bag.

Aside from eithics, which isn't a big issue to me, you don't need a cell phone.

Even if you don't change a thing, I think you've made some pretty wise choices.