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  1. #1
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    Default Help with going ultralight plz

    I’m older and returning to backpacking after an absence of more than 30 years. I want to go ultralight and have been purchasing gear over the past year. I have a zpacks 60 air robic pack. I’m danged if I can get everything in it. I know my sleeping bag doesn’t compress as small as it should. But not by much…
    I need a good pad or there is no sleep.
    My question…
    Do you guys really pack for several days in a 60 liter pack?
    I’m really kind of missing my old external frame pack at this point. Yet I want to be lighter.
    Thanks

  2. #2
    Registered User One Half's Avatar
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    Post a list of everything you have in your pack. Maybe include pictures. You are likely just carrying too much stuff. And then the big things like tent, sleeping bag, sleeping mat are the best way to reduce weight. If you haven't been backpacking in many years you likely need to look at ALL your gear. Be sure to include the climate you are backpacking in so no one says "a pair of shorts and an extra pair of socks is more than enough clothes" when you are in mountains in the winter.
    I pack 4 days, 3 seasons on the AT, with food, water, and a "heavy stove" at about 22lbs. Although I think my last trip was actually planned for 5 days and I was under 20lbs.
    If you can afford the light weight gear, it's totally worth it IMO.
    https://tinyurl.com/MyFDresults

    A vigorous five-mile walk will do more good for an unhappy but otherwise healthy adult than all the medicine and psychology in the world. ~Paul Dudley White

  3. #3
    Registered User One Half's Avatar
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    This is my list (may not be complete)

    <script src="https://lighterpack.com/e/op7b8b"></script><div id="op7b8b"></div>
    https://tinyurl.com/MyFDresults

    A vigorous five-mile walk will do more good for an unhappy but otherwise healthy adult than all the medicine and psychology in the world. ~Paul Dudley White

  4. #4
    Registered User One Half's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by One Half View Post
    This is my list (may not be complete)

    <script src="https://lighterpack.com/e/op7b8b"></script><div id="op7b8b"></div>
    Let's try that again.

    https://lighterpack.com/r/op7b8b
    https://tinyurl.com/MyFDresults

    A vigorous five-mile walk will do more good for an unhappy but otherwise healthy adult than all the medicine and psychology in the world. ~Paul Dudley White

  5. #5
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    I'm no ultralighter but I've been gradually cutting my pack weight down over the years. I can usually do a 8 day no resupply easily with a 65L pack. Biggest space saver I did was going to a down bag with compression sack and a neoair pad (pump sack is a must for me though). My synthetic bags just took up too much space. I'm usually 35-40lbs at the start of a trip and, like you, sometimes miss my old Gregory external. Using a Gregory Baltoro 65 right now. If I can get down to 30lbs I'd like to try zpacks like you. Mainly a Winter hiker.

  6. #6
    Registered User russb's Avatar
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    As has been mentioned, probably have too much stuff. I see you posted your list, I have not looked at it yet.

    Another variable often over looked is how one stows their gear in the pack. Maximizing use of available volume is different for everyone, but there are some standard concepts. For example, separate tent components instead of one large bag. This serves two purposes. Inner stays dry inside of tent, poles and rain fly go on outside. Put sleeping bag/quilt into bottom of pack (inside pack liner) and use other gear to compress it down. Do not use an indivudual little bag for each item. This creates dead space between the "gear nuggets".

    After I look at your list, I might be able to offer other ideas but folks will likely beat me to the punch

  7. #7
    Registered User ldsailor's Avatar
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    I have a Zpack Arc Haul, which is 60 liters. I get everything in the pack, which I need for long hikes sometimes lasting a month or two. It's all in how you pack (as long as you don't have a lot of stuff you really don't need in the pack). On my AZT thru-hike last year I had my pack, food and sometimes as much as 5 liters of water in the pack. Yeah, it got heavy, but that's hard to avoid when you need a lot of water in the desert. With just 2 or 3 liters of water and food for 7 days, the pack weighed about 32 pounds.

    The key to getting weight down is a lighter tent, sleeping bag and pad without sacrificing comfort and safety.
    Trail Name - Slapshot
    "One step at a time."
    Blog - www.tonysadventure.com

  8. #8
    Some days, it's not worth chewing through the restraints.
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    Check out the lists on these links for 18 to 27 pound gear lists, including food & fuel. It helped me pare down to a reasonable weight by looking at what this person carried, and trying to match or beat it with what I already had or could afford. Some stuff I didn't carry, other things I added. It worked out well - I'm heading out tomorrow with a 25-pound starting weight pack for 4 nights, including fuel, food, 1.5 liters of water and electronics... everything.


    https://www.backpacking.net/27-pound.html#pack
    https://www.backpacking.net/18-pound.html

  9. #9
    Registered User hikermiker's Avatar
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    I'm 76 and can get all my gear and food for a multiday trip in a 30 liter bag. Join reddit/ultralight and post your gear list and ask for a shakedown.

  10. #10
    Garlic
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    There were a few nuggets of wisdom decades ago when I started lightening my load. One was to get the lighter pack last, after you'd pared everything else down. I've seen a few people cramming too much stuff into a light pack and be unhappy about it.

    Another was to reduce clothing to the point where you can wear everything at the same time, as part of a coordinated layering system.

    Another was managing consumables, and that was perhaps the hardest lesson for me. Don't bring extra food or fuel. You won't get in serious trouble if you skip a meal. Don't carry extra water if there's plenty on the ground, which is often the case on the AT.

    Another was to spend a lot of money on the sleeping bag, and get the best down you can afford.

    I had to look up the volume of my pack--it's a 42L Gossamer Gear G4. I've hiked 200+ miles/eight days between resupplies with it. The final gear change that allowed me to do that was going stoveless. That and many of my techniques aren't for everyone, but they work for me. You'll need to develop your own system and it will take time and a few gear changes.

  11. #11

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    Quote Originally Posted by garlic08 View Post
    There were a few nuggets of wisdom decades ago when I started lightening my load. One was to get the lighter pack last, after you'd pared everything else down. I've seen a few people cramming too much stuff into a light pack and be unhappy about it.

    Another was to reduce clothing to the point where you can wear everything at the same time, as part of a coordinated layering system.

    Another was managing consumables, and that was perhaps the hardest lesson for me. Don't bring extra food or fuel. You won't get in serious trouble if you skip a meal. Don't carry extra water if there's plenty on the ground, which is often the case on the AT.

    Another was to spend a lot of money on the sleeping bag, and get the best down you can afford.

    I had to look up the volume of my pack--it's a 42L Gossamer Gear G4. I've hiked 200+ miles/eight days between resupplies with it. The final gear change that allowed me to do that was going stoveless. That and many of my techniques aren't for everyone, but they work for me. You'll need to develop your own system and it will take time and a few gear changes.
    A lot of great points here, especially the last two sentences.

    My own advice is buying lighter gear is an investment that pays dividends every mile you walk with it.

  12. #12

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    My own advice is buying lighter gear is an investment that pays dividends every mile you walk with it.

    Mine too. I thought I needed a thicker pad, so started an AT Thru with a s2s etherlight, nice pad. But 20ozs and a bit bulky. Thank goodness it sprang an unfindable leak and I trepidatiously bought a NeoAir. Half the weight, just as cOmfortable.

  13. #13
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    It doesn't look as if you're carrying way too much gear from your list-- although you take more clothes than I take. Unless you're going to be out in cold weather, leave the puffy and long underwear at home. I bought a zpacks tent several years ago and this season bought a Lite AF Ultra 40L backpack (which has an additional 15 liters of external pockets). I have taken it backpacking for week-ends and for a 2-week trip. The most food I carried at one time was for 6 days (with a puffy jacket). What I've learned is to compress the sleeping bag and clothes as much as possible, cram everything in, and use the external pockets effectively. I don't miss my external frame pack!

  14. #14
    Registered User One Half's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by rubyvermonter View Post
    It doesn't look as if you're carrying way too much gear from your list-- although you take more clothes than I take. Unless you're going to be out in cold weather, leave the puffy and long underwear at home. I bought a zpacks tent several years ago and this season bought a Lite AF Ultra 40L backpack (which has an additional 15 liters of external pockets). I have taken it backpacking for week-ends and for a 2-week trip. The most food I carried at one time was for 6 days (with a puffy jacket). What I've learned is to compress the sleeping bag and clothes as much as possible, cram everything in, and use the external pockets effectively. I don't miss my external frame pack!
    I think several people mistook my list for the OPs list. I posted mine as an example for him/her. and not all those clothes go on every trip.
    https://tinyurl.com/MyFDresults

    A vigorous five-mile walk will do more good for an unhappy but otherwise healthy adult than all the medicine and psychology in the world. ~Paul Dudley White

  15. #15
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    Thank you
    I will post what is in my pack. I appreciate you taking the time to look at it.

  16. #16
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    Thank You so much

  17. #17
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    I haven’t posted what is in my pack yet but I will

  18. #18
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    I’ll post my list . I haven’t yet

  19. #19
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    Quote Originally Posted by One Half View Post
    Let's try that again.
    Thank you
    https://lighterpack.com/r/op7b8b
    Thank you
    My list is similar. I think my bag is a problem…
    I bought a compression bag for it . But it’s a problem I think.

  20. #20
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    So in an effort to save space I bought several sea to summit lightweight compression bags. One for tent, one for clothing, one for sleeping bag.
    So maybe, as was mentioned by some, the several different bags are defeated my intent. ?
    And thanks to all

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