What's the weight of your BIG FOUR?

[Nightwalker]

Nice to see someone else not into the ultralight

Make that one more.

Gregory Stinger Pack: 5 lbs., 8 oz
The North Face - Blaze - 20 Degree Sleeping Bag: 2 lb., 14 oz.
Therma-Rest Classic 3/4: 1 lb., 8.5 oz.
Sierra Designs LightYear CD Tent: 2 lbs. 15 oz.

12 lbs., 13.5 oz.

A lot less than when I started!

Frank

[verber]

Everyone says to try and reduce the weight of the big four to lightest, based upon what works for YOU!

It kind of depends on conditions and length of trip.

My "normal" 3 season setup is

26oz Tarptent Squall + ground cloth
22oz POE Max-Thermo Full Length Air Mattress (with primaloft fill)
22oz Nunatak Ghost blanket + GoLite Snow Cap + Silk Liner (good to 25F)
34oz Granite Gear Vapor Trail
-----
6lb 8oz

But in the summer for long weekends this drop to the following (or even less):

10oz Poncho/tarp (so I guess this is 5 item list :-) )
16oz Therm-a-rest ultralight 3/4 length
16oz Nunatak Ghost Blanket
5oz A16 Bug Bivy
15oz GoLite Dawn Daypack
-----
3lb 14oz


Heavy and cold

56oz Stephson Warmlite (borrow friends :-) )
30oz POE Max-Thermo Full Length + closed cell foam pad... he won't loan be his DAM.
32oz WM VersaLite
44oz Osprey Aether 60
-----
10lb 2oz

[pdhoffman]

Just weighed my stuff on a very good scale. Actual weights, not advertised weights.

Pack - LWgear pound plus pack with deluxe hip belt - 32 oz.
Bag - Big Agnes Horse Thief regular length - 28.7 oz.
Pad - Big Agnes Air Core Mummy regular length - 22.3 oz.
fits in pocket in bottom of bag
Shelter - custom made (Moonbow) poncho/tarp - 20.6
includes titanium stakes and extra pieces to close off the opening
from rain or bugs.

Total 103.6 oz. (6 lb., 7.6 oz.)

In the White Mountains and about half of Maine, I left the poncho/tarp and carried a Sierra Designs Ultra Lightyear CD tent (2 lb., 12.7 oz.) and Frogg Toggs top. This is the original Ultra Lightyear with the carbon fiber poles that you can't buy anymore. I also carried a Western Mountain Flight jacket (XL - 12 oz.) which made a very fine pillow as well as deliciously cozy jacket.

At Glencliff, I weighed everything on the scale they had there. Without food/water the pack was 17 lbs. I also had a front fanny type pack with all my toys (camera, GPS, cell phone) and everything I wanted to reach without removing the pack that added another 3.5 lbs.

Pete "Old Corpus" Hoffman

[azchipka]

How do you stay warm? I find a pad necessary to stay warm in a hammock if the temperature is below 70 F. The sleeping bag compresses to nothing and I begin to quickly cool off to much.

Im a vermonter!

Our blood is a little thicker up there, im one of those weird people who sleepin the middle of winter with my window open as its snowing outside.

I find the combination of my sleeping bag and a liner is more then enough for me and often to much. Alot of times i will just sleep in my liner if it above like 50 degress.

Im good in my hammock with a sleeping bag and silk liner down to about 10.

If you get cold easy and wish you could go with out a seperate pad make sure to check out the hennesy setup at trail days. I believe has tom will have something for all of you. With any luck it will let me get down to about 0 and still use my hammock.

My question is if your using a pad in a hennesy hammock how do you get out. Isnt it a pain?

[flyfisher]

Im a vermonter!

Our blood is a little thicker up here, im one of those weird people who sleepin the middle of winter with my window open as its snowing outside.

I find the combination of my sleeping bag and a liner is more then enough for me and often to much. Alot of times i will just sleep in my liner if it above like 50 degress.

I know I can't get by without some hanging insulation or a pad. The coldest I have tried a sleeping bag without other insulation was about 50 degrees with a 5 mph breeze. After 3-4 hours I got very cold and had to escape inside a trailer and warm back up.

Many/most people I know with HHs use a pad. I can't now remember if it was Tom Hennessy or Shane Steinkamp who first recommended sitting on the folded mat, rolling back on the shoulders and letting the mat unroll under one's feet.

I use several Speer-like hammocks.

My cold experiments are here, if you have not seen them before:

http://www.imrisk.com/hammock/ultrahammock.htm

[Ratatosk]

Ok, here goes..

Salomon Raid Race 300 (stripped) - 20.9 oz
Golite Lair 2 Shelter (w. 6 stakes & telescopic pole) - 24.6 oz
Rab Quantum Top Bag (w. extra down) - 20.7 oz
Thermarest Z-Rest 4/4 - 15.5 oz
Total: 5.1 pounds

For the AT, I'll probably get a lighter shelter, pole & sleeping mat.

[Miss Janet]

0 lbs 1.2 ozs (1.2 ozs= non-nalgine plastic water bottle)

i just strip down naked and dont carry a pack.

i'm so tired of everyone trying to beat someone elses light weight gear with lighter stuff. people sitting at home putting light weight single stich crap together. most of it is sumer gear, which is BS! in the summer you can sleep on the ground with nothing and be ok. common dont try to blow nubies minds with your light weight.

for you nubies: 10 lbs is a good limit to try to keep to for upper level 3-season gear or normal 4-season gear for your 3 main componets.

magic
game03
game04

ps. if your talking summer gear, please post it. PEOPLE DIE EVERY YEAR because they think they got what it takes.

[Hammock Hanger]

This is the pack I carry 90% of the time from 40 degrees and up. When it is colder I need an underquilt for the hammock and if it is extremely cold I carry another fleece liner. SO if you are a newbie take this for what it is worth. Par down when you are ready. I had a go-liter par me down in 2001 at Trail Days. Lets just say that the hike from Atkins to Bland was the most miserable hike of my life as I couldn't get warm. I have pretty much brought my weight down to what I am comfortable with... It took over 1000 miles of hiking and playing with my gear and weather. Better to carry a couple of pounds then freeze!

40 and above:
Golite - 16 ounces (without hood)
EMS Thaw 45 bag - 16 ounces
Hammock - 28 ounces
windshield reflector - 4 ounces (binding tape taken off)
TOTAL: 4 pounds

This summer I will be hiking the Colorado trail. I understand that at times you may need to carry up to 2 days worth of water, and the Golite is not a good pack once over 25 pounds. I understand that hammock camping is much harder and will cut down campsite flexibity a lot, so a tent has been put in the mix, which means a pad... (Not thrilled about it, but I need a good nights sleep so ya do what ya have to. - I'm willing to bend occasionally.) Also it can get cold at these higher elevations even in the summer so a warmer sleeping bag comes in to play.

Osprey 60 - 3 pounds (w/o hood)
W/M Ultralite 20- 1 pound 10 ounces (short)
Nomad - 1 pound
Prolite Thermarest - 13 ounces
Total: 7 pounds, 7 ounces (OUCH!!! )

This could be painful!!! But I feel that the add in's are necessary for this trip. Sue/HH

[NewOldGuy]

Three seasons, extended hike

1) Arc alpinist with 2 oz overfill plus silk bag liner - 23 oz
2) ULA P1 - 25 oz
3) HH ultralight with custom hex tarp plus titanium stakes & line - 25 oz
4) Cut down 25" closed cell foam pad - 11 oz

Total 84 oz = 5 lb 4 oz

For shorter hikes and warmer temps, the list is

1) Sleeping system - 11 oz (2 liners, silk + thermolite mummy)
2) Golite Dawn - 18 oz (with 3 oz homemade frame)
3) HH, same as above - 25 oz
4) foam pad as above - 11 oz

Total 65 oz = 4 lb 1 oz

[SGT Rock]

Pack: Moonbow Gearskin Sil-Nylon 22.6
Shelter: Hennessy Hammock w/2 stakes 32.6
Sleeping: Nunatak Backcountry Blanket 26.7
Pad: Homemade enzolite 1/2" mummy pad 9.6

Total for these four items is 91.5 ounces or 5.72 pounds

[Doctari]

I started out "traditional" so am still reducing weight.
So far my only UL gear is my tent, a Nomad which weighs 2Lbs.

My pack is 4.5 Lbs (Full frame, BIG bag) but will be replaced with a 24 Oz P2 by ULA.

My sleeping bag weighs 3 or 4 Lbs, not sure. Still looking for a decent bag, don't want down (well, I do but can't afford it etc.)

Blue "ensolite" pad 10 OZ, I sleep well on it so it's a keeper.


Doctari.

[Happy]

Doctari, You are well own your way to being where you want to be...with the new pack...and eventually a WM Ultralite your Big Four are GREAT!!!

[flyfisher]

Tent = 0
Hammock = Hennessy Ultralite Backpacker A-SYM w/ mods 2Lbs
Bag = some no name 20 degree down mummy 2.4 lbs
Pad = 0 I have a hammock no need for pad

With a down bag in a hammock and no pad, how do you stay warm? Do your mods include an underquilt?

I've tried going without a pad in my hammock and can not get below about 60 degrees before I begin shivering in the middle of the night.

[Doctari]

0 lbs 1.2 ozs (1.2 ozs= non-nalgine plastic water bottle)

i just strip down naked and dont carry a pack.

i'm so tired of everyone trying to beat someone elses light weight gear with lighter stuff. people sitting at home putting light weight single stich crap together. most of it is sumer gear, which is BS! in the summer you can sleep on the ground with nothing and be ok. common dont try to blow nubies minds with your light weight.

for you nubies: 10 lbs is a good limit to try to keep to for upper level 3-season gear or normal 4-season gear for your 3 main componets.

magic
game03
game04

ps. if your talking summer gear, please post it. PEOPLE DIE EVERY YEAR because they think they got what it takes.

I agree with Janet. But: I didn't feel that this post was about bragging rights.

Yes, don't go ultra light unless you have experience. Most posters here (UL forum) are experienced backpackers, and know their limits & so can SAFELY cut weight to a minimum. To get that experience: beg, borrow or rent gear & hit the trail. Many of the techniques mentioned here on the UL forum can be used by all, HOWEVER some are of the "don't try this at home kids!" variety.
Naturally this dosn't mean you can hit the trail your first time out with a sub 20 Lb pack, just be aware of the minimal margin for error when you do.

Safety first, PLEASE!

It also helps to be aware of your own limitations, I carry a sleep pad always, my 18 yo son sleeps straight on the ground down to 40f or lower, dosn't get cold or uncomfortable, so he dosn't carry a pad, saves 10 Oz, but his tent weighs somewhere between 8 Lbs & 6 tons*, go figure.

*3 season, 4 person, 2 vestibules. I don't know why he carries it, I sleep in my nomad.

[ron bell]

Above 45 degrees

Pack: 1500 ci silnylon , 5.5oz
Tarp: .9oz spinaker cloth 4.9X8 ft w/ 8 ti stakes and kevlar guyline , 6.5oz total
Bivisack: 1.35 Silnylon bottom, Epic by Nextec top, 7oz
Pad: Cut down wallmart blue pad, 18"X14"X60" 6oz
Bag: 1.1 oz DWR nylon fabric with one layer Primaloft PL6 on top of bag, no insulation underneath, no zipper ,13 oz

2.375 lbs

[dje97001]

I'm no where near as lightweight as the majority of you on here, but I'm quite pleased with my weights...

*Sleeping Bag: WM Ultralite Long - listed at 28 oz (plus an oz or two for
the stuff sack -- so say ~ 30 oz)
*Sleeping Pad: Thermarest Ultralite 3/4 - listed at 18 oz
*Pack: ULA P-2 (shipped today) - listed at 53.7 oz (49.5 if I don't use the
removable lid)
*Tent: Tarptent Cloudburst (with sewn in floor-shipping this week) - listed
at 38.5 oz. (of course this is for both me and my wife--my weight goes
up slightly, while she doesn't have to carry a shelter).

My Total: 140.2 oz or 8.76 lbs.
My Wife's total: 101.7 oz or 6.36 lbs.

Like I said, not the lightest, but the lightest I feel comfortable with, and frankly I am thrilled with those numbers!

[Hammock Hanger]

My Total: 140.2 oz or 8.76 lbs.
My Wife's total: 101.7 oz or 6.36 lbs.

Like I said, not the lightest, but the lightest I feel comfortable with, and frankly I am thrilled with those numbers!

Those are very good numbers, you should be proud. Sue/HH

[Kerosene]

I've tried going without a pad in my hammock and can not get below about 60 degrees before I begin shivering in the middle of the night.

Even with a Therma-Rest underneath, the down compressing against the side of the hammock limits use below 50 degrees (at least in a Hennessy for me). Hikerhead, on the other hand, is fine in his Clark down below freezing with just a pad under him along with extra clothes serving as insulation in the pockets underneath the hammock. Personally, I'm waiting for a mass market underquilt solution.

[Hammock Hanger]

Even with a Therma-Rest underneath, the down compressing against the side of the hammock limits use below 50 degrees (at least in a Hennessy for me). Hikerhead, on the other hand, is fine in his Clark down below freezing with just a pad under him along with extra clothes serving as insulation in the pockets underneath the hammock. Personally, I'm waiting for a mass market underquilt solution.

Yeah, what Hikerhead didn't tell you was about the battery operated heating pad that he brought.....

I think Tom Hennessy is going to have something for us in the way of a "mass market" underquilt come Trail Days.

Sue/HH

[peter_pan]

It seems we should all be talkings same season, weather range etc. Regardless, this is a three season configuration and not my summer super low, super fast gear.

Pack...homemade .......................................15.5
Extreme lt racer w/ tree huggers....................15.5
0.9 silnyl 8x8 tarp w/ 6 ten foot cords............11.0
Big slide covers............................................ .2.2
Jacks'r'better super light underquilt w/ hangers..16.3
4 Ti pegs.............................................. ........0.8
Jacks'r'better super light No Sniveling quilt.........15.5
Jacks'r'better compression sack.........................0.9

Total............................................. ............. 77.7oz or 4.856 lbs

Note; sure seems like a lot are leaving off the ground cloth from the sleep sytem of the "big four"...1.5 to 8 oz depending on what is used (Mylar, tyvek or plastic, 1,2 or 3 mil )