Ultralightenment

[ColeGage]

In my quest to lighten my pack I have come upon some interesting and curious weight-saving techniques, and I'd like to know if anyone has any novel ideas along those lines?

[ColeGage]

..One thing I've adopted is carrying a 1 liter Aquafina water bottle instead of a 1 liter Nalgene. It saves a few ounces and they certainly ad up..

[Cool AT Breeze]

If you use wetwipes, take them out of the package and let them dry. Add water to them as you use them.

[fiddlehead]

If you must use a cup, try styrofoam.
If you must use a knife, try a razor blade.
If you must use a flashlight, try a Photon II micro-lite

[sbhikes]

Using plastic drink bottles instead of nalgene isn't that unusual.

Here's my most unusual technique:
Instead of a fleece sweater I cut it up and made other things. I cut off the back and made a fleece balaclava and a pair of fleece fingerless gloves. I cut off the sleeves and use them as leg warmers, arm warmers, pot cozy or pillow.

[trailangelbronco]

Good ideas

[Tinker]

Try edible underwear

Or.......................maybe NOT!

Ok, seriously - get your shelter and sleeping bag weight down, dispense with "gourmet" food with water in its contents, try Esbit fuel tabs instead of liquid fuels, or an ultralight alcohol stove instead of a pressurized petroleum one. Try using a hammock - the "floor" never gets heavy from absorbing water, in warm weather you don't need to carry a sleeping pad, and (weight being a non-issue here) you don't have to stoop and crawl to get in and out.
Once the gear you carry is lightened up, (and this is my BIG tip - fwiw) buy a backpack without a pound plus of aluminum stays and the reinforced fabric necessary to keep them from wearing holes in the pack body. My favorite one weighs 14 oz. (plus 6 oz. for the closed cell sleeping pad "frame" and has carried enough for me to hike 8+ days alone, unsupported.

[jesse]

Get the basic four as lite as possible, then start tweaking the other stuff. Makes no sense to cut off a toothbrush handle, and throw it into a 5lb pack.

[Wise Old Owl]

micro bic lighter - nothuin else.

[Tinker]

Another thing - Cookware - cook and eat out of the same pot or cup if you can. Carry only one eating utensil (a spoon is best for me). If for some reason you need more than one container in your kitchen, I suggest that the second one (a cup for me) can be used for cooking as well. On longer trips I carry a fairly large titanium cook pot and a large ti cup as well.
I'm not sure exactly why, but there isn't as much weight difference between, say, a .9 liter cookpot and a 1.3 liter one.
If you're really nuts about saving weight, leave the cookpot top at home and use aluminum foil instead.

[Tinker]

I meant to say there isn't as much weight difference between (the smaller and larger pot) than you would expect.........etc.

When it is available to mail in a donation I will again be able to edit.....

[Tinker]

One more time - as much.........as you would expect........I give up - time for bed!

[Marta]

Using plastic drink bottles instead of nalgene isn't that unusual.

...But it's amazing how many people don't do it!

[ColeGage]

Tinker, what kind of pack do you have? From your description, it sounds like a Gossamer Gear pack. I've never owned one, but I hear they're pretty great packs..

[skinewmexico]

Tinker, what kind of pack do you have? From your description, it sounds like a Gossamer Gear pack. I've never owned one, but I hear they're pretty great packs..

I've got a Mariposa Plus and a Gorilla, sweet packs.

[ColeGage]

They really seem to have gotten the design right with all the over-sized mesh pockets on the outside.

[Deacon]

Once the gear you carry is lightened up, (and this is my BIG tip - fwiw) buy a backpack without a pound plus of aluminum stays and the reinforced fabric necessary to keep them from wearing holes in the pack body. My favorite one weighs 14 oz. (plus 6 oz. for the closed cell sleeping pad "frame" and has carried enough for me to hike 8+ days alone, unsupported.

OK now please be completely honest with me. I'm trying to decide if an UL pack such as the Mariposa Plus at 1.3 lbs. really carries as comfortably than, say a 5 lb. Arc'teryx Ultra, given the total weight for both packs is, say, 30 lbs. It is hard to believe the two aluminum curved rods on the UL packs really transfer the loads off the shoulders to the hips, as well as a framesheet, and that socks stuffed into the shoulders straps is as comfortable as the thick foam padding.

Given that, would you use the GG Mariposa Plus on an AT thru-hike?

[Wise Old Owl]

If you use wetwipes, take them out of the package and let them dry. Add water to them as you use them.

some of it is part alcohol.... oh well

[Marta]

OK now please be completely honest with me. I'm trying to decide if an UL pack such as the Mariposa Plus at 1.3 lbs. really carries as comfortably than, say a 5 lb. Arc'teryx Ultra, given the total weight for both packs is, say, 30 lbs. It is hard to believe the two aluminum curved rods on the UL packs really transfer the loads off the shoulders to the hips, as well as a framesheet, and that socks stuffed into the shoulders straps is as comfortable as the thick foam padding.

Given that, would you use the GG Mariposa Plus on an AT thru-hike?

No, a Mariposa Plus does not carry 30+ pounds well. But...I used one from July-November on my SOBO hike, when my packweight was less than 30 pounds. Seriously, with a two-pounds sleeping bag and a two-pound tent and a couple of pounds for a cooking setup, your packweight with a couple of liters of water and three days' food can be closer to 20 pounds during a warm- and cool-weather hike.

[Different Socks]

If you must use a cup, try styrofoam.
If you must use a knife, try a razor blade.
If you must use a flashlight, try a Photon II micro-lite

How do you store the blade? How do you keep the sup from being crushed?