absurd things to lighten pack

[modiyooch]

What absurd things do you do to lighten your pack?

For example, I've been known to trim the pages on my data book map, and burn as I go.

Or, I won't put a patch on my pack because....

I've already mentioned that I squirt my toothpast in a ziplock bag.

I know it's stupid, but...

Anyway, maybe I'm looking for ideas.

[fiddlehead]

Make a tent with no zipper or door.
Simply pull up a corner stake to get in and out.
No floor needed either
Simple is lighter.

[The Solemates]

cut all the extra straps and extraneous strap lengths off your backpack.

dont carry stuff you dont need like so many people carry, like a first aid kit or duct tape or hiking poles or cell phone or wallet or soap or a change of 'bed' clothes or more than a liter of water, etc etc.

but these arent absurd.

[garlic08]

I started hiking without a stove or cook kit a few years ago. I never expected to enjoy it more. I was a lousy camp cook anyway.

I switched my pocket knife/multi-tool for a single-edged razor blade. After I left the stove behind, I didn't have anything left in my pack that needed a tool to repair, anyway. The razor blade works fine for opening food packages, cutting cord or cloth, removing splinters, etc.

About the most absurd thing I've done is leave my camera behind. I have a box full of thousands of photos of me and friends with mountains, woods, snow, creeks all over the world. At some point I figured I had enough.

Sometimes, like when the moon is full, I leave behind my headlamp. That's about the last thing I own that needs batteries, and it sure is a great feeling to not have any batteries in the pack.

[couscous]

What absurd things do you do to lighten your pack?

People that see me carrying my Gossamer Gear Whisper 4oz/2000ci pack on the A.T. probably think I'm absurd. ( http://www.gossamergear.com/cgi-bin/...uberlight.html ) Best way for me to lighten my pack was to start with a smaller pack , which limits the space for just-in-case items. My map, compass, flashlight, sleeping clothes, quilt, hammock, first-aid kit, prescriptions, pocket knife, matches, water, water treatment, food for 4 days, stove/fuel/windscreen, mug, spork, whistle, insect repellent, raingear, sandals and a couple trash bags weigh less than the pack's 15# limit.

[skinewmexico]

I've done some absurd things that lightened my pack, by lightening my wallet!

[sbhikes]

I used to not carry a tent. All I had was a bed-top mosquito net to sleep under. When they started making tarp tents that weighed the same as my mosquito net, I got one. Now I've sewn my own floorless, doorless mosquito net that weighs only 6 ounces so I might go back to my no-tent ways.

I've only recently started bringing rain gear with me when I hike. I didn't even own rain gear in the past. I didn't even have a rain jacket on the PCT, but I did have rain pants and an umbrella, which was the most rain gear I'd ever taken with me anywhere.

I'm thinking of not bringing a down jacket anymore. I'm pretty sure I can just wad up my quilt under my Houdini and stay warm enough with that.

I only grudgingly take a headlamp. I have the weakest, wimpiest one you can find. I don't do any night hiking and I prefer to grope around in the dark when I have to get up in the middle of the night. I just put all my things in the same place every night so I know where to find everything without seeing. I figure if blind people can get along in life, I should be able to manage the darkness.

[fiddlehead]

I agree with SB hikes above.
Flashlights and head lamps are way overrated. Except in late fall or winter or early spring.
If you hike hard in the day, you dn't need to stay up past dark.
If you do, they make LED's that weigh fractions of an oz and are plenty bright.
I remember a hiker on the AT in '89 who only used his Bic lighter for a light and only flicked the flint without using the butane inside for the whole hike (one bic did it)
I guess you could use the word absurd for him. I doubt he thought so though.

[The Solemates]

i have to have my headlamp. but then again I usually take 3 books with me when i hike.

[brooklynkayak]

I don't bother carrying a crack pipe anymore. That's not so absurd, I always found it hard to find crack on the trail anyway:-)

[cowboy nichols]

Hike in a loin cloth cuts clothing wt. eat grubs.weeds and cold food sleep in a thick thicket or a brush shelter since that cuts out amost everything you can skip the backpack of course you might not enjoy the trip as much.LOL

[Danielsen]

Well, as far as the pack itself is concerned, I took a razorblade to a $30 Outdoor Products Wal-Mart variety pack (which was actually a surprisingly comfortable pack the few times I used it before moving on to a GG). Removing a large and useless back pocket, the aluminum stays and thick nylon that housed them, the lame lid pocket, the hydration sleeve, etc... All in all the trimmings amounted to about a pound and I think it's now a sub-2-pounder, and when I drop in a rolled sleeping pad for a frame it handles shockingly well up to ~25 pounds... not bad for a $30 walmart purchase. I now skip the 3+ lb. GG for most hikes.

Also, while it isn't technically a reduction of weight, I hang my water (a 2L bottle) in front of me rather than carrying it on my back, with a strap that runs up behind my shoulders and puts the weight on the pack frame (not directly on my shoulders). Since it acts as a counterweight, I'm using less energy to balance the weight on my back, effectively reducing the overall physical effort.

[modiyooch]

If you consume the heavy food that's in your pack, are you still carrying the weight?

[fiddlehead]

That's absurd!

[Sarcasm the elf]

So far I do nothing to lighten my pack.

I just finished loading my pack for my first ever 8 day, 7 night trip with no resupply besides a lunch at a deli (for which I have to get up in 5 hours to drive to Massachusetts for, yay!). This is the first time that my pack has exceeded the 50lb threshold and it looks like a giant bag of food with some camping gear shoved in around it.

Hopefully I'll learn my lesson in the next week and see what I can do without. I'm convinced that I can shave at least 5 pounds off of this pack without causing any issue, possibly more, but I just don't know what to ditch yet.

[mark schofield]

Hey Danielsen; A bit off topic. I've got a 2L camelback that slips in the sleeve of my Exos pack. Did you make your own thing to carry your water or buy one. I know what you mean about balancing the pack.

[modiyooch]

So far I do nothing to lighten my pack.

I just finished loading my pack for my first ever 8 day, 7 night trip with no resupply besides a lunch at a deli (for which I have to get up in 5 hours to drive to Massachusetts for, yay!). This is the first time that my pack has exceeded the 50lb threshold and it looks like a giant bag of food with some camping gear shoved in around it.

Hopefully I'll learn my lesson in the next week and see what I can do without. I'm convinced that I can shave at least 5 pounds off of this pack without causing any issue, possibly more, but I just don't know what to ditch yet.

been there; done that. You'll figure it out.

[kayak karl]

If you consume the heavy food that's in your pack, are you still carrying the weight?

no, most heavy food is water weight. ill even carry a can of Diny Moore stew for the first nite.

[Danielsen]

Hey Danielsen; A bit off topic. I've got a 2L camelback that slips in the sleeve of my Exos pack. Did you make your own thing to carry your water or buy one. I know what you mean about balancing the pack.

Originally I bought one while backpacking in Bolivia, lost it in Colombia, and then made my own when I got back to the states. The original was some touristy thing but it was solidly made and had a cool inca-esque fabric pattern. I wish I hadn't lost it. It might not have worked for the typical 2L bottles here, though, as they're a little squatter and fatter than the bottles in South America were.

A bit of duct tape and webbing were all it took. :-) Should be easy to make your own if you like.

[Dogwood]

I, uh hum, used to, but never anymore, uh hum, weigh all my food into portion sizes and for nutritional content while being aware of the wt of packaging like noticing the wts of various types of plastic baggies and even rubber bands that I packaged my food in. Got to be insane! Chose to step off that merry-go-round of chasing the holy grail of the ultimate SUL gear kit. Frees up more of my time to do more of what backpacking/hiking is really about - backpacking and hiking!