Pack Critique. Please Help!

[ClassY]

Gah!
So I thought I did everything that I could to reduce pack weight and get my pack under or right at 40lbs. But after packing, I am already over that weight.
Let me run you thru real quick what I have calculated out and if you could help me, that would be great.

Gregory Z55 Pack = 3 lbs 5 oz.
Big Agnes UL 1 = 2 lbs 7oz. (foot print included)
Go Lite Adrenaline 3-season Mummy = 2lbs 2oz.
MSR mini works filter = 1lb
MSR International Whisperlite and Q1 Pot Set = 1lb 5oz.

("Base weight" of above approx = 10lbs. 3oz.)

Max. Water Carrying = ~8lbs.
Max. Food Carrying = ~14lbs. (which gives me 2lbs/day for max 7days between supplies)

Clothes = 9 lbs 8oz.
This includes:
Camp shoes - Nike Livestrong running shoes
1 Fleece
2 pr. hiking socks, 2pr. liners
2 prs underwear
2 hiking shirt
1 sleep set. long underwear top and bottom
1 hat, 1 gloves
1 convertible pants
1 hiking short
1 mesh gym short
1 long sleeve shirt (use in town or on chilly days so I dont have to use sleeping gear).


AND THATS IT! (besides Misc items)
Including:
Toiletries, maps, first aid, stove fuel, pack cover, etc, etc, etc.


Here is where I need some help..
What is listed above (not Misc items) already weigh in at 42lbs! Yuck!
This leaves me no room for any luxury items.. Didnt even put in that 2-3lb nice camera I want to take, etc.

Where am I going wrong??
Am I giving myself too much water or food to carry?
It was my understanding that 2lbs/day was a good figure.
I havent planned logistics yet, and I know every resupply wont be the max 7-10 days. But will be close to that.
I do realize I could probably cut out my long sleeve town shirt, and the clothes that I mentioned above is the ONLY clothes I am taking, so I will have a set on me (minus rainjacket and 3rd pair of hiking and liner socks which werent mentioned)
But one set of clothes or that shirt or pair of gym shorts mentioned above really wont take that much weight off me.

Any help would be appreciated.. Any $.02 would be swell.
I am stressing over this because I am putting the extra money towards buying nice gear with weight in mind.. Kinda frustrating to spend hundreds, and still be over 40lbs base.

And some final notes:
6' 0" 166lbs.
So carrying a fourth of my weight on my back is tough, hence why I am aiming lower.
And I also mention this because some people obsess over pack weight when they can lose 30lbs off their body and be better off, but that isnt really an option for me..


Thanks a lot, and sorry for another one of these posts..
I know there are a lot of them out there.


~ClassY

[WhoDey]

Dropping the filter will save a pound. For some reason your clothes seem really heavy. My clothing maxes out at 7 pounds with an insulating layer. You will not need to carry 7 days worth of food or a gallon of water. Try carrying 2 liters and 5 days worth of food max. Your stove and pot are also heavy. Try an alcohol stove and see if you like it because you can save almost a pound there. The more expensive things to save weight on would be your shelter and sleeping bag. If you are not dead set on a tent maybe try a tarp where you can save at least another pound. Tarptents would be a good compromise. To save weight on your sleeping bag you would have to fork over some serious moola and probably go to a quilt so that is a less viable area where you can save. Hope that helps

[think0075]

these are all suggestions:
1. dont need a water filter, chemical treatment is the way to go, try aquamira, or regular househould bleach( 3 drops to a litre). that will cut your 1 pound filter down to 3 oz. of liquid instead.
2. ditch the underwear its a waste of time.
3. leave the whisperlite at home and go get a pocket rocket there 40 dollars but im sure you could find one on sale. that will save you close to a pound.
4. camp shoes dont need to be actually runnin shoes, you want to find something light to carry but comfortable enough when you get into camp. some people go with flip-flops other a pair of crocs. you can usually find a generic pair of crocs and your local drug store, i got a pair from rite-aid for 10 bucks in gorham nh, on my hike.
5. except for the hundred mile wilderness you should never get close to needing 7 days of food. 3 to 4 days is usually the max you will go without resupply.
6. you didnt really list your extra items that is usually where people have the bulk of crap they wont use, make sure you go through everything and actually know what your gonna use it for, and make sure it is not something you could do without for a couple days.
7. maybe with the pants you should just keep your long underwear bottoms get 1 pair of shorts and 1 pair of rainpants, wear the shorts when its warm and hiking, long underwear to sleep in or to wear under your rainpants when its cold, and rain pants for while your in town doing laundry or caught in a deluge, they also cut down on the wind.
8. remember you just gotta be savage, comfort is a relative term. hiking all day with 15-17lbs. is much more comfortable to me then hiking with 40+. which by the way is absurd. you should have no problem getting it to the 25-30lb. range

[Luddite]

MSR mini works filter = 1lb Go with AquaMira. No maintenance and ultralight.
MSR International Whisperlite and Q1 Pot Set = 1lb 5oz. I recommend the MSR Superfly or the Pocket Rocket. Or the Caldera Cone alcohol sotve system.

You're missing a lot of stuff on your list.

[leaftye]

Without buying anything new...

You don't need a pot set. One pot. No mugs, cups, plates. Use the one pot.

One hiking shirt.

Dump the hiking shorts and the mesh gym shorts. You already have shorts in the convertible pants.

As to spending money...

Where is your pad?

Replacing that footprint with a sheet of polycro will probably save a few ounces for a small amount of money.

Replace the camp shoes with Crocs or a ripoff of them. Those would also be useful for shower shoes.

Switching stoves can save you weight on the hardware, but you may end up carrying more weight in fuel. If all your cooking if freezer bag cooking, which I recommend, you should check out the mKettle. It is a wood burning stove, so you don't have to carry fuel most of the time. Tigoat sells it.

I don't like that you're carrying fleece. If anything, switch to lightweight synthetic puffy clothing. Down would be better. Hopefully you're not carrying leg insulation.

It seems like you already have most of your gear. You could probably save a pound or three if you built a quilt and down jacket from the kits at thru-hiker.com.

[Blissful]

Convertible pants have shorts. Ditch both other pairs of shorts. Ounces do matter! 8 ounces is half a pound!
Do need some kind of insulating jacket and a pad. I assume misc contains headlamp, knife,e tc ? Need to list your misc gear also. Bet you can lose ounces there. And in oyur first aid kit
Aqua mira. Alcohol stove or pocket rocket (my choice), tyvek ground cloth
one titanium solo pot (even a greasepot from K mart) and one lexan spoon
croc knock offs for camp
Food way too heavy. You won't eat that much to begin. 1 1/2 lbs maybe. Lots of lightweight choices on the market.Can resupply every 3-4 days no problem. never need to go 7 days and shouldn't. 8 lbs of water seems heavy too. Plenty of sources.
See if you can return your stove and cooking gear if you just bought it. if not you can improvise for cheaper and lighter (make your own stove, get a grease pot, croc knock offs for a few bucks)

[hillsanddales3]

The big 3 (pack, shelter, sleeping bag) are the typical place to start....you're not UL, but at 8 lbs you're in the working range. However, you're food and water offer a huge opportunity! Food, think 3 days and re-supply (2lbs/ day x 3days = 6lbs.) Water is readily available at most spots....carry no more than 2 liters, better if just one and camel up at every opportunity (2L= 4 lbs.) That's 10 lbs compared to 22. You just saved 12 lbs. And it didn't cost you a dime!

[ClassY]

Thanks for the quick responses guys!

Yes, Sorry, I didnt include my Misc. items, I figured I would post the essentials and leave out the little nick nacks.

But here they are:
Duct tape, small watch, bandanna, tooth brush, tooth paste, floss, pen, paper, camp suds, money (I.D. credit card, calling card or number) bear bag, para cord rope, multi tool (pocket knife or leatherman), lighter, matches, 1 nalgene, 1 2gal bladder, 1 3 liter camelbak, T.P., compass, pack cover, head lamp.
First aid kit includes:
gauze pads, band aids, ace bandage, small tube of sun screen, chapstick, super glue, butterfly bandages.


Those are my Misc items, and completes my list..
thats everything except guide books, and a camera.


You guys have already talked me out of the gym shorts and long sleeve shirt, so ty.
I think im still set on carrying the tennis/running shoes, because I cannot see myself walking (on roads) in crocs when I can get out of my boots and kick on my sneakers.

I havent bought my stove yet, thats still a big question mark, but yes, I agree, I only need the one pot.

All of my other gear is pretty much finalized..
my warmest layer will be shirt + fleece + rain jacket + hat and gloves.
So I think that is sufficient for the mid march start date for me..


Thanks again for the help.
Much appreciated.


~ClassY

[Rocket Jones]

1 nalgene, 1 2gal bladder, 1 3 liter camelbak,

You're carrying way too much water capacity. I carry 2 gatorade bottles and a 2liter platypus that only gets filled when at camp for the night.

[Luddite]

You're carrying way too much water capacity. I carry 2 gatorade bottles and a 2liter platypus that only gets filled when at camp for the night.

Thats all I carry too. Theres a lot of water sources on the AT.

[Ironbelly]

From what I can see with a quick glance drop the following as noted below:

Gregory Z55 Pack = 3 lbs 5 oz.-good
Big Agnes UL 1 = 2 lbs 7oz. (foot print included)-good, you could drop footprint and replace with a piece of tyvek or painters plastic to save a few oz
Go Lite Adrenaline 3-season Mummy = 2lbs 2oz.-good
MSR mini works filter = 1lb-good imho, i personally prefer a filter and will take the weight penalty.
MSR International Whisperlite and Q1 Pot Set = 1lb 5oz.-good, but you could save a decent amount of weight with 1 pot and an alch stove or canister type such as pocket rocket

("Base weight" of above approx = 10lbs. 3oz.)

Max. Water Carrying = ~8lbs.
Max. Food Carrying = ~14lbs. -Food and water you can probably carry a little less, I try to carry no more than 3L at a time and that is in a dry area. Food weight can usually be done on 3-5day resupplies

Clothes = 9 lbs 8oz.
This includes:
Camp shoes - Nike Livestrong running shoes-ditch, use crocs or flip flops, use your hiking shoes for anything else
1 Fleece- fleece is heavy, if you can get a synthetic puffy you will save weight and add warmth
2 pr. hiking socks, 2pr. liners- have you tried without liners? I carry 3 pairs socks, 2 pair liner for extended trips. Liners dry really fast.
2 prs underwear-ditch one
2 hiking shirt-ditch one
1 sleep set. long underwear top and bottom-good
1 hat, 1 gloves
1 convertible pants-good
1 hiking short-ditch
1 mesh gym short-ditch
1 long sleeve shirt (use in town or on chilly days so I dont have to use sleeping gear).-good, I use a l/s hiking shirt and also use it as my town shirt, can ditch your other hiking shirt if you do this. Can always roll the sleeves up.

Duct tape, small watch, bandanna, tooth brush, tooth paste-ditch use your cap suds or Dr. B soap instead of camp suds, floss, pen, paper, camp suds-use Dr. B soap it is multi purpose soap can shave with it use as toothpaste or shampoo, money (I.D. credit card, calling card or number) bear bag, para cord rope-how much are you carrying 30ft or 50ft?, multi tool (pocket knife or leatherman)-carry just a pocket knife unless you have something that requires tools like your whisperlite but choose only 1, lighter, matches, 1 nalgene-only keep this if your using miniworks otherwise use a gatoraide bottle, 1 2gal bladder-ditch this or the camelbak you don't need both, 1 3 liter camelbak, T.P., compass, pack cover, head lamp.
First aid kit includes:
gauze pads, band aids-ditch use gauze pads or tp and duct tape, ace bandage-ditch use duct tape you can always pick one up in town if needed duct tape works great in the mean time, small tube of sun screen-not really needed but if you insist then make sure it is 1oz or less they don't call it the long green tunnel for nothing, chapstick, super glue-ditch if the wood is that bad use more duct tape, butterfly bandages-ditch use duct tape.

If you get really hurt your going to be getting off the trail anyway, you can patch yourself up plenty well enough with a couple gauze pads , some tp, and duct tape.

If you can get down to 35lbs fully loaded with food and water then your doing good and on the right track. Obviously the lower the better. Only carry something if it is essential or can be dual purpose. Extra clothes are nice, but you will stink no matter what, so limit the extras to essential aricles. You need extra socks, but not an extra hiking shirt. You can use your convertible pants as shorts.

If you can post your entire gear list with weights for each item you will probally be able to get the most and best advice.

[leaftye]

If all your cooking if freezer bag cooking, which I recommend, you should check out the mKettle. It is a wood burning stove, so you don't have to carry fuel most of the time. Tigoat sells it.

Oops, it's not the mKettle you want. That's too heavy and there's a bit of controversy with that one. Here's the one I meant to refer you to.

www.theboilerwerks.com

[bigcranky]

4 liters of water is way too much on the A.T. I like to leave camp with 1.5 liters, after drinking some coffee and most of a liter before I hit the trail for the day. That's enough for the morning or more, and I'll find more along the way. You can bring the filter if you want, but Aqua Mira works fine and weighs 2.5 ounces.

Fourteen pounds of food is almost ten days' worth -- but you can easily resupply every five or six days. So if you figure on 4 pounds of water and 8 pounds of food, that's 10 pounds out of your pack before you even start. And that weight will drop every day as you hike.

Finally, I agree that your clothing weight seems excessive. You have a lot of duplication. That said, if you are starting a thru-hike, just go hike. You can make any adjustments at the 30-mile mark.

[bobtomaskovic]

Any rain gear?