Originally Posted by
WaitingInTheWeeds
Thanks everyone for your input. I’ll address each.
Tent – Obviously a place where I can lose some serious poundage. Saw a recommendation for the Tarptent Contrail. Any other recommendations for similar setups that are less than $200 and less than 2lbs?
Sleeping Pad – Will definitely switch out for a lighter closed cell pad.
Stove – Can’t switch out b/c I can’t return it. I’ve made my peace w/ it and like the ease of use anyway.
GSI Soloist – Can’t return it (ebay purchase) *Please note that the weight I listed was for the pot, the cup, the lid, the stuff sack, the stove itself, the utensils (yes I used the fork and the spoon and I hate sporks), 1 cansister of fuel, a bic lighter, and a P38.
Trowel – If you insist, consider it gone.
Water Filter – Still a bit up in the air. I guess I want to keep it b/c this weekend I had to get water out of a not so nice looking creek. I guess I just don’t really know what to expect as far as water clarity on the AT. I’m not worried so much about waterborne diseases and such as I am about getting bits of dirt, leaves, other particles, or drinking water that’s just plain ol not very clear. More info to enlighten me would help I think.
Base layer top – Thanks for the suggestion Papa D, but since I’m already eliminating 1 fleece; I think I’ll keep this layer at least to start with. I may not need it while hiking, but at night it could come in handy. I’ll probably send it home at some point in time.
Socks – To be clear, this weekend I wore one pair and packed 2 additional pairs. I was thinking of just wearing one and packing one. Are you saying I should stick to 3 pairs total then?
Toilet/First Aid kit. – As it stands right now it weighs ~1lb 9oz (please ignore the weight listed earlier as my scale was a bit off the first time) and contains the following:
-Pack towel (thanks papa d; it was in there before, but I forgot to write it down)
-Pepper spray (for personal security – it has to go sorry to all you ultra-light people out there, but I have my reasons and don’t really wish to bring them all up in this thread)
-100% deet bug spray
-Contact solution
-Hand sanitizer (travel size)
-Extra contacts
-Travel size toothpaste
-Toothbrush
-Blistex
-Rewetting drops
-Contact lens case
-Ear plugs
-Swiss army knife
-Tylenol, Ibuprofen, Pepto (and no not the whole bottle, just a few of each)
-Tweezers
-Afterbite
-Small roll of gauze
-Eyeglass screwdriver (Now removed as I just realized that my knife will fit the screw just fine)
-2 Safety pins
-A few bandaids of different sizes
-Waterproof matches
-Latex gloves
-Steri-strips
-A bit of moleskin
That weight does not include TP (but seriously TP is pretty light to begin with and it will get lighter each day anyway!)
I also forgot to include in my original list that I will be bringing 50ft of 550 cord, a pack cover (thanks again for reminding me to write it down Papa D), my regular glasses in a hard case, and a pair of sunglasses (yes I realize I’ll be under the trees most of the time, but for those times that I am not, my eyes are very sensitive to light and it would be very unpleasant not to have them. For those of you who are sensitive to light you know what I am talking about).