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  1. #1

    Default What extremes have you gone to save wt on your kit?

    This should bring out the UL gram weenies.

    Besides lopping off wt by whittling down a toothbrush or cutting off clothing tags or shortening pack straps, I've:

    1) weighed different plastic baggies to determine which one to go with - uh, the lightest wt ones of course.

    2) spent close to $40 on a EVent stuff sack to save 1/3 of 1 oz compared to going with a 1/3 of 1 oz heavier one I already owned costing about $10 that was perfectly usable and WP too.

    3) since I take a host of various supplements both on and off trail I've purchased supplements for on trail use based on their volume and wt rather than opting for the same supplements BUT IN OH SO SLIGHTLY of a heavier and more volumous version.

  2. #2
    Registered User Storm's Avatar
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    I knocked almost 30 pounds off my weight by going on a diet 6 months before my hike.
    "The difficult can be done immediately, the impossible takes a little longer"

  3. #3

    Default

    HEY, whether in your pack or in your body the wt has to be hauled through your legs and feet. Good for you!

  4. #4

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    Bought a new pack and k nocked off 1lb 2oz. and am looking to loose another 3lbs on a new bag and tent.....

  5. #5
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    I spent a lot of money on cuben fiber. I strongly consider the calorie density of my diet too, although that comes in at a long second to how well I'm able to consume my trail food.

  6. #6

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Dogwood View Post
    3) since I take a host of various supplements both on and off trail I've purchased supplements for on trail use based on their volume and wt rather than opting for the same supplements BUT IN OH SO SLIGHTLY of a heavier and more volumous version.
    So no Iron

  7. #7

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Storm View Post
    I knocked almost 30 pounds off my weight by going on a diet 6 months before my hike.
    I've gotten my summertime pack base weight down to nine pounds, and couldn't find anywhere else to cut without a lot of cost. So, like you I decided to lose the weight off my 200 lb. body. I am now at 184, striving for 170.

  8. #8
    Registered User kayak karl's Avatar
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    i have cut more weight by changing my thinking rather then weighting stuff. its amazing what you can do without.
    I'm so confused, I'm not sure if I lost my horse or found a rope.

  9. #9
    AT 2012
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    Quote Originally Posted by kayak karl View Post
    i have cut more weight by changing my thinking rather then weighting stuff. its amazing what you can do without.
    exactly. if you bring little enough you don't need all those stuff sacks to organize it all...
    Lazarus

  10. #10
    Registered User Wise Old Owl's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by kayak karl View Post
    i have cut more weight by changing my thinking rather then weighting stuff. its amazing what you can do without.

    So the Solar panel stays home huh?
    Dogs are excellent judges of character, this fact goes a long way toward explaining why some people don't like being around them.

    Woo

  11. #11

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by 1azarus View Post
    If you bring little enough you don't need all those stuff sacks to organize it all...
    +1 - I tend to modify most of my gear to either function better or be lighter. Just part of my nature. Whenever I think I'm done, I always find something new to try. Every trip is an experiment. Some examples (most are cheap, but good down and cuben do COST):

    Switch from Motrin to Aleve to carry less pills.
    Cut off part of a NeoAir (resealing with an iron) to make it shorter and lighter (takes courage, but actually very easy to do)
    Replace pot lids with lighter DIY ones made out of aluminum flashing, ti foil, or other materials
    Bought some titanium on eBay, made a cathole trowel, ended up with a cottage industry business making them
    Updated a titanium wood stove design, switched from alcohol to wood as primary fuel, ended up making and selling these too
    Made my own UL wash bucket out of silnylon
    Got rid of almost all of my synthetic insulation garments and quilts/bags in favor of high quality down (JRB, Western Mountaineering) - $$$
    Switched to a cuben shelter - $$$
    Use Aqua Mira for water treatment
    Use a cut-down child's toothbrush
    Find the LIGHT STUFF at QiWiz.net

    The lightest cathole trowels, wood burning stoves, windscreens, spatulas,
    cooking options, titanium and aluminum pots, and buck saws on the planet



  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by 1azarus View Post
    exactly. if you bring little enough you don't need all those stuff sacks to organize it all...
    I don't disagree with this. While I do organize with ziploc bags, I put them all in one stuff sack with my clothing, and I'll even put my quilt in there if it's raining. It's somewhat redundant that I have a stuff sack and a pack liner, but I'm not extreme enough that I'll back down to one layer of protection against the rain.

  13. #13

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    No Pants!!!

  14. #14
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    I will share a very bad idea that I attempted. I decided the jar that peanut butter comes in weighs too much. So I repacked the PNB into zipper bags. Bad idea for two reasons. One it was a mess trying to squeeze out of the zipper bags into a lightweight squeeze tube. Second PNB eats zipper bags. (Parmesan cheese does as well.). I quickly discovered that I was able to eat so much PNB that I would buy the largest jar the store carried for each resupply. This PNB debacle was the biggest rookie mistake I did on my thru hike.

  15. #15

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by kayak karl View Post
    i have cut more weight by changing my thinking rather then weighting stuff. its amazing what you can do without.
    That's more valuable than a gold nugget. Should be in 10-K's Share a Quote thread.

    I do have a hard time with the irate prepared to attack into pink rubber cross dressing Santa look you got going though.

  16. #16

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    Switch from Motrin to Aleve to carry less pills. - QiWiz

    I've done the same thing. I even narrowed it down further by opting for Alleve in the SMALLER LESS HEAVIER ALLEVE pills rather than the LARGER and HEAVIER liquid gels and caplets.
    I'll PM you with the ph # to my UL therapist.

  17. #17

    Default

    Replace pot lids with lighter DIY ones made out of aluminum flashing, ti foil, or other materials - QiWiz

    Yeah, those Ti pot lids are way way too heavy. Better off with the lighter Ti foil.

    Bought some titanium on eBay, made a cathole trowel, ended up with a cottage industry business making them. - QiWiz

    I even gagged on this one being quite judgmental on one of your threads offering them. Probably, because I don't carry a cat trowel or thought of selling them. Sorry, for the rant on that thread.

    You are right KK. I feel so much lighter with those thoughts out of my head.


  18. #18
    Registered User no-name's Avatar
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    $7 per tent stake. I went from 2 ounces per to .5 of an ounce. Times 8.

  19. #19
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    IMO what's more important than dropping weight is dropping attitude.

    When hiking, I practice a ZenFast Attitude Diet. Works wonders for getting along with all those folks with *heavy* attitudes.

  20. #20
    LT '79; AT '73-'14 in sections; Donating Member Kerosene's Avatar
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    Switched out my already light SMD Lunar Solo for a zPacks Hexamid Duo for my typical non-bug season hikes. After years of saving a few ounces here and there, it was fantastic to shave off a full pound in one fell swoop. Of course, it took about a pound of 20-dollar bills out of my wallet also, but given how little I spend on myself it's worth it to me.
    GA←↕→ME: 1973 to 2014

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