- Joined
- Feb 3, 2006
- Messages
- 8,250
One thing men have a problem with is recognizing that going light isn’t the same as being weak. “Get stronger” is a common refrain from the ignorant and they say this to people who are in way better shape then they are.
The goal of going light isn’t because you can’t carry something(usually), it’s because you want the trip to be as pleasant as possible. If all your needs are met at a certain weight then a person is just downright stupid for carry more then that. I shakes my head at them. 
It helps to separate consumables(food,water,stove fuel) from non-consumables when talking about weight because the consumables are so trip dependent. So, base weight(no consumables) with modern equipment should be about 20 pounds. 15 is better. One thing to consider is to pay attention to the pack you’re carrying. Some guys with the old timey packs and the modern modular/“tactical” packs don’t realize just how much those packs weigh by themselves. Some people carry packs as heavy as an ultralighters entire summer kit. Every molle loop, every additional pouch, every sewn in organizational pocket, not to mention canvas, etc, adds weight you don’t want to carry. I find it both lighter and easier to stow my survival gear in one ziplock bag in a simple well fitting nylon backpack instead of spreading it out into little nooks and crannies of a pack. Pull the ziplock out and you can see the thing you need through the bag. Beats the heck out of trying to remember which pouch or pocket has what.
After that take a look at your sleep and shelter system and see if you can save weight there and also remember to repack items that come with excess packaging or are just excess. I can’t tell you how often I see people’s packs and think to myself “if they didn’t take the WHOLE ROLL of duct tape or the 100 ft of cordage(what are people tying up in the woods that they need this much rope?!?
) or ditched all of the useless over wrap on their food...they could carry 5 pounds less.” I’m guilty of some of that too until I carried it once. Sometimes you just have to touch the hot stove yourself.
Have fun on your next trip.
The goal of going light isn’t because you can’t carry something(usually), it’s because you want the trip to be as pleasant as possible. If all your needs are met at a certain weight then a person is just downright stupid for carry more then that. I shakes my head at them. It helps to separate consumables(food,water,stove fuel) from non-consumables when talking about weight because the consumables are so trip dependent. So, base weight(no consumables) with modern equipment should be about 20 pounds. 15 is better. One thing to consider is to pay attention to the pack you’re carrying. Some guys with the old timey packs and the modern modular/“tactical” packs don’t realize just how much those packs weigh by themselves. Some people carry packs as heavy as an ultralighters entire summer kit. Every molle loop, every additional pouch, every sewn in organizational pocket, not to mention canvas, etc, adds weight you don’t want to carry. I find it both lighter and easier to stow my survival gear in one ziplock bag in a simple well fitting nylon backpack instead of spreading it out into little nooks and crannies of a pack. Pull the ziplock out and you can see the thing you need through the bag. Beats the heck out of trying to remember which pouch or pocket has what.
After that take a look at your sleep and shelter system and see if you can save weight there and also remember to repack items that come with excess packaging or are just excess. I can’t tell you how often I see people’s packs and think to myself “if they didn’t take the WHOLE ROLL of duct tape or the 100 ft of cordage(what are people tying up in the woods that they need this much rope?!?
) or ditched all of the useless over wrap on their food...they could carry 5 pounds less.” I’m guilty of some of that too until I carried it once. Sometimes you just have to touch the hot stove yourself. Have fun on your next trip.
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