I have become a lightweight backpacker-again.
Back in the early 70s, my average pack weight was about 40lbs. We didnt have many luxury items back then though. Heck, Sony Walkmans didnt even exist yet!
Then, manufactures started ADDING weight to tents, packs, everything!
It seemed like a good idea at the time: an 8lb expedition pack with four zippers to open up the thing in the middle, instead of just opening up the top and digging a little? Brilliant! Give me more! Super heavy nylon fabric? Double it please! Never know when your gonna blow out a side panel!
They kept adding more and more mostly useless stuff to the gear. And it got heavier .
As time passed, I found myself carrying more and more stuff. By the early 90s, 60-65lbs was common. Eventually it started taking its toll.
Im getting to old to haul the 65lb. packs around.
I wasnt willing to go ultralight and be miserable either. I like my comforts. I also like my safety.
Designers are finally remembering their roots and making things weigh LESS , instead of adding a bunch of bells and whistles to everything and making them weigh more.
I bought two different digital scales, one weighs up to 12lbs, in .25oz increments, for bigger items, and the other one weighs objects down to 100th of an ounce, for the smaller items.
The last two years I went on a vicious weight cutting binge with my equipment. I weighed every single piece of equipment I had. If there was something lighter than what I had, I bought it. I replaced my 3lb bag with a 1lb 12oz one. I went from a 6.5oz pack raincover to a 3oz one, and so on. Absolutely nothing was overlooked. It took a lot of research. I learned you cannot trust what the manufactures claimed weights are! Fortunately, several vendors post the true weight of items alongside the marketing weight.
The saved ounces added up. My wallet got lighter.
I managed to save almost 15lbs! {I saved 8.34oz on stuffsacks alone}
I still carry a lot of luxury items: i-pod, camera, binoculars, campstool, siltarp shelter for rainy day cooking, insulated coffee mug, a .44 Magnum, {S&W ultralight}, aqua socks for bootless campwear, and many other creature comfort items. The only thing I dont carry anymore is a small packraft. I still live in comfort compared to the other people I see on the trail.
Absolutely nothing I have is Stupid Light.
I still carry a very comprehensive 1st aid kit. {But it weighs 20oz less now}.
I am just as safe with this new gear as I was with my older heavier gear. I didnt cut back if it meant that the new item was far more fragile or was disposable. I have a real tent, Im not using a tarp to sleep under. {The mosquitoes, bears, wolves, and anything else big enough to view me as a sandwich, cant see me while Im asleep}. My new raingear isnt disposable .0001mil. plastic junk, but it is much lighter than my old stuff.
I still have everything I used to carry, but it has been re-purchased in a newer, lighter form. If I couldnt buy something lighter, I modified, cut off, or made smaller, anything I could. This was free, it didnt cost me anything. It took some thought and creativity though. For example, I now use my hiking poles for my raintarp supports instead of carrying dedicated poles for that purpose. That saved me almost a pound. I lost a couple inches of headroom, but not enough to bother me.
Some items were relatively cheap to upgrade. Sleeping bags, tents and packs of course, cut the most weight for the money. All the other stuff subtracts less weight per dollar, but it adds up.
I figured out that it costs around $10 per ounce {!!!} of total weight saved. {The big three- tent/ bag/ pack, saved pounds, not just ounces so they cost less per ounce. In fact, I saved 7lbs 3oz replacing these three items}. Some things I didnt spend money on to save weight. . I couldnt see spending $200 bucks to save 1-2oz. for a lighter campstove. The one I had was already very light. I wont spend $100 to save 2oz!
Because of the new lighter materials, I have gotten my pack back down to 33lbs. {Dry weight, no food or water}.
I spent around $1500 to get my pack down to a nice light weight, without giving up on anything.
I actually enjoy hiking again. It doesnt hurt after the first mile anymore. My hips and shoulders arent screaming at me all the time.
It was worth it.
Back in the early 70s, my average pack weight was about 40lbs. We didnt have many luxury items back then though. Heck, Sony Walkmans didnt even exist yet!
Then, manufactures started ADDING weight to tents, packs, everything!
It seemed like a good idea at the time: an 8lb expedition pack with four zippers to open up the thing in the middle, instead of just opening up the top and digging a little? Brilliant! Give me more! Super heavy nylon fabric? Double it please! Never know when your gonna blow out a side panel!
They kept adding more and more mostly useless stuff to the gear. And it got heavier .
As time passed, I found myself carrying more and more stuff. By the early 90s, 60-65lbs was common. Eventually it started taking its toll.
Im getting to old to haul the 65lb. packs around.
I wasnt willing to go ultralight and be miserable either. I like my comforts. I also like my safety.
Designers are finally remembering their roots and making things weigh LESS , instead of adding a bunch of bells and whistles to everything and making them weigh more.
I bought two different digital scales, one weighs up to 12lbs, in .25oz increments, for bigger items, and the other one weighs objects down to 100th of an ounce, for the smaller items.
The last two years I went on a vicious weight cutting binge with my equipment. I weighed every single piece of equipment I had. If there was something lighter than what I had, I bought it. I replaced my 3lb bag with a 1lb 12oz one. I went from a 6.5oz pack raincover to a 3oz one, and so on. Absolutely nothing was overlooked. It took a lot of research. I learned you cannot trust what the manufactures claimed weights are! Fortunately, several vendors post the true weight of items alongside the marketing weight.
The saved ounces added up. My wallet got lighter.
I managed to save almost 15lbs! {I saved 8.34oz on stuffsacks alone}
I still carry a lot of luxury items: i-pod, camera, binoculars, campstool, siltarp shelter for rainy day cooking, insulated coffee mug, a .44 Magnum, {S&W ultralight}, aqua socks for bootless campwear, and many other creature comfort items. The only thing I dont carry anymore is a small packraft. I still live in comfort compared to the other people I see on the trail.
Absolutely nothing I have is Stupid Light.
I still carry a very comprehensive 1st aid kit. {But it weighs 20oz less now}.
I am just as safe with this new gear as I was with my older heavier gear. I didnt cut back if it meant that the new item was far more fragile or was disposable. I have a real tent, Im not using a tarp to sleep under. {The mosquitoes, bears, wolves, and anything else big enough to view me as a sandwich, cant see me while Im asleep}. My new raingear isnt disposable .0001mil. plastic junk, but it is much lighter than my old stuff.
I still have everything I used to carry, but it has been re-purchased in a newer, lighter form. If I couldnt buy something lighter, I modified, cut off, or made smaller, anything I could. This was free, it didnt cost me anything. It took some thought and creativity though. For example, I now use my hiking poles for my raintarp supports instead of carrying dedicated poles for that purpose. That saved me almost a pound. I lost a couple inches of headroom, but not enough to bother me.
Some items were relatively cheap to upgrade. Sleeping bags, tents and packs of course, cut the most weight for the money. All the other stuff subtracts less weight per dollar, but it adds up.
I figured out that it costs around $10 per ounce {!!!} of total weight saved. {The big three- tent/ bag/ pack, saved pounds, not just ounces so they cost less per ounce. In fact, I saved 7lbs 3oz replacing these three items}. Some things I didnt spend money on to save weight. . I couldnt see spending $200 bucks to save 1-2oz. for a lighter campstove. The one I had was already very light. I wont spend $100 to save 2oz!
Because of the new lighter materials, I have gotten my pack back down to 33lbs. {Dry weight, no food or water}.
I spent around $1500 to get my pack down to a nice light weight, without giving up on anything.
I actually enjoy hiking again. It doesnt hurt after the first mile anymore. My hips and shoulders arent screaming at me all the time.
It was worth it.
