Packweight, bushbashing and knives

mtwarden said:
When looking to lose weight, often the big three (tent/sleeping bag/pack) are looked at first, in lieu of that- from your list these are things I would scruntinize

six lights = too many, a good headlamp and a photon clipped to your person is plenty

seven (or is it eight :)) blades = too many, I'd keep the Izula (w/ the little bit of kit on it) and maybe the SAK (you could easily argue that the Izula itself would be enough knife)

if it's the big AMK bivy (thermolite), I'd lose that too- great piece of kit for day hiking- not needed w/ a tent/sleeping bag

two survival kits should be looked at as well- guessing many of the items are repetitive between the two

some redundancy is prudent, too much is extra weight

also I'd stress that what I bring for day hikes (not expecting to stay the night, but prepared if I have to) is different than what I take for multi-day trips
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Currently the only knives in the pack are the CRKT RSK in the pocket survival pack, the Izula, and the Swiss Army.

Would you substitute the Griptilians, or Fallkniven F1 for either of those?

Also as far as lights go, I know I need the two Surefire's, and the little mini LED's weigh less than a quarter ounce all together. I suppose the gerber task light is overkill, but its nice to have a backup? =D

Yeah the two survival kits are annoying...I thought about combining the two, but then it won't fit in my pocket.


The biggest issue I'm dealing with is, if I lose my pack. I'm screwed. I'm not sure what (if anything) I want to carry on my person.


-Freq
 
for backpacking I carry a Petzel e-lite headlamp and a Photon and have never been wanting for more light. if I know I'm going to be doing some night hiking I have a bigger headlamp that replaces the e-lite

a small fixed blade (Izula sized) has always served me well for backpacking- I use a neck carry and that way it's always on my person. I have ~ 12-15' of cord wrapped around the sheath, small fire steel, a photon light, a couple of tinder tabs, whistle, two micropur tabs and a MRE hot beverage bag folded up- secure the loose items w/ a wide ranger band. the light can be used by simply pointing the sheath in the right direction and giving it a squeeze. this setup is very light and compact

I keep a K&M matchsafe in my pocket (REI matches and a couple of fire straws)- it has a Suunto compass in the cap. A small FAK and AMK heatsheet reside in a cargo pocket.

If I happen to separated from my pack I have enough to get me by.
 
Talk about your footwear.:) Por favor !
That's some rugged terrain.Most of the so called hiking boots out there wouldn't be worth a damn in that terrain.

That's mountaineering boot territory. Theres a big rocky area here called Mt. Chirripo, 12,500 ft/3820 meters, that has terrain a lot like that. I normally wear a Haix jungle boot since most places I tour are mud, roots and leaves.More rainforest, little rock.
When I do Chirripo or Irazu I wear these
http://www.kenetrek.com/prodinfo.asp?number=KE-420-NI

The reason I'm not out and about now is I busted my ass and killed my knee and ankle bouldering across a river. A month ago !
I put on my Crocs instead of risking wet boots. Stupid.
 
softsoled mocs. IMO, big heavy boots are just an excuse to not watch your foot placement and in that kind of terrain, neglecting your foot placement is dangerous. Softsoled mocs are alot more breathable and comfortable in general and are easier on your legs and back because it stresses walking softly instead of plowing across rock gardens and up and down canyons. I have pictures of the tracks I made walking across 2 inches of snow covering trodden waist high brush and you can barely tell anything was there. I have a pair of Asolo Echos but the fancy Vibram boot soles are just as blocky, heavy, non-ergo and useless as GI Danners or Altamas. The only time in the last four years that I've had hot spots and blisters on my feet were from wearing heavy assed hiking boots. Everybody's all ultralight about what's on their back but when it comes to footwear they don't mind wearing 2 pound chunks of rubber under their feet.
 
PR, you need to post some pics of your adventures and your gear. You have some very interesting views.
 
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Payette Lake, McCall Idaho. February, somewhere between 70-80 inches of snow, 25 degrees, softsoled mocs and my trusty Dale of Norway sweater
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Nez Perce National Forest, August of last year, altitude at that picture was about 10,000 feet. I started at about 940 feet in Riggins, a sweet little town of about 400 people with the coolest bar I've ever been to. Man, those backcountry northern Idaho folks know how to party. The gas station there is the only place where you can find ammo for 80 miles in any direction.
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Seven Devils, outside of Riggins, Idaho, very close to Hell's Canyon and the Snake River. 7 massive cliffs that peak around 12,000 feet and surround a survival mecca of untouched high mountain lakes full of all kinds of fish, birds of prey, mountain goats, mountain lions, lots of big furry varmint... this is my bugout contingency plan. Noone can put the miles on it takes to get back there and noone has a reason to, so it's a secluded garden of eden protected by thousands of feet of sheer rock wall and unnavigable boulder fields. If you plow through this stuff, you're surfing fist sized sharp edged rock to stay on top of the slide you start. To be honest the first time I hiked here I just about died on 10 different occasions, got lost once and grew a pair of balls when it comes to traversing terrain.
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more seven devils, just to show you the terrain, more near vertical walls and some crazy pine slash
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More seven devils
 
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Are the moccasins treated with anything, or insulated? You must have bulletproof feet man!
 
Pyette! I'm makin a pair of moc's right now. I use a modified mukluk design. Do you make your own or do you buy em from Dwyer etc.
 
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Seven Devils Lake
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found this stream after about 7 miles of boulder hopping once I set up my camp on Sheep Lake in the Seven Devils
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Sheep Lake, my typical basecamp while hiking the Seven Devils. It's almost glass in this picture but half an hour later it sounded like a waterfall with all the jumping trout
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Sheep Lake
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hiking Hells Canyon, the deepest gorge in America at 7600 feet average. That's the Snake River
 
I use the 35 dollar minnetonka softsoles, they're cheap, last a good 3 months before the soles are worn out. I buy em a full size smaller than I typically wear because after a day they stretch and shrinkwrap to your feet, I really don't even feel em. It's like wearing a second layer of skin. That's about what I've got on photobucket as far as terrain goes right now, I'm on my laptop stealing internet at the library. All my photos are stashed on 3 different hard drives on my PC, I'll grab some more next time I'm home
 
march666.jpg

this was on a 20 mile dayhike in march
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my goal, the summit of Camels Hump-it looks nice and clear now but I got caught in a 65mph hailstorm on the summit... heh. Always got to account for wacky weather when backpacking in the mountains

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view from the summit overlooking the east side of boise, you can see the clouds have already moved in

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view of the summit opposite Boise, that's Boise National Forest I believe, which meets Payette National Forrest about 50 miles back. One of my favorite playgrounds
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heh we even have 400 foot cliffs right in town, this is one of my favorite reading/hangout spots, it's about a mile away from my apartment
 
Fine taste in brews, Lagunitas is one of the best. A Brown Shugga would warm you up after a trek like that for sure.
 
On this trip I used some Merrells, the heaviest shoe I've had before. They got pretty ripped up. Here we've got Lawyer Vine which grows along the creeks. But I shouldn't expect too much, even my friend's leather boots got ripped up.

I think being able to feel the surface you're about to walk on through the bottom of the shoe is more important than anything else
 
I don't do anything to treat the mocs for cold/wet weather, I just make sure they don't get crumpled up or squished up when they dry. I wear wool socks, period. If you don't wear wool socks and you are into outdoor ANYTHING, well... you need to. Your feet are going to sweat in ANY kind of weather, and wool wicks moisture away from your feet so they dry and don't get any kind of nasty fungus or rot going. Also helps prevent hot spots and blisters due to rubbing etc. Wool naturally contains lanolin which is an oil that protects the fiber so they don't smell nasty, which is also good for your shoe. They're also way more durable than any cotton sock I have ever worn, and insulate your feet even when they are wet. A pair of midweight wool hiking socks (for some reason Columbia's always seem to be the most durable for me, over smart wool, northface, etc)is what I wear in the winter and they are sufficient insulation even during winter and when wet. The mocs do tan your socks if they get wet though, lol, most of my socks are all orange colored.
 
Right this minute, when hiking. I carry a back pack. The contents are: 1) small first aid kit 2) toilet paper 3) pants and socks 4) water purification system. 5) collapsible fishing rod and lures. I hike to find cool places to fish. 6) various knives. Sog tigershark, a neck knife and a swiss army knife. Craftsman folding saw. I carry a magnesium bar for fire starting and small tinder kit. Think old pellet tin with pencil shavings in it. The tent is a 10-12' tarp. The sleeping bag is from Uncle Sam. This is what I carry. My average Hike is around 8-10 miles round trip. I stay only the weekend. With food and small camp mess kit I think I carry around 60lbs This is nowhere near what I have carried on marches and trips in the Army. I only carry 50ft of rope to tie up stuff.
 
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