Tips for lightening the load (video)

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sideways

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Feb 19, 2013
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Winter has come and I'm stuck indoors browsing the web for gear to use next summer. Surfing the web I stumbled across this video with tips on how to save weight while backpacking. I figured I'd pass it on in the hopes someone gets some use out of it. Thoughts, comments, and other resources welcome. :D

TL:DW notes

Getting there
- Cache gear and supplies along the way for the return journey. Water and food
- Eat and drink right before you set out
- Cut maps down to size when possible

Packing
- Pack a long time in advance
- Leave stuff you don't need at home
- Pack the lightest option of whatever you do need
- Share the weight if you have a buddy
- Don't transport wet gear
- Use ultralight stuff sacks to compress stuff to fit in a smaller pack
- Do not pack your wallet or all your keys, take only emergency cash as well as the cards and keys you need.

Pack
- Aim for 1-2 lbs pack weight
- Choose a pack that is just big enough for the stuff you need to carry
- Remove any extras from the pack you don't use.
- Consider integrating your sleeping pad with your backpack
- Silnylon pack cover or waterproof spray

Shelter
- Aim for sub 2lbs for solo trips
- Get a light weight sleeping pad
- Get a sleeping bag that is warm enough without being overkill
- Use a down bag, and layer your bags
- Cut down sleeping pads and ground cloths so they are the right size
- Use hiking poles as tentpoles when applicable
- Bug net bivvies are a light weight option

Clothes
- Silk is light
- Cut out any unnecessary material
- Use spare socks as gloves
- Rain chaps are light and allow the boys to breath
- Silnylon hats
- plastic gloves and booties
- Say No to jeans and cotton

Cooking
- Repackage foods whenever possible so you are not carrying excess packaging
- Eat the heaviest foods first
- Only bring a pot and the lid
- Use plastic cups and spoons
- Use Aluminium foil windscreens

Part 1
[video=youtube;fWbYnTRBfww]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWbYnTRBfww[/video]

Part 2
[video=youtube;JvPoqkQ94Is]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JvPoqkQ94Is[/video]
 
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Excellent tips. Thanks! I have found zip-lok type bags very useful for compressing clothing, as well as keeping things dry in your pack.
 
I usually re-purpose those plastic bags from the supermarket fruit isle. They weigh nothing and they are free. Some kinds of tupperware can also be handy if you want a really light weight bowl for eating out of.
 
Sorry I don't have the patience to watch those movies all the way through.

The biggest tip I can give, after each trip make a list of all the items you carried, which items you used, which items you didn't, and what items you wished you had.
For example, I've found my appetite is much less when hiking than when sitting around at home, so I tend to over pack food.

Second tip, adjust to a lower comfort level and learn to do without some 'standard' items.
Flashlight? Everything's in the exact same place in the dark as it was in the daylight. ;)
Sleeping pad? Those are for sissies.
Pillow. Camp chair. Books...

Third tip, conscientiously consider weight when shopping for gear.
Choose a lighter weight sleeping bag. Iodine crystals, or a water pump?
Ounces add up.
 
Lots of good resources and forum discussions at the various ultralight backacking sites. White Blaze, for long haul walkers including Appalachian Trail hikers, and BackpackingLight come to mind. Less is more, +1 or simply leaving a lot of stuff at home, and keeping a list of the stuff you brought but didn't use (first aid and other safety gear don't count).

Choosing light weight gear when you buy helps. Swapping existing gear for lighter gear is a cost/benefit decision, individual piece by piece. Hw much $ is each ounce really worth to you?
There are some great youTube videos by Shug Mery (spelling?) and Jason Klass among others on going lightweight on a budget, or free.
 
That's a good tip Bob W about doing a written before and after trip inventory list and comparing them. :thumbup: I'll have to try actually writing the stuff down next time I go out, I bet I'll find something to cut out.

Tallahassee I couldn't agree more about just leaving stuff you don't need at home. I do not carry books or pillows, and try to trim the weight where ever I can. Food is about the only thing I don't save ounces on because it is an integral part of my wilderness ritual. I love to eat and drink. I'll have a look at those youtubers. Thanks!
 
If you've got some tips you think are good from there that aren't already common knowledge, post them up. Linking to 17 minutes of someone else's videos isn't content.
I watched the first ten tips, and would caution that this stuff appears to be for people who are SuperUltraLight already.
Losing bodyweight doesn't correlate to lightening pack weight at all. Anybody who's carried a pack knows that, but that's the first tip after getting a scale? Pretty underwhelming start followed by the advice that a 1-2lb backpack is one of the best ways to drop weight? To try using your pack without the hipbelt? To remove your sternum strap?
These are the last places you would want to try to save weight, and for anyone who hasn't pared everything down to the barest minimum, they're the worst possible things you can do.
 
OwenM said:
If you've got some tips you think are good from there that aren't already common knowledge, post them up. Linking to 17 minutes of someone else's videos isn't content.
I watched the first ten tips, and would caution that this stuff appears to be for people who are SuperUltraLight already.
Losing bodyweight doesn't correlate to lightening pack weight at all. Anybody who's carried a pack knows that, but that's the first tip after getting a scale? Pretty underwhelming start followed by the advice that a 1-2lb backpack is one of the best ways to drop weight? To try using your pack without the hipbelt? To remove your sternum strap?
These are the last places you would want to try to save weight, and for anyone who hasn't pared everything down to the barest minimum, they're the worst possible things you can do.
Click to expand...

I agree the person who made the video didn't do the best job of prioritizing the info. Some of the tips are also very much geared towards super ultralight. Removing hip belts and such is not realistic until you have a base weight under 10 lbs or so.

I added a "too long, didn't watch" summary to the original post. You can be the judge of whether it is common knowledge or not.
 
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