Kitlist weights

[Paul_B]

Just listed the stuff I need for my wildcamping/backpacking kitlist and their weights. Been searching the published weights as not got good electronic scales to actually measure everything. Anyway I have a few options for a few pieces of kit like sack and stove/pot kits. Anyway I am on 5.8kg down to about 4.7kg depending on options like rucksack with alloy staves taken out or left in.

Funny thing is my lightest ever load was 6.5kg with at most 1.5kg of water, lightest sack with stave removed and not stove kit as wasn't planning to cook. That gives a weight less water of about 5kg but without a 190g stove/pot kit in that weight. Some discrepancy in there somewhere (I'm missing 300g or 490g with the stove added). Funny, can't think what i've missed.

Anyone else added up the weights of kit lists like this? You have any missing grammes between theoretical weight and actual weight??

Anyway I've had fun doing it, now I just need to put this kit list together in my pack and head out into the hills to see if I am missing anything or if I can leave anything out. That means more fun i guess. It's a hard life isn't it?!!

Sorry if this is me rambling on and of no interest but I think there are others out there like me who are trying to get into lightweight backpacking but haven't looked at kit critically like this. I just thought I would put this out there and see if there are any out there doing what I have just done. I'm interested in how others look at weight loss on kit. Any ideas or tips you have on this matter??

 

[PDA1]

The standard way of doing this is to put all the data in a spreadsheet - item/weight, sort into groups (cook kit, sleep kit, etc. Then you have a packing list which can be altered by changing items depending on length of trip, winter/summer/shoulder, solo/group etc. Usually multiple columns, one for each category. This gives you a packing list for all trips. Also allows you to see what changing an item, say going from a heineken can penny stove to a super cat, maybe 17 grams to 12 grams. Does this souind a bit anal? SULers are like that. that's how they gget pack weight blow 8 lbs (sorry about lbs, they are pretty stubborn here

 

[silentpaddler]

Years ago I remember reading something about a guy who was fanatical about lightweight backpacking...I think it was in Outside magazine??
Anyway, stuff like hacksawing the handle off his toothbrush to save 3 grams, etc. If I can find it again I'll give a link...
Personally I agree that lightweight is a good thing but I just don't have the time to analyze the finer details; I just throw some things together and go...

 

[PDA1]

Two points - 1 Making kit lists, even without weights, and using them as a packing check list can make things a lot more comfortable on a trek, and can even save your life. read Bryson, Walk in the Woods, the trip to the Franconia Ridge Trail in the White Mountains. He gets into pretty extreme hypothermia because he left without his rain jacket and was stupid enough to wear jeans and the weather closed in. 2 Not shaving grams from your kit if you're carrying 10-20 kilos on your gut. For my height 168 cm, my ideal weight according to BMI charts is 63 Kilos, with 70 kilos as an outside "allowed" weight. I currently weigh ca. 80 kilos, so need to lose 17 kilos before I can legitimately start worrying about my toothbrush handle.

 

[Kuvakei]

Years ago I remember reading something about a guy who was fanatical about lightweight backpacking...I think it was in Outside magazine??
Anyway, stuff like hacksawing the handle off his toothbrush to save 3 grams, etc. If I can find it again I'll give a link...
Personally I agree that lightweight is a good thing but I just don't have the time to analyze the finer details; I just throw some things together and go...

Sounds like Ray Jardine http://www.rayjardine.com/ (he's a bit mental about weight)
The toothbrush thing was also covered in the book 'The Ultralight Backpacker'
You'd surely cut more weight by having a shave?

 

[spandit]

I think I'd rather lug more weight around so I'm a little more comfortable once I stop

 

[ged]

... need to lose 17 kilos before I can legitimately start worrying about my toothbrush handle.

As far as the, er, excess baggage is concerned, I'm one of the lucky ones but I do weigh things when I get back from camping -- mostly to find out how much water I've brought back with me. It's not unusual for my kit to be a kilo or so wetter when I get back then when I set out.

 

[johnboy]

Not shaving grams from your kit if you're carrying 10-20 kilos on your gut. For my height 168 cm, my ideal weight according to BMI charts is 63 Kilos, with 70 kilos as an outside "allowed" weight. I currently weigh ca. 80 kilos, so need to lose 17 kilos before I can legitimately start worrying about my toothbrush handle.

Ah the real world talking. Made me smile Generally Prior to a trip I tend the think where am I going and how long for.That helps me pack what I need and how much food I'm going to take. I don't think I've ever weighed my kit it's either heavy or it's not.

 

[Paul_B]

Well I maintain my weight at a BMI of 20.1 pretty consistently which is right at the lower end. Can't spare any more weight loss on me so it's my gear or nothing. I mean I usually drop about 2-3 kg weight off me over a week long backpacking anyway and that is after I have fully hydrated.

I chose a new sack (custom made) fabric partly with fabric weight in mind and partly with it's ability to not absorb water as much. By that I meant it was less texturised (cordura-ised). Water can add a lot hence the smooth fabricked sack covers being worth their weight (some are about 175g or so which is a lot less than a kilo of water).

A lot of myths about cutting handles off things to shave grams. Labels is another and is a total pointless exercise. I cut a label off because it was rubbing me when I wore the item. I then for amusement cut all the labels I could cut off all my outdoors gear (clothes and equipment). I then weighed it on my kitchen balance type of scales. Due to the scales having a large unit scale to it (50g between markers) I couldn't get an accurate weight. Also the fact that it was only just partly off the zero gram mark meant it was negligible. On top of that if I took all the kit I cut the labels off my base load would probably be more than I would want to carry for any distance at all. Probably wouldn't bother lifting it up in the first place. If the labels taken off the clothes worn and carried in my lightweight kit load I doubt I'd even get a single gram.

Last night I wrote a paper list with weights then put the weights into a spread sheet (too lazy at the time to put the item names in) to get a total. Then put in alternatives for a few items. Added up the weights for the main kit for each sack option. Then worked out those same sack options with switching my whitebox stove kit with a caldera keg. Seems that makes a negligible difference in the end. I mean the keg option has a weight of `181g but my WBS kit is 190g. Just saved my money I think. However the keg/cone system is more efficent so longer trips fuel increases the differential. AT the moment though I am still learning about how much meths I need per day or for different trip lengths. I am a relative newcomer to meths. Gas I know what I need for the common trip lengths, meths I don't yet.

I've also read that weight loss and the benefit felt is not a linear relationship. There are steps in the perception that mean having a target weight is more relevant. I have heard people talk about getting below 10kg for the first big benefit being felt. Then something about 6kg. Much below that it is not really that noticeable I'd have thought. I mean those who carry 3kg loads are probably carrying less than most people's daypack loads. Heck might be lighter than some people's daypack when empty!! I certainly noticed when I switched from my 35+8litre vaude daypack to a 20litre alpkit gourdon weighing 600g. The weight loss was quite possibly over 1kg and together with being able to carry less due to the lower capacity it made for a hgihly noticeable weight loss on my day walk kit. Made walks a surprisingly easier deal.

 

[sasquatch]

Ha ha, 17.5 kg last winter with plenty of warm clothes, military sleeping kit and food for at least 3 days. Summer camps are easy compared to that but I can still hike under a full load. I find bulk more annoying than weight in winter but reducing bulk with down bags and similar is dropping my weight as well. Looking forward to this winter as it should be a bit more civilised. I love my bivvi bag but think it's time to buy a new one and drop over half a kilo right there.

 

[Paul_B]

I nearly did a winter camp last December I think. I chickened out as it was a real bad weekend and I only had a 3 season sleeping bag (comfort to about 0C) and a 3 season golite quilt (comfor to -7C but most people's reviews of that model state it was optimistic and 0C was realistic comfort temp). That and I had never wildcamped in winter, didn't have a suitable tent so would have had to tarp and bivvy it and the temperature got a low as -12C inside the Black Sail hostel (which I wasn't staying in but would have been camping higher up the valley where it was pretty nasty according to those who braved it). Apparently someone did wildcamp and was seen breaking into the hostel shed early in the morning suffering badly.

I really do want to give it a go. There was a group thinking of trying a snowhole but the snow didn't oblige anywhere where we could get to easily enough. Anyway I plan to try it in snow with tarp and bivvy. Got the storm bivvy which has vertical walls so I could use a sleeping bag and quilt in it (mat on the outside as I think I'll get the Exped downmat short this year (either Nordic as they do it cheaper than most or if Lurch wants to do a good deal for them from Lakeland). I think the key to a good night in winter is a pukka mat like downmat or at least the standard synmat. The UL synmat is supposed to be less insulative I think.

Agree, winter is the test of a wildcamper's mettle. Well it sure is if you are a high fells camper like me in the Lakes. Those low level woodland campers probably have a slightly easier time of it perhaps.

 

[sasquatch]

It's all good, that's when I'm thankful for a bulky military bag and bivvi. -14 I think it got to last December during a meet here but it's a great way to test your gear! I splashed out on an Alpkit bag and am looking forward to another frosty winter now. I also love Snugpak jackets as they're great for taking the chill off but it is bulky equipment. It doesn't really matter when it keeps you warm for 2 or 3 nights though...