I think a good idea would be to give a ballpark weight figure to give the op some idea of how heavy is heavy. Then maybe he can review kit choices and where to spend his money a little better?
For me sub 10kg is ok, lighter is better. But 12-13kg is doable without it being back breaking
Yeah - its a very individual thing, and there are loads of different answers. I've certainly spent some money over the years buying stuff that actually was a lot heavier than it needed to be, and if I'd known the market better, I'd have bought better and lighter in the first place - its buy once, buy right, as ever.
On the other hand, prices are generally cheaper than ever before, the net makes things easier to review and purchase, and 2nd hand is a lot easier than it used to be.
This is a great book if people do see something 2nd hand - often very little needs to be done to get a bargain.
What is the saying? Lbs are cheap oz's are expensive....or something to that effect
I think thats another version of the 80/20 rule - 80% of the cost is shaving off the last 20%. Which is what the gram counters tend to end up spending.
And to put the weight of an issue bergan into perspective for non gram counters
Its generally said for a lightweight load you need to keep your 'big three' rucksack, sleeping bag, and tent to a kilo each....so that 3kg bergan 'costs' the same as another persons big three
Yep - an infantry bergan (I'm only bringing that up because it got mentioned) is apparently 3.3kg with side pockets and a yoke. Go Outdoors own-brand
OEX rucksack (70L + 10) is about 2kg, with what looks like an OK back system, and is about £55 at the moment. According to
this, even the weight of your boots makes a difference, so carrying around extra weight can really make a difference. Once you've bought a pack, tent, or pack, your pretty much stuck with it - so making it as light as possible before you start is much better rather than trying to cut down weight afterwards, even if you can. There is a good reason why my next pack will be an Osprey, albeit on offer!
Same goes for tents - you can buy something sturdy but relatively cheap. But even if you throw a fair amount of cash at it in terms of dyneema guyropes and Ti pegs, your back to the 'lbs are cheap, ozs are expensive' rule. Much better to spend the extra £30 you might have splashed out on Ti pegs in order to save a small amount of weight instead on getting a good deal on a lighter but more expensive tent.
The single biggest thing you can do to reduce size is go to down insulation...I regard a lightweight down jacket as the backpackers secret weapon, we should all have one. Even a cheap uniqlo is such a useful item.
Its not just the weight, the effect on bulk is also really big - a mid layer down jacket can really make a difference to packing. I'm after a ME Arete (the fit is perfect for me and I love my Lightline), but even the cheapo down one for £12 I got from Tesco's is really handy. Decathalon is a good place for low prices, its alwasy worth seeing what your local Go Outdors etc has on clearance, but the
Alpkit Filoment is very popular and great value. Its also possible to snag bargains on Ebay - there is a seller who's going Mountain Equipment seconds and samples (just search for 'Mountain Equipment down' and you'll find it), and although its mostly Ronhill at the moment, there have been down jackets like the Gasherbrum, etc at good prices.
With kit, your often throwing money at the problem - you can have it light, good or cheap - pick any two. The clever way to do it is to work out what gets you the most for the least, and have it as light and as good as you can, for less than you should be paying. Other stuff, like pots and pans, can be decent, but you dont have to go crazy, because the difference in weight isn't as important as the bulky big ticket items.
