With food/fuel/water, I take it? If not, what are you carrying to make it so heavy?
What is your baseweight?
- Thread starter Highbinder
- Start date
With food/fuel/water, I take it? If not, what are you carrying to make it so heavy?
Woof, why thank you,although it may have been touched with a tad of sarcasm? yes food and water included highbinder, i always take to much of everything but hey ho! on a recent two day walk Stooboy and i went on my pack weighed in around 68 pounds so around 31kg and yes i did take things i didnt use AGAIN,
ive also climbed down here numerous times carrying between 20-30kg, am defo trying to go lighter im getting real old!
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I can get down to a base weight of around 6-7Kg, often creeps up to 8-9 if I'm not paying attention. Got to the stage now that I really need to loose some body weight before I can justify getting kit weight any lighter.
Just weighed my kit out of interest after packing for 3 days out and thought it light. On measuring it is 19kg with food fuel and water. Amazed at the difference as most things are very similar on the list. The big culprit were my winter sleeping system (bag, mat and ivy bag) coming in at 4 and a bit kg and my bergan at Just under 4. The kifaru bag is heavy but it's comfortable and very hard wearing. Having carried Bergens over 100 lbs it seems really light but not sure now on the balance between comfort (with the kifaru) and cost for a down bag would effect my bushcraft trips and expeditions. Having lost 10kg in 3 months from the paunch has been the cheapest weight loss
Woof, why thank you,although it may have been touched with a tad of sarcasm? yes food and water included highbinder, i always take to much of everything but hey ho! on a recent two day walk Stooboy and i went on my pack weighed in around 68 pounds so around 31kg and yes i did take things i didnt use AGAIN,
ive also climbed down here numerous times carrying between 20-30kg, am defo trying to go lighter im getting real old!
Hi Andy,
That is some weight, and as a younger bloke would have carried(maybe not quite that much)something similar, so you are still my hero !.
Rob
My kit comes at around 15kg and that's without food or water.
Indeed my Berghaus is quite heavy, but so is my sleeping bag. I prefer durability over lightweight.
If I go out, I think I will only be on the move for 10-20km a day, or at least, that's what I was used to. I am working on gaining that level of fitness again.
And loosing a bit of sweat doesn't hurt that much now, does it??
Indeed my Berghaus is quite heavy, but so is my sleeping bag. I prefer durability over lightweight.
If I go out, I think I will only be on the move for 10-20km a day, or at least, that's what I was used to. I am working on gaining that level of fitness again.
And loosing a bit of sweat doesn't hurt that much now, does it??
The biggest culprits for weight are:
Water
fuel
sleeping system
bergen
cookset
tent/tarp
food
Some of these (water fuel and food) you can do nothing about and are stuck with.But you can reduce weight on all the others without compromising quality and durability.
One of the biggest drawbacks with lightening your kit is cost.But it's doesn't have to be that bad if you think logically.A cheap four season synthetic bag will keep you warm and a top quality one will set you back upto £100,it will also be huge and weigh lots.If you wait for the sales and buy last years 4 season down bag it will cost less and do the same job yet weigh less and pack a lot smaller.
Some of the worlds worst pack abusers are climbers and mountaineers check out what they use and you'll see that their packs are close in price to the accepted bushcraft bergens and yet they take much more abuse.
With cooksets the only way to lose loads of weight is to use the lightest metal you can buy,and titanium isn't cheap.Have a look at anodised aluminium it's not that much heavier than Ti but cost a lot less.For cooking it's better than Ti but for boiling Ti is better.
The main thing to remember is ,it's your pack and if your happy with it then it's the correct weight.
Water
fuel
sleeping system
bergen
cookset
tent/tarp
food
Some of these (water fuel and food) you can do nothing about and are stuck with.But you can reduce weight on all the others without compromising quality and durability.
One of the biggest drawbacks with lightening your kit is cost.But it's doesn't have to be that bad if you think logically.A cheap four season synthetic bag will keep you warm and a top quality one will set you back upto £100,it will also be huge and weigh lots.If you wait for the sales and buy last years 4 season down bag it will cost less and do the same job yet weigh less and pack a lot smaller.
Some of the worlds worst pack abusers are climbers and mountaineers check out what they use and you'll see that their packs are close in price to the accepted bushcraft bergens and yet they take much more abuse.
With cooksets the only way to lose loads of weight is to use the lightest metal you can buy,and titanium isn't cheap.Have a look at anodised aluminium it's not that much heavier than Ti but cost a lot less.For cooking it's better than Ti but for boiling Ti is better.
The main thing to remember is ,it's your pack and if your happy with it then it's the correct weight.
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Well sapper, my cookset is:
Alpkits Ti Mug £25
whitebox stove alcohol stove £18 (comes with windshield)
SS spork £2
Total ~200g.
Obviously only works as a solo cook kit but dead light and practical and didn't break the bank as I bought bits as and when I needed them.
I could easily get a similar weighted set - surplus aluminium canteen (which is what I used till I got the mug), homemade alcohol stove from a can of juice, and a fork for a lot less.
Alpkits Ti Mug £25
whitebox stove alcohol stove £18 (comes with windshield)
SS spork £2
Total ~200g.
Obviously only works as a solo cook kit but dead light and practical and didn't break the bank as I bought bits as and when I needed them.
I could easily get a similar weighted set - surplus aluminium canteen (which is what I used till I got the mug), homemade alcohol stove from a can of juice, and a fork for a lot less.
SimonM
Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Just packed my bag for a 2 night hammock camp.
All the gear fits in a Lowe Alpine Sting with room to spare. Weight minus food and water (but including stove,brewkit and fuel etc) is 13.5Kg, but that includes Snugpak underblanket and quilt AND an Unsponsored underblanket.
Simon
All the gear fits in a Lowe Alpine Sting with room to spare. Weight minus food and water (but including stove,brewkit and fuel etc) is 13.5Kg, but that includes Snugpak underblanket and quilt AND an Unsponsored underblanket.
Simon
Have to say I'm a bit OCD about having light kit, but haven't taken my sack to the scales. I'll do what you do - if my shoulders and back tell me I'm about to snap in half.. then it's time to take out the kitchen sink. I like wandering up to my camp sites over various terrain, some right nasty drops in some places, and depending on where I'm headed etc, some very steep bits of rock or stream to get by ( note this is 100% by choice... I could take the boring new forestry track a couple of hundred meters away.
but then I'd miss out on some amazing views ) and in these situations having a light pack is bar far a good idea.I think people are getting the impression that I'm advocating the lightest kit possible,I'm not.What I'm doing is getting my kit to the weight I'M happy to carry.If I tried and spent a few hundred pounds I could get my kit weight down to 5Kg easily,but that's not what I'm trying to do.I have just spent a weekend in the wild with full weekend kit and some extra kit I didn't use.I slept in a 4 season bag and bivi on an exped synmat under a tarp on a groundsheet.I ate three hot meals per day including fresh sausage and spag bol.I had plenty of fresh clean water for drinking,cooking and washing.I also brought home enough food for another 2 days.
My total weight at the start was light enough that I was happy to carry it.
Total weight including food but not water...........10.2 KG.
My total weight at the start was light enough that I was happy to carry it.
Total weight including food but not water...........10.2 KG.
I aim for a base weight (that excludes water, food, fuel) of less than 8/9Kg. But this is dependant on the time of year/prevailing weather conditions and the reason I'm out. This alters the kit I choose. I don't aim for the lightest possible - but for the lightest I'm happy with. Some kit I like to use is not as light as my lightest bit of kit. It is important to me I'm well fed & have some spare in reserve. I've got 3 aims: be safe, be comfortable, enjoy the time. Going 'light weight' is a balance!
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