Bryan is right! Do the bathroom scales vs. spreadsheet comparison for the base weight only! There was the time I did the total pack weight on bathroom scales bit (just before going out the door for a 2-day drive to Wyoming) and came out almost two pounds less than my spreadsheet. I therefore spent a couple of frantic hours unpacking and checking every item off against my list again to see what I had forgotten! It turned out that my total food weight (for 9 days) was 2 lbs. less than what I had estimated as 9 days (really 8 1/2 days) times the average. Even then, the food portions turned out to be more than I could eat, so I packed out a lot of excess garbage! I learned from that experience (which resulted in not getting to my destination until 11 pm) to do the spreadsheet/bathroom scale comparison with the base weight and to plug the "food" part of the spreadsheet with the actual total food weight.

It doesn't matter whether an item is being carried on your back or on your chest or in your pockets, it's still all on your knees and feet! In fact, I'd suggest a measurement of "skin-out base weight" which would be everything in your pack or on your body except for food, water, fuel. My big weight reductions the past few years have been in the "items worn and carried" category which is not part of "base pack weight."

I appear to have achieved my personal goal of 12 lbs. base pack weight, although I won't know for positive until I've reweighed everything, made a couple of purchases and done a few "shakedown trips ". One writer suggested that to achieve this base weight, you allow 6 lbs. for your "big 4" and 6 lbs. for everything else (remember this is base weight, which does not include food, water or fuel). It seems to have worked out well for me. My "trip model" is mostly above timberline in Wyoming's Wind Rivers, so it includes plenty of warm clothing and rain gear, a warm sleeping bag and (essential for this old lady) a nice cushiony sleeping pad. It's a bit more than I need for summer in my local area (Cascades), where I have the choice of lighter weight clothing layers.

The above base weight includes my camera (missing from most lightweight lists, even those which include photos of the trip ) but does not include fishing gear (plus frying pan and extra fuel just in case I catch one) or a bear canister (which I generally use for only one trip a year, with my son#3 and the grandkids).

I agree with Brian that a lot of published gear lists seem to be missing stuff. A lot of that is in the "small item" category. It may be that the little items are just lumped together. Personally, I prefer a detailed itemized list. It's amazing how much weight saving can be achieved with these small items--a half-ounce here and a quarter ounce there do eventually add up to a pound!