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#116652 - 05/28/09 10:41 AM Re: first gear list! [Re: ]
ohiohiker Offline
member

Registered: 07/20/07
Posts: 127
Loc: Ohio
Pack is a little heavy: test for comfort without aluminum stays using sit pad instead?

A 3/4 length blue CCF pad would save you about 14 oz. It works fine for me as a stomach sleeper.

I wear light dress or non-cotton athletic socks in the summer.

How heavy is your cook pot? You could use a coffee can for that also.

How are you purifying water?

I'd add a spare lighter, matches, and Micropur tablets to the Altoids tin.

Can you actually cut wood with the saw? (small wire ones are notoriously inefficient and fragile)

Keeping at least a whistle, knife, light, compass, and map on your person rather than in the pack is a good practice in case you accidentally or purposely ditch it.


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#116659 - 05/28/09 11:17 AM Re: first gear list! [Re: ]
jpanderson80 Offline
member

Registered: 07/28/06
Posts: 292
Loc: Memphis, TN
Isen,
Welcome. You have a very thorough listing. Good job there!
I'd start by looking at the big 3: pack, bag, and shelter. These generally offer the best weight savings for the money. If you can get all of these under 3lbs/48 oz, then you will should notice a difference on your back. Seeing that you too are from TN, the bugs may keep you from tarping, but I would recommend trying it out. If I am sleeping on the ground, then that saves loads of weight and is much more comfortable than a stuffy tent. The sleeping bag/pad situation can be greatly improved. Unfortunately, it will require some investment.

The other small items... Have you ever gotten home from a trip, unpacked and realized that you didn't use that particular item? In that case, it may qualify for elimination. The decisions are personal, and I do understand that. A few ounces at a time can add up to a pound quickly!

I especially like your non-essential category. I was starting to think that you copied my gear list! LOL
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#116665 - 05/28/09 01:26 PM Re: first gear list! [Re: ]
BarryP Offline
member

Registered: 03/04/04
Posts: 1574
Loc: Eastern Idaho
Welcome aboard isen. You have a very nice thought out list.
Some of my initial thoughts:
Whatever you don’t use after a few trips, don’t take them again. This just simplifies life overall.

Some lightening ideas:
-“Rain jacket 20.0” in warm weather seems overkill. Consider an 8oz umbrella or 1oz 88¢ poncho instead.
-“sleep pad 22.4” can be swapped out for lighter and just as comfortable. I like the ¾ Prolite 4 (16oz) or NeoAir (9oz). Like the other poster noted, a CCF can be lighter if you can sleep fine on them.
-“down pillow ~8”. Some ideas to try: sleep on back w/o pillow but use a small stuffed sack to support the neck. Or use stuff sack as pillow.
-“Small folding shovel 4.24” – use the 2oz orange plastic shovel
-“Mora fixed blade knife 3.6” just use your S4
-“32oz. gatorade water bottle 1.81” Maybe I missed it but you’ll need a few containers. I like taking at least 3 containers in case one gets punctured.
-“cooking gear 32.3” If you do ‘freezer bag cooking style’ the following can be whittled off your list and thus save weight:
1. Large cups; use small cups to drink your hot cocoa
2. Fire tinder; alcohol and matches make great fire tinder
3. Magnesium striker; just use the matches
4. hanging chain and hook and hanger wire: just replace with a simple coat hanger pot stand like phat uses
5. make sure your ‘cook pot’ is light. 6oz pots for 2 are not hard to find.
6. long handle metal spoon (unless you have a deep Ziploc bag to eat out of, and this keeps fingers clean).
7. large coffee can. Don’t worry about a backup stove system. A single alcy stove should easily cook for 2 and everything should fit in your cook pot.
-“Rain pants 5.6”, not needed in warm weather.
-“emergency altoids tin kit 4.25” Most of the items in this can be eliminated since they’re covered elsewhere on your list or just not needed.

Most backpackers have 15lbs for the big 3. You have it down to 10.8lbs. So you have a good start.

Go out and backpack! Have fun.
-Barry

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#116680 - 05/28/09 04:12 PM Re: first gear list! [Re: BarryP]
Jimshaw Offline
member

Registered: 10/22/03
Posts: 3983
Loc: Bend, Oregon
Whaaaaaaaaat Barry Said - goodjob

Obviously you have been reading a lot and this is a very well thought out list. You will find that the reality of camping is a lot different than the planning phase in your living room. The instant you start hiking you will begin to wonder whether you brought too much. It seems pretty clever to have an awesome amount of function in little tiny light weight pieces of gear, however, not carrying it all is a lot lighter. Some items you may carry for 20 years before you decide to leave it at home.
crazy

So anyway I do this: I am part native american and I pack with an eye toward simplicity and low tech. Often I will only take items with a primitive analogy - like pots, tents, feather coats and feather sleeping bags. I may carry a stone knife but alas I have no water boda bag.

If you were a primitive camping say on a hunting trip, you might have some dried food, clothing, a way to start a fire, a stone knife and a weapon. Some furs or bird skins to wrap up in at night.

Granted this is the - uh umm 21st century huh? anyway I realise that a water filter, TP, first aid, map etc are optional modern things that some people carry - I do like my GPS, but I shun a lot of items on your list in my personal choices. Not that this isn't a good theoretical list.

Anyway if you had all of this stuff and find yourself at camp pulling all kinds of stuff out of your pack, you will wonder what ever entered you mind when you brought some of it. Take a print out of your list and write on it while you are camped out and the next time your list will be more personalised and less generic.

Have fun crazy and get out there and try out your gear. Even if you camp in your backyard.
Jim crazy
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These are my own opinions based on wisdom earned through many wrong decisions. Your mileage may vary.

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#116706 - 05/29/09 09:27 AM Re: first gear list! [Re: ]
finallyME Offline
member

Registered: 09/24/07
Posts: 2710
Loc: Utah
Knives are very personal. Personally, I think you are very low weight with the mora and leatherman. I wouldn't change it. I like to have a multitool and fixed blade. I also carry a pair of paramedic scissors. I use those for most cutting chores. My knives get used for hobby stuff. Some are more extreme and only carry a small razor blade.

I also wouldn't sweat the altoid tin stuff.

Is the bible a small version? You can get pretty small prints with only the NT. Of course, when you are out for a year in the middle of the desert with lots of reading time, and people shooting at you, sometimes you want to read the OT. mad

I think your list is good. Go out and see what you think. goodjob


Edited by finallyME (05/29/09 09:29 AM)
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#116709 - 05/29/09 10:09 AM Re: first gear list! [Re: ]
ohiohiker Offline
member

Registered: 07/20/07
Posts: 127
Loc: Ohio
I like the hobo stove idea. I do something similar, since I rely on mainly boiling over a fire to purify my water, with tablets as a backup.

I just use a stick for digging.

Like what was suggested, I usually just use a trash bag for my warm-weather rain gear. Just keep in mind that at night, temps can go into the 50's, which is no longer warm weather. I always take a fleece jacket for that.


Edited by ohiohiker (05/29/09 10:09 AM)

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#116792 - 06/01/09 12:55 PM Re: first gear list! [Re: ]
finallyME Offline
member

Registered: 09/24/07
Posts: 2710
Loc: Utah
Originally Posted By isen
its called "the smallest bible" published by thomas nelson.
isbn# 0840784465
dimensions are: 5.8 x 4.4 x 1.3 inches
6.17 ounces

includes both old and new testament, pretty small print, it's my carry to church bible, fits in my pocket easily.



Is it a KJV or something else? Maybe I will look into it. At any rate, looks like you picked a very small one, and you should be satisfied with the choice. Other hikers, when they want to bring a book (there is a recent thread on the subject), only bring sections, or tear out pages as they read, thus lightening the load as they go along. Some of these tricks don't always apply to a Bible.
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#116798 - 06/01/09 06:50 PM Re: first gear list! [Re: finallyME]
MountainMinstrel Offline
member

Registered: 12/27/06
Posts: 107
I have Pocket e-Sword installed on my PDA/phone. The whole bible in several versions and the ability to take notes so I can actually work on my sermons. Plus I can play games and listen to music too.
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#116814 - 06/02/09 11:58 AM Re: first gear list! [Re: MountainMinstrel]
finallyME Offline
member

Registered: 09/24/07
Posts: 2710
Loc: Utah
Originally Posted By MountainMinstrel
I have Pocket e-Sword installed on my PDA/phone. The whole bible in several versions and the ability to take notes so I can actually work on my sermons. Plus I can play games and listen to music too.


Those things are cool, but sometimes I like to flip pages, and not need a battery to read it. But, I see a few people at church that use their PDA instead of carrying a big book. There are benefits to each.
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I've taken a vow of poverty. To annoy me, send money.

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#116866 - 06/04/09 12:17 AM Re: first gear list! [Re: ]
cpetterson Offline
newbie

Registered: 05/11/09
Posts: 12
Loc: Alberta
Awesome list. You know people can say you gotta trim the big things down from say 3 lbs to 1lb and all and they are right, but if you don't have money for that what do you? I have an 8lb 2 person tent, but that's split between me and my wife and a 3 lb - 0C bag, I don't have 400 bucks for a 1 lb sleeping bag, but I know I will someday. Although I have somehow whittled my fso weight to 17-18lbs, that's with the 3 lb bag and 4lb half of the tent. (I'll also have money for a decent tarp as well). Carrying extra supplies in an emergency sack is a great idea, because I don't want to have to take it out everytime I need something from it and then not have the stuff in it, because it got broke or lost, the point of it is to be used in emergencies.
Although I noticed that your pants can definitely be cut down. I have a pair of nylon wind pants from walmart that cost me 10 bucks and weigh 10 oz and they double as wind pants, light rain pants (as I can spray on some water repellant), because they are light, they breath very well. Your rain jacket is also a little heavy, not bad, but generally you want to try and keep it under 16oz and rain pant are not needed if you have your main pants made of light, quick-dry material. Anyway. Great list, have fun and be safe out there.

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#116879 - 06/04/09 02:16 PM Re: first gear list! [Re: ]
packs2much Offline
newbie

Registered: 08/08/07
Posts: 6
Loc: Dever, Co
Nice list! I love that you are not to concerned with extra clothing. The first backpacking trip I ever went on I brought like two extra pairs of pants and three extra shirts and an extra sweatshirt! I was not a happy camper.

The last trip I went on I brought zero extra clothes, and I went swimming in a Colorado mountain lake. I was shivering and wet but by the time I got back to camp my zip off pants that I wore in were practically dry as well as the underarmor I wore underneath.

I see that you have been doing your research. The only thing about your list was the down pillow. I just use my sweatshirt or something, but that is an one of those luxuries that some people just like and I understand. (I always bring thermals and wool socks for sleeping in)

Over looks great! Stick to polyester with cloths and you'll be in good shape!
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