“if I am trying to "tweak" an item or two, to maybe make it smaller or lighter, then I would definitely weigh the individual item,”

Actually, it’s not an item or two; it’s every single item. Say you haul around 40 items. If you can shave 3.2 ounces off each item (which really doesn’t seem like much), you have just shaved 8 lbs from your pack!

You keep track of the ounces and the pounds will follow. If you don’t think this way, your pack will win the heavyweight award in the group.

-Barry