Originally Posted By Gershon

(all weights are estimates.)

5 day pack:

Pack: 3 pounds
Sleeping bag: 2 1/2 pounds
Tent (for 2): 6 pounds
Water: 8 pounds
Food and bags: 11 pounds
Stove and pot: 1 Pound
White gas: 1.5 pounds (including bottle)
Fleece: 1 pound .
Rain jacket/outer layer 1.5 pound




First, take it all to the post office and weigh everything more precisely. Understand what you have to lose. smile

Second, I refer you to a nutritionist: http://thru-hiker.com/articles/pack_light_eat_right.php

Note that things like olive oil, butter, and those full fat items are probably going to need to go into the food bag. Fat makes you feel fuller, burns well to provide the warmth that needs to come from you at night, and goes to repair the wear and tear on your body while hiking.

Third, I see a lot of places you can cut. Get rid of white gas stove and get a 3 oz canister stove, or go even lighter with an alcohol stove. Get a better sleeping bag - a high quality down bag rated to 15-20F or a quilt rated to same. My 20F down quilt weighs 20 oz. I won't go without it. Get a lighter tent - the MSR Carbon Reflex 3 (yes, 3 person tent, very roomy) weighs half what yours does. A Six Moon Designs, Tarptent, Zpack, or other cottage gear industry shelter can cut it even a few more ounces beyond that. Exchange the fleece jacket for a down sweater, cut a few more ounces. Take a wad of toilet paper per person instead of a whole roll. Get a set of Driducks for rain gear if you are not walking through brush. Don't take the extra shirt and pants - get a layering system going that does the job, without redundancy. Dump the parachute cord and get Zing It - no stretch, good strong and very light cord that makes for much better bear bagging - doesn't damage trees as much as nylon cord. Take a bandanna and leave the camp towels at home.

Of course, you'll probably have some sticker shock on some of the items I suggest. If lighter is the issue and budget is a bigger issue, you'll be going toward tarps instead, or shopping used gear posts in forums like Backpacking Light or this one.

Those are my suggestions... I've implemented most myself. I do cook on alcohol stoves, they do work at low temps, and I do not suffer for the choice - quite the opposite. I always know how much fuel I have left and always get the hot food and beverages I like to have. And frequently I get it faster than the white gas stove users I've hiked with... it seems to be a habit for some folks to consistently overprime those things. I've met very few people who really get their stove to work well for them - they're all fiddly, and they're all dangerous to some degree.
_________________________
"In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities. In the expert's mind there are few." Shunryu Suzuki

http://hikeandbackpack.com