The recent discussions of base weight, whether a pack can be too light, and so on, got me to wondering: have any of you ever made conscious decisions not to cut weight? Let me give you an example of something I've wrestle with on and off.

About 5 years ago, my pack, fully loaded for a summer weekend in Ohio, weighed about 20 pounds. And I was happy with it; everything worked well, and didn't require a lot of attention during a trip. As tents with carbon fiber poles, NeoAir pads, and half-pound water filters came out, I replaced some things, and bought a smaller pack with a less robust suspension. My pack, loaded for that same summer weekend in Ohio, now weighs about 18 pounds. So, quantitatively, I've done well.

However, the new tent isn't freestanding and can't be pitched fly-first (a factor in Ohio rain), and I'm still not fully convinced of the durability of the pole; the water filter is much harder to clean in the field, and somehow seems more delicate; the NeoAir is more delicate and more of a pain to inflate than the old Prolite, and so forth. With the "old" set of gear, everything worked so well and so simply that gear sort of faded into the background, and didn't take much thought or time to deal with; none of it had ever failed. The "new" stuff has never failed either, so durability and function aren't issues. It comes down more to attention and convenience. The new stuff seems to have me spending a lot of time fussing with gear: instead of filtering directly from the stream, I now fill a nylon bowl and filter from that to minimize filter clogging; I spend a lot of effort blowing up the pad, and am reluctant to use it for anything but sleeping; and I'm a lot more worried about where I put the tent. I notice that the lighter pack, even with less weight in it, doesn't do as good a job of keeping the weight off my shoulders; I also have to cinch the more lightly-padded belt tighter to transfer the load. I find I notice the pack more when I'm walking, and do more fiddling with the straps and such, and that I frequently reach lunch or camp with tired (but not sore) shoulders and hips.

I've been toying for the last year or so with the idea of ditching the lighter gear and using the "old reliable" stuff again, even though it's heavier.

So, if you were in this situation, what would you do? I'm not looking for answers that bring additional variables, like different seasons or locales, or other planned activities, into the equation. Given that all other things are equal, is saving two pounds worth the additional fiddle factor? Is lighter always righter? How much weight are you willing to add for convenience?