I think most people would say that base weight is the weight of your pack without food, water, and fuel.

If you just include the major items (pack, sleeping bag and pad, and shelter) then you are really talking about "the big three."

And while it is true that the biggest single improvements in your base weight are probably from your big three, those smaller items really add up.

For example, our big three are 7.6 pounds, 8.5 if you count my NeoAir mattress as well. My wife's pack is a lighter, because I carry the tent and she carries the kitchen. So she weighs in about a pound less than me.

And you can add in another two pounds for me for the BearVault that we take on almost all of our trips. It's required in so many places these days that we just consider it part of the pack.

But we each carry an extra five or six pounds of "smaller items" from clothes and FAK to or Croc camp shoes, my fishing equipment, and her books to read.

If we really wanted to lose pack weight, it would pretty much have to come from those latter items, not the big three...