I hate search functions. They almost never seem to work and make me feel as though I'm in an old Bing commercial! It'll find everything but what I'm looking for!

There's generally room for improvements in gear, but assuming you have good gear that's fairly light, such as our Soto OD-1R stove that weighs 2.6 oz. It works well and is light and compact. Is it worth finding one that weighs only 2.1 oz assuming all else is equal?

With cost certainly being an object to a degree, we've chosen our replacement gear so far with what was light and compact in the scheme of things. Outside of our cookware and sleeping bags (pads too?), I'm not sure where else we could cut and either reduce the size or weight without getting quite picky.

But when I view people's statements that their weekend pack weighs only 25 lbs I'm shocked! I'd certainly rather carry a 25 lb pack than my 45 lb pack! And my pack itself is no doubt a part of that problem as it weighs 5 lbs alone, but even if I were to ditch the girl's gear and just pack camp for the 2 of us my pack might be as light as 35-38 lbs I'd guess. So a lighter, smaller pack might shave 2 lbs, a better sleeping bag might shave 1 lb, and so now I'm at 32 lbs at the least. And let's just say I carry extra stuff that's not needed and can drop another 2-3 lbs. I'm still over that weight.

I've got a lot of gear sitting out waiting on UPS to drop off my pack. I'm curious to weigh it, and then weigh the minimal, as well as the usual gear and see where I'm at.

Out of curiosity how easily can a small group resupply along the AT from Virginia up to New Jersey? And what exactly is this mailing yourself stuff to the PO about? How far off of the trail are you needing to go? I've envisioned taking a large day pack for resupplying and leaving the others to keep camp.

We may very well be moving to VA, but also have family up and down that coast, and we've discussed hiking the trail together.