Duane,

I am somewhat reluctant to get into specifics of gear because right now I am not in any position financially to make any significant purchases of new equipment, especially the potentially costlier items. And I have read more than enough different discussions on tent, bag and pack purchases to know that what most people seem to favor would add up to a huge amount of money for me.

My stove is an MSR Whisperlite that is about 20 years old, working fine and I have never had any issues with it in the past. I am looking at the DIY forums and planning to make an alchohol stove and give it a try since I will be restricting myself to warm weather for now.

My sleeping bag is a cheap summer bag that is only good down to maybe 40 degrees or possibly even 50. But it only weighs about 2.25 pounds. I will eventually need something better but that will be an expensive purchase.

My tent is another area I know I can save weight but it is not in the budget right now either. I am using an old Eureka two person dome that weighs in at 6 pounds. I need the room because I hike with my Brittany. There are significantly lighter tents available that would meet my needs and that is likely to be my first major purchase if I stick with this.

My pack is an old Kelty internal frame. I don't even know the model or size but it holds all my current gear with no problem and the pack itself weighs 3 lbs.

I loaded up just about all the gear I would be carrying in the pack yesterday except for the water filter and the weight was 16.4 pounds. I am going to get a Sawyer Mini water filter.

Initially I will only be doing short trips of maybe 2 to 3 nights at a time once the weather is warm so I won't have a huge food, fuel and water load and won't be having a heavy clothing load.