Thoughts on Weight

When you're halfway up a big climb, 40+ pounds on your back, shoulders aching and hipbones chafing, your thoughts will begin to drift to how you're going to cut weight from your backpacking setup as soon as you get home. It's only natural.

And there are lots of ways to cut weight, some easier and cheaper than others. There are also a lot of people on the internet who've taken weight cutting to something of an extreme, and are pretty smug about it. I've cut pounds out of my initial pack weight, and it does make a difference. But I also believe that lighter is only better to the extent it makes you happier on the trail and enables you to achieve your goals for the trip -- whatever those may be. And those goals may not include crushing 20 miles a day with only 10 pounds on your back. They may, in fact, include spending a lazy afternoon in camp, reading a book in your hammock. Hike your own hike. All that said, this post will identify a few areas I cut pounds of gear without giving up the things that made me happy.

Tailor your gear to your trip

I do two basic kinds of backpacking trips: what I consider "serious" hikes that cover 8 to 11 miles a day, and what I call "hammock and a bottle of wine trips" that are very low mileage, and all about lounging by the side of a lake (an example of the latter would be a trip to Hilton Lakes or Big Pine Lakes, big lake basins not very far from a trailhead, where moving from one lake to another involves less than a mile of hiking each morning).

If I'm doing longer miles, I know I won't want to carry the weight of a hammock, or have time to lounge around in one. So that goes. For the latter, I know weight won't be an issue, so I might bring some luxuries like a bladder of wine or heavier food, and also a daypack, since I usually go exploring in the afternoon.

Cut clothing weight

I wrote a separate post on this, but a lot of newer backpackers carry too many clothes, like fresh underwear or socks for every day. I totally get the impulse -- to the extent that I actually do laundry on the trail -- but clothing weight adds up really, really fast, and is a great place to cut a pound or more.

Also, once you know that you're into this whole backpacking thing, it's worth replacing your heavier items with lighter clothing. The obvious, and most expensive, is replacing your fleece with a down jacket (I like the Mountain Hardwear Ghost Whisperer, which weighs 7 ounces). I also replaced my heavier hiking pants, when they wore out, with a lighter pair (Marmot Lobo Convertible, which weigh 9 ounces). And I make it a goal to only bring shirts that weigh 4 ounces or less. But you can spend a lot of money here to save only a couple of ounces, so you might want to wait until your clothes need replacing before trying to cut weight by buying lighter individual items.

Cut food and fuel weight

I wouldn't recommend trying this until you have several trips of experience under your belt. But you may find that you're always packing out a lot of your food and fuel. For me, altitude-induced loss of appetite means that I just can't eat that much on the trail. (I have made changes to my diet to make sure I get in as many calories as I can, but even then there's a limit.) And there's no point carrying an extra pound of food I'm not going to touch.

Similarly, even though I cook a hot breakfast and a hot dinner, I keep my burner fairly low to conserve fuel, and I only use 0.4 to 0.6 ounces of fuel per day. I'd been bringing a full 8 ounce canister of fuel on even short trips (which weighs 13.5 ounces when you include the steel container it comes in), and that wasn't necessary. A 4 ounce container of fuel is fine for my trips of up to 5 days (7.4 ounces including the container). When you return from your trips, weigh your used fuel canister, subtract that weight from the gross weight, and divide by the number of days of your trip. You might be able to save 6 ounces by switching to a smaller canister.

Cut your water and filtering weight

Nothing in my pack weighs as much as the 2 1/4 liters of water I have in my water bladder at the beginning of a long day's hike -- that's almost 5 pounds of water. And the weight of water containers and water filtering can really add up, too.

There are a couple of ways to save this weight that I've chosen not to implement. One is carrying less water. In the Sierras, you're frequently passing by water sources, and often can get away with carrying only a liter of water at a time. But I'd rather not have to incorporate water filtering breaks into my plan for the day, and I know I have the potential to get lazy about it if I'm trying to get my miles done. Plus, drinking through those 5 pounds a great motivation to stay hydrated.

A second option is ditching a water bladder (with a drinking tube) and carrying a Smartwater bottle or Gatorade bottle instead, which are much lighter. But I learned from experience that I just don't drink enough water if I have to stop and pull out a bottle, and having a drinking tube handy really helps me stay hydrated. So that's an area where I'm willing to carry the weight.

But I did switch to a lighter water filter -- an MSR Trail Shot, which weighs 5.6 ounces, as opposed to the 12 ounce filter I was carrying before. It has a shorter tube and is a bit awkward to use at a lake shore, but since I carry a Sea to Summit Kitchen Sink, I just scoop up a sinkful of water and filter from that in camp.

The big three

If you're really looking to cut weight, you'll eventually need to look at these heavy (and very expensive) items: your tent, and your sleep system, and your pack.

I carry a Big Agnes Copper Spur UL1 tent, and it weighs 2 1/2 pounds, plus a 4.5 ounce footprint. This is pretty light, compared to some other options, but it's by no means the lightest tent you can carry. For me, I like the ample headroom, the space to bring my pack inside at night, the gear loops and mesh pockets, and the fact that it's a double-wall design (reducing condensation). This is the same tent model I started backpacking with, and one area I'm not planning on making a change to reduce weight.

My sleep system, however, did get an upgrade. I'm still sticking with the Thermarest Neoair XLite pad, but I've swapped my Kelty Cosmic 20 sleeping bag (which I actually loved and still own) for an Enlightened Equipment 10 degree quilt that weighs only 1 pound 6 ounces. I sleep cold, but this pair keeps me toasty for a total weight of 2 pounds 3 ounces.

And once I did everything else, I finally got my base weight down to a point that I could switch to an ultralight backpack -- for me, that was the Hyperlite Mountain Gear 3400 Southwest, which weighs 2 pounds (as opposed to the Osprey I had before, which weighed 4.5 pounds). It has a max carrying capacity of 35 pounds, so I knew that with 5 pounds of water and 8 pounds of food, I needed to get everything else down to 22 pounds or less. When I hit that mark, I made the switch and saved 2.5 pounds in pack weight. (It was an exciting moment!)

My luxuries

Then there are the things I've added to my pack weight over the years, or kept even when weighing them makes me cringe.

One is a frying pan (the MSR Quick Skillet), which weighs 6 ounces but allows me to make fry bread in the morning and have quesadillas one night. Another is a more robust cookset for cooking real meals (the GSI Outdoor Pinnacle Soloist), which weighs 10.3 ounces when you include the cozy I made for it. I could go a lot lighter, but then I wouldn't eat as well.

I carry 10 ounces in wipes, as part of my cleanliness regimen. And another 10.5 ounces in toiletries (including sunscreen, aloe, lotion, toothpaste, toothbrush, Chapstick, and deodorant). That's a lot. But I really do use them, and they get lighter as I go.

And I carry a pair of slingback Crocs that weigh 12 ounces, as camp shoes. It's such a treat changing into them after I set up my tent.

For each hiker, the luxuries they don't want to live without, and the areas they can cut weight without missing anything, will be different. But don't let the crowing of the ultralight crowd talk you into giving up something you love for the sake of cutting weight. You can have a great time out there with a 40 pound pack. And if and when you're ready, you can start to trim the things you don't use.