Pack Weight, Baby....

“For some of you, this might not a very big deal, but to me and others stuggling with a weight problem, this is good news. I just got my new pack in today. Person that sold it told me that it weighed just over 4lbs and that it was about 2500 cubic inches. The size made me a little nervous, but it made me take a real hard look at what I was carrying. I stuffed almost everything into it (besides water and clothes) at lunch time. Without my liquid and clothes, but with everything else, it weighed 27 lbs! I figure that the estimated pack weight with everything will be at my goal weight, 35 lbs and this includes my extra sleeping pad (ridgerest 3/4), camp chair and a couple of other "toys". With a little more effort and triming off some of the extra BS on the pack, I might be able to get to 30!

Big difference from that monster 65 lb pack I carried last year!!”

“I'm jealous, Q. I havn't been too successful in shaving my packweight. I'll give it another try next week!”

“Sounds good.

I'll be working toward those kinds of numbers in the spring. I too have carried packs that were way too heavy.

I did pick up a lighter tent and a lighter sleeping bag. I also will be using a Pepsi Can stove to replace the heavy Peak 1 stove that will be semi-retired.”

“65 lbs., yowsers!!! Enjoy the lighter weight, it makes a world of difference.”

“Just be careful Q.

When you pick it up, don't smack yourself in the forehead with it because it's so light, LOL.”

“wow that's shaving some serious weight. i just bought a 2400 cu in. pack as well. i'm not ready to use it yet though. i'll stick to my lowe alpine 5500 cu in. for now. when spring comes, i'll probably use it.”

“I'm a firm believer in smaller pack = lighter pack. Good job Q!”

“BTW, my pack weight for this weekend is 24#. Of course, there's no stove or tent in there...but otherwise, it's pretty much as it would be for any winter trip.”

“That's great. I'm at about 30 lbs. for 2-3 days. My pack weighs about 3.9 lbs 3200-3700 cu.”

“now i'm wondering about mine. i'm going to pack mine and go weigh it”

“Pretty Kewl Laqtis... a new threshold reached. Ya deserve a chance to pat yerseff on the back when you reach a goal like that.”

“4 lbs. for a 2500 ci pack?

Ever hear of GVP G4 or GoLite? A pack that size needn't weigh more than a pound.”

“Congrats--lighter is better. Have you read Ryan Jordan's online magazine?

http://www.backpackinglight.com/”

“thanks for all the kudos, everyone. I am proud of what I have done. I should mention that my pack weight for this past years trips was at 49, so 14lbs savings.

Steve - I would love one of those packs. The problem is that the pack I bought was in my price range and those are not. Also, I am at the point right now that if I buy another piece of gear, I'll be using all of it as my residence when my wife throws me in the dog house (gots one foot in the door as it is..). Maybe in a couple of years. There are somethings I can get rid of on the pack, so I hope to shave about a pound or so.

Sass - yes, I like that theory:
smaller pack = lighter pack”

“MaryPhyl - I think I might have. I'm a little torn about the ultra light theories. I like to use the "weight has to justify the function" way of thinking. I still try to keep an eye on those ultralighters!”

“For a lot of us there is a cost-versus-performance factor to consider. I have to say when I was lugging a 45-pound pack on the Water Gap trip and cut it down to about 30 the next day, it was an instant gratification.

Thirty pounds is a delight when you are used to lugging 50 or so.

It remains to be seen what I could cut it down to on a longer trip. But for a week long trip I used to haul about 75 at the start of the hike, which made the first two days an absolute agonizing hell.

So cutting weight is relative. Another three pounds for the pack is at least manageable if you can shave a third off the weight you are used to carrying.

And, as laqtis says, you can always fine tune it from there until you can afford an ultra-light pack.

Also, I find that on a shorter trip, I often add things that I would leave behind on a longer trip.”

“Does that weight include food too laqtis?”

“Yes, food (3days/2nights), but no water or clothes. Without, pack weighs 27 lbs. With that stuff should bring it to 35 lbs”

“Good deal Q! I can still feel the ache in my shoulders on my Isle Royale trip in 95, 85 lbs for 8 days. It was HE11!!! In april I did 5 days at 35# food/water included. My goal for next wknd is 25lbs or less 2 night trip.”

“My small pack is 2900 ci. I can do 3 or 4 days and it's just over 20 pounds.”

“laqtis-- What are the particulars of your sleeping bag and tent (or do you tarp it)?”

“tango - bag is an REI Shasta +15 degree bag. It's heavy (just below 4 lbs), but I got it cheap (75 bones out the door). Tent is a Hilleberg Akto: 3.5 lbs, but I can lighting it up a lot. For this trip next week, I might take the inner tent out and it would be basically a tarp, but with a footprint. That would bring the weight down to about 2.5 lbs.

birch - I don't know how you did that. That trip woulda killed me.

WD - That's a great weight. One day, maybe I'll be there. I know my summer weight is gonna be next to nothing, though!”

“I just bought new pack. Larger model than my other pack. It is packed and ready to go. It has pint of Finlandia, (sorry TunaBoy), and full Unbottle of water and weighs 32 pounds. Last trip with old pack it weighed 35 pounds. I'm learning. But I really don't care how much it weighs as I am going to take what I need and want and I'm a big guy anyway. Now to some people, like LiteBoy, weight does matter.”

“Last year we did 6 days in the White Mountains and my pack started out weighing 35 pounds. Looking back, I can think of about 7 or 8 pounds I could have easily done without.
15 years at this and still learning.”

“hehe, my 5800 Ci pack is like 8 or 9 pounds. I've had it up to near 70 pounds before and Can't complain a bit. It held the load better then if I was 70 pounds overweight. I will add that that weight was like 3 days worth of food and 10 liters of water. So yea that was a fun day.”

“Good job, laqtis! My pack tonight is 31 lbs, incl crampons and ice axe. Snowshoes will add 4 lb if needed.”

“does anyone know how old a kelty ptarmagin 2 is? I called Kelty but they gave me the runaround about a sister company, who I called who gave me a runaround to call kelty back...... I packed it with 20-22 lbs for a weekender and got it for 7$ at Goodwill.
Also picked up a frame WFS*The Everest* and have no idea what company it came from, but it is light!”