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Posted by Bill S on September 25, 2006 at 12:22:59 pm EDT
In reply to This might be a stupid question but.... posted by Huzar on September 15, 2006 at 12:16:39 am EDT

Just got back from a week in the Sangre de Cristo mountains in northern New Mexico.

Number one - there is no "stupid question" except the one that is not asked.

I will agree with a number of the posts that 42 pounds is rather heavy for a 3-day trip. Question is how much each thing in your pack weighs and whether you actually use the stuff you take (plus allowing for the emergency gear).

One thing you might do is weigh each item and make a list or computer spreadsheet of what you take. Then after each trip, note whether you actually used each item and add items to the list you wished you had along. After a few trips, you will find that there are a number of items that never get used. At that point, you should decide if these are items that can be left behind or, as with first aid items that hopefully never get used, you should keep taking them.

When you look at the weights of each item, you can see which items can be replaced with lighter weight items. Of course, you have to trade cost, weight, utility, and a number of other things. For example, sometimes I take a very light weight camera (like a tiny 2 ounce digital), and sometimes I take my DSLR with 3 lenses (a 12-24, 24-120, and 80-400, the last two with vibration reduction), tripod, and flash unit, and sometimes the night-vision scope that attaches to the camera - all adding to 15-20 pounds, but needed if I am shooting wild-life photos. You want high quality photos, ya gotta get the heavy, expensive gear (and you need the knowledge to use the gear). For "memory shots", the 2-ounce camera is just fine.

You can take a 5-pound sleeping bag that is barely adequate in warmth for summer, as well as being bulky, or you can take a very pricey down bag, adequate to 0F, weighing 3 pounds or less. You can put the gear in a 6-pound pack (mentioned by one poster) or a same size 2.5 pound pack (I won one in a drawing last year that comes close to the capacity of my expedition pack that weighs 7.5 pounds empty). You can take a 7 pound 2-person tent or a 3.5 pound one that is a bit more cozy. These 3 items are the most weighty items in most packs. Add the differences up and you get 9 pounds of weight-saving with the lighter items right there.

A month or so ago, Barb and I went on a weekend backpack that had us at 30 and 38 pounds respectively. But we were headed for a potentially dry camp, so we had 4 liters of water each (generally, the recommendation is that much per day for drinking and cooking needs). That is 9 pounds of water each. If we had a source of water available, we would have only needed to have a liter bottle each, plus some method of purifying the water (an ounce of tablets or a pound of water filter shared between the 2 of us) for 12-13 pounds of weight saving for the 2 of us.

The basic idea is to think through what you are carrying, whether you need it, and whether there is a lighter alternative.

My basic pack for anything up to a week of backpacking, 3-season in the Sierra, is 15 pounds. Add to that food (roughly 2 pounds per person-day), water (depends on availability of water sources), and fuel (2 ounces per person-day). This gives me sleeping bag, inflatable pad, tent, stove, cup, pot, small camera, and clothes warm to the frosty nights of fall or early spring, and sharing of tent and cook gear with a partner. Ultra-lighters go 5 or more pounds lighter than that.

Your choice, your style.

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