Any other ultralight backpackers on RME?

[mesha]

I was wondering if any one else here cuts tags off of clothes and the like as I do. I am looking to shave some more weight off of my pack and was wondering what you are all doing for you packing lists. I am trying to find the perfect balance between comfort and weight. Here's a few questions.
What pack?
What stove?
cook kit?
Shelter?
sleeping system pad and bag? any half bag guys?
water treatment?
rain gear?
I am pretty committed and am doing pretty good already just looking for the things I might have missed.

 

[Maverick]

Hard core! What are you down to, 20-25 lbs? I'm sure you are lightyears ahead of me, but I'll relate what I did recently.

I tried Mirror to Moon summer of '06 with a group of scouts and their dads...half the group had serious blister issues so we made a change mid-week. Anyway, my pack was WAY too heavy at 70 lbs, but I had 20 lbs of stuff (locater, pop, big tent). I'd read a bunch of ultralight stuff, and was trying to have it influence my packing, but in the end, I just ended up taking more junk.

I could have cut it to 45-50, but I really don't know how much less I could have beyond that. As it was, I was cold on a couple occasions, and was hungry for more carbs almost every day.

I'll be doing this in a couple years again...will go MUCH lighter next time (50 max). And I'll be in a little better shape: more prep hikes at altitude, more interval training, and more time with the pack on my back. A 50lb pack would have been very manageable.

As I recall, I had food left that I wasn't hungry for plus one complete can of fuel. My pack was bigger than it needed to be. The tent was big at 8x10 and the weight was meant to be split between 3 people, but that didn't work out. I carried a nylon hammock which was nice...but I'm don't know if it was worth the weight.

I only had 2 pr pants (nylon zip off), 2 shirts, fleece, and rain gear. 2pr socks. Swimming suit. Sandals (woulda coulda found lighter sandals, but wouldn't have done without) I washed my clothes at the end of each day.

Dehydrated food that I shared with my kid and we still had stuff left. We had trail mix left too. We went through water like crazy...and it was a pain to purify (I carried a pump, my kid carried a filter bottle).

Sorry if this didn't help you...but it did help me (got me thinking about it again)

 

[Paudrhound]

lighter the better.

Shave handles of eating utensil(s) I usually have just a fork. one aluminum pan no handle.
aluminum foil for other cooking.
easy light stove with canister.
best water filter i can afford, will carry the weight for it, don't need the runs. cut down on boiling water as well for meals.
pup tent, half pad, 20* bag that stuffs down into 6x8 stuff sack, use pack for extra ground cover or warmth, I wear a Lowe pack.
food no containers, boxes etc. pack in ziplock. know how to cook so you don't need directions and hopefully fish. no trail mix too heavy for me.
I shave everything down to minimum toothbrush and hygiene minimum, all in one soap for light wt.

 

[mesha]

Hard core! What are you down to, 20-25 lbs? I'm sure you are lightyears ahead of me, but I'll relate what I did recently.

I tried Mirror to Moon summer of '06 with a group of scouts and their dads...half the group had serious blister issues so we made a change mid-week. Anyway, my pack was WAY too heavy at 70 lbs, but I had 20 lbs of stuff (locater, pop, big tent). I'd read a bunch of ultralight stuff, and was trying to have it influence my packing, but in the end, I just ended up taking more junk.

I could have cut it to 45-50, but I really don't know how much less I could have beyond that. As it was, I was cold on a couple occasions, and was hungry for more carbs almost every day.

I'll be doing this in a couple years again...will go MUCH lighter next time (50 max). And I'll be in a little better shape: more prep hikes at altitude, more interval training, and more time with the pack on my back. A 50lb pack would have been very manageable.

I only had 2 pr pants (nylon zip off), 2 shirts, fleece, and rain gear. 2pr socks. Swimming suit. Sandals (woulda coulda found lighter sandals, but wouldn't have done without) I washed my clothes at the end of each day.

Dehydrated food that I shared with my kid and we still had stuff left. We had trail mix left too. We went through water like crazy...and it was a pain to purify (I carried a pump, my kid carried a filter bottle).

Sorry if this didn't help you...but it did help me (got me thinking about it again)

I like to see what other people are doing. Last summer we did ryder lake in the uintahs, right behind moon lake. How far was the hike from mirror to moon? My wife and I are looking for a trail for next summer.

I was under 19 lbs. including food and water and everything (4 nights). My wife was under 17lbs (she has much smaller clothes than me).

Have you found the lighter sandals yet? I am looking for a good pair of light sandals. the lightest ones I have found is a pair I had from walmart like 8 years ago, but they wore out and I can't find them again. They were fake tevas.

You said you were hungry for carbs, understandable, have you caome up with a solution? I need some help in the food catagory. I weigh 250 so I needs me food. I usually take the dehydrated meals for dinner as well. I eat one hot meal at dinner and the rest I eat cold to save fuel. I have been searching for foods with the highest calorie or carb to weight ratio. If you come up with anything let me know. the best I have been able to find is macadamia nuts. The mauna loa sour creme and onion ones.

Thanks for the input you got me thinking as well. If you haven't read the book "lighten up" you should.

 

[mesha]

lighter the better.

Shave handles of eating utensil(s) I usually have just a fork. one aluminum pan no handle.
aluminum foil for other cooking.
easy light stove with canister.
best water filter i can afford, will carry the weight for it, don't need the runs. cut down on boiling water as well for meals.
pup tent, half pad, 20* bag that stuffs down into 6x8 stuff sack, use pack for extra ground cover or warmth, I wear a Lowe pack.
food no containers, boxes etc. pack in ziplock. know how to cook so you don't need directions and hopefully fish. no trail mix too heavy for me.
I shave everything down to minimum toothbrush and hygiene minimum, all in one soap for light wt.

The trail mix is a good idea. I took it last time and it probably cost me about a pound by itself.

I need to master the fishing thing. I know how to fish I just I usually pack all my food, but some fish could really help with calories fat and protein. Have you found the fishing gear weight to beneficial compared with the weight of the food? How much would you say you can save? What pup tent are you talking about? What is the weight?
Thanks davy

 

[benjy]

I used to go backpacking quite often in Montana, I haven't done too much in Utah. The wife has been pushing to go this summer, so I need to start thinking about some new gear. I doubt we do anything over 10 miles overnight but it would be nice to get some higher quality stuff for some longer trips later on... I'm not "hardcore" when it comes to lightening up, (usually in the 40-50lb range) but this season I have a secret weapon

 

[Cody]

I haven't done much backpacking in years but I do have a couple pretty light tents and a Jack Wolfskin pack that was pretty nice when I bought it 15 years ago. I used to use a Pur Hiker filter and a Gaz stove...but a saw another stove in Cabela's not too long ago that was even smaller...Like the size of an egg once folded up.

man I'm getting old. 15 years ago.....

 

[BlackSheep]

If you want a massive carb load, check out the ramen noodles. I don't recall the exact count, but they are huge. You can actually make them taste good if you forget the stupid flavor packets and instead mix a large (size is relative to your trip length) container with herbs (parsley, garlic, pepper, basil, etc). One thing I always splurge on is Parmesan cheese. Once I get the noodles cooked and flavored up with my seasoning mix, I sprinkle a large dose of parm on it all. Killer carb load and really tastes pretty good. It's a lot cheaper than the dehydrated meals, and I'd think overall lighter as well.

For lunches, I usually just pack a good trail mix (not store bought, but my own creation) and a snickers bar (or a couple of the mini snickers bars). I generally don't stop for lunch, but pack those lunch items in a small back that attaches to my waist belt of my pack.

Breakfast is usually something like cheerios and some powdered milk. I'm just not into oatmeal.

I pack a single day's meals in a one gallon zip lock bag. Each item has been re-packed into it's own ziploc of appropriate size before putting them in the gallon bag.

While not necessarily any lighter than any meal you may carry or choose, packing each day separate makes it easy for inventory and re-packing each morning before heading out from camp.

 

[Maverick]

If you want a massive carb load, check out the ramen noodles. I don't recall the exact count, but they are huge. You can actually make them taste good if you forget the stupid flavor packets and instead mix a large (size is relative to your trip length) container with herbs (parsley, garlic, pepper, basil, etc). One thing I always splurge on is Parmesan cheese. Once I get the noodles cooked and flavored up with my seasoning mix, I sprinkle a large dose of parm on it all. Killer carb load and really tastes pretty good. It's a lot cheaper than the dehydrated meals, and I'd think overall lighter as well.

For lunches, I usually just pack a good trail mix (not store bought, but my own creation) and a snickers bar (or a couple of the mini snickers bars). I generally don't stop for lunch, but pack those lunch items in a small back that attaches to my waist belt of my pack.

Breakfast is usually something like cheerios and some powdered milk. I'm just not into oatmeal.

I pack a single day's meals in a one gallon zip lock bag. Each item has been re-packed into it's own ziploc of appropriate size before putting them in the gallon bag.

While not necessarily any lighter than any meal you may carry or choose, packing each day separate makes it easy for inventory and re-packing each morning before heading out from camp.

I did the daily ziplock gallon bags...not only did it keep my stuff organized, but did the same for my adhd teen. The guys that had ramen were happy.

I normally eat a very balanced carb/protein diet (think Body for LIFE) and workout daily but on that trip, my 220 lbs was screamin for carbs. I'd been told that at elevation I'd want less food than usual. Ya...less protein. Gimme a maple syrup IV drip, dammit.

 

[mesha]

I haven't done much backpacking in years but I do have a couple pretty light tents and a Jack Wolfskin pack that was pretty nice when I bought it 15 years ago. I used to use a Pur Hiker filter and a Gaz stove...but a saw another stove in Cabela's not too long ago that was even smaller...Like the size of an egg once folded up.

man I'm getting old. 15 years ago.....

Jackwolfskin is still cool!! oldschool, but cool. The pur hiker is great. Katadyn bought out pur and now they have the hiker, unchanged. There is a hiker pro now which is same weight, but has quick connects and a prescreen. The pro is what I carry. Gaz is pretty much gone now, but they popularized the gas cartriges that now everyone pretty much uses. The cabelas stove is probably a bruunton. they arethe smallest althought not the lightest. If thatwas your gear list 15 years ago that's great, you are still ahead of most scout leaders.

 

[mesha]

If you want a massive carb load, check out the ramen noodles. I don't recall the exact count, but they are huge. You can actually make them taste good if you forget the stupid flavor packets and instead mix a large (size is relative to your trip length) container with herbs (parsley, garlic, pepper, basil, etc). One thing I always splurge on is Parmesan cheese. Once I get the noodles cooked and flavored up with my seasoning mix, I sprinkle a large dose of parm on it all. Killer carb load and really tastes pretty good. It's a lot cheaper than the dehydrated meals, and I'd think overall lighter as well.

For lunches, I usually just pack a good trail mix (not store bought, but my own creation) and a snickers bar (or a couple of the mini snickers bars). I generally don't stop for lunch, but pack those lunch items in a small back that attaches to my waist belt of my pack.

Breakfast is usually something like cheerios and some powdered milk. I'm just not into oatmeal.

I pack a single day's meals in a one gallon zip lock bag. Each item has been re-packed into it's own ziploc of appropriate size before putting them in the gallon bag.

While not necessarily any lighter than any meal you may carry or choose, packing each day separate makes it easy for inventory and re-packing each morning before heading out from camp.

I love ramen. I usually take a package or two in case I get hungry. I havent tried the homemade seasoning packet though. I have added some dehydrated sour creme to some beef ramen for stroganoff yum.

I understand the oatmeal thing although I do eat it. It's too easy, cheap, and light.

 

[Paudrhound]

The trail mix is a good idea. I took it last time and it probably cost me about a pound by itself.

I need to master the fishing thing. I know how to fish I just I usually pack all my food, but some fish could really help with calories fat and protein. Have you found the fishing gear weight to beneficial compared with the weight of the food? How much would you say you can save? What pup tent are you talking about? What is the weight?
Thanks davy

I use a collapsible pole and ultra lite reel, water fill bubble and dry flies, probably close to 1.5lbs. I use the foil to cook the fish, with a little dill weed. Works out well most of the time, sometimes end up eating oatmeal for dinner. Pup tent, I have an old scout tent that i use around 3lbs or a pyramid tent around 2lbs that I carry. I really like the pyramid very lite and quick set up. If you are going with your wife I would use the pyramid more space, no floor.
Most times I am around 20lbs, for 5 days.

 

[Seth]

Add these to your pack.

You can write and eat and write about your eating.

 

[mesha]

I use a collapsible pole and ultra lite reel, water fill bubble and dry flies, probably close to 1.5lbs. I use the foil to cook the fish, with a little dill weed. Works out well most of the time, sometimes end up eating oatmeal for dinner. Pup tent, I have an old scout tent that i use around 3lbs or a pyramid tent around 2lbs that I carry. I really like the pyramid very lite and quick set up. If you are going with your wife I would use the pyramid more space, no floor.
Most times I am around 20lbs, for 5 days.

the dill is a great idea. I never thought of cooking the fish with some weed. What brand is the pup tent. It is hard to find a 3 lb tent. I know this might be picky, but what pole and reel do you use?

 

[mesha]

Add these to your pack.

You can write and eat and write about your eating.

I haven't seen those before. I'll have to do some research. Have you used them before.

 

[Paudrhound]

You know the pup tent is so old i don't know the name, it is just a nylon shell A-frame scout tent, keeps the bugs away and tries to keep the water out. Same thing with the pole probably picked it up at k-mart or somewhere years ago, it telescopes in and out. The real I use is a Daiwa ultra lite with good quality line.

 

[Maverick]

what is the "265" that is in between your 350 and 205?

 

[Paudrhound]

Add these to your pack.

You can write and eat and write about your eating.

If those are sturdy cool. might be worth a try.

 

[Seth]

I haven't seen those before. I'll have to do some research. Have you used them before.

No I was just on the site and thought of this thread. Not sure where you even get them.

 

[Cody]

I have an older Mountain Hardware Trango 3 tent. it's still a super bitchen tent, but it's pretty bulky. I've retired it to strictly wet or cold weather camping and have since bought another single man tent that is all mesh for when I camp in the desert (which is the majority of my camping these days). I think it weighs just over 3 lbs, but it's only a 1 man.

I would love to get up at least once this year. I've been up to Teal lake and Alsop lake in the uintah's, and we hiked into Grandaddy basin and camped at (i think) Lodgpole? lake which was really neat. I'm just not in the best shape anymore to do any long distance trekking. Maybe after I get my soft ass into shape for this crazy marathon run I committed to in June I'll be better fit for some longer hikes.