Companion blog: Adventures In Stoving

Saturday, May 30, 2015

Lightweight Solo Backpacking Gear List for Southern California

I just posted my Backpacking with Children - A Gear List for Two.  Hopefully it's a helpful list for those wishing to get out with their child.

But what would that look like if I were just getting out on my own?  I thought I'd do a "weight check" and see what my solo gear list for Southern California would look like under the same weather conditions (expected overnight low 35° F/2° C).  To avoid clutter, I'll put the list down below my "signature".  I'll put my comments immediately below.

Now, notice something.  My two person daddy-daughter base weight was 20.2 lbs/9.2 kg, about 10 lbs/4.5 kg per person.  When I take the same gear list and eliminate the child related items, the total is 15.2 lbs/6.9 kg.  The "per person" weight went up by five pounds (2.3 kg).  This illustrates an important principle:  gear sharing saves weight.  Sharing a tent, stove, etc. is much more weight efficient than each person carrying their own.

This is part II of (at least) three parts.  I'm going somewhere with this:  I want to do a week long trip in the Sierra Nevada Mountains this summer.  The Sierra Nevada Mountains are steep, rugged, and range up to 14,500'/4400m in elevation, so  I'm going to want to make my pack as light as possible.  On a week trip, I'm going to have to carry a lot of food (about 2 pounds per day typically), so the only way to carry a light pack is to really cut my base weight.  Ideally, I'd like my total pack weight (consumables + base weight = total pack weight) to be about 25 lbs/11 kg.  That will be a challenge.  Stay tuned.

Thanks for following along on my "journey to the light side."

HJ

One Person Gear List (Base Weight Only)
May 2015, Day time high 65F/18C, Overnight low 35F/2C
Category Item Grams Ounces Pounds
1 Clothing Patagonia down hoodie sweater (for temps < 40F/5C)* 473 16.7 1.0
2 Clothing Long john top (Capilene 2) 175 6.2 0.4
3 Clothing Long john bottom (Capilene 2) 170 6.0 0.4
4 Clothing Flip flops (To air out feet; I struggle with athlete's foot) 134 4.7 0.3
5 Clothing Golite wind pants 120 4.2 0.3
6 Clothing Fleece glove/mittens (flip top, probably a weight penalty)* 100 3.5 0.2
7 Clothing Montane wind shirt2 95 3.4 0.2
8 Clothing Ghost Whisperer shell2 73 2.6 0.2
9 Clothing socks, 1 pair, midweight 68 2.4 0.1
10 Clothing Sleep balaclava3 43 1.5 0.1
11 Clothing Fleece hat 40 1.4 0.1
12 Clothing Down hoodie sweater stuff sack4 20 0.7 0.0
13 Hydration Steri Pen with batteries 123 4.3 0.3
14 Hydration 4 x Platypus bladder 1L 100 3.5 0.2
15 Hydration Spare batteries (2 x CR123) for Steri Pen 34 1.2 0.1
16 Hydration Plastic "basin" (for Steri Pen treatment) 18 0.6 0.0
17 Kitchen Trail Designs Ti-Tri Stove set up & 1.3 L Evernew UL Ti Pot* 248 8.7 0.5
18 Kitchen Plastic bowl 45 1.6 0.1
19 Kitchen Sea to Summit Aluminum Spoon 9 0.3 0.0
20 Kitchen Titanium Sierra cup/measuring cup 43 1.5 0.1
21 Kitchen 4 fl oz (125 ml) alcohol bottle 23 0.8 0.1
22 Misc AMK Optimist First Aid Kit (FAK) + 1 x roller gauze 244 8.6 0.5
23 Misc Personal Locator Beacon (PLB) 196 6.9 0.4
24 Misc Potty kit (TP + hand sanitizer) 136 4.8 0.3
25 Misc Map (topographic) and Isuka roll-up map case6* 111 3.9 0.2
26 Misc Glasses (distance only; used Fresnel lens for reading) 109 3.8 0.2
27 Misc Misc Ziploc (chapstick, meds, matches, sewing kit, crazy glue, duct tape, tenacious tape)7 105 3.7 0.2
28 Misc BP Bag (Cordage, Liquid soap, Thermarest patch kit, ear plugs) 100 3.5 0.2
29 Misc Pouch (sunscreen, fire steel, tripod) Tripod weight, see below 74 2.6 0.2
30 Misc Mammut S-Flex headlamp 49 1.7 0.1
31 Misc Dental Hygiene Kit (brush, paste, and floss) 30 1.1 0.1
32 Misc Snow/sand stake (used as trowel and as tent stake) 35 1.2 0.1
33 Misc Mammut S-Flex headlamp case 28 1.0 0.1
34 Misc Wilderness Permit in plastic Ziploc 18 0.6 0.0
35 Misc Trash bag 9 0.3 0.0
36 Pack Gossamer Gear Mariposa, Large* 884 31.2 1.9
37 Pack Nylofume bag (as water proof liner) 30 1.1 0.1
38 Photo Camera with 1 battery 250 8.8 0.6
39 Photo Camera case9 84 3.0 0.2
40 Photo Mini tripod 45 1.6 0.1
41 Shelter Stratospire I tarp tent with bug net inner (used for 2 ppl) 1000 35.3 2.2
42 Shelter Tyvek ground sheet10 130 4.6 0.3
43 Shelter 8 x "V" Al stakes (could save 1.5 oz with Ti stakes) 100 3.5 0.2
44 Sleep Western Mountaineering Summerlite 6'0" sleeping bag* 580 20.5 1.3
45 Sleep NeoAir X-Lite 3/4 pad & stuff sack* 240 8.5 0.5
46 Sleep Dry bag, 10L (holds both sleeping bags) 77 2.7 0.2
47 Sleep NeoAir Pillow & stuff sack 60 2.1 0.1
Total 6878 242.6 15.2

Note:
2 Do I really need a windshirt and a shell both?
3 Was not really adequate for the temperatures
4 Tried using large Ziploc, but kept popping open.
6 Definitely a luxury item.  Works REALLY well.
7 Maybe I could eliminate one form of tape.
9 I've dropped and ruined some good cameras.  Stays.
10 Could switch to Polycro.  Not sure Polycro protects as well.
* A favorite piece of gear

TOTALS BY CATEGORY
Shelter Sleep Pack Clothing Kitchen Photo Hydration Misc
Grams 1230 957 914 1511 368 379 275 1244
Ounces 43.4 33.8 32.2 53.3 13.0 13.4 9.7 43.9
Pounds 2.7 2.1 2.0 3.3 0.8 0.8 0.6 2.7

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