Companion blog: Adventures In Stoving

Saturday, May 30, 2015

Sierra Nevada Summer Backpacking Solo Gear List - Version I

I'm planning a week long trip in the Sierra Nevada Mountains this summer.  This post is one in a series of how I intend to lighten up my gear in preparation for the trip.  This will be Version I ("before") of my gear list.  My next post in the series will be Version II ("after").

In my last post, Lightweight Solo Backpacking Gear List, my base weight (total pack weight - consumables = base weight) was at about 15 lbs/6.8 kg.  15 lbs isn't bad for a weekend trip.  I mean I only have to carry a couple of days of food, so a 15 lbs base weight + a couple of days worth of food may have my pack weight under 20 lbs/9 kg (depending on how much water I have to carry) for a weekend hike.

But what about for a week?  Well, for a week, I'm going to have to carry a lot more food.  And I'm going to have to I'm also going to have to add some base weight type items that I wouldn't need for a short weekend trip, things like extra batteries and a larger fuel bottle.  And for a Sierra Nevada trip there's one other problem:  bears.  In the Sierra Nevada.  Bear canisters, a heavy piece of gear, are mandatory.  Hmm.  My maybe I need to drop a little more weight off my base weight?

So if I take my last gear list and add in the bear canister, larger fuel bottle, and batteries, I should have a more realistic base weight for my upcoming trip.  I'll post the gear list below my "signature" and my comments immediately below.

First, notice that my base weight has climbed from 15.2 lbs/6.8 kg to 18.8 lbs/8.5 kg.  Yuck.  That's a step in the wrong direction.  You've got to figure that, in addition to my base weight, I'm going to be carrying at least a dozen pounds of food (5.4 kg), 2 lbs of water (1 kg), and a pound of  fuel (0.5 kg) – about 15 lbs (6.8 kg) of "consumables".  Add 18.8 lbs base weight to roughly 15 lbs of consumables, and your total is about 34 lbs (15.4 kg).  Now, I've been backpacking for many years, and I'm completely confident that I could do the trip with a 34 lbs backpack – but I'm sure I can go lighter, and I know I'll enjoy the trip more if I carry less.

Now it's time to introduce another concept:  Proportional Pack Weight.

QUESTION:  Is a 30 lbs pack (13.6 kg) going to feel the same to a 200 lbs (91 kg) person as it would to a 150 lbs (68 kg) person?  No, of course not.  So, let's look at total pack weight in proportion to body weight.
Proportional Total Pack Weight
Ultra Heavy Very Heavy Heavy Moderate Light Ultralight Super Ultralight Extremely Ultralight
Body weight (lbs) 1/3rd 1/4th 1/5th 1/6th 1/8th 1/10th 1/15th 1/20th
225 75.0 56.3 45.0 37.5 28.1 22.5 15.0 11.3
220 73.3 55.0 44.0 36.7 27.5 22.0 14.7 11.0
200 66.7 50.0 40.0 33.3 25.0 20.0 13.3 10.0
175 58.3 43.8 35.0 29.2 21.9 17.5 11.7 8.8
150 50.0 37.5 30.0 25.0 18.8 15.0 10.0 7.5
125 41.7 31.3 25.0 20.8 15.6 12.5 8.3 6.3
100 33.3 25.0 20.0 16.7 12.5 10.0 6.7 5.0

So, if you look at the above chart, I think you can see where I'm going with this.  What feels light to a 200 pound person will not necessarily feel light to a 100 pound person.  The chart above attempts to take body weight into account rather than to assign labels (light weight, ultralight, etc.) based on static weight amounts.  Notice that I'm talking about total pack weight.  At the end of the day, the amount you actually put on your back matters.  On a weekend trip, my total pack weight is pretty light, but on a week long trip in the Sierra Nevada, my total pack weight is considerably more.

I weigh about 220 lbs (100 kg).  My 34 lbs (15.4 kg) total pack weight will basically feel like a "moderate" (not light) backpack.  I want to move down a notch and get into the "light" range.  Perhaps someday I'll even go beyond that, but my goal for this phase of pack weight reduction is to move from "moderate" to "light."  I'll address this weight reduction in my next post in this series.

HJ

One Person Gear List (Base Weight Only)
Sierra Nevada Mountains, Summer 2015, Day time high 80F/27C, Overnight low 40F/5C
Category Item Grams Ounces Pounds
Clothing Patagonia down hoodie sweater (for temps < 40F/5C) 473 16.7 1.0
Clothing Long john top (Capilene 2) 175 6.2 0.4
Clothing Long john bottom (Capilene 2) 170 6.0 0.4
Clothing Flip flops (To air out feet; I struggle with athlete's foot) 134 4.7 0.3
Clothing Golite wind pants 120 4.2 0.3
Clothing Fleece glove/mittens (flip top, probably a weight penalty) 100 3.5 0.2
Clothing Montane wind shirt 95 3.4 0.2
Clothing Underwear, 1 pair 90 3.2 0.2
Clothing socks, 1 pair, midweight 75 2.6 0.2
Clothing Ghost Whisperer shell 73 2.6 0.2
Clothing socks, 1 pair, midweight 68 2.4 0.1
Clothing Fleece hat 40 1.4 0.1
Hydration Steri Pen with batteries 123 4.3 0.3
Hydration 4 x Platypus bladder 1L 100 3.5 0.2
Hydration Plastic "basin" (for Steri Pen treatment) 18 0.6 0.0
Kitchen Garcia Bear Canister 1280 45.2 2.8
Kitchen Trail Designs Ti-Tri Stove set up & 1.3 L Evernew UL Ti Pot 248 8.7 0.5
Kitchen Plastic bowl 45 1.6 0.1
Kitchen Titanium Sierra cup/measuring cup 43 1.5 0.1
Kitchen 12 fl oz (355 ml) alcohol bottle 39 1.4 0.1
Kitchen Sea to Summit Aluminum spoon 9 0.3 0.0
Misc AMK Optimist First Aid Kit (FAK) + 1 x roller gauze 244 8.6 0.5
Misc Personal Locator Beacon (PLB) 196 6.9 0.4
Misc External battery with mini cable 170 6.0 0.4
Misc Potty kit (TP + hand sanitizer) 136 4.8 0.3
Misc Map (topographic) and Isuka roll-up map case 111 3.9 0.2
Misc Glasses (distance only; used Fresnel lens for reading) 109 3.8 0.2
Misc Misc Ziploc (chapstick, meds, matches, sewing kit, crazy glue, duct tape, tenacious tape) 105 3.7 0.2
Misc BP Bag (Cordage, Liquid soap, Thermarest patch kit, ear plugs) 100 3.5 0.2
Misc Spare phone batteries (2) 76 2.7 0.2
Misc Pouch (sunscreen, fire steel, tripod) Tripod weight, see below 74 2.6 0.2
Misc Mammut S-Flex headlamp 49 1.7 0.1
Misc Snow/sand stake (used as trowel and as tent stake) 35 1.2 0.1
Misc Dental Hygiene Kit (brush, paste, and floss) 30 1.1 0.1
Misc Mammut S-Flex headlamp case 28 1.0 0.1
Misc Spare camera battery 27 1.0 0.1
Misc Wilderness Permit in plastic Ziploc 18 0.6 0.0
Misc Spare Ziploc 9 0.3 0.0
Misc Trash bag 9 0.3 0.0
Pack Gossamer Gear Mariposa, Large 884 31.2 1.9
Pack Nylofume bag (as water proof liner) 30 1.1 0.1
Photo Camera with 1 battery 250 8.8 0.6
Photo Camera case 84 3.0 0.2
Photo Mini tripod 45 1.6 0.1
Shelter Stratospire I tarp tent with bug net inner (used for 2 ppl) 1000 35.3 2.2
Shelter Tyvek ground sheet 130 4.6 0.3
Shelter 8 x "V" Al stakes (could save 1.5 oz with Ti stakes) 100 3.5 0.2
Sleep Western Mountaineering Summerlite 6'0" sleeping bag 580 20.5 1.3
Sleep NeoAir X-Lite 3/4 pad & stuff sack 240 8.5 0.5
Sleep Dry bag, 10L (holds both sleeping bag and down hoodie) 77 2.7 0.2
Sleep NeoAir Pillow & stuff sack 60 2.1 0.1
Total 8524 300.7 18.8

TOTALS BY CATEGORY
Shelter Sleep Pack Clothing Kitchen Photo Hydration Misc
Grams 1230 957 914 1613 1664 379 241 1526
Ounces 43.4 33.8 32.2 56.9 58.7 13.4 8.5 53.8
Pounds 2.7 2.1 2.0 3.6 3.7 0.8 0.5 3.4

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