Lightening The Load.....

May 22, 2004

My backpack is getting pretty heavy. I have to carry a little extra for my daughter so any minimizing I can do to get weight out of my backpack would be a blessing.

I'm starting out by concentrating on getting my first aid kit, my water supply (carrying bottles right now) and the snacks lightened up in my pack. Those seem to be the heaviest things so far. But I'd like suggestions for other things too. I pretty much carry anything I would need for an overnight stay in the woods if it ever came to that. I'm also trying to get everything in water resistant/proof containers (mainly ziplocs) in case of rain or losing my footing around water.

Anyone have tips or tricks for what they do with all the stuff in their backpack to make it lighter to carry?

May 22, 2004

Try carrying a 40 pound pack for 100 miles for a week... then anything else will feel ultralight! Seriously though...

There are two main things that you can do to lighten your load. One is to truely consider what you need and what you don't. Get rid of anything that you don't need. I have discovered that more often then not, it is not worth the extra weight to have a luxury item. This is matter of taste... some people feel that it is worth it, but you seem like the kind of person that values light weight as a top priority.

The second thing you can do is replace items with lighter versions. The most obvious items to look at the heaviest items. It looks like you are already doing this. But also take a look at the small, light items. It may seem like they don't take up much room or weight, but they add up quickly. Remember that a one-once item is not much, but 16 one-once items weigh a pound! And also remember that a light item can feel mighty heavy after carrying it for miles!

This is actually a very large subject, so you should look it up on the internet. Do a search for "Ultralight Backpacking". Even if you are not backpacking, you will still find alot of neat ways to lighten your load. I am fairly new to it, but I have already reduced my packweight from more then 40 pounds to less then 10. This is a basepack load for a several day or several week trip. For an overnight, it would be easy to get it down to less then 5 pounds.

Let me know if you have any questions.

38.2k · May 22, 2004

Water, food and first aid kits are all necessities and kind of hard to lighten. You'll have to cut corners elsewhere. First, do you really NEED to have everything in waterproof bags? Most decent packs are water resistant and will survive a quick rain shower, or dunk in a brook without getting soaked. Bring one large garbage bag along if you want to be extra safe and line your bag with it. It should be slightly lighter than numerous Ziplocs (OK, now you've saved yourself about 2 oz.) .

How far are you going into the woods? 80 percent of the caches I've found were less than a mile walk. Do you really need everything for an overnight stay for caches like these?

Also "everything for an overnight stay" means different things to different people. Does it include a small tent? If so, consider using a bivvy sack instead. If you have a bivvy sack, consider switching to a mylar emergency "blanket". Are you bringing a stove (no matter how small)? You probably won't NEED one for a night in the woods, so leave it home.

If you are taking along a full rain suit, leave that home unless rain is in the forecast and instead toss in one of those light weight emergency ponchos that sell for less than $2 most places.

You can also save by switching to the lightweight version of each item. You have a regular flashlight? Switch to a Mini Mag Lite. Bringing along a 35mm SLR? Consider switching to a small point n shoot camera. Have full sized binoculars? Instead try one of the excellent pocket sized binoculars mady by most mfrs. Do you have a water filter? Switch to purifying tablets. You can even lighten your food somewhat. Instead of a sandwich, some crackers and thin slices of cheese and pepperoni will be lighter. Ditch the can of soda, or ice tea and just drink water. Forget the potato salad, apples and oranges.

The key is to examine each item and say do I really NEED this, and if I do can I find a smaller, and lighter version?

Or you can buy a bunch of helium balloons and tie them to your pack. :blink:

Edited May 22, 2004 by briansnat

2.3k · May 22, 2004

just take a leatherman and extra batteries, leave pack in truck.

38.2k · May 22, 2004

just take a leatherman and extra batteries, leave pack in truck.

My Leatherman doesn't need batteries.

May 22, 2004

When I first started I too thought that I had to bring everything but the kitchen sink and my pack weighed a ton. I quickly found that some of my "essentials" really weren't that essential. It's pretty rare around here that I will have to hike more than a few miles to a cache so other than water, batteries and some snacks that I must constantly carry because I'm diabetic most of the "stuff" stays in the truck unless I'm planning on an extended hike. :blink:

May 22, 2004

Depending on where you are and what the cellphone service is like a cell phone can replace a lot of your overnight gear on short hikes by making sure you don't ever have to stay overnight. I know you have to be careful about relying to much on technology to save you but sometimes you just need to think about the probabilities and make a decision based on that. Also if possible always hike with another able bodied person that can either pack you out or go for help. Letting a family member or friend back in civilization know where you are going and when you will be back can also be a great tool that doesn't add any weight to your pack.

6.4k · May 22, 2004

You don't mention HOW you're carrying everything.

Ditch the bottled water for a hydration bladder, and put it in a decent quality backpack if you don't use one now. You would be surprised what a difference just those 2 things will make in how much weight you can comfortably carry. Especially the water. When you carry bottles, they tend to end up at the bottom/back of your back, where they have some leverage pulling the pack away from you. A hydration system keeps the weight of the water close against your back, and distributed. A proper pack then distributes the weight to your entire body. A poor pack puts all the load on your back, and is constantly trying to pull you over backward, so you are always exerting energy to compensate for that and maintain your balance. A good pack and hydration system will feel probably 25% lighter then a poor pack and water bottles, for the same load.

May 22, 2004

You guys are great! Thanks for all the helpful information. Hopefully I can get this pack down to a more feasible weight. I tend to overdo the preparedness thing...lol

May 22, 2004

This is actually a very large subject, so you should look it up on the internet. Do a search for "Ultralight Backpacking". Even if you are not backpacking, you will still find alot of neat ways to lighten your load.

By golly, this is a really great piece of advice! I've been looking through some sights I found on Google for this subject and there are TONS of things you can do to lighten a pack. I NEVER KNEW! Thanks so much for informing me about this!

3.8k · May 22, 2004

I'd like to plug a book by Ray Jardine called Beyond Backpacking. This man regularly walks the entire AP with a pack that weighs less full than mine does empty. Check out his web page at Ray Jardine's Adventure Page

You will find that not all things in the book are practical for you but you can get lots of good ideas.

I've lowered my packweight by about 18 pounds. Not ready to make the complete jump yet but it is getting better.

May 22, 2004

I always bring a hiking pack-seat. It is so nice to have a place to sit after a long hike, and I have found that at the Cache site you can relax and take time to read the previous logs. It might not make your load lighter but it is well worth the weight at only 22 ounces.

Rei Packseat

May 23, 2004

I am A fireman here in Ca, which includes speding the night on hillsides away from our Fire Engines. I find that water (1-2 quarts), M.R.E ( meal ready to eat), small flashlight, and maybe a light sweatshirt, are all I use on a regular basis. Water is going to be the majority of your weight. Anything more than 2 quarts is going to be pretty heavy. An emergency blanket is a good idea (the tin foil lokking ones), and maybe some batteries but other than that I think that it would be going over board. Check out the weather forecasts so you can plan ahead for any kind of storm, but like somone said before most of your caches are going to be maybe 1 mile or so from the road. :blink:

2.4k · May 23, 2004

I always bring a hiking pack-seat. It is so nice to have a place to sit after a long hike, and I have found that at the Cache site you can relax and take time to read the previous logs. It might not make your load lighter but it is well worth the weight at only 22 ounces.

Rei Packseat

A place to sit? I always thought that was what ROCKS were for.....and the best thing is, they don't add ANY weight to your pack, and are usually in pretty good supply....leave that 22 oz of useless weight at home [ :blink: ]

38.2k · May 23, 2004

I always bring a hiking pack-seat. It is so nice to have a place to sit after a long hike, and I have found that at the Cache site you can relax and take time to read the previous logs. It might not make your load lighter but it is well worth the weight at only 22 ounces.

Yes, those things are comfy, but we're talking about how to lighten a load, not increase it!

2k · May 23, 2004

I prefer to wander nude into the woods, often you can get other hikers to leave THEIR items behind for your own use. I find the "jump up and down yelling, 'ooga-booga' method to be VERY effective.

May 23, 2004

PandyBat, you may want to also consider a backpack specifically designed for a female, vs. the generic ones, which are ususally designed for the male body. I invested in one and what a difference. The weight is carried lower on the hips. I talked to several people and tested several types before finding this one. I can easily carry more weight with less work, as the distribution puts the weight more on the hips. I don't know if other women have found the same thing, but I LOVE my pack. (REI, BTW)

May 23, 2004

I've noticed that when people start backpacking they tend to carry everything but the kitchen sink, and as they get more experience they lighten up their load. It's not always true but I've seen it a lot, and I was that way. The more you do it the more you'll notice how you never really use certain things, so you leave them out, or how a lighter piece of can will really help.

One good method is to modularize your pack contents and only take the pouches (or whatever) that you need. Alternatively, have a box to store all of your pack contents. When you go out for a day hike and you don't need a flashlight, or 2 full liters of water, or rain gear in the summer or sunblock in the winter, dump all of that dead weight out of the pack and into the box.

May 23, 2004

All of these suggestions are great!

As an often solo female cacher, I too started caching with a pack. After caching with a buddy for a while, he suggested that I switch over to a hip pack as carrying some weight on my hips would be easier and help me maintain better balance on hilly trails. I bought a small to mid sized hip pack, and after I got used to it, it really made a difference - even if I am carrying 1 or 2 quarts of water.

Now my car is my "big pack" and I carry what I need in the car and plan accordingly once I am on site. I keep a pack in my car with the "overnight essentials" but to be honest, I never walk more than a mile or so into the woods alone. For caches that are fairly close to the car, I take the hip pack with the important items for me being my cell phone, a compass, a Coast Guard rated whistle (which I also use kayaking), a very small first aid kit, water, and my trades. If I am making a long hike, I carry my back pack, and ALWAYS go with other people. In the trunk I carry a change of clothes, extra shoes/boots/socks, a towel, and extra cache containers - not going to help you in the car in an emergency, but just yesterday my cache partner slipped in a river and ended up with soaked boots - that extra pair of socks was much apprciated!

May 23, 2004

When you get back from a day's hike... go through your pack and ditch what you didn't use, or realized you didn't need.

Last time I did that I realized I packed a flashlight, and a head lamp on a day hike??

I also agree with Briansnat... unless you are planning an extensive hike, that will bring you close to entire day in the woods, there is no real need to plan for a night in the forest. Throw in an emergency blanket, or even a very large garbage bag (like for yard waste) it will keep you dry, and hold in the warmth if you need it for a night.

Make sure you have a half decent first aid kit, and some fire starting stuff, and you should be OK, unless its winter or something.

Get a good pack with a hydration system and you are set.

Scott

Edited May 23, 2004 by McKenzie Clan

5.6k · May 23, 2004

One question I've always asked as an instructor for the Mountaineer's: With what you have could you comfortable spend the night? If the answer is yes, you probably have too much. You need enough to survive the conditions, not be comfortable (assuming a day trip).

As to what you need, the Mountaineer's in the 1930's (still good today) came up with the "10 essentials" - what everybody should take on any length trip. They are: map (of area), compass, flashlight (w/ extra batteries/bulb), sunglasses/sunscreen, extra food, extra clothing, matches, firestarter, first aid kit, and knife. In their first aid course they have the "Plus 5" - water bottle (filled), sit pad, tube tent, emergancy blanket, signal device. My kit with all this (not counting water weight) is about 5 pounds. As to someone's suggestion of skipping a flashlight for day trips - I could tell you my personal experiences of that but don't have the time right now, let me just say "bad idea!"

May 23, 2004

I agree with The Jester about flashlights. There have been soooo many times when I have been outdoors where I thougtht that I was only going to be out there during the day, but ended up staying untill efter the sun setted. Also, a flashlight can be a very useful thing during the day. Why not invest in a photon micro LED light? They are as bright(if not brighter) as full sized flashlights, and weigh in at only 5 grams! Now thats what I call a weight savings!

May 23, 2004

I carry a c Camelback Mule 100 oz. with my swag of course.It also contains a small 1st aid kit,insect sting/bite extractor,emerg. poncho,mylar blanket,mini flashlight w/spare batt.,pen,550 cord & biner,whistle,cyalume sticks,moist wipes,toilet seat covers,protien bars.All that and it weighs in at about 12-15 lbs. Thats probably considered a day pack,but you can get by a little longer with enough water and common sense.Be safe & cache on :lol: Forgot to mention a knife but I ALWAYS carry a knife. :blink:

Edited May 23, 2004 by habercacher

2k · May 24, 2004

I have to do most of my caching while on the job and try to minimize the load. Not so much due to weight but because the boss gets suspicious at some of the detritus we cachers pick up.

3.8k · May 24, 2004

I cannot pack light. No matter how hard I try to cut to the "essentials," I always have enough gear to support an invasion. I always take only what I need, but then, I like to primitive camp with a bit of luxury.

One of my soft spots is my folding aluminum stool. When you get old, soft stools are a way of life. :lol:

Speaking of stools and lightening your load, there is more information here.

May 24, 2004

I like to just take my gps, a paper and a pencil, on longer than normal hikes. The GPS is for the obvious but the paper and pencil is for the "Oh crap, I forgot to bring..." list. You only know what you need to have when you know you've forgotten it. Usually my pencil lead breaks while writing the list... and having no way to write anymore I quickly lose the list somewhere while finding the cache. So this whole thing seems to be one reoccuring nightmare...

1.4k · May 24, 2004

I generally disagree that if you're only planning a short day hike it isn't nessesary to bring along the overnight kit. Lighten the load by all means, but don't remove the nessessities. I bring a small survival kit on every foray into the woods, more than once it has proven it's worth. It weighs about 2 pounds and can turn a nightmare in the forest into an inconvenient overnight stay.

2 of my brothers spent about 36 hours lost in the Bitteroots a few years back (34 hours more than they had planned), it was cold, wet, snowy. When we finally found them they both had frostbite and were becoming hypothermic. One more night and I doubt we'd of found them alive. They both would have made any promise to the gods for the survival kit they had left in the car. A firestarter is pretty lightweight goods considering it can save your life, same goes for a space blanket.

Lighten up on the foodstuffs, geoswag and gadgets if you must, but leave that survival kit right where it belongs...in your pack.

2k · May 24, 2004

....

One good method is to modularize your pack contents and only take the pouches (or whatever) that you need. Alternatively, have a box to store all of your pack contents. When you go out for a day hike and you don't need a flashlight, or 2 full liters of water, or rain gear in the summer or sunblock in the winter, dump all of that dead weight out of the pack and into the box.

I'm glad I read before I posted. This is the method I have used for many years. I call it the bag of bags. When I got into Geocaching I just added another bag to the system. (One that stays home when I go on other activities.) I used a small shoulder bag so I could take just the geocaching stuff when needed and still not have my hands full.

Some things we carry even though we could do without them. I carry an old military signaling mirror, weighs a ton. But I like it, I move it into every new pack I buy. In 20 years I've used it maybe twice, to get something out of my eye or see just how bad that branch scraped my forehead. A friend of mine had a Sierra cup with a lanyard made of 1/4-20 nuts. He carried it on the outside of his pack so it did dual duty he could get a drink from the stream* and it warned bears of his approach.

*This was back in the day when we were blissfully ignorant of the dangers of drinking water straight from a stream. I wonder why we never died a horrible death?

May 24, 2004

See, that's where I tend to get a little worried. You never know what's going to happen. I could break my leg a half mile down a trail that's not traveled often and not be found for days. I mean, we've had people trapped in cars laying just off the road in a ditch out of eye's view from passing motorists. That's the kind of stuff I worry about.

And as soon as I take out something that I don't think I would need, I would need it. I'm still trying to lighten my backpack but I think I need to go with smaller versions of things I think I would need.

2.1k · May 24, 2004

Hi,

I have followed the same method for years...

always take 1st aid kit, water, knife, gps, compass, lighter, garbage bag
take extra stuff (clothing, food, etc.) based on the day's plan
the other stuff in my bag is examined before I go out, and anything I didn't use last time stays home

This tends to reduce the clutter, and keep my bag as light as it can reasonably be.

nfa

2k · May 24, 2004

Another thought on lightening the load.

Find things that do double duty. Last spring* ('03) I bought a jacket with a zip out lining. The outer shell is a great light weight windbreaker. The liner is a nice warm polar fleece sweater. Together they are warm enough for anything I'm likely to encounter.

Duct tape is usefull for quick repairs and first aid.

A bandana is good for a lot of things.

Standardize battery sizes on your electronics, I replaced my AAA minimag with a AA version so as to be compatible with my GPS.

*I tend to buy most of my gear off season, great $avings to be had.

3.8k · May 24, 2004

Speaking of stools and lightening your load, there is more information here.

I was worried about this line. You are not taking us to a website for Fleet enima products are you?

May 25, 2004

I am one of those guys who packs everything but the kitchen sink (actually I bring the faucet, aka water filter) but I also do this intentionally for the challenge and the added work out. I'm not insane about it though. I still try to keep it fairly light but will pack it even if I don't think I need it

Lightening The Load.....

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