Edited by sweitzen on 12/10/2009 10:53:50 MST.

You could easily shed some weight on the following items:

CamelBak Omega HydroTanium 100 oz reservoir 211 7.4

-Use a collapsible bottle like nalgene or platypus. The platypus offers a hose system if you must have that. The Camelbak reservoirs are made of a very heavy plastic.

Mountain Hardwear UltraLamina 45° sleeping bag 680 24.0

-That is pretty heavy for a 45° bag. I'd imagine you could get a Golite Ultra 20 quilt for pretty cheap

Katadyn Pocket Microfilter 741 26.1

-Katadyn tablets might be a better choice. This filter is incredibly heavy. If there's sediment, filter it through your bandana or a towel.

U-Dig-It Stainless Steel Hand Shovel 184 6.5

-A stick could make a pretty good shovel. If you must, use a trowel instead. The MontBell one is good or the cheapest route is to get an aluminum snow stake. Those work pretty well.

Therm-a-Rest Compack Chair 170 6.0

-Consider just folding up your sleeping pad and sitting on it. You could place it on top of your ground cloth

Suggestions:

1 - Switch to a mini Bic lighter(s) (save 0.4oz)

2 - Pinnacle seems pretty huge for what you're carrying. Something smaller and lighter like the MLD Exodus (15oz) would save you 17oz.

3 - The Katadyn Pocket Microfilter is just too heavy @ 26oz. Leave the Iodine (3.3oz) and Katadyn at home and bring AquaMira tablets (1oz), saving 28oz.

4 - NeoAir Small would save you 8oz over your Prolite Plus

5 - The O.R. Bug Bivy is heavy @ 16oz. Look at lighter ones in the 5-9oz range like the MLD Bug Bivy (save ~8oz)

6 - Ditch the 6.5oz shovel or find a lighter one (save 4oz)

7 - Ditch the 6oz camp chair and use a small section of closed cell pad instead to sit on. This is much lighter and it can double as a back pad in your backpad and a sleeping pad under your feet. Save 5oz.

8 - Grab a smaller packTowl (save 1-2oz)

Total Suggested Weight Savings: 72oz or 4.5lbs

Of all these suggestions, I would look at the water situation first as this is an area that you can save a ton of weight for next to nothing. Suggestions #1, #6, #7 & #8 can also be done easily regardless of budget.

If you're spending money, I would probably buy a new pack first since you're likely finding the Pinnacle too large and unnecessarily heavy. Suggestions #4 and #5 are probably more longer term gear issues to address.

Edited by dandydan on 12/09/2009 21:56:07 MST.

Yes, this list does not yet include clothes.

Some substitutions I am already considering:

Gossamer Gear Mariposa Plus backpack (22.3 oz/632 g)
Evernew water bladder (2 l) (1.5 oz/36 g)
<=16 oz sleeping bag (16 oz/454 g) (need recommendations)
Gossamer Gear NightLite torso-length pad (3.8 oz/108 g)
Aquamira Frontier Pro water filter (2 oz/57 g)

Some removals I am considering:
Drop one fuel cannister and pack fewer food items that require boiling water
U-Dig-It shovel
Compack Chair
Mylar blanket

These changes would take the weight of my pack as listed above from 12.74 lbs to 7.61 lbs.

Now, what recommendations are there for a sleeping bag weighing a maximum of one pound? BPL used to sell one with a Pertex Quantum shell, but that seems to be discontinued. For summer camping, perhaps just a light quilt?

There are a number of bag makers who produce lightweight bags in the 35-45 degree range. Western Mountaineering, for example, makes the HighLite, a 35 degree bag that is around 16-17 ounces.
http://wwww.westernmountaineering.com/index.cfm?section=Products&page=Sleeping%20Bags&cat=ExtremeLite%20Series&ContentId=16

You can always swap out for lighter equipment, but if you are partial to certain items, like a camp chair, more power to you. Honestly, having run the full gamut of pack weights - from ultralight to heavy - I think you just find what works for you. A lot depends on the type of trip, the season, and your expectations.

If it were me - I'd opt for a good sleeping system over a lighter pack (unless the pack you have now is uncomfortable). The NeoAir is a nice comfortable pad. Spendy, but worth it in my mind. I personally like the regular size at 14 ounces since I can stretch out on it (the only time besides flying in coach that it pays to be 5-8), but I can understand why some people opt for a small.

Dirk

The Pinnacle is rather large and some what heavy for a frameless pack. you could get a pack below 24oz. -227

Ditch the big hydration bladder. A couple 1L platypus bottle would be much lighter. -163

Your sleeping bag is only rated to 45 so you aren't going to to be expecting cold weather. Whats the point in having the prolite plus. The regular Prolite would be a lighter
option. A CCF pad would be even lighter. -170 to -230

You have 8 stakes for just a poncho/tarp. You could easily get away with just four. Or hell make them from sticks when you get to camp. -30 to -54

Forget the filter, the Polar pure should be enough. -741

You have alot of extra batteries. You could cut that in half. -23.5

Your FAK is rather heavy I am sure you can get by without a finger splint too. I am sure you could easily get your FAK down to 3 oz. -73

You can dig a hole with a stick leave the trowel at home. -184

Loose the chair -170

Ditch the mylar blanket. -50

I don't see any point in a pack towel. I used one a few years back and it didn't even absorb any water. Useless IMO! -189

Thats a total savings of 2104 grams or 74 oz.

BTW I did not see a knife or a map in your list.

Joseph

A few suggestions not already mentioned:

Your Petzl headlamp isn't compatible with lithium batteries:

http://www.petzl.com/files/all/en/Products/Lamp/battery-compatibility-chart.pdf

If you use it, you might want to use it on a lower power setting and have a backup light source, such as a Photon Freedom. I have a similar model (Tactikka Plus), and I plan to do the same when using lithium batteries in the winter.

I'd carry two Bic minis. Fire can become very important.

I went and bought an Evernew bladder, foam sleeping pad, lightweight trowel, and the Aquamira Frontier Pro filter, and ditched a few items, so here is the revised list:

Edited by sweitzen on 12/10/2009 10:54:23 MST.

I'll be replacing the backpack, sleeping bag, and bug bivy when I can afford to do so -- What price should I be seeing for the GoLite Ultra 20 Quilt? Is there also a GoLite Ultra 20 sleeping bag, or are they actually the same thing? I keep seeing a Golite Ultra 20 sleeping bag, and the weight savings over my current bag does not seem impressive. I was initially hesitant about down because it can be so wet here -- but then again, I will sometimes be camping when it's hotter than blazes, anyway.

For packs, I am debating between MLD Exodus and Gossamer Gear Mariposa Plus. Any feedback from people who used both?

I'll probably replace the OR bug bivy with the MLD ultralight bug bivy.

I think I'll replace the FAK with the AMK Ultralight & Watertight 0.3, and ditch the quickclot and splint.

My knife is a Benchmade Doug Ritter RSK-1 folding knife; it's my EDC blade. It's not the lightest, but nor is it super heavy. However, I may replace it while hiking with the Gerber ultralight LST or LST magnum, both of which I already own.

The 6 batteries listed includes the 3 already in the lamp.

Thanks, Andy, for the heads-up about the Tikka Plus and lithium batteries -- I wasn't aware of that. It does seem to work fine with the lithium -- do you know why lithium are not recommended? On edit: I just checked Petzl's site for the Tikka Plus2, and they claim it MAY be used with lithium on the product page -- but it says it may not be on the compatibility chart. Mine is an older Tikka Plus, with 4 LEDs, different from the Tikka Plus2.

Also, in place of a spare lighter, I have a mini magnesium/firesteel combo, with some cotton tinder and the wetfire tinder.

Yes, I haven't included a map. Yet. I am also debating trail GPS devices...

Edited by sweitzen on 12/10/2009 11:13:09 MST.

My understanding is that the lithiums have a little more voltage than alkalines, and could overheat and ruin the LED's. Looks like we both might be getting the Tikka Plus 2 soon. :)