Google" kitchen scales". I guess some cooks weigh food portions!

I found out last hike in April the I could fit all of one day's food supply in a quart size expandable bottom ziplock.

Bump for a good suggestion and no stickies on BPL

Can it be made a "sticky" that stays at the top? Surely it can.

Anybody care to add a "how to" attach a formatted gear list (from excel perhaps)? I haven't really found a good way to attach my gear list so it shows up in the thread. Links are ok, but I prefer to have it all in one place.

Reply to John - - Ask Sam H!

He'll have the technical insights.

I got a great postal scale on Ebay for 39 bucks. Weights are in both American and metric. It even does tare weight. The other thing that's nice is that it goes up to 76 lbs. So, I can use it when I sell stuff on Ebay too. THAT'S RIGHT! Multi-purpose baby!

I also like zip lock baggies.

Edited by socalpacker on 10/01/2010 10:43:51 MDT.

Like others, I think weighing your gear is a step in the right direction. But, after more than 40 years of doing it, it becomes a simple inventory sheet. For example, I have had over a dozen WG stoves. Which one to list?

You tell me to list my current trip. OK. Soo, which part? (Base camp/car camp, hiking, fast-packing, canoeing, through hiking?) Over the course of a two to three week trip into the woods, I often take 2 sets of gear: Base camping and hiking/canoeing.

Anyway, gear and weight are only the first step in lightening a pack for a trip.

Next is organizing gear into systems for performing tasks. For example (refer to the diagram above):
Your Sleep System. This also includes a base layer of clothing. By including a base layer of clothing you extend the temperature range of your bag. From there you have several options (given you do not need the extra warmth) a lighter pad, a lighter bag, a lighter shelter. Note that the Ground cloth is out of place. It is actually part of the shelter system, not an independent member of the sleeping system. I decided to let the mistake stand as a good example of what to avoid. (Besides, I would have had to redo the diagram.) Anyway, the point of this exercise is that we can get the lowest weight item for every category, and, we may still be carrying TOO much weight for any one trip. Not always, but it is surly never guaranteed to be lightest needed for any one trip.

As a Computer Scientist, one of the tools we use is called database normalization. This is an offshoot of that. By establishing the parameters of each trip, in a simple example: temperature, we can reduce the weight of what we have available to it's minimum. This MAY be different than simply choosing the lightest item by a spreadsheet. It helps to answer the question: "Which would be lighter for this trip?"
Something a spreadsheet of weights can lack. It is usually far easier to absorb info with a diagram than a spread sheet, anyway.
Going too far? Sure. But I am retired from a school. I get to play with this stuff. There is indeed a methode to my madness. Or is that a madness to my methode?
jdm

Edited by jamesdmarco on 12/13/2010 05:59:54 MST.