Here is my usual gear list. I used to live in WA but just moved to europe so now I will be spending most of my hiking time in the alps. My goal is to drop my weight below 8 pounds. What do you think would be the best way to do this while spending the least amount of money.

Stuff worn or carried:
Brooks running shorts - 4.9
Shirt (Several styles similar weight) - 6
Headsweats Hat - 1.5
Smartwool minicrew socks - 2
Shoes (La Sportiva) - 24?
Poles BD trail Compact - 17
Sunglasses - 1.4
Watch, Sunnto Core - 2.3

Clothes in the pack:
Patagonia Houdini - 4.5
Western Mountaineering Flash - 9.4
Shell TNF triumph - 5.5
Shell pant Sierra Designs Hurricane - 7.3
Another pair of socks - 2.3

Sleep and shelter:
Squall Classic with Guy lines and sack - 25.4
stakes - 2
Nunatak Arc Specialist - 14.8
Neoair Small - 9.1

Packing:
Golite Jam - 21.1
Sea to summit sack - .7

Cooking and Water:
Fancey Feast Cat food stove - .2
8oz water bottle for fuel - .7
REI Ti .9L pot - 4.7
Foil Wind Screen - .3
Ti spork - .5
3mm cord for bear hang - 3.4
Matches in case - .8
Platypus 1L bottles X2 - 1.8
Aqua Mira - 2.6

Other Stuff:
Petzl Tikka XP 2 - 1.8
First Aid - 2.9
MSR packtowel - .9
Canon G9 camera - 13.4
Sunscreen - 1.3
Deet - 3
Petzl Core - 1

Weight of items worn & carried
3 lb 13oz

Base pack weight
8lb 13oz

The list looks pretty good to me, especially with the 13.4oz camera. Maybe you can just move that to the "Stuff worn or carried" section and call it a day? Kidding, of course. The only minor things I noticed were that it seems like you have a lot of aqua mira and deet and could maybe repackage them into something smaller and lighter. You could probably save a few ounces on the shelter, but that'll cost money and probably not worth it.

Some things you might want to add:
Map
Compass
Soap
Toothbrush
Warm hat and maybe gloves depending on the season

Also, looks like you accidentally posted this in the Trip Reports forum instead of the Gear Lists forum

Edited by csteutterman on 12/23/2011 11:15:22 MST.

Do you really need to hang your food in the Alps? I have no idea, but I noticed you have cord for a hang listed.

The easy ones I see are:

"3mm cord for bear hang - 3.4" No bears in the Alps. Maybe bring 50 feet of braided 80-pound-test fishing line (less than 0.5 ounces) for the repairs or tasks that can come up. 3 ounces saved.

"Deet - 3" It would take me a month or more to go through 3 ounces of DEET and I live in Alaska. I LOVE professional samples for little bits of medical goo, but I don't know of any sources of mini tubes of DEET. But if you repackage the DEET into a 0.25 fluid ounce / 7 ml container or plastic tube, that works. I've repurposed 0.25 ounce professional sample tubes of sunscreen that way. Squeeze them, stick the open end in a cup of DEET and let it slurp it up. 2.5 ounces saved.

"Matches in case - .8" How about a book of matches in a tiny ziplock? Very cheap and gives you 20 matches. Personally, I'd go with the mini Bic lighter for its far greater number of lightings and multipurposing - it's a lot easier illumination in a pinch that matches are.

"First Aid - 2.9" Maybe there's an ounce to saved here, depends on what you have and need.

"Canon G9 camera - 13.4" This would be the first thing I'd leave out. I (personally) prefer to remember the scenery than document it and I don't like to babysit a camera in terms of water and g-shock, but to each their own.

I thought I had posted this in the gear list forum but I put it here by mistake, Sorry!

I was probably going to ditch the cord, as well as the camera in favor of a lighter one. Any suggestions?

Repacking my Deet/ aqua mira has been a plan of mine as well.

I was also thinking of getting a lighter Pack, any suggestions for this one, probably around the 35L range is what I would get.

Thanks for the input so far, and if any of the moderators can move this thread to the proper forum feel free to do so. Now I need to put in a actual trip report to balance this out.

Eric

I do see a potential for one in the gear list though.
The Nanutuk quilt and small pad. I don't use a quilt so I cannot say for sure, but I believe you want a longer pad. A thinner pad, albiet a bit bulkier, will work at about the same weight. I think a 3/4 length or full length pad would work better, example: the NightLites are listed at about $35USD, not bad cost wise. Using a quilt, pack and small neoair? Too many points of draught leakage IMHO. I think the "thin" or old style Nightlites are still available at GG. They weigh about 6oz and have similar R values as a NeoAir.

A Lighter pack? Well, the lighter packs at 35L are surely possible. But, my thought is dropping from a 47L pack to a lighter and smaller pack "might" hurt. If you are in any way not quite ready with the rest of your gear, you will find yourself spending large ammounts of cash for smaller stuff to make it fit. Anyway, the Gossamer Gear Murmur at ~8oz does fit the bill. I have NOT checked it out, yet...
But, your GEAR seems fine. A down sweater is lacking for sleeping & insurance. And I would carry two pair of socks & wearing one, not just one extra. Socks may take a couple days to dry out after washing them out But, I use heavier socks than normal, you may be fine.

Added: I opened the package from Gossamer Gear, but forgot I owed you a post. My initial impression is that the pack is much more durable than it was. The 2012 pack at 8oz (a bit more) is much better built. The seaming was as good or better than than any pack I have. The inner seams were even bias taped to make them less susiptable to wear. WOW! At about 35L it is probably among the best performer seen so far. I have no doubt that I could overload it with food on longer trips.

Edited by jamesdmarco on 12/27/2011 17:46:45 MST.

The Canon S95 is a nice little camera and it was recently $229 on amazon. The price has been fluctuating quite a bit though and it's currently back up to $333, but maybe it'll go back down again.

For deet, I picked up some breath drops and used the dropper bottle (1/8 oz.), but you may need something a little bigger depending on your trip length and location.

For the pack, on paper the MLD Prophet seems to meet your requirements. The main pack plus extenstion collar is listed at 2400ci (~39L) and it weighs 14.5oz. Or maybe ULA CDT at 17oz? I don't own either of these packs though, so take these suggestions with a grain of salt.

Edited by csteutterman on 12/24/2011 12:13:35 MST.