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Pack weights (again)

G1ZmO

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OK I know this subject has probably been done to death but this is my major issue and I need to do something about it.

So, you might have seen my other thread about my aborted over-nighter.
On my previous overnight I had 25kg on my back and suffered a lot of back pain for a couple of weeks thereafter. (the sciatic pain is always there btw and is a growing concern as I get older)
On this occasion I had reduced the pack weight to 20kg by:
  1. including a water filter
  2. excluding 3L(3kg) of water (but meaning I need to be near a water source)
  3. excluding the axe and a number of other things
However, I had to add on the hammock under-blanket which I got recently and haven't tried out yet and I took a folding chair since last time by back wasn't comfortable sitting on the ground.

I don't have the money to buy expensive lightweight sleeping bags etc and my sleeping kit: Hammock, Bag, Liner, Bivvibag, under-blanket and roll mat comes to 6.6kg

I'll upload a screenshot of my excel file with all my item weights for your interest.

packing weights.PNG

So, what can I do?
My wife's suggestion (which I'm seriously considering) is packing 2 rucksacks and doing a double trip to and from the car. I can cope with the walking as long as I don't have (extra) back pain but I will need to pre-scout the camp site and work out the most efficient route. The minimum distance from the car to the area I've been using is around 350m

Any other suggestions would be very much appreciated.
 
A double journey seem the most plausible one all depending on the length of the journey.

A think like myself Paul we are still finding our feet as what gear to take. A may be wrong but a think it’s down to the area in which you camp. Or how comfortable you want to be...Two journeys don’t seem all that bad for a pain free camp. And as time goes by you will know yourself what can be left behind.

Am like a walking flit when I go out:rofl:
 
This is an issue for most of us on here particularly those who are getting on in years (ME) & also those who have developed back issues etc. :(

It isn't an easy thing to sort out either as going lighter comes at a cost ££££££ ! :eek:

Only last week as I was packing my bergen for Scotland did I realise just how bonkers my pack weighs. :eek:

I have no way of weighing it & it may be just as well really. My son went to lift it & he wasn't impressed at all. :eek:

I will go through the contents again before we go but I can't see me taking anything out that I am not going to need when I get there.

Like you I am open to suggestions but I am not willing to risk my health & safety during a Scottish winter by leaving stuff behind.

By the way my carp fishing holdall with cooking kit & ancilleries is a tidy weight too & my four season carp fishing sleeping bag is so bulky that it isn't contained within the bergen & will instead be contained within a separate heavy duty dry-bag ! :D
 
True, 4 trips of 350m is 1.4km just for the walk in though (and obviously 2.8km overall)
Maybe I need somewhere a bit more remote but where I can camp closer to the car....
 
Neil, I weighed most of my smaller bits and pieces on the kitchen scales and tallied them up. (though I do also have a 60kg platform scale) You could use the cheap baggage scale thing though?
I'm not all that concerned with the weight for the Feb trip since we'll be relatively close to the vehicles so should be able to do multiple trips. I'm planning to leave most of my food and spare boots etc in the car.
 
As far as trying to find some middle ground with it is concerned perhaps we need to consider the 2nd-hand market in order to obtain lighter gear at a reasonable price.

Local small ads, flea-bay, the sales section on this forum & though I don't do Facebook I believe there is a place called The Bushcraft Trade Post (I think you have to register on it) where lots of gear is listed for sale/trade.

There is also the sales to keep an eye on at most of the outdoor & specialist bushcraft outlets as well as your local charity shops (Also keep in mind charity shops in more affluent areas if you go on any visits or holidays during the year).

I think that we need to be savvy & to compromise a little as far as used gear is concerned but there are certainly bargains to be had out there.

This opens up the whole debate on sleep systems & the down v synthetic conundrum as your sleeping gear is bulky & weighty too.

I think that if you have researched the kit that you want in order to reduce the weight it might be good to put a few sheckles aside each week in order to purchase the more expensive stuff in the sales & if you find one that hasn't been used much for a bargain price in the meantime & you are comfortable with it having had one careful owner then go for it ! :thumbsup:

To help you out with the cost you could always get your friends & relatives to get you vouchers for certain shops or to give you the cash instead for birthdays & Christmas etc & that way you get exactly what you want as opposed to drawers full of socks, boxer shorts & those once a year jumpers ! :D
 
A double journey seem the most plausible one all depending on the length of the journey.

A think like myself Paul we are still finding our feet as what gear to take. A may be wrong but a think it’s down to the area in which you camp. Or how comfortable you want to be...Two journeys don’t seem all that bad for a pain free camp. And as time goes by you will know yourself what can be left behind.

Am like a walking flit when I go out:rofl:

One thing to consider though with the double trip is that your first sack full of goodies could go missing whilst you are going back for the rest of your kit ! :(

Or you might possibly forget where you hid it in the first place ! :D
 
There is that to consider Neil however I've never seen anyone else on the side of the local glen that I go to. To get there on foot you'd either need to climb down a steep slope and cross the river or walk several miles via the bridge.
I suppose I could always hide it in a bush or something. lol
 
Just had a quick look at your list Paul & apart from the sleep system the other areas that I would try to make a weight saving would be the rucksack itself at nearly 3kgs & the BBQ pit at 2kgs !

Just a thought mate ! :thumbsup:
 
One thing to consider though with the double trip is that your first sack full of goodies could go missing whilst you are going back for the rest of your kit ! :(

Or you might possibly forget where you hid it in the first place ! :D


There is that right enough. Pains to think it would happen tho.
 
If it's only an overnighter how many meals do you eat, as said above, bag is a big one, you could sit in your hammock saving the chair weight, a LOT less cooking pots and pans, the Zebra pot can do everything from boiling your brew water to making a meal to eating out of it, do you need so many knives and an axe and a saw, I wouldn't have thought so, and a bbq pit for an overnighter, of course, it all depends on what you want to do whilst there ?
 
Just a suggestion Paul. Take a little 22lt Rucksack and and see what you can fit in it mate. Go for a solo and see how comfortable you can make yourself. I intended on trying this also. Something to eat sleep on and boil water. The rest you make from what’s lying about you ie a little seat etc
 
Not sure the ground your walkin over but what about a travois, design hasn't changed in a few hundred/thousand years so maybe it's pretty much sorted?

38
 
I think some of you have misunderstood my list. The first weight column is just the item weight. If it's missing from the second column then it wasn't included in the over-nighter packing, i.e. I didn't take the folding bbq or axe etc

Yes Bop, I was going to take only the Zebra but at the last minute put in the frying pan too so that I could cook the sausages at the same time as the rice etc but I accept that I could just cook the sausages on a stone or sticks

Neil, the sleep system stuff takes up most of that big rucksack lol which is the same as this one that Lee did a review on LINK

38, Well that's a thought but with the fences I need to go over/under it wouldn't be suitable for the whole journey. Part of it maybe though.
 
I quite like that rucksack Paul & the ones I use atm are heavy ex-army bergens too but if you could sniff out something suitable that weighs between say 1.5 & 2.0 kilos it would be a big help to you.

If you could also find a 3/4 season sleeping bag at the same sort of weight then that's a 3kg saving on those two items alone. :thumbsup:
 
How many degrees Celsius is the deepest temperature you have to count with in your area?
How tall are You?
How old are You?
 
Potentially -15C when were camping in Feb in the highlands.
1.8m tall
52 years old
 
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