Weighing gear

[MeganP]

Last year on IR I met a lightweight hiker whose pack weighed something ridiculously light like 12 pounds without food and water. He said his first step in lightening his pack was to buy a scale that measures ounces (like a kitchen or postage scale) and just start weighing everything to find out where he could get rid of weight.

Has anyone done this? Does anyone have a reliable, digital scale to recommend? I'd like to get one and take time this spring to really find out what everything I take weighs (I know my pack is usually in the 35-pound range total) and see if I can't make some savings.

Any help would be appreciated.

[Chorizo]

I have a Soehnle kitchen scale (I also use for cooking as they are indispensable) and I like it very much. It will do up to 11 lbs. accurately. Supposedly Oxo makes nice ones too. I haven't used an Oxo so I cant say for sure. Anyways you will find it a great way to start trimming weight. Do an amazon search for "kitchen scales" and tons of choices will pop up. Good Luck.

[Backpacker534]

I give a lot of credit to the people who can make ultra-lite hiking work for them. My pack, over the years, has consistently been between 40 and 45 pounds. I have thought about it and figured I probably wouldn't be as worn out at the end of some of my longer days on the trail if I could get my pack weight down by 10 or so pounds so, I started paying closer attention to what I was packing and trying to pare down what I carried. Unfortunately, I have never really been able to get the weight down. I seem to enjoy a little more comfort than ultra-lite backpackers. We always carry a tent, instead of just a tarp. We have a fairly heavy stove and an extra container of fuel. I also don't have a big discretionary budget so I can't afford the uber-super-ultra-lite gear/clothing that would probably help reduce the weight. And I usually take at least two extra complete sets of clothing in case I get cold or wet while on the trail, which seems to happen rather often as we usually get caught hiking in the rain on almost every trip.

My hiking partner and I will be on Isle Royale again from May 15 - May 20, 2010 and I will once again give pack weight reduction a serious look but, I'm not holding out much hope.

[MeganP]

Hi chorizo, thanks for the recommendation. I looked briefly at those scales and they look nice. I might pick one up.

Backpacker 534, I know what you're coming from. I got into backpacking more seriously in the last 4-5 years, so as I've had to make gear purchases I've picked up some nice lightweight equipment, but some of my items (tent, namely) are heavier. I consider myself middle of the road in my purchases. I want some durability and quality, but I'm not in an income bracket to go for the latest, greatest, lightest stuff. I'm willing to carry a few extra pounds for a bit of extra comfort in camp. That being said, I know there are some cheap, homemade types of things I can do to lighten the load. I was thinking if I got a scale and spent a Saturday just weighing everything and really knowing what I'm dealing with, I can make some simple, inexpensive swaps that hopefully will add up. For example, I take a worn-out pair of Teva sandals for camp shoes. They work well, but I'm curious how much they weigh, and whether a cheapo pair of Croc knockoffs or cork sandals might save a few ounces. At the end of this winter I picked up a lightwear down jacket on clearance. I wonder how it compares to the bulky fleece I was carrying. Not much might pan out from this exercise, but I thought I'd give it a shot.

If all else fails, the extra exercise involved in carrying a heavier pack sure won't hurt me.

[Backpacker534]

I have a pair of "water shoes" that I bought at Walmart a few years ago. The have a "heavier" rubber sole and the uppers are like an elastic/spandex material that is very stretchy. I use those in camp instead of keeping on my bulky hiking boots. It's nice to have something a little more lightweight and comfortable at the end of a long day. They are also nice to wear when making a river crossing as they definitely will not slip off of your feet. Although, I've seen the postings about the knock-off Crocs idea and think that may be a better bet than my "water shoes". I'm sure they are lighter in weight.

[Kevinl]

I love this conversation about cost versus weight versus comfort. I sometimes read Backpacker magazine, and I realize what a huge business this can be and I wonder who can possibly buy some of this top end stuff and still afford to eat, but there must be a market. On the other hand, because so much high end/high dollar gear is being pumped out, that means that last year's model often goes on sale to make way for new stuff and it is possible to find good stuff on the cheap. I love gear, but I refuse to buy stuff unless it's on sale. On the other hand, ultra-light doesn't necessarily have to mean expensive, as bp534 pointed out, sometimes it means just giving up comfort items, but the advertising world tries to convince us otherwise, that we need to pay to achieve both comfort and lightness, and I'm not convinced that's true.

On the scale thing, I simply weigh myself, throw everything in my pack, put it on and step on the bathroom scale and check the difference, then start considering what I can do without.

[Backpacker534]

Kevin, that is basically the way I weigh my gear as well. Throw it all together and step on the scale. Then I try to figure out what to get rid of. I figure that drilling the middle out of my toothbrush and cutting off the 2" of excess strap on my pack, like I have seen posted several times by ultra-lite hikers, will only save me about what? .0004 ounces?!? Give me a break. With the amount of weight I carry that will not even be noticeable. At that weight I better also take into consideration the number of black flies and mosquitoes that land on me during the hike to suck my blood and make me itchy, as I'm sure they weigh about the same. I figure that with the weight I carry, in order for me to feel a weight difference I will have to get rid of some "bigger" items and I probably would not need a scale to figure that out. Although, like MeganP said, if you can weigh an item and then find something comparable to carry, you could use the scale to weigh both items and then take the lighter of the two. If you can do that with enough things I guess you may be able to reduce the total weight by a couple pounds. Although, for me, 40-45 pounds minus a couple pounds is still not going be very noticeable to me. So, I usually just "suffer" through it.

[mdenys]

Lightening your load does not have to break the bank. When I started getting serious about backpacking a few years ago I already had some neck and knee problems. If I wanted to continue I needed to consider carrying as light a load as possible. Fortunately, at that point most of my equipment was older and needed to be replaced so I could shop around for the lightest I could afford. The best place to start is with the three main items, pack, sleeping bag and shelter. My pack weighs 2lbs ULA Circuit and was $180, my bag is a 20 degree Campmor bag at 2lbs and $120. A good down bag but it is more like a 30 degree bag. My tent is an REI quarter dome, less than 4lbs on sale for $140. If using it for 2 people you need to really like your hiking partner. My cooking set up is pretty simple. I use an alcohol stove and only boil water using the freezer bag cooking method. My base weight before food and water is usually about 18 lbs and I am always very comfortable and safe. BTW Tevas weigh about 2lbs and Waldies (the original Crocs) are about 7 oz. Making choices like that really start to add up.

[LeftOvers]

Years ago, I bought a mechanical postage scale that goes up to 3 1/2 or 4 lbs. (not one of the smaller ones that only goes to a half pound or so). The weighing platform is about 4"x4" so it can be a challenge to weigh some things but it works.

I use it to make decisions between items and it helps a lot. It's surprising how hard it is to compare the weights of a fleece jacket and a wool shirt that are equally warm without a scale. It doesn't take many such choices to make big changes in the weight of my pack.

[daveb1313]

I use the Rapala fish scale I keep in my tackle box. Weights up to 50 lbs, and shows ounces, all digital. I can't remember the price, probably in the $20. range.

[DonNewcomb]

My brother regularly weighs everything on a gram scale and keeps the information in a spreadsheet. He can go down the list and click the items he's taking and they are automatically added to the weight total. He buys everything as light as possible that still able to do the job. The issue is that we are both carrying around about 30 lbs of fat that we really shouldn't have and need to cut weight someplace. Since the gut doesn't seem to want to give it up, the pack has to.

[budducci]

My two cents are to definitely get a digital scale. I found a cheap one on Amazon that goes up to 11 lbs, which should be plenty. Then make a spreadsheet of all the non-food gear you bring with, including the clothes you wear, and weigh them all. Then as you go on trips, keep track of what you don't need, or wish you would have had along. It is also helpful if you post that spreadsheet on forums like this or BackPacking Light, then others can weigh in with suggested modifications to your gear.

I started packing with everything I could possibly fit into the largest pack I could wear. Now I'm down to about 15 lbs base weight for an early season trip to the Isle.

[yellownick]

I just leave my underwear and tooth brush home.

[DayDreamin]

Epic first post

I also use the Rapala Scale that daveb1313 spoke of
Works great

[danha1en]

I attempted to get lightweight the past few years, but never was proactive about it until this year. I picked up this scale from Amazon for $25 and started weighing all my gear early for this year's big trip.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002CM6TVI

I'm in the process of putting all my gear in a spreadsheet now so I can hopefully find out what gear I can upgrade for the cheapest without breaking the bank.