Re: First Time Visit: 8/24/10 - 9/1/10
Posted: Thu Oct 14, 2010 1:17 pm
The adage of watching the ounces to control the pounds really is accurate. Trimming an ounce or two from several items will begin to save you 2 or 3 pounds.
Your camp shoes (as you’ve already noted) are obvious targets. I use moccasins without hard soles. After a break-in period, the leather soles harden to a more protective (but not perfect) layer. There are several choices of very lightweight foot protection starting at simple “flip-flops”. You are correct that two flashlights is a luxury, but remember to add a spare bulb or two. I am assuming you repackaged all your food, changing out the card board for lighter plastics bags? For all other things, do anything you can to carve an ounce or even less from everything. Trim the margins from the maps, LOL. Buy a cheap pair of sunglasses that you’d consider disposable and leave the hard case at home. Unless you are boiling a lot of water, a smaller pot will be adequate. The small bottles of various liquids (soap, bug dope, etc) might contain a lot more than is needed for a week. Get smaller containers and take only what is needed.
It’s easy to vary the menu. Replace the repetitive mashed potatoes with any number of choices from the grocery store. There are lots of instant/just add hot water items in the lunch sections. Many are packaged in little Styrofoam cups ranging from Mac & Cheese to Ramen noodles to different tasty soups. I take two servings (two Styrofoam cups and repackage them to single serving zip-lock bags.
Short of spending a lot more money on ultra light weight replacement gear, I think you are doing very well.
Your camp shoes (as you’ve already noted) are obvious targets. I use moccasins without hard soles. After a break-in period, the leather soles harden to a more protective (but not perfect) layer. There are several choices of very lightweight foot protection starting at simple “flip-flops”. You are correct that two flashlights is a luxury, but remember to add a spare bulb or two. I am assuming you repackaged all your food, changing out the card board for lighter plastics bags? For all other things, do anything you can to carve an ounce or even less from everything. Trim the margins from the maps, LOL. Buy a cheap pair of sunglasses that you’d consider disposable and leave the hard case at home. Unless you are boiling a lot of water, a smaller pot will be adequate. The small bottles of various liquids (soap, bug dope, etc) might contain a lot more than is needed for a week. Get smaller containers and take only what is needed.
It’s easy to vary the menu. Replace the repetitive mashed potatoes with any number of choices from the grocery store. There are lots of instant/just add hot water items in the lunch sections. Many are packaged in little Styrofoam cups ranging from Mac & Cheese to Ramen noodles to different tasty soups. I take two servings (two Styrofoam cups and repackage them to single serving zip-lock bags.
Short of spending a lot more money on ultra light weight replacement gear, I think you are doing very well.