Seeking advice on how to pack for "light and fast" hiking

[DougPaul]

Im in the group of heavier packs even for dayhikes. Ive tried to lighten my load, but it bothered me when I was hiking that I had so little. I carry extra clothes, first aid, all my water, extra food, heavy knife, but in the end I like the security that I can be comfortable no matter what happens. My thought process when I pack is this, giving where Im going and what I could run into as far as weather or an accident, what would I love to have with me at that point? Do I carry items I rarely use? yes. But, if Im alone up high and I break my leg or something I could last quite awhile.

Some people think of the things that can go wrong and try to carry enough gear to handle most of them. And some people are more concerned with carrying weight and worry less about what might happen. Whichever keeps you happy is the right thing to do. (To a certain extent, less weight decreases the probability of an accident.)

I personally think I am somewhere in the middle (although my pack is generally heavier than the average). And, as many of you know, I have had the experience of finding myself lying in the snow with a broken leg. (Solo, 4-5 mi from the trailhead.) FWIW, everything necessary to stabilize me onsite until the evac crew arrived was in my pack--22-25 lbs (BC ski day trip). I probably could have survived overnight had it been necessary.

Doug

 

[bikehikeskifish]

See also this thread on Hike-NH

Tim

 

[DougPaul]

I generally carry enough that I could survive a couple of nights outdoors at the highest elevation/worst terrain I anticipate reaching.

I generally aim to be able to survive at least 24 hrs if I am injured and immobilized. For three season day hiking, my pack weight is usually around 15-18 lbs and for winter day hiking around 25-28 lbs (22-25 lbs for BC skiing). For the 28-hour BC ski, I think my pack weight was ~28lbs due to some extra emergency gear, batteries (we skied through the night), food, and water.

(Winter hiking weights are generally several pounds heavier than BC ski weights due to the crampons and snowshoes.)

Doug

 

[NH Tramper]

Reading most people's comments that share their pack weight it makes me think I'm somehow doing something wrong (~30 pounds for the shoulder months), or my scale is bonkers. Based on my list, above, what seems extraneous? Is it that I'm including water weight? Too much water (I never drink it all)? Too heavy a pack perhaps? Note: I'm hoping to use this one pack year 'round, to save money.

 

[bikehikeskifish]

Well Mike, honestly my first reaction was "65L?!? What's he got in there?" Look at my photos and you can see what I manage to get into 40L for winter.

Tim

 

[NH Tramper]

Well Mike, honestly my first reaction was "65L?!? What's he got in there?" Look at my photos and you can see what I manage to get into 40L for winter.

Tim

I went with 65 litres so I would have a pack big enough carry all that I'd need to do sectional hikes on the AT. Obviously it has plenty of room in it during day hikes without looking like a prune (even with the internal bladder full). It's about the size of the external frame pack I used to use in the past so it's what I went with. I did check out your photos and I admit was blown away with how much stuff you got into a 40 litre pack (and that all that stuff was barely over 30 pounds).

 

[Mike P.]

Doing some hiking in flatlander locations like CT & MA, what I pack varies for a day hike a lot based on loaction. You can lighten your load a ton if you're a trail runner.

What does your common sense say & how willing are you to turn back. The quicker you turn back (looks cloudy at one extreme - never at the other) the less gear you need. Getting in common sense's way is summit (destination) fever, can you be honest with yourself on your own mixture of the two? While I trust myself about 90% of the time, (better lately) I do hike with a couple of people from time to time (members here) who if they thought heading down was smart & I thought heading up was okay, Id' listen to them first. Now I've hiked with several people here & on ROT so two out of 20 or so means most of the time, I listen to myself.

(No sleight on John L. - who I trust - but he hikes so much quicker than me that if we were out together & he thought we could tag a summit before bad weather came in, I'd have to really think long & hard, he may be able to cover that distance quickly, I probably couldn't)

I've gone out on two - four mile RT hikes in CT & MA with just water. (disclosure, my keys have a knife, a whistle & a light & I'm overly internally insulated )

I've been up Monadnock in July for Sunset with a rain coat, a light fleece & the bottom of my convertible pants with a camera & headlamp in a fanny pack but I've turned back at thunder in the distance before too. But there, shelter is not too far away.

Each hike, may require more or less gear, again personal preferences. I could easily go out for an overnight with no stove or cookwear at all, just bars, cheese, and trail mix + water. (again, I'm carrying 3 months of extra meals already, just have to keep my energy level up so my body can process & convert those)

If you're going to be hours away from shelter, you need to carry shelter, some kind or know where shelter is close by.

Most of the time, I'm not going light so I'll let the experts weigh in on gear specifics. Although I carry at least a fleece shirt & a long sleeve running/hiking shirt in the summer & my raincoat, I can't recall ever needing both layers + the jacket. They don't weigh much. As a day hiker, maybe one or two summer days did I wish I had Gore-tex pants, a couple of more in late spring & fall. In summer I'd rather go in shorts & get soaked below the jacket. (feet are now blister proof - but if you aren't you need to keep water from running down your legs into your shoes.)

 

[nartreb]

NH Tramper, since you asked, I see three areas where you could lose significant weight:

--Water. This time of year, 3L is too much.

-- the pack itself. It's surely too big, and a smaller pack can be a lot lighter. Big packs are designed for heavy loads, and have a lot of structural reinforcement.

--spare clothing. I only carry spare clothing (e.g. change of pants) if there's a decent chance I'll get thoroughly soaked AND that I wouldn't have time/temperature to dry my clothes if I do. If I'm expecting a troublesome water crossing, I'll strip before the crossing and put all my stuff in a watertight garbage bag.

Which reminds me, one of the smaller items you could ditch:

-pack cover. Can be worth it in rainy weather - a soaked bag weighs more - but most of the time the cover is not used. For unexpected showers, garbage bags are lighter (though not quite as effective). Or just rely on your bag's natural (er, synthetic) ability to shed a good chunk of the rain that hits it. Anything inside the pack that really needs to stay dry should be in a separate plastic bag anyway.

-what are the spare batteries for? Headlamp? Better just carry a spare headlamp, then you don't have to try to change batteries in the dark.

One other thing that strikes me as just about useless:

-the signal flare.

Personally I don't bother with gaiters outside of winter, and I hike with at most one pole, but neither is heavy enough to override personal preference.

 

[Chip]

-- the pack itself. It's surely too big, and a smaller pack can be a lot lighter.

Lightest "real" pack (actual internal frame/support/substance) I have is 3lbs 10oz (Kelty Shadow), which can be difficult to pack for more than a couple nights. I also have a 85l Osprey Aether that's a hair over 5lbs, which I can do anything with. The 1 to 3lb packs I personally would not use.

 

[NH Tramper]

NH Tramper, since you asked, I see three areas where you could lose significant weight:

--Water. This time of year, 3L is too much.

-- the pack itself. It's surely too big, and a smaller pack can be a lot lighter. Big packs are designed for heavy loads, and have a lot of structural reinforcement.

--spare clothing. I only carry spare clothing (e.g. change of pants) if there's a decent chance I'll get thoroughly soaked AND that I wouldn't have time/temperature to dry my clothes if I do. If I'm expecting a troublesome water crossing, I'll strip before the crossing and put all my stuff in a watertight garbage bag.

Which reminds me, one of the smaller items you could ditch:

-pack cover. Can be worth it in rainy weather - a soaked bag weighs more - but most of the time the cover is not used. For unexpected showers, garbage bags are lighter (though not quite as effective). Or just rely on your bag's natural (er, synthetic) ability to shed a good chunk of the rain that hits it. Anything inside the pack that really needs to stay dry should be in a separate plastic bag anyway.

-what are the spare batteries for? Headlamp? Better just carry a spare headlamp, then you don't have to try to change batteries in the dark.

One other thing that strikes me as just about useless:

-the signal flare.

Personally I don't bother with gaiters outside of winter, and I hike with at most one pole, but neither is heavy enough to override personal preference.

Thanks for the free advice. Always appreciated (I like different perspectives; it makes me think). I do have some comments, though.

- Yeah, 3 litres is probably too much water since I don't drink it all. Maybe I'll fill the bladder less. (I really don't mind the weight, though. I like the workout.)

- I'm getting that about the pack size. I might pick up a smaller one as I shed gear this summer (though most of the summer will be overnight hikes at least). Then again I'm trying to save money so I'll wait until I try it with summer gear -- if gear starts shifting or bouncing I may have to get a smaller pack.

- My spare clothing will be absent from my pack once we get into warmer weather with less water. So will my on-body clothing for that matter. I didn't carry spares, ever, but I read a post here about someone who fell through a hole and got soaked. It seemed like a good idea to starting packing something. The spares I carry are only about a pound.

- Yeah, the pack cover is probably a waste, but I own it and it is super light so unless someone wants to buy mine I'll probably keep carrying it. It could serve as a shelter I guess (since it's made to cover a 65 litre pack lol). Also, it's bright yellow so I figure it could serve as a signal.

- Yep, the batteries are for the headlamp, and for my camera. While I could buy a spare headlamp that would add weight and cost. The weight of 3 AAAs + 2AAs isn't too much of a concern. However, good argument about changing them in the dark, though. That could be difficult. Food for thought it is.

- I agree about the aerial flare, but I owned it already (from my days as a boater), it's about the size of a Sharpie marker and is about the same weight so I figured what the heck, it wouldn't hurt either. If in the woods (and if the season wasn't too dry) it could help me get found.

- The gaiters will stay at home this summer, but right now the mud and higher crossings make me want to wear them to keep junk outside of my boots where it belongs. Getting mud in my boots could ruin my day. To me that is worth it.

Mike

 

[NH Tramper]

Out of curiosity I Googled the Granite Gear Nimbus Trace pack looking for its specs. I learned it is 4 four pounds empty. With the Platypus and other attached stuff, it comes to 5.1 pounds (according to my bathroom scale).

 

[Early Bird]

I'm going to start off by admitting that I've not more than skimmed the majority of responses. What I carry or suggest may already have been written.
I've done a fair bit of backpacking and always, because I'm neither very big nor very strong, carry a light back, but I do carry all the essential and extras.
Nothing in my back including my pack, weighs more than 2 lbs. Here is some of my gear:
Granite Gear Vapor backpack, short torso
Bibler bivy
homemade tarp that I use my poles to stand up
Western Mountainering Highlight 35 degree sleeping bag 1lb.
homemade alcohol stove and 10 oz of denatured alcohol (last 5 days breakfast and dinners)
homemade dehydrated meals
I carry an MSR bladder for water and iodine for up to 3 week trips, longer trips I've used the Miox purifier, but I think it's a pain to use.
I do have a tiny first aid kit.
My back weight without water is < 25 lbs.

 

[Snowflea]

Maddy, if you check out BackpackingLight.com, you can spend literally hundreds of hours geeking out on the tricks of the trade.

 

[Chip]

Maddy, if you check out BackpackingLight.com, you can spend literally hundreds of hours geeking out on the tricks of the trade.

Maddy, if you find yourself trimming maps to eliminate the weight of the needless paper...call for an intervention.

 

[Neil]

Maddy, if you check out BackpackingLight.com, you can spend literally hundreds of hours geeking out on the tricks of the trade.

Beat me to it. There are some pretty dedicated ultra-liters posting there.
Do a search on their forum for this pack, which weighs 12 oz and you'll find a very interesting thread.

I agree on using scales and weighing everything. You'd be amazed at how quickly a pile of stuff that you are highly unlikely to use adds up to several pounds.

By the way, it's surprising how much an MSR 3 liter hydration kit weighs empty.

For overnights, going stoveless can save a lot of weight. 12 pounds including food is pretty run of the mill.

 

[Maddy]

Maddy, if you find yourself trimming maps to eliminate the weight of the needless paper...call for an intervention.

Very funny, Chip!

 

[Maddy]

Beat me to it. There are some pretty dedicated ultra-liters posting there.
Do a search on their forum for this pack, which weighs 12 oz and you'll find a very interesting thread.

I agree on using scales and weighing everything. You'd be amazed at how quickly a pile of stuff that you are highly unlikely to use adds up to several pounds.

By the way, it's surprising how much an MSR 3 liter hydration kit weighs empty.

For overnights, going stoveless can save a lot of weight. 12 pounds including food is pretty run of the mill.

This pack looks very interesting. Like the way it can be used as a sleeping bag stuff sack as well.

Again....many thanks for all the incredible advice. I hope to spend some time reviewing each post and putting together a plan for how I will move forward, and "upward"!

 

[Little Rickie]

How were hikers/backpackers/campers ever able to go into the woods & mountains 50+ years ago without all this lightweight stuff?

 

[Maddy]

How were hikers/backpackers/campers ever able to go into the woods & mountains 50+ years ago without all this lightweight stuff?

I figure it's because they didn't know about the "essentials".
They shot the rabbit and ate edible plants for supper, drank out of streams,refilled their canteens, pressed on, and slept under the stars!
Good or bad, I think we have evolved into a different species.

 

[DougPaul]

How were hikers/backpackers/campers ever able to go into the woods & mountains 50+ years ago without all this lightweight stuff?

C'mon. An axe and iron frying pan are as essential as ever... How else are you going to make a shelter, fuel a fire, and cook?

And don't forget the slab of bacon.

Doug