Hints and Tips for a Lighter Pack

[Joshua Cocks]

I thought this might interest a lot of you. I'm putting below a list of everything I take when going hiking. It also contains the individual and collective weight of the items.

Go through the list and let me know if there is anything that should be ditched, replaced with something better, or something that needs to be added to the list.

The list doesn't contain daily food rashions. I've put in 4 litres of water which is the minimum daily rashion. I've added staminade, berocca and milk powder.

I've also attached the medicine sheet I use. It just gives recommended dosage details and drug details.

TOTAL Weight = 19788g (with 4L of water)

Wearing Stuff Total = 2752g

Skins – Top & Bottom 285g

Hiking Shorts 153g

Hiking Shirt 150g

Hat 94g

Hiking Boots 1334g

Small Gaiters 114g

Trekking Pole x 2 622g

Backpack Subtotal = 17006g (with 4L water)

Backpack 3000g

Body Chemmy (Towel) 96g

Crocs 322g

Tent – Tent, Poles, Pegs, Bag 2000g (Mont Moondance 2)

Hoochie (Ground Sheet) 200g

Camelback + 2 Litres Water 2350g

Cup 75g

Plastic Bottle 2 Litre – With Water 2000g

Plastic Shovel 52g

Pen & Paper 134g

Bush Poetry (6 Pages) 30g

Map 100g

Personal Locating Beacon 293g

GPS with 2 AA Batteries 191g

Rope – Cord 5m x 5mm 55g

Bush Knife & Bobby Pins 300g

Dry Clothes Sack = 618g (Total)
-Dry Sack 97g
-Thermal Long Johns 142g
-Underwear x 1 84g
-Thermal Long Sleeve Top 178g
-Socks x 2 117g

Sleeping Pack = 2600g (Total)
-XL Exped Waterproof Bag 173g
-Sleeping Bag 1100g
-Sleeping Bag Inner Liner 259g
-Exped Downmat 1068g

Cooking Dry Sack = 1035g (Total)
-Dry Sack 97g
-Staminade 104g
-Gas Bottle Full 220g
-Gas Stove 95g
-Saucepan Holder 48g
-Ultra Light Saucepan 108g
-Bowl 86g
-Berocca Tube (15) 125g
-Salt & Container 25g
-Milk Powder & Container 85g
-Sugar & Container 37g
-Coffee & Container 25g

Side Pocket Bag = 243g (Total)
-Micropur 100ml 38g
-Batteries AA 60g

Survival Dry Sack = 548g (Total)
-Dry Sack 27g
-Aerogard 50ml 62g
-Compass 49g
-Spare Head Torch Battery 11g
-Small Candle 15g
-Fire Lighter 29g
-Emergency Blanket 60g
-Lighter 16g
-Anti-Bacterial Dry Soap 56g
-Poncho 52g
-Gaff Tape 63g
-Whistle 37g
-Lip Balm 9g
-Head Torch 30g
-Zinc Cream 50g
-Titanium Fork, Spoon 34g
-Toilet Paper / Travel Tissues 24g

Medical Pack = 841g (Total)
-Dry Sack 46g
-Medicine Details Sheet 5g
-Johnson’s Baby Powder 42g
-12 Pack Ibuprofen – Pain Relief 6g
-12 Pack Neurofen Plus – Strong Pain Relief 11g
-3 Pack – Codine Phosphate – Ex-Strong Relief 4g
-10 Pack Amoxil – Antibiotic 9g
-9 Pack Ibilex 500 – Antibiotic 9g
-23 Pack Maxolon 6g
-Gastrolyte Sachets x 10 64g
-Antihistamine – Telfast, Phenergan -
-Diarrhoea Tablets 5g
-Asthma Puffer 31g
-Canesten Anti-Fungal Cream 19g
-Stingose 25ml 50g
-Betadine 15ml 20g
-Vaseline 14g
-Vicks Vapour Rub 13g
-Moleskin 7g
-Compression Bandage x 2 70g
-Heat Cream 59g
-First Aid Book 67g
-Triangular Bandage 21g
-25mm Gauze Bandage 3g
-50mm Gauze Bandage 7g
-75mm Gauze Bandage 11g
-100mm Gauze Bandage 13g
-Gauze x 7 6g
-Condom x 2 6g
-Body Tape 11g
-Sterile Wound Dressing 42g
-Wound Cleansing Wipe x 2 9g
-Skin Cleansing Swab x 4 5g
-Latex Gloves 16g
-30 Band Aids 17g
-Safety Pins (12) 5g
-Ear Buds (6) 1g
-Scissors 21g
-Tweezers 9g
-Nail Clippers 15g
-Adhesive Remover 2g
-Thermometer 11g
-Cotton Ball <1g
-Needle <1g
-Non-Adherent Pad 2g

[gabriel]

Hey, Your "Backpack Subtotal" weighs just shy of 40 pounds. Where are you hiking? I'm a light weight type of backpacker. My "Backpack Subtotal" weighs just over 6 pounds. I'm not sure where to start with advice. It all depends on your goal I guess. If your looking to hike 20+ miles a day then there are quite a few things you could change.

[Joshua Cocks]

Yeh, this weight is for a 9 day hike through Brisbane Forest Park. It was through winter so it was cold (for me) which is about 10C at day and 5C at night. We still get heavy tropical storms this time of year. The week before the hike we had a year's worth of rainfall over 2 days!! There's snakes, ticks, misquitoes and leeches. The hike was about 120km.

The above environment is usually what I hike in except it's usually around 30C.

[Joshua Cocks]

So last weekend I did a two day trial and the weight is great. I had to pop a Ibuprofen here or there...but besides that...awesome!

[John Smith]

I will list what I would eliminate in that environment:

Hiking Boots 1334g swap for running shoes 680g (save 654g)
Backpack 3000g get rid of this and get a gossamer gear mariposa 453 g (save 2547g)
Crocs 322g converta pair of insoles into camp sandals 57 g (save 265g)
Tent – Tent, Poles, Pegs, Bag 2000g Swap for SMD Lunar Solo 822 g (save 1178g)
Camelback + 2 Litres Water 2350g swap for two liter bottle 2000g save (350g)
-XL Exped Waterproof Bag 173g swap for a trash compactor bag 50g (save 123 g)
-Sleeping Bag Inner Liner 259g eliminate it (save 259 g)
-Batteries AA 60g eliminate make sure your original AA batteries are lithium and new. (save 60g)

I would also make sure you use your survival gear as part of your daily packing gear. For example your poncho and emergency tarp could be the same item and also double as a vapor barrier for your sleeping bag in extreme cold.

Your first aid kit and medicine kit seems overly extensive.

However, most first aid kits and such are very personal and need to be figured out on your own.

My suggestions will eliminate about 12lb 3oz. Of course you will have to buy two items. The SMD lunar solo can be found in good condition used around $150 and the Mariposa pack can be had for around $100.

Just my thoughts since you asked.

BTW what is a hoochie? besides the vulgar useage that is, I know about that one.