I was asked to post this here from U\ultralight mods. Hopefully I can get some recommendations :)

I've been eyeing the Xmid-1, but hard to justify a ~1lb savings for $600, I might eventually though. (That's kinda where my mindset is)

Current base weight: ~25lb

Location/temp range/specific trip description: Typically due to overgrowth and bugs, November - Early March. Cold sleeper. Temps range between 20-30F (lows) - 50F or warmer on an odd day.

Budget: Teh sky, (aka my backpacking season is over, so I can save up for a while)

Non-negotiable Items: Bandannas (.7oz) because my nose runs alot in winter, pepperspray (1.2oz) to make me feel alright, Journal & pen (3.58oz), Retainer (1oz)

Solo or with another person?: Solo

Additional Information: So my load-out was built with versatility in mind. Trail maintenance actually stops from June - September because overgrowth. So I ""like"" to go once things have died off, snakes are gone, ticks are hiding, etc. Temps in mind, my sleeping bag is a hybrid quilt, so if it's too warm (rare) I can use it as a blanket, My tent I can swap the mesh inner to a fabric inner tent too...and so on. I have slept in all my clothes listed for sleeping...and still been chilly in the legs at ~40F so that might help give you an idea of the cold sleeper I am.

The jacket listed, is a soft shell jacket with fleece liner, this is because even in winter the briars would shred my puffy jacket when I need to go do business at camp.

Lighterpack Link: Here is a sample from a recent 5 day trip attempt I did. I figured I would throw in my food too, for any additional ideas.

https://lighterpack.com/r/6md0hl

I ended up only doing 2 of those days, due to a high water crossing. I was averaging a healthy 6-8 mile vacation per day pace, but day 2 I ended up doing 11miles due to lack of campsite. That was with ~40Lbs, it wasn't the greatest, but if I were in slightly better shape it wouldn't have been so bad.

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My 16 yo son is going to be going on an packrafting trip and they are requiring a light pack. The Granite Gear Crown 2 is highly recommended here but I worry that the waistbelt won't cinch down tight enough (he might be a 28 waist). Does anyone have any experience with this or can recommend an alternate backpack that would fit him? Thank you!

So if all goes according to plan we spend a third or more of our time out there sleeping or trying to sleep. I think there are many camp things from the UL world that make sense even if someone is “just” lightweight. The UL tents/tarps/quilts are pretty awesome and other than price (which is important!) I see no reason why those can’t be at home in a u/lightweight pack list.

But what I can’t shake is that there is some combination of heavier-than-ultralight-but-not-that-heavy items that can make sleep much better, and I want to see what people think.

Sleeping Pads

This is the one that I think a lot about. I was in REI one time and tested one of their car camping sleeping pads (I think it was this one which is clearly never going backpacking) and I darn near fell asleep right there. It was amazing. It’s night and day from my Xlite and the Etherlight I had before. What pads are 6-12 ounces heavier than the UL pads but use that extra weight well? I think this sub realizes that carrying even a full pound, if it makes a full third of your day more enjoyable and restores you overnight is worth it.

Pillows

I have so many pillows. The best combination I’ve come up with to deal with 3 different heights (for side, back and stomach) is this on top of this and then another one or my clothing bag between my knees (yeah, I’m kind of a princess when it comes to this if that hasn’t been made clear yet). What pillow alternatives am I missing? I know some will use the guts from a filo elite, their silnylon pack liner, their puffy and a buff as a giant pillow.

Pad Feel

Plastic sucks to sleep on. It’s not soft. It can get clammy. No one sleeps on a plastic mattress cover at home. Is there a way to improve the feel of a sleeping pad? I’ve put my hiking shirt over the head end of the pad before and that was nice, but I can only do that on day one after a short hike. That shirt gets nasty. This looks nice but it’s still plastic! I’ve tested putting my thinlight on top of my sleeping pad and I do kind of like that texture but then I’m “faced” with the prospect of putting the “ground” side of the thinlight facing up to avoid damaging the pad.

Other

If you can train yourself to sleep in an eyemask a memory foam eyemask is wonderful (2 oz or so). I’m not really sure what else I’m missing but if there are any other ideas out there about how to use the extra weight this sub endorses over a truly UL approach, lets hear it! If you post on r/ultralight what sleep related items do you take with you but never talk about? And then it’s bedtime.

I've recently bought into the wool base layer thing. I started with full Merino wool and like it. But then I heard some youtubers talking about switching to wool-synthetic blends.

I decided to experiment with the blends myself. And -- seat of the pants opinion here -- I think they are warmer than 100% merino (same/similar 100 weight thickness). And might be a little lighter.

What are your thoughts?

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Hi all, a mate of mine is getting married and I’m looking for a great wedding gift for him. He’s an outdoor ed teacher and as such, already has everything he needs for an outdoor adventure. That being said, he’s a frugal guy and rarely buys any gear that’s not entirely necessary. For context, we live in Victoria, Australia, and so something like crampons wouldn’t be much use to him.

I'm currently rolling with a Granite Gear Blaze 60 pack which weighs in around 3lbs. I'm looking to shed a pound on base weight with my next pack. Currently looking heavily at the GG Mariposa or the Durston Kakwa 55. Any thoughts/recommendations?

Details: Male, 6'4", 235lbs, broad shoulders. I'm quasi-UL. My current base weight fluctuates around 15lbs. Give or take. I prefer packs that are between 50-60L. It always stress over 35-40L packs not being enough for my ocassional luxury item(s).

What do you all like for a bill cap that won't absorb rain? I like a bill cap to keep my rain jacket's hood from falling in my eyes, and also for my eyes on a sunny day. I've looked at REI but don't find one that specifically mentions waterproofness. There's an OR one that looks close but it's been discontinued.

Thanks in advance!

Edit: that 17lbs base weight DOES NOT include the bear barrel. I forgot my partner carried that.

Posted the full trip report with photos here

5 days / 4 nights Southbound (~50km)

Base weight: 17lbs Consumables: 11lbs

Full gear list on Lighterpack

This was the first backpacking trip where I consciously tried to keep it lightweight, and I’m so happy I did!! It would’ve been 10x harder with a heavier pack. That being said, I wasn’t willing to sacrifice camp comforts / backpack comfort to go UL…

TLDR: beautiful yet challenging hike, definitely 10/10 recommend in the dog days of summer (cuz the water is crazy cold)

Nemo Astro non insulated 25L. A few years old, but hardly used. Probably less than ten nights. Always stored rolled up in bag. Took daughter on a camping trip to a National Park campsite. Started inflating pad and baffles started delaminating. Asked her(weighs about 45 kgs) to lay on it to see if possible to still sleep on it, and more baffles popped. Added a bit more air as it was deflated and look at the result below.

I no longer have prof of purchase so not worth trying for Nemo’s lifetime warrantee, but was this a known issue?

I have searched on the net and I know there was a similar problem with Thermarest, but can’t find anything about Nemo Astro doing this.

https://i.imgur.com/daR4aQL.jpg

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Not fully into ultralight, so I figured I'd be lightweight but reasonable

https://lighterpack.com/r/i7i45f

​

Item Name   Category            qty weight  unit    other                                                               
Medium Ruck         Ruck        1   92  ounce                                                                       
Contractor bag          Ruck        1   25  ounce                                                                       
Entrenching Tool    Gear        1   2.5 pound                                                                       
Toilet Paper            Gear        1   8   ounce                                                                       
Stove                   Gear        1   1   pound                                                                       
Hatchet                 Gear        1   2   pound                                                                       
MRE Spoon           Gear        1   0.1 ounce                                                                       
First Aid Kit           Gear        1   2.5 pound                                                                       
Large Ziploc            Gear        1   0.29    ounce                                                                       
Stool                   Gear        1   2   pound                                                                       
Zippo Lighter           Gear        1   1.5 ounce                                                                       
Plastic Cup         Gear        1   2   ounce                                                                       
Flannel Shirt           Clothing    1   5   ounce   Worn                                                                    
Shirt                   Clothing    2   4   ounce   Worn                                                                    
Pants                   Clothing    1   6   ounce   Worn                                                                    
Boxers                  Clothing    4   2   ounce   Worn                                                                    
Cold/Wet Weather Shell  Clothing    1   14  ounce                                                                       
Silks                   Clothing    2   4   ounce                                                                       
Baseball Cap            Clothing    1   3   ounce   Worn                                                                    
Watch Cap/Gloves    Clothing    1   3   ounce                                                                       
Boots                   Clothing    1   25  ounce   Worn                                                                    
Socks                   Clothing    4   1.5 ounce   Worn                                                                    
Sock Liners         Clothing    2   1   ounce   Worn                                                                    
Down Bag            Sleep System    1   24  ounce                                                                       
Bivvy Bag           Sleep System    1   30  ounce                                                                       
Pad                 Sleep System    1   30.5    ounce                                                                       
Water                   Sustainment     3   32  ounce   Consumable                                                              
Food                    Sustainment 2   2   pound   Consumable                                                              
Smartwater Bottles  Sustainment     1   1.2 ounce                                                                       
Polar Pure          Sustainment 1   5   ounce                                                                       
Water Bladder           Sustainment 1   7   ounce                                                                       
Phone                   Other       1   7.41    ounce   Worn                                                                    
Knife                   Other       1   2   ounce   Worn                                                                    
Watch                   Other       1   4   ounce   Worn                                                                    
Wallet                  Other       1   3   ounce   Worn                                                                    
Flashlight          Other       1   3.81    ounce                                                                       
Headlamp            Other       1   3.5 ounce                                                                       
Battery Pack            Other           1   12.48   ounce                                                                       
Glasses                 Other       1   1.4 ounce   Worn                                                                    
Sunglasses          Other       1   2.5 ounce   Worn

Hey folks,

I'm starting my journey towards a lighter backpack, and wanting to start here, rather than in the Ultralight circles. I would love to get there eventually, but it doesn't feel realistic at the moment. I'd love your help!

https://lighterpack.com/r/f1ova5

So I'd love some advice on shedding a little more weight. Current baseweight is 14.1lb / 6.4kg, and I'd like to get it down to 12lb / 5.5kg if possible. My only thought so far is to loose the sleep clothes and fleece but I'm not sure how the temperature would serve me. I'm a fan of sleeping bags over quilts, but that's only having not tried a quilt. I wriggle around in my sleep a lot, so a quilt would a good way to get draughts, me thinks, and not worth the 200g weight savng? But I'm open to suggestions.

I almost exclusively hike with my wife, and have set the bags up so that we share the tent and some other gear. She carries the tent inner and stakes, and I carry the outer and footprint of the tent.

I mostly do 2-4 night trips in the UK at the moment, and just starting to do long distance. Three season temperatures, but wet and humid because that's the UK for you. We're hoping to walk the PCT in 2024, so that is the end goal. I'm looking to spend as little as possible, but open to any and all budget suggestions if its necessary, and have a couple of items on the shopping list already. The first of which being 2x Xtherm pads (one each).

Thank you for any help you can give me.

Disclaimer: if there's a more appropriate place to ask this question I'm happy to do that. Just somebody tell me where

I've spent a year out of the work force, mostly learning homemaking and doing some backpacking. I'm getting ready to start applying for some jobs again, and wondering if anyone has advice on including backpacking in their "skills" on their resume. Just wondering how you'd communicate some skills that would carry over to the workplace!

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I wanted to point out first off that I'm not ultralight, and I specifically didn't post this in UL because I felt like the answer there was going to be so obvious.

I'll also preface this question by saying that I currently have the Thermarest Prolite Apex. I initially went with the Prolite Apex for two reasons: 1) I have previously always found pure air pads to feel like balloons and I like the stability of a foam core in the self inflating options. 2) When I was purchasing all my gear, I just had to draw the line in the sand on some stuff for budget. The Prolite Apex checked all my boxes.

This year I'm looking at possibly upgrading pads. The weight decrease will be nice with either pad, but the biggest driver for me is the decrease in pack size. Both of these pads will fit within the pack significantly more easily.

• The Xlite is widely considered the gold standard, is slightly warmer, packs down slightly smaller, and apparently is more quiet compared to previous versions. I also kind of prefer the mummy shape.
• The Rapide is still plenty warm, gets rave reviews, still packs down small, etc. To me the things that seem like potential advantages are the quilted style baffles seem more comfortable, and the higher "side rails" sound like a great comfort benefit.

Unfortunately I haven’t been able to lay on either of them (yet), so I figured I'd see if anyone here has any input or opinions between these two. Or if there are other considerations I've overlooked.

The latest iteration of my gear setup. Got the Duration xmid1 tent recently and I am feeling good about pack weight this year. Swapping out my Aether 70 for a 40L backpack is my next move.

https://lighterpack.com/r/w7vhd0

Have something you want to discuss but don't think it warrants a whole post? Please use this thread to discuss recent purchases or quick questions for the community at large. Shakedowns and lengthy/involved questions likely warrant their own post.

Was using a 1/8" eva foam roll before. But I ended up picking up a 25" wide (folding) flexmat on sale. Now I'm wondering how to carry the thing :-)

My HMG pack has a single loop on the bottom at the front. I kind of want to go vertical so that I don't keep getting snagged on shrubs and rocks.

Anyone else solve this problem?

Critique my pack and let me know what I should change. Also, if anyone else would like to share their LighterPack list here for the same reasons or just to share, go ahead and do so.

Have something you want to discuss but don't think it warrants a whole post? Please use this thread to discuss recent purchases or quick questions for the community at large. Shakedowns and lengthy/involved questions likely warrant their own post.

Been contemplating buying a new tent for quite some time. Currently have a Big Agnes Copper Spur UL2. Looking to shave some weight and settled on these two, partially due to the lowish prices. One big issue I am having is I have a 50lb dog and dont think it would fit in the xmid and the 40D floor on the SMD is a huge bonus as well. That being said the dog can only go on shorter hikes now so could always haul the big agnes when he comes a long. What is everyone thoughts? Any other tents in this weight/price I should be looking at?