Base Backpacking Setup (SUL)

  •   Category Weight
  • Packing
    0.47 lb
  • Sleep/Shelter`
    1.6 lb
  • Carried Clothing
    0.57 lb
  • Food and Water
    0.21 lb
  • Electronics
    0.69 lb
  • Care/Aid
    0.21 lb
  • Worn Weight
    3.53 lb
  • Consumables
    10.65 lb
  • Total 17.93
    lb
    • oz
    • lb
    • g
    • kg
  • Consumable 10.65 lb
  • Worn 3.53 lb
  • Base Weight 3.75 lb

This list is my standard 5 day loadout for 3 season hiking. No star means good to go, yellow star means I gotta make it or swap it, red means optional, green means weigh it. This description is mostly for myself and not viewers, but if you're here, here's some other loadouts for different purposes:

Packrafting/backpacking: https://lighterpack.com/r/t5fjk8 MYOG Ideas: https://lighterpack.com/r/s4xth0 Current setup: https://lighterpack.com/r/f165n3

Furthermore, be safe outdoors. Read SAR incident reports to keep you levelheaded. Carry emergency communication of some kind. If you don't know exactly how to use a piece of gear, don't bring it, and don’t go on a trip that requires it. Always have sufficient medical supplies, and don't let morons on the internet with small numbers annoy you. I like big miles and feeling like there's nothing in my backpack, and am fine barely having a floor, roof, or walls in the woods. YMMV. HYOH. YOLO. Also if you’re a fellow siphonophore fan I’d love to know your favorite family, mine is Apolemia.

Notes:

-Remember to re treat permethrin every 6 summer hikes

-Add 1.42 DCF to rear of pants if necessary, then re-weigh

-Consider: 20d silnylon pack, 1 oz thinlite pad, summer quilt, winter overbag, longer life fitness watch, 6000 mah nitecore, opinel no2, suluk 46 trowel

From Dan Durston, regarding MYOG sub 10 oz packs: Regarding Ultra 100 vs 200, it's true that Ultra 200 isn't much more weight so it can be a 'no brainer'. The danger is that this a slippery slope (e.g. Ultra 400 isn't much heavier yet) so you can steadily add a bit of weight until you're all the way at the heavy/overbuilt end of the spectrum. So it has to stay grounded in what is durable enough. I do think Ultra 200 is a good balance, but if you're trying to go really light then I expect Ultra 100 would hold up fine.

Regarding durability on roll tops, I think it's mostly an issue in cases where the roll top is rolled really tight (a lot of torsion) which happens to users who can barely close their pack. But also yes this doesn't need to be as durable. I've done packs with a laminate body and silnylon roll top. Neither Ultra nor non-woven DCF (e.g. 1.42oz) do that well for a roll top, so I'd probably look to humble silnylon if you want to save weight and ensure long term waterproofness.