TMB 22-29 september 2025

  •   Category Weight
  • Shelter
    1.02 kg
  • Sleep
    1.5 kg
  • Pack
    1.06 kg
  • Kitchen and water
    0.51 kg
  • Clothing carried
    1.99 kg
  • Hygiene and care
    0.29 kg
  • Clothing worn
    0.1 kg
  • Electronics
    0.78 kg
  • Important items and other
    0.26 kg
  • Food
    3 kg
  • Total 10.52
    kg
    • oz
    • lb
    • g
    • kg
  • Consumable 3.3 kg
  • Worn 0.1 kg
  • Base Weight 7.11 kg

I don't separate the soap/sunscreen/etc. from their bottles (consumable vs. not) but I add the FAK as non-consumable to compensate. Maybe add a couple of grams for a few zip-loc bags and rubber bands not accounted for in the list. The backpack is not weighed by myself, could be different. Also added a few shock cords to it to hold items (like ccf at the bottom), so + 10-20 gram maybe. All in all, minus 7kg sounds correct.

Conditions: Lowest inside tent temperature -2C. A few days with lots of rain/snow. Breakdown: 4 ok/good days, 4 bad / so so days. Glad I took the beefier setup (first list's baseweight was around 5.6kg) because of cold/wind/etc. Lowest temps at night shouldn't have gone lower, because then I would have been too cold to sleep.

Items to reconsider: - one of the mods on the X-mid to get your backpack off the ground (10g) - If conditions ask for it, maybe a matress with higher R value, but I was OK, especially with the CCF combo. - Way too much TP. I usually try to pack quite minimal. However, online strangers scared me a bit. - Nylofume bag got a hole in it (at the top, so no big issue). I think I will use it until failure and then replace with heavy dute garbage bags. No need to pay the premium. - Quilt had condensation (not from the tent walls) allmost every night. Will look into this. - In good weather the 30g towel is OK. In bad weather days I wished I had brought a second one. - Glad I took the heavier beanie. In colder conditions I would probably bring my small fleece one as well (wearing both to sleep, as the cold began getting through in the coldest parts of the coldest nights). - Need to look into better ear plugs. Ended up sleeping withoug them, because the current ones suck. Got woken by snoring noises more than a few times. - Honestly could probably have gone by with the 5000mAh power bank instead of the 10k. - Leave guidebook at home, take pictures of the pages instead (but maybe keep the bigger power bank then). - Camera, it's water/shock/cold proof, but thats about it. Kind of sucks to take pictures of such a stunning scenery, then come home only to find out the pictures look like they come from a kids camera. I have DSLR, which gives much better quality/control etc. but is also far more heavier and not waterproof. Need to give this some thought. Also, because I realized the pics were only so so, when the weather was good, I just used my phone.

Other thoughts on items: - 10 stakes were not too much. Most of the time it was more than enough, but in stormy conditions (had it once) you really want to have a bit more options. - The extra dry bag for the clothes (the 7 liter one) is convenient - I really liked the torso length CCF mat. Great value. - loved the electrolytes, I also ate crisps. - Combi of water filter and drops gave me peace of mind. - Flip flops work for me. - If conditions are predicted to be bad, no luxury to add a few extra zip-loc bags as back-up. The one for the phone gets used alot, and that item is critical.

Food: - had 3 packs of freeze dried meals (was perfect). Had a pack of crunchy ganola, with a ziploc bag with milk powder (perfect). Had a small bag of onion rings (perfect). Bought on the go: nut/berry mix, pick-up cookies, milk-bread with chocolate, crisps, an apple, 2 big sandwiches, 0.5l schweppes agrum. Also had warm meals when I could and when it made sense. Bought a coffee here and there. Some beers. Cash was handy, the refuges really like it when you pay your 2 euro coffee with cash (which I understand). Switzerland is expensive, suddenly a coffee costs 5.4 euro :D (and it was in a village, not high up).

Other thoughts: Late september is nice as the trail is not so busy, yet you encounter still enough people to have a sense of community. Weather was actually plain bad for a couple of days, and this brought the few hikers that were on the trail (especially the ones that also camp, however there were noteworthy exceptions) closer together (I think). We looked out for each other. Also Camping Aiguille Noir and the people working there are amazing. They truly care about people. Never have I visited such a beautiful and warm place.