I'll quite happily eat oatcakes, nuts, cheese, dried fruit, kabanos etc instead of disgusting slop. 1kg saved, without spending a penny!
Will you though? Weight of that food will add up ;)Absolutely. I love oatcakes, and they have getting on for 500kcal/100g energy content. And the other foods that I list all have a high energy content.
My advice is to put you gear in three piles; 1.Essentials, Might Need, 3.Nice to have. Then get rid of piles 2 and 3.
Always difficult to comment without seeing a full gear list; and in any event it often hurts to say, and hear, as it means spending more money and you realise have bought the wrong stuff in the first place.
[/color]
My base weight is around 6kg. 9kg with 3 days food and a days water.[/color]
What sort of calorific intake do you go for per day?
Thanks Alan; I'm surprised that you manage on as little as 2000 kcal/day, but I suppose it depends upon how far you are going and what sort of terrain you will be covering. My recent foray into the hills involved a steep mostly pathless ascent up to Munro level, and several miles of struggling through heather and bog; pretty strenuous stuff; hence my desire to shed a few kilos from my pack.
My 'day to day' walking is around Lincolnshire (where a mole hill has aircraft warning lights fitted), footpaths, farm / estate tracks etc, generally 5-10 miles 3 or 4 times per week and occasional 10-15 miles (maybe once per week).
Being old & retired gives some benefits - of being able to walk when you want, but the downside is the body won't do everything the brain tells it, it can still do.
Thanks for your comments Neil.
I'm aware that lighter bags and tents are available, but I cannot justify the spend right now (maybe next year). I do have my eye on the NatureHike Cloud range of tents, very light and very cheap (~£85 for the one man, ~£120 for the 2 man).
Nordisk Telemark 1 which is about 800g, groundsheet is polycro at about 80g. The tent is small and I have a tarptent scarp 1 for foul weather / cooler weather.
..and it would appear that decent sub 1kg sleeping bags don't come cheap either!
Hello Richard, I just wondered something? Do you wear boots or shoes?
I like the omm mountain marathon 32l pack. It's really light and very functional. I use a neo air thermorest. Mine is full length. I suspect I would shave weight by going 3/4 length but I like the luxury I carry an alpkit 2 season down sleeping bag.. I have a terra nova tent which weighs under 1k and a few titanium pots and a sea to summit spork. With our food and water I estimate it weighs about 7k I shudder to think what I spent on it all but it's worth every penny on them hills
After a couple of days of mountain walking with an 11kg pack (9kg without food and water), I have decided that it is time to shed some weight - without spending the pounds.
Storm Shield Ultralite 2 man tunnel tent - 2.1kg. Now I do have a lighter tent, an ancient Saunders Jetpacker, still in good condition, but I just find it too small. And I do like the StormShield; it's a tough well made little tent, despite it's budget price. I've gone through what is in the tent bag, and have managed to save 130g by putting aside spare tent pegs, the repair kit and the pole bag.
Buffalo fibre pile/pertex sleeping bag - 1.3kg. I'm sticking with this; I like it. I have a pair of lightweight fibre pile trousers and some thick but light socks that I wear if it is a bit cold.
Sawn off closed cell Karrimat - 208g. I've just shaved a little more off this so it is now 120cm long. I've had this since 1984!
Cookwear - none! - 0kg. I lugged my Primus Omnilite stove, fuel bottle and titanium pans over the hill last Friday, only to have a disgusting dehydrated meal at the end of the day, when I really couldn't be bothered. And I had a dry early start the next day - breakfast was a sip of peaty water. So I asked myself, as I was walking down the glen back to the car - why bother with a cookset at all? I'll quite happily eat oatcakes, nuts, cheese, dried fruit, kabanos etc instead of disgusting slop. 1kg saved, without spending a penny!
Water - Two 500ml fizzy drink bottles - 50g. My plastic 1 litre water bottle weighed 140g or so - time for it to be retired. Saving 90g.
Rucsac - Karrimor 45 litre 'Hot Earth' - 800g. I was using a Karrimoor Jaguar 65 litre pack weighing in at 1.8kg. Without the cookset, I have less to carry, so the smaller pack is fine. 1kg saving.
After this, I suspect that it is a case of diminishing returns. I need to look at my spare clothing, and I'll probably swap my metal whistle for a plastic one, and pack a smaller penknife, but I cannot think of much else.
With these saving, I estimate that my pack weight (without food and water) will be somewhere between 6.5 and 7kg.
Suggestions/comments welcome!
Edit - I should add that this is for brief forays into the mountains, rather than plodding up the Pennine Way.