What's your base pack weight?

[Moondog55]

The last time I carried it in winter about seven and a half tonne

[ULWalkingPhil]

I'm still at just under 4Kg. I have not updated any gear for some time now, I am very happy with this pack weight and don't see any reason to lower it further. If anything I might add a bit more weight for Luxuries, such as Magic Tricks.

[Moondog55]

Seriously tho, in summer I may, with some of my newer gear get it down to a base weight of 7.5 kg for an overnite but at the expense of sleeping comfort. I do not have a lightweight mattress as yet

[headwerkn]

Currently at the 11KG mark, but that's a 4-seasons highlands setup with heavy weight gear.... near-3KG pack, 3KG+ tent, near-2KG sleeping bag, MSR fuel stove and 2 largish pots, etc. Considering I've been able to pare it down from over 20KG just by getting rid of the excess gear - and without really spending any money, other than some better clothes and wet weather gear - I suppose it's actually not too bad progress. I do very much want to shave a good few kilos off that figure this year though, which will invariably mean spending up on some proper lightweight gear.

Cheers, Ben.

[Moondog55]

Headwerkn mate 11kg for an Alpine winter setup? I would call that ultra light, so what you are calling your heavyweight gear is probably a lot lighter than my winter stuff, I find it's the storm proof layer takes up most of the room and space when I'm not wearing it

[headwerkn]

Well I'm talking about dealing with the sudden blizzards, strong winds, freezing temperatures and three million snakes that the central highlands can throw at you above 1100-1200m - at any time of year. Stuff like this, basically....

First Lagoon

Personally I wouldn't call it "alpine winter" suitable; I've hiked in this gear for several hours in blizzard conditions and was perfectly comfortable/warm/dry, but doing it for several consecutive days through thick snow might be pushing it.

Cheers, Ben.

[Gadgetgeek]

3Kg. Oh you mean after the pack is filled? right now I'm looking at 11kg or so in preparation for my first real aussie bushwalk. That will change I suspect once everything gets sorted with the rest of the group. I have to keep everything else really light to make up for my tank of a pack, but worst case scenario, I might be able to crawl inside it for shelter!

[MicheleK]

Have enjoyed this thread and it was an interesting exercise to weigh what I carried for a solo 6 night trip to Kosciuszko NP last week. Pack weighed around 14 kg (food, water included) at start of trip and arond 10 kg after 6 nights. I choose to carry a camera and tripod beacuse I love photography, otherwise it would be even lighter.

Pack 1000 g
ULA Circuit, medium 1000 g

Shelter 900 g
Tarptent 1 person Rainbow 900 g

Sleep 1146 g
Feathered Friend Egret UL sleeping bag 800 g
Thermarest NeoAir Xlite sleeping mat 346 g

Cooking system 1207 g
Clikstand burner stand and windshield 77 g
Evernew 900 ml pot 110 g
Trangia methylated spirits burner 120 g
Methylated spirits in a fuel container 660 g
Mug 100 g
Plastic spoon 9 g
Swiss army single blade knife 50g
Matches 15 g
Waterproof matches 13 g
Detergent 53 g

Extra clothing 1160 g
Spare pants 233 g
Spare socks and liner socks 95 g
Extra undies 24 g
Icebreaker longjohns 165 g
Wide brimmed hat 92 g
Icebreaker gloves 23 g
Icebreaker beanie 28 g
Merino neckwarmer 48 g
Long-sleeved shirt 150 g
Smartwool bed socks 34 g
2 x cotton hankies 20 g
2 x easy dry multipurpose cloths 40 g
Montane puffy pants 260 g
Montane puffy jacket 353 g
Montane waterproof jacket 285 g
Montane waterproof pants 182 g
(Clothes worn include Kathmandu thick cotton pants, Icebreaker t-shirt and long-sleeved top, Montane windfleece, Mont gaiters)

Personal Items 642 g
Toiletries 313 g
Toiletries bag, loo paper, suncream 160g
Toilet paper 110 g
Suncream 43 g
Lip balm 15 g
First Aid 238 g
Crepe bandage x1, Setopress snake bandage x1, bandaids, Betadine, Panadol, tick remover , insulating foil blanket
Repair 76 g
Swiss card, needle, thread, fishing line

Water treatment and storage 223 g
Empty 1 L Nalgene water bottle 169 g
4 L foil winer bladder 43 g
Water treatment tablets 11 g

Navigation 276 g
Garmin Fenix GPs (watchband removed) 57 g
Maps, compass, map pocket 219 g

Safety/communication 281 g
SPOT 136 g
Emergency signalling mirror and orange square of plastic 56 g
Nokia mobile phone 89 g

Other 1194 g
E-Petzl headlight 35 g
Sunglasses 26 g
Fly net 17 g
Sketchbook and pencil 170 g
Camera: Olympus E-M5, with 12-50 mm lens, polarising filter and case 931 g
Spare camera battery 50 g

Total 9144 g

[north-north-west]

You could save yourself a whopping 53 grammes by leaving the detergent behind.

[Strider]

Grammes? Is that French?

[north-north-west]

I'm a traditionalist. 'Gramme' is the spelling that was standard when I was growing up and 'gramme' it shall remain until I am dead and buried.
I really don't like laziness or Americanisms when it comes to written English.

[stry]

I'm with you NNW. Correct spelling and grammear is most important.

[north-north-west]

...are...

[stry]

Ba ba boom !! In my haste to pounce on the opportunity for a dreadful attempt at comedy I was a tad sloppy. No excuse !!

BTW are "grams" lighter than "grammes" ? (Am I getting better or worse ?)

[corvus]

I'm a traditionalist. 'Gramme' is the spelling that was standard when I was growing up and 'gramme' it shall remain until I am dead and buried.
I really don't like laziness or Americanisms when it comes to written English.

G'day nnw,
Call me pedantic but the Macquarie Dictionary states gram /graem/noun a metric unit of mass,one thousandth of a kilogram.Symbol : [French gramme,from Late Latin gramma,from Greek: a small weight ,originally something drawn]
Just saying

[north-north-west]

corby:
The Macquarie Dictionary does not use the traditional English spelling I was taught. Go have a look at the OED.

BTW are "grams" lighter than "grammes" ?

Something I have often pondered myself. Like so many things it depends on the angle from which you consider the question. Right up there with "what colour is an orange in the dark?"

[corvus]

corby:
The Macquarie Dictionary does not use the traditional English spelling I was taught. Go have a look at the OED.

BTW are "grams" lighter than "grammes" ?

Something I have often pondered myself. Like so many things it depends on the angle from which you consider the question. Right up there with "what colour is an orange in the dark?"

NNW ,
I thought you used Aussie interpretation of words sorry however in my OED (leather bound ) it gives the same albeit shorter entry
corvus

[Bubbalouie]

Ba ba boom !! In my haste to pounce on the opportunity for a dreadful attempt at comedy I was a tad sloppy. No excuse !!

BTW are "grams" lighter than "grammes" ? (Am I getting better or worse ?)

Muphry's law at work: http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muphry%27s_law

[north-north-west]

Ba ba boom !! In my haste to pounce on the opportunity for a dreadful attempt at comedy I was a tad sloppy. No excuse !!

BTW are "grams" lighter than "grammes" ? (Am I getting better or worse ?)

Muphry's law at work: http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muphry%27s_law

I've always known it as The Law of Recursive Pedantry. But Muphry's is a much more convenient title. Thank you.

[DanShell]

My base weight is between 9 -11 kgs for Tassie conditions (I'm similar all year round here) depends if I am on my own or sharing a couple of things with a partner.

Although next weekend I am doing a coastal walk where the weather should be pretty mild with no unexpected changes so I am hoping to shed another kilo or so.

Heres a list of mine if your interested. I need to update it slightly but it gives you an idea.

http://lighterpack.com/r/xvouv

[Mark F]

While grams and grammes are equivalent and the spelling grammes now obsolete, those carrying very heavy packs could become most confused if trying to give their weight in tons, tonnes or the myriad of variants.

[Moondog55]

I have to say that I have never used or seen used the "anciente regime" spelling, it has always been "Grams" for me and we started using grams or probably more correctly micrograms when doing chemistry at Tech School in the 1979s.
Seriously tho Grammes naturally must weigh more, the added weight of all those ancient Greeks sitting on the top of my rucksack would weigh me down even if the mass was the same
I have always believed that rucksacks gain mass exponentially by osmosis from the atmosphere during the first 4 hours of any walk of more than 2 days duration

[perfectlydark]

I thought Grammes was a circle jerk for talentless musicians?

[aronwidforss]

In base weight, does the weight of empty gas canisters count? I mean, they're consumables, but traditional alcohol bottles are not, and they fill the same function.

[DanShell]

I just realized this is in the ultra light section, my pack doesn't suit this area!

[north-north-west]

While grams and grammes are equivalent and the spelling grammes now obsolete....

That's fair enough. I'm pretty obsolete now too.

[headwerkn]

10 months on now, but just to clarify...

3Kg. Oh you mean after the pack is filled?

No, the pack itself weighs nearly 3KG empty. Actually about 2.5KG now I took some extra pouches and carabineers off it. Still quite heavy, though for a cheapish 10 year old Mountain Designs pack you wouldn't expect much more. Hasn't fallen apart though so I suppose I've got my money's worth.

[kanangra]

For an overnight trip around Sydney in Summer when I know the weather should be good my base weight is around 2.35kgs.

Pack, 207g,
Sleeping bag, 485g,
Sleeping mat, 217g,
Shelter, (tarp with all guys and pegs) 235g,
Ground sheet, 43g,
Pillow, 46g,
Pack liner 45g.

Billy, lifters, plate mug spoon and lighter, 188g,
Raincoat, 144g,
First aid, 150g,
Toiletry, 120g.

Waterbottle, 70g,
Headlamp, 29g,
Map and compass, 50g,
Camera, 153g.

Spare clothing, 181g.

If I know of a camp cave in the area then the tarp stays at home reducing the load by 235g.

K.

[Joomy]

My gear is in constant flux but here is a sample slightly aspirational 3-season, multi-day list. Items with a * are not yet bought.

Packing: 1360g
Pack: Crux AK-47, 1300g
Stuff sacks: Cuben fiber, 60g

Sleep & Shelter: 2760g or 2960g
Shelter: Stratospire 2* ~1450g, with Ruta Locura poles
Quilt: EE Revelation 20, 660g
Mat: Exped Synmat 7 UL LW, 650g with Sea to Summit pump sack (yes they fit together and the new STS pump sack is awesome)
Optional: 10d sleep sheet + Tyvek 14M ground sheet, 200g

Clothing: 1495g
Rain jacket: Luke's Ultralight Event*, ~250g
Wind shell: Luke Ultralight Argon*, ~90g
Thermal top: Patagonia Cap 4, 220g
Thermal bottom: Patagonia Cap 4, 190g
Fleece: Patagonia R2, 430g
Spare undies: Exofficio boxers, 85g
Spare socks: Darn Tough Micro Crew x2, 85g each = 170g
Beanie: TNF toque, 60g (might replace with Cap 4 balaclava plus Blackrock down beanie for cold weather)

Essentials: 844g
Toilettries: Toothpaste, toothbrush, earplugs, loksak, 70g
Contact lens stuff: 60ml fluid, bottle, 2x lens case, 101g
Towel: Equip, 150g (I like having it)
Compass: Suunto Global, 48g
Headlamp: Zebralight H52w, 55g
Torch: Zebralight SC52w*, 40g (for trail finding)
Batteries: Eneloop AA, 27g x4 = 108g
Pillow: Foam pillow, 150g (gotta have a pillow IMO)
Knife: Opinel No. 8, 50g
Trowel: Lawson Equipment Little Deuce Scoop, 22g
TP: 50g

Hydration: 316g
Bottle: 1L Fiji water bottle x2, 48g x2 = 96g
Bladder: 2L Sawyer pouch, 40g
Filter: Sawyer Squeeze Mini + syringe + 1L pouch, 113g
Pee bottle: Nalgene Canteen 1.5L, 66g

Emergency: 575g
First aid kit: Incl. compression bandage, triangular bandage, Leatherman Style, tape, anti-histamines, Betadine, burn gel, painkillers, fixomull: 270g
Survival/repair kit: incl. mylar "bag", Petzl eLite, spark light fire starters, storm matches, glue, needle & thread, tenacious tape: 176g
Survival Lanyard: Spyderco Ladybug 3, Photon Microlight, whistle, LMF mini, compass, carabiner, 1m cord: 59g (carried on my person but I include it in the base weight -- stole this idea from Sticksblog)
Cord: 10m 3mm Dyneema core, 70g

Cooking: 634g
Stove: Fire Maple remote canister: 120g (I like the stability of it but I might get a lighter upright version)
Wind shield: Carbon felt, 26g
Pot: 1.8L Jetboil Sumo Ti modified w/ cosy*, 180g (haven't got it yet but it seems like the lightest large capacity pot option after you remove a few bits)
Utensils: STS polycarbonate spork + tea spoon + knife + spoon, 42g
Food containers: 1x 250ml, 1x 60ml, 90g (varies by length of trip)
Bowl: 1000ml container w/ cosy, 87g
Cup: 500ml container w/ cosy, 68g
Salt & Pepper shaker: 10g
Lighter: Mini BIC, 11g

Total = 7983g or 8183 with ground sheet and sleep sheet.

For Winter or Tas I would add:
Supplementary mat: 5mm 120cm x 50cm foam, 135g
Rain pants: Luke's Ultralight Event*, ~220g
Gloves: TNF Etip, 50g
Mitts: MLD Event*, 40g
Lightweight down jacket: TBD, ~300g
=~745g
Total = about 8.8 +/- 0.2 kg

Worn items: 760g or 960g
Undies 85g
Socks 85g
Shorts 150g or pants 350g
Shirt 240g
Visor, sunnies ~100g
Gaiters: 100g

Including only what I currently own would add about 500g I think. I would like to try going sub-5kg one day but at the moment I am fairly happy with sub-9kg for 4-season trips.

[Pika]

My base weight is around 17kg.

How embarrassing!

I don't belong on this sub forum.

I should leave now....