My total weight is 4lbs exactly. GT SBP, PahaQue HM20R double rain fly, stakes, straps, guy lines etc... Everything I need to setup minus insulation. Is this a good weight for winter?
I'd be a pound less in summer with my lighter rain fly.
My total weight is 4lbs exactly. GT SBP, PahaQue HM20R double rain fly, stakes, straps, guy lines etc... Everything I need to setup minus insulation. Is this a good weight for winter?
I'd be a pound less in summer with my lighter rain fly.
At the risk of being howled down with shouts of derision. The right weight is what you can comfortably carry for the distance you plan to travel when combined with all your other gear but (most importantly) Sleep well and be comfortable.
Pack up your bag and go a long walk with it on. You'll soon know.
I'm looking for education, I guess. Is 4lbs excessive? Should I swap-out straps for whoopie slings? Would YOU carry a 4lb hammock/tarp set-up?Originally Posted by mountainm
yes - but I don't walk more than a couple of miles to my location.
Don't stress too much about the weight, but my 11' hammock & tarp with all the suspension gear weighs less than half of your 4 pounds and I didn't factor in the additional weight savings of my empty wallet. Lol
Cuben fabrics, Dynaglide, 1.2 oz Polly D fabric, Dutch speed hooks, etc. will lighten up you and your wallet.
Mike
"Life is a Project!"
4lbs isn't excessive, most double wall tents weigh more... If you want to be as light as possible then you could definitely get a lot lighter. My 3 season tarp weighs 14ish oz with stakes and lines. 11' HyperD 1.0 Hammock with speedhook suspension will be somewhere around 10-12oz. If I need a bug net add another 6 or so oz. For winter, my tarp weighs an addition 7oz. So I guess I'm around 2lbs +-
How is the weight in the rest of your pack? I think the total weight is what's important as well as the distance your covering and in what conditions you'll be backpacking.
You're height and weight are also factors for hammock fabrics and dimensions, taller heavier people need a larger hammock of heavier fabric = larger tarp and insulation, clothing, probably more food and water too.
Remember to look at the weight of your insulation too. That's where weights really start jumping up. My winter setup had my TQ and UQ as pretty much half my total shelter weight.
73 de W4BKR
Not all who wander are lost... - J.R.R. Tolkein
...Besides, if we get lost, we just pull in somewheres and ask directions - Captain Ron
The ever striving gram weenie...always updated with the next trip
That sounds good to me. Mine is about 3.45lb, close to 4lb if I use my Superfly tarp. We're talking about two of the most important items in your pack here, so I don't think you should worry too much about shaving weight off if you're happy with it.
MAD777 has the right of it here. Outdoors comfort is a sliding scale between cost/comfort in camp (read: "luxuries")/comfort on trail (read: "weight"). For what you spent on your set up and the research it required, you're not doing bad at all.
This, right here, is very good advice. My 20* insulation is roughly 1.66 times the weight of my total shelter (note that I skip a lot of what most folks consider "camp comfort" in favor of carrying the least stuff possible on as small a budget as possible).
And this is probably the best advice you'll get. What matters, in the end, is how it feels to you, not what it weighs compared to everyone else's gear.
As to the breakdown of my shelter...
DIY 10.5' x 54" gathered-end hammock (going to upsize this to 11' x 58" in the next model, but it works pretty good for me now), including whoopie slings and ovesized snakeskin (think "Lazy Slug Tube"): 458 g/16.16 oz
8' tree straps and mini 'biner toggles: 129 g/4.55 oz
DIY asym tarp, including suspension and stakes: 319 g/11.25 oz
DIY 20* 3/4 UQ (including suspension): 483 g/17.03 oz
DIY 50* TQ/over quilt for modular system: 347 g/12.24 oz
40* poncho liner/inner quilt for modular system: 719 g/25.36 oz
Total: 2,455 g/86.59 oz/2.455 kg/5 lbs, 6.59 oz
That's for 20*, comfortably. I'm going to be doing a 30* down top quilt to give me more temperature options, sized as an inner quilt to mate with the current 50* down outer quilt, and adding a vapor barrier (space blanket) and under cover (doubles as my poncho) to my UQ system to extend capabilities down into the teens, possibly the single digits fairly soon (read: "some time in the next two years"). It should cut ~7 oz/200 g off of my 20* weight and only add ~1 oz to my "teens, possibly single digits" system as I already carry the under cover/poncho as my rain gear.
Hope it helps!
"Just prepare what you can and enjoy the rest."
--Floridahanger
It's important to use what works for you, but I think it's even more important to use other hikers' weights and gear to tweak your own.
Just 2 years ago, a 35lb+ total pack weight was my norm and comfortable for me. Now I'm around 25lb, obviously much more comfortable. I never would have gotten there if I didn't look at the weights of others and tweak my gear list, constantly questioning mine.
I'm glad I didn't settle for the 35lb! My knees and 50 year old body (15 years from now) will probably thank me too. Yes HYOH, but it never hurts to hike along with others as well.
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