Gear list -- ounce tweaking addiction

**DaleW** · 09-01-2011, 09:26

They have medications that will help.....

**Lonely Raven** · 09-01-2011, 09:33

I have an obsessive personality. I've worked hard not to make a weight list and worry over it trying to tweak and adjust it. Though I know I should at least put together a proper checklist and weight list to help me pare down my weight a bit.

Since I sold a bunch of UL gear to pay bills, I guess I have no choice but to start weighing things.

**thegreatjesse** · 09-01-2011, 09:47

right there with you, man. I spend hours in Excel trying to find ways to cut ounces out of my kit, and I'm always shopping online for better, lighter gear.

A great way to cut some weight and even save some money is to make your own stuff. I carry a stove that I made that weighs less than half an ounce. My IX topquilt (which I use for summertime) weighs in at 13.1 ounces.. Besides, making your own gear gives you something else to obsess over!

**olddog** · 09-01-2011, 10:41

I've cut almost 4.5 lbs off the kit I carried last spring but it was a newbie setup. I just keep working at it with individual pieces. Then some DIYer comes along with something else to try.

**R00K** · 09-01-2011, 10:50

At first I was taking an 8lb military subzero sleeping bag/bivy (didn't know the bivy liner was removable) - a 5lb Lawson Hammock set up, and that was just the begining of my troubles.

So glad to be carrying a lighter load.

**defsquad** · 09-01-2011, 13:59

Glad I'm not alone. I thought about re-weighing all my stuff, despite having manufacturer's weights already plugged into my spreadsheet.

I'm at a base weight of about 13.53lb for all season usage. Granted, I don't have any specialized "winter" gear, since the coldest it gets is into the lower 20's in Alabama, SOMETIMES we get into the teens, but it seems to be relatively rare. One day I'll get a winter incubator or something.

I just really enjoy mixing and matching stuff in my spreadsheet to find the lowest possible to the 100th of an ounce on my gear..

Thanks for reminding me we're all in the same boat! lol.

**DivaB** · 09-01-2011, 14:30

Great....I'm obsessed with cord, learning knots, into the DIY, keep playing around with new ideas and things, and now there is a geargram site?!?!?! I'll never get anything done with "normal" chores.

Honestly speaking. Being new, older, heavier myself, out of shape, and handicapable... I had an eye opening experience with my first trip. There is a reason to be so weight conscious about everything. Every little bit counts! Packing goats sound better and better to me

However; you'd still have to weigh and watch everything.

**Rolloff** · 09-01-2011, 14:56

Not sure Pack Goats will get it. Even in here Mule went UL

**pinkgrips236** · 09-01-2011, 16:04

+1 towards goats...

I bet there i some sort of ratio of the desirability of the food dangling in front of their face to the ounces they would comfortably carry.

If a carrot was goading the goat on, maybe 12lbs, but a double chocolate layer cake, and that same goat could easily manage 640lbs.

...just a theory

**deerfu** · 09-01-2011, 16:11

Originally Posted by Crotalus

I am not to the point of tweaking yet, I am still trying to get my base list assembled. Going on my first overnight kayak fishing trip. So I have 3 lists to work on:

1. Kayak related
2. Fishing related
3. Camping related

I used several sample lists from the internet combined them, then started paring them down. Thought i was just about finished then I realized I had 3 mutlitools on the list and 4 different boxes of waterproof matches.

I just hope it all fits in the kayak (and it still floats) when i am finished.

Same here! God help when I start weighing everything