Help me reduce pack weight

[maverick]

I like the "need" and "want" piles. And the sharing if with someone else. And, you might be crazy. Sleeping on the ground isn't fun.

Here is a novel concept that works for me, training/working out hard during the off-season (weights and cardio), then there is no need for any "need" and "want" piles, your pack becomes ultra-light no matter what the weigh, you'll be able to backpack at a very high level into your elder years, and also injury proofing you body.

[sambieni]

Hey, we asked about pack weight not gut weight!

[Wandering Daisy]

I am just testing it out right now. Still take chlorine tabs and treat 1 liter as soon as I get to camp and this is used for night drinks and trail water the next day. I do not treat cook water. The Sawyer Squeeze works well but is a bit slow. I take the back flush syringe if I am out for more than a weekend. I generally back-flush every day. The whole thing weighs 3 oz. I have experimented with using my Platypus and leaving behind the Sawyer 1-L bag, but decided that the small weight of the bag is worth taking so that I do not stress my Platypus too much. It is also easier to squeeze a 1-L bag than a 2-L Platypus. So far I like it. I also have no problem with nothing but chlorine tabs. I am not a big water drinker during the day when hiking. I usually tank up when I get to camp. The only real pain with the Sawyer Squeeze is that you really need to back flush it with about a quart of water with about a tbs chlorine bleach when you get home, and be sure to fully dry it before packing it away. Chlorine tabs are definitely a no-fuss method but does require pre-planning. Honestly, if I have to drink some untreated water, it is no big deal. All you are doing with treatment is reducing an already small risk.

[sheperd80]

I bought my Sawyer Squeeze at Walmart, for about $25. There is a smaller and lighter "Squeeze" made, but the Walmart near me only carries the larger size.

I went lighter (am still looking at new gear to be even lighter) one small step at a time. I moved here from backpacking in the northern Rockies and I was way over-geared at first. Minimizing clothing is still psychologically difficult for me; being able to survive sub-zero temperatures was so ingrained in me! On the other hand, I am really OK with minimizing food and water, probably because I have been trained in 4-day, 50 mile survival treks with no food at all. I place value on "psychological" aspects of reducing weight and each person has his own security blanket that is really hard to let go of. In time, with more experience in the Sierra, you will become more comfortable with deleting items. Even if you can afford to "cold turkey" to all new UL gear, I would not do that.

Thank you for the advice. I am definitely not going UL and no plans to until I get a few years of trips under my belt. Mostly looking at being a light weight traditionalist taking only what I feel I need and nothing more - ie no second clothing options - just 1 layer of each type, etc, etc. I will say this - I started looking at my gear with about 25 - 27 pound base-weight and now have it around 18 - 19 pounds before food/bear can/water. Next summer will be the year to upgrade my pack and sleeping back to drop another 1-3 pounds. If I can get near 15 pounds baseweight can shift to trail runners/shoes and will feel really good.

But really just asking about how you actually like the product itself and how it works? I am considering the Squeeze instead of using a new Katadyn pump. I hear mixed things - even from UL hikers.

Ive been using the Sawyer Squeeze for awhile now and i like it. The complaints ive seen are about the Sawyer Mini and i agree. Its only an ounce lighter than the Squeeze and much slower, prone to clogging etc. I love how small it is but just doesnt perform.

But the Squeeze is great. Theres a million ways to integrate it into your system.

For me, i carry a plastic water bottle (sometimes 2) for drinking, and a soft bottle for filtering (sometimes 2 if i think ill need extra capacity). I stop regularly if possible and fill up the soft bottle, drink from it (through filter) then fill again.

If my hard bottle needs topping off i do so but most times i just throw the soft bottle in the pack for later. This is especially nice if u use a bladder and arent sure how much u have, dont want to open ur pack that minute, dont want to skip a source.

At camp i use that same soft bottle (or sometimes bring a larger one) for gravity filtering. No fancy rigs just a sawyer or platypus soft bottle with some paracord attached, hanging above my bottle, pot, etc filtering itself while i do camp stuff.

Of course this is just my style. For the price and weight its definitely worth trying one out and see how it integrates itself into your system...

In-line on your bladder hose, used as lifestraw, drink straight from dirty bottle all the time, gravity setup, squeeze dirty bottle to clean bottle or bladder etc etc.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G890A using Tapatalk

[sambieni]

Last year, my gravity platy setup failed. It was an amazing 3 nights in Ansel Adams Wilderness, but on Yosemite trip w/ my buddy, 10-15 minutes for rest and filtering quickly turned into an hour. I think I failed to backflow early on, clogging the filter, and never could overcome it. Thankfully backcountry.com refunded me the platy.

New filter idea for summer -Sawyer Squeeze using:

Platy 2 Big Zip bag in my pack. Never needs removal as I will modify with a Sawyer Fast Fill Adapter. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HdddoRwGlfU

1-2 Platy 2 Liter bottles to gather water, use as camp storage, and use for Sawyer squeeze (I heard their own brand always break down over time).

1-2 SmartWater bottle have on hand for storage, drinking powdered drinks. I really liked this setup last year; I rarely drank w/ it on the trail, but was great offtrail for powdered drinks and dinner. I hate the hydration packs while in camp; just on trail.

Setup of bottles plus squeeze is b/w 4-6 liters capacity, plus 11-13 total ounces all-in. Admit a fair bit excess bottles if I went all in (likely only have 4 w/ me); but I do drink a lot and hate filtering at night and again early morning when I can avoid it. On trail, always start with 2 liters, often 3.

Anyone w/ similar setup?

[zacjust32]

I use the SmartWater bottles and really like the setup. But if I'm reading your post correctly you carry a Platy bladder and 4 (!) bottles? I'll help you reduce pack weight... lose all but 2 bottles, why do you need 6 liters unless you're in the desert (especially this wet year). Like other's have said, wants vs. needs: if you hate filtering @ night use all those bottles. But if you hate pack weight more than filtering, lose it.

I use (2) 1 liter bottles, one dirty and one clean. The dirty water is filtered into the clean bottle. Then you can either drink straight from the filter or squeeze into the clean bottle as you run out. Still works if you want to add powder to the clean bottle.

[sambieni]

Yea, I was overstating amount of bottles I need. Will use less.
I really was just trying to figure out if my setup as far as the Sawyer fast fill adapter would be workable option in tandem with similar setup as you described.

But yoursetup is really helpful for guidance. Thanks.

[Wandering Daisy]

The squeeze bag on my Sawyer broke at the top last year. Then the o-ring on the filter fell out and it leaks (you may want to keep the filter in a zip-lock so you do not loose parts). Nevertheless, for $30 it lasted quite some time and worked fine for my needs. I am back to chlorine tablets and simply not filtering when the water looks good.

I consider myself a light, but not UL backpacker. My minimal base weight (everything including what I wear and trekking poles, excluding only food, water and fuel) is about 20 pounds, with the Bearikade, 18 without. That leaves about 14 pounds of base-weight on my back. The only stuff I regularly add to this is fishing gear (11 oz) and crocks (8 oz). My food is 1.3 to 1.5 pounds per day (2500 calories). I am a small person so big people may have to take more. Most of my weight savings came from simply NOT taking stuff.

You may want to re-think the pocket knife. I use a 0.5 oz very small pastic kitchen paring knife.

By the way, when I backpack with my family, all hell breaks loose and I become the packhorse. My family is not willing to minimize- they like their creature comforts which fill their packs, leaving me with more than my share of group gear and food. Not worth the battle to change their views. We all have fun anyway.

[oldranger]

Daisy wrote:

By the way, when I backpack with my family, all hell breaks loose and I become the packhorse. My family is not willing to minimize- they like their creature comforts which fill their packs, leaving me with more than my share of group gear and food. Not worth the battle to change their views. We all have fun anyway.

Not this old fart! I have a daughter and son in law who insist on 2 of every item of clothes and lots of unnecessary gear that I tell them they don't need. Will I carry extra because of their insistence--Hell no!--so my son in law carries 20 lbs more than necessary. I guess they are good for something besides grandkids.

[sambieni]

Right now I have little wee ones too small for anything but family camping; still doing lots of solo trips or w/ a buddy.

Wandering Daisy - how many miles, etc until your Sawyer o-ring dropped out?