Gear List

[RoguePhotonic]

Well if your a machine and packing 50 pounds has no effect on you after a 10 or 15 mile day then fine more power to you but I learned quickly in backpacking that going light greatly increases your enjoyment of wilderness travel when your not hiking along in pain and just crying for your destination. Then when you arrive your so tired you don't want to really do anything but go to sleep for 15 hours.

What you take is not always what you need but if it was that's fine. You take what you need and then try to make those things lighter.

My gear list is about as simple as I can go for a month or multi month hike. There are things I could do to save a couple pounds but nothing I really would want to do.

My only real increase in weight this year is going with a ULA Catalyst vs a Circuit. I did this in order to carry up to 15 or more days of food when last year my longest section without resupply was 10 days.

[rlown]

I'm pretty sure some of our pack weights are listed in this thread: viewtopic.php?f=15&t=3743" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

not like i weigh it every year, bit by bit.. you zero yourself on the bathroom scale, put on your pack, and then bend the scale to measure what you're carrying, sans water.

I do the same thing with the food pre-pack.. load it in the bearikade, jump on the scale and read the 11lb diff..

[Wandering Daisy]

Rogue- two questions. How did your pack hold up while bushwhaking this summer? You said you are going to a heavier version for added space. Is the new pack any sturdier than the old one and if so, was that a factor in changing the pack?

Second, exactly how much does all your camera gear weigh? Do you take a tripod? I am doing a 35-day contiouous trip this year with 22 days where I have no access to electricity (horse packer resupply) and am in a quandry regarding how to deal with the camera battery. I think I am going to have to buy a spare battery. Any suggestions?

[RoguePhotonic]

How did your pack hold up while bushwhaking this summer?

The ULA Circuit did pretty well over all. The bushwhacking itself had no effect on the pack. My only problems was about half way through the trip the primary buckle that goes over the top of the back half way broke. One side of the clip would not snap in so I was just waiting for the day it fails completely but it did not come. Then the small mesh pouch that hangs inside the pouch split at the top so I removed and tossed it. The primary hand loop you pick the pack up with was a bit frayed looking by the end but over all the pack did just fine. In 2010 I used the Catalyst but in an effort to go lighter weight I bought the Circuit last year.

The Catalyst is indeed stronger. It has a better back panel to support the weight. The pack is only 11 ounces heavier.

My camera gear has been cut way down since I stopped taking my 5D2 along. I miss the awesome photos but my photos last year turned out pretty good with the G12. The biggest thing I miss is the ability to do night time star photos. When I would take that I had 7 pounds of camera gear. I have never brought a tripod. When I did star photos I would use my bear barrel.

It really depends on how you look at my camera weight now. I have to bring the camera battery charger since the G12 does not use AA's. Then I bring 3 extra 16 gig SD cards besides the one in the camera. I have one extra camera battery which last year I did not need but I will this time.

It depends on what batteries your camera uses when it comes to your options. There are some decent solar charger options or battery packs. What does your camera use and then maybe we can go over some options.

[vandman]

Rogue, What kind of solar battery charger do you use, and how well does it work and how much does it weigh?

[RoguePhotonic]

Well last year I brought a Brunton Restore but it didn't work out that well. It is about 8.7 ounces and has it's own battery inside to save the power. The trouble is it takes about 10 hours of good sun to charge it's battery which was only 3700 mAh. That means that when it was fully charged it could not bring a set of standard Sanyo Eneloop batteries up to full charge because they are 2000 mAh each. If your power requirements aren't as high as my GPS AA's are then it's a handy little thing but it hardly did enough for me to take it again.

This year I bought a Brunton Solaris 4 which weighs 7.09 ounces inside it's carrying bag. It has no internal battery but has a max output of 5V at 800mAh. That more or less "should" be like plugging my USB charger into a wall socket. I am hoping that this will allow me to keep my stuff charged while in the backcountry other wise I will be out of luck with tracking statistics on my GPS. I will just keep it off unless I need it. I wont know how it does until I get out there though.

[Wandering Daisy]

After much looking around I decided to solve my camera battery problems by buying two extra. They are not that expensive and weigh 1.5 ounces total for both. It would have cost a lot more to buy a solar charger and the charger would weigh more. I do not take a lot of electronic gagets and I can easily have new batteries for my headlamp brought in with the food when I get resupplied by packers. The Cannon battery cost $61 retail, but an equal generic is available for about $20 at a local battery store. There are batteries as cheap as $7 on the internet, but I am not comfortable with knock-offs. I read that a well known generic brand name is better than an unrealistically cheap "Cannon", which probably is a fake.

[rlown]

yet again.. i've been carrying spare cam batteries for years. you charge them before you leave, know what your cam does with them at altitude/cold/whatever.. It's the best way.. solar chargers don't fit the model currently..

[RoguePhotonic]

I'd rather get the real Canon battery then the cheaper ones. They probably wont perform as well.

I got the Brunton Solaris 4 for 130 dollars. The actual Brunton website lists everything much higher then you can find it for.

You also have the option of carrying a spare battery pack like this New Trent iFuel. It all depends on how much your camera battery holds and one of these things may charge it a few times before it is dead.

[vandman]

Back in the days when I shot real film, I carried a big bag of film, maybe 4 pounds. Today I carry a small bag of extra camera batteries, maybe a pound.