TIL a 5-minute pack weight audit saved me 4 miles of misery

I was carrying 38 pounds on a 3-day loop in the Smokies last week and thought I was fine. Turns out I had two extra water bottles and a camp chair I never used, dropping me to 29 pounds after ditching them. Anybody else found a quick trick that cut serious weight without buying new gear?

3 comments

3 Comments

karen36111d ago

My two extra Cliff bars and a backup headlamp cost me 2.5 pounds once. It's always the stuff you never touch.

wren63814d ago

Wait, how much crap do we Really carry without thinking about it? My buddy Dave brought a full-size toothpaste tube and THREE lighters on a weekend trip last fall. He didn't even smoke. We weighed his pack before we left and it was 42 pounds. After we made him dump the extra toothpaste, a backup water filter he didn't need, and this heavy leatherman he never opened, he dropped to 35. He was PISSED at first but thanked me on the uphill section the next day.

the_linda14d ago

Hundred percent, @wren638. I once packed a full sized bottle of camp suds for a single overnight trip. My pack was 38 pounds before I even added food. Turned out I also had three pairs of socks, a paperback I never touched, and a giant carabiner that basically just clanked around. After my friend literally laughed at me and made me dump half of it, I got down to 31. He said I was carrying a backup of everything like I was prepping for a week in the wilderness. The next morning my back was so much happier I almost apologized for being a pack mule in denial. What's the weirdest thing you've ever found in someone's pack after a gear shake down?