I did not succeed in lightening my pack and harness (see my blog entry losing weight). In consideration of risk and tool / materials procurement, there simply is not enough time. So, I assembled a packing list and weighed everything and went through a severe culling exercise. It is amazing the difference in weight between shirts, socks and so on.
Some items I would like to change eventually:
- tpu cargo bag 247g, tpu dry bag 290g
Consider that a Zpacks airplane case made of Dyneema composite weighs 95g, it will make a great replacement saving 340g. The dry bag is inside the pontoons so they should not be immersed. I feel there would be adequate protection even if immersed anyway. - packraft inflation bag 263g
This could also be made of Dyneema composite. saving a further 170g. It would be nice to use it for something else as well eg. deck cargo bag. - dry suit – Helly Hansen 4000
There are quite a few dry suits on the market that are lighter in the region of 2kg. (though no one quantifies this due to material use and size variation.) I do not want to compromise safety, but there is at least a kg I can shave eg. the neck collar and pockets are not needed for pack rafting. - Garmin Inreach
This weighs 256g whereas the mini weighs 100g. Less features, but that is a good thing in my books. - The white water raft with its accessories is heavy, also the pfd weighs 650g that could be shaved with an inflatable one – I could save here but it needs to be done with care in consideration of safety.
So: given time and money I can save 2.6kg on gear, along with a kg on the pack arrangement we have 3.6kg bringing the total weight down to 18.5kg.
Anyway – here is the list for base weight there will be more as I review it. When hiking, touring there will be about 700g per day for food and a kg for water (where I am near water)
