Hi there, can't help in terms of pets as I don't have any but the pet saddlebags sound a good idea depending on the size. In terms of tents, I take a Vaude Taurus II (2.85kg) on my trips - roomy and easy to pitch even in the dark. I take the wayfayrer boil in the bag meals supported by an MSR titanium pan kit and kettle (very light) and coleman f1 stove and lantern - very light and the lantern keeps you warm on the evenings. For water I used ot use the platypus type bladders but have moved away from them in preference for water bottles - 1 conventional and the other a drinksafe travel tap - filters water form just about anywhere so need to be near a tap - worth every penny. Mattress is thermarest and the sleeping bag is a snugpak softie merlin - 1 season - small and light. For rucksacks these are a personal choice - golite do some nice lightweight ones but they aren't cheap bit it really is a matter of fit and taste - some people like the external pockets and other gucci bits, others like it simple. Remember to test it in the shop with what you think may be something like the weight you will be carrying in it. Boots again are a personal choice - the best aren't always the most expensive but remember to try them on with socks. Clothing - i use icebreaker base layers - dries really quick and doesn't stink! I would definitley get into shape with a few long walks and even camp outs to get used to the routine of being tired but still needing to carry on until you're set up and fed - practice makes perfect and it will get you used to the weight you'll be carrying. Good luck...
Thanks for your advice fitzydan, especially about the lantern and the warmth it gives you, well worth looking into. I've plumped for a Jetboil Flash for stove, liked the way it stored in itself and that I don't have to worry about my morning coffee! Would be most likely using this for boil in the bag stuff too if needed.
Good to have your vote for the Snugpak, they were the ones that I had my eyes on :-)
I'm trying at the mo not to look at much else, I've got Christmas presents to buy! But hoping I might get a few bargains in the sales. Picked up a cracking Army surplus roll mat for the dog, 3/4 length, wipable (?!) surface and as light as a feather....picked it up for a steal on the 'bay for £1.20!!! To be honest it's that good I'd be tempted for me, but want him to be warm as I won't be carrying much else for him.
Thanks again :-)
------------- August 2012 Nicholaston Farm, The Gower
Meant to say no need to be near a tap - just need a water source for the travel tap - also - snugpak softie 3 on ebay at the moment just in case you pick this thread up
Quote: Originally posted by The Bimblers on 23/10/2011
Message posted by vealmike on 17/10/2011 at 5:02pm
---------------------------- Cut the handle off your toothbrush. ----------------------------
Sorry, but why on earth would anyone want to do something as stupid and anal as that??????
It's one of those lightweight legends - I don't think anyone's ever done it in real life. Anyway, if you're carrying an absolutely mental amount of weight like 28kg, it's going to take a lot more than trimming a toothbrush to get down to a reasonable pack weight
Quote: Originally posted by vealmike on 17/10/2011
Cut the handle off your toothbrush
If I'm car-camping I take a folding toothbrush. It fits into a smaller washbag and stops the bristles getting grubby or covered in flecks of soap.
If I'm going really lightweight I take a toothbrush with the handle shortened. It saves unnecessary weight and it saves space even if it makes me "... as stupid and anal as that..."
It's a matter of priorities: some people are 'stupid and anal' while others prefer to lug several kilograms of avoidable weight on their backs. My priority is to travel fast and light, especially if the trip involves long steep uphill walking. To each their own.
Quote: Originally posted by Skeptical Camper on 08?12/11
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If I'm going really lightweight I take a toothbrush with the handle shortened. It saves unnecessary weight and it saves space even if it makes me "... as stupid and anal as that..."
It's a matter of priorities: some people are 'stupid and anal' while others prefer to lug several kilograms of avoidable weight on their backs. My priority is to travel fast and light, especially if the trip involves long steep uphill walking. To each their own
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Hi Skep,
"Kilograms of avoidable weight?"
Wow, but you've got a BIG toothbrush!!
I can fully understand that people want to save weight - I do myself. I also more than understand that some people get serious about the amount of weight that they are carrying and go to every possible length to save weight (I'm not one of them!).
But - and it's a bit but - I also believe that sometimes people get *so* wound up about saving weight that they lose sight of the big picture and reach the point where they are 'anal' about it.
Many years ago, I took my normal toothbrush into work and weighed it on the scales. I then shaved it down and weighed it again. I had saved the vast amount of 11 grammes; that's right eleven grammes or 0.38 of an ounce!
So, as you so rightly say, "to each their own" but, for heavens sake, if you're really *that* worried about carrying an extra 1/3 of an ounce then . . . . . . . . . . . .
I often read that going light is more a state or mind than a case of grammes here and there and I think that's true. The handle of a toothbrush is not saving kilogrammes, of course it's not, but acceptance of unnecessary weight can build up. If you take the attitude that "it's only 50 or 100 grammes" but do that ten times across your kit list, it adds up to 500-1000 grammes.
The most significant weight saving opportunities come from tent, sleeping bag, sleeping mat and cookset. But being conscious about the weight of other things can mean another 1-2kg off total pack weight. It doesn't necessarily mean being anal about weight, just conscious - leaving behind or lightening things that, in themselves, are insignificant but taken together make a difference.
For some backpackers, an "excess" of 1kg, 2kg, maybe more, is neither here nor there, but for people who do a lot of ascent with a pack, it can be the difference between enjoyment and hard work. The big picture for me is enjoying my trips and apparently insignificant weight savings on multiple items contribute to that.
I sort of agree with what you're saying. The point I'm trying to make is that too many people take it as a mantra without looking at the big picture. . . . .
People will comment on the un-necessary weight in, for example, a tooth-brush handle, but then carry countless pounds of un-necessary weight themselves. Vis: they'll save the vast amount of 1/3 ounce by shaving the handle, but will they then replace all the alloy (or, heaven forfend, steel!) tent pegs for titanium? No, they won't.
Will they save weight by removing (ie, cutting off!) all the superfluous straps and buckles on their pack? No, they won't.
Will they, alternately, use the lightest possible pack to save weight? No, they won't.
That's the whole point. If you're going to cut down your tooth-brush handle, away you go. It's a free country. But, if you don't do absolutely and utterly *everything*, and I mean literally EVERYTHING else to save weight in the process, then, I'm sorry but what's the point?
As Richard says, 'lightweight' is more about an attitude, an overall approach, than nitpicking specifics.
As Richard also points out, there is a difference between walking on level or undulating lowland and semi-scrambling up steep hills - if you want to be fast and fleet on the hill, pack light and pack for balance.
Yes, of course, load-lightening applies across the whole spectrum - from using alloy or Ti pegs to the clothes and boots you wear. And, of course, anyone who is serious about weightsaving will select a light tent and use the lightest pack that suits their needs (and choose a pack with the straps, attachments, cinches and closures that best suit their own intended use - thus meaning their are no 'superfluous' straps or attachments).
The toothbrush issue is merely an exemplar and has become a red herring. It is the overall reduction that counts. And, as the advert says, every little helps.
Let me see if I can explain it this way: If you want to be "fleet and fast on the hill" then , yes, I understand that weight is all...... but......
First off: if you have all the lightest, and I mean *lightest*, possible kit so that you can be "fleet and fast on the hill", then fine - away you go but, frankly, if, and I stress IF you get to that point, the extra 1/3 of an ounce that you save by cutting the handle off your toothbrush becomes irrelevant: If the extra 1/3 of an ounce means the difference between success and failure then you would have to stop if you had two rain drops on you - because the extra weight, etc...... QED
Second: If you *haven't* got all the lightest kit then what is the point of cutting your handle off?? Again, QED.
Third. If the issue "has become a red herring" why, as I said, has it become a mantra? The thread started because the poster was wanting advice and one of the first replies was to 'cut the handle of your toothbrush'. Why? Why say that right at the outset when it's pointless when there are numerous other - eminently more sensible - pieces of advice you can give?
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Topic: A little help, advice, anything......!
