Day minus 3 - the weight of things

 As I mentioned in the previous post, much attention has been paid to the weight of things.

It's amazed me how quickly a few things that weigh "nothing" soon make up another kilo to schlepp and before you know it, you're lugging 13kg without even counting drinking water or camera gear.  

How is that possible?  I'm glad you asked.


backpack - 1210g

front pockets for camera stuff - 560g 

So that's almost 2kg of weight, just so you can carry more weight.

tent (including poles and pegs) - 1520g

tent footprint (fancy name for groundsheet) - 250g

sleep mat - 442g  (I decided on an extra 88g of comfort for a wide version, so it's a little less like sleeping on a knife edge)

Sleeping bag - 645g (rated to -2 degrees "comfort" level)

sleeping bag liner (silk)  - 115g (I may yet ditch this)

mighty mo gas cooker - 135g

gas cannister - 200g

billy & lid (titanium) - 180g

mug and lid (coffee is essential) - 140g

titanium double lined bowl - 100g

titanium spook and fork - 30g

extra small drylite towel - 45g (for drying feet after river crossings)

water bottles x 2 - 120g

power bank and cables - 400g

first aid kit - 200g

Garmin In-reach mini - 100g

Kestrel weather station - 34g

Camera with 24-70mm lens - 2280g (yikes !)

70-200mm lens - 1575g (yikes!)

go-pro black 7 - 145g


Now we come to the clothing:

raincoat - 440g

rain pants - 300g

shoes for river crossing - 400g

waterproof sox for river crossings - 90g

ultra light puffy down jacket - warm layer - 250g

shell jacket - warm and windproof layer - 250g

wool long sleeve top (spare) - 130g

fleece pants - warm layer - 230g

sox (1 spare) - 90g

I'll assume the clothing I actually wear weighs nothing as I don't have to carry it separate from my body.


Food:

Although we plan to hike 6 days, we need to allow for bad weather/staying an extra night somewhere, so I'm carrying 7 days worth of food.  Because I am so slim, a day without would see me fade to a shadow.  

Freeze dried dinner meals = 905g

breakfast = 540g

lunch = 610g

snacks = 460g

coffee bags (coffee is essential) = 112g 


So that little lot adds up to almost 15kg.

I could trade weight for less comfort, but I don't want to be cold & miserable for a week, that wouldn't be fun, and would kinda defeat the purpose of the trip.  I could just get my boots wet crossing the rivers, or cross barefoot, and risk smashing a toe or two, but I'm a wimp.  I could eat less (yeah, not happening) or give up coffee for 7 days (also not happening).  

And having spent the entire post moaning about how much everything weighs, it's pretty amazing to me that technology has allowed this gear to get as light as it has.  The sleeping bag that weights slightly more than a tub of butter, and will keep me warm down to -2 degrees (and -8 for survival rather than comfort) is impressive.  A device that can connect to a satellite from the middle of nowhere and trigger a rescue if needed, all in a 100g package.  Cool stuff.





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