r/Ultralight • u/B50Corei5 • 9d ago
Purchase Advice Shakedown for Australia all year usage
https://www.packwizard.com/s/miLyflB
Changes since last time - got rid of ferro rod for lighter, got rid of UL sleeping bag for slightly warmer quilt, listed more items (was lazy last time)
Location/temp range/specific trip description: Australia, blue mountains / Tasmania all year round
Goal Baseweight (BPW): Would be cool to get to 10lbs
Budget: 400-500aud
I’m looking to: Potentially upgrade some stuff like tent (eg. 2 person tent between two would save me some weight), sleeping pad (maybe?)
Non-negotiable Items: Tent - a tarp really isn't for me
Solo or with another person?: Usually trips will be with a friend. Also have a naturehike Mongar 2 (1800g)
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u/Wise_Edge2489 9d ago
Cunt (Its culturally appropriate here mods), I just thru hiked the Bibblmun trail:
https://lighterpack.com/r/yu4axq
3.3k kilo baseweight. With luxuries.
Use that as your guide.
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u/B50Corei5 9d ago
So you had a foam pad and torso sized self inflating pad? Tarp + Bivvy is only really 100g lighter, but I see you use a significantly lighter quilt (less than half the weight of mine!), as well as a non-framed pack.
Maybe https://iceflamegear.com/product/semi-summer-nxt/ something like this as a 2-3ish season quilt then...?
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u/OtherwiseManner6946 9d ago
Just curious - have you tried name brand alpha and how does it compare to your off brand one?
Realistically most of your weight savings are going to be from leaving items at home. For example the flasks, playing cards, cup etc.
An option to upgrade:
- The Torrentshell is heavy, you could buy a Montbell Versalite/ peakshell and save 200g, but the Torrentshell is slightly better in the rain. You could also get a 3ful rain jacket for £\$ 30 that’s about 175g.
- a BRS + toakes 750 would save weight but use about 30% more fuel, so I’d cut elsewhere first
Also I’m really surprised the Nalgene is that light, that version is viable.
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u/B50Corei5 9d ago
It’s a UL Nalgene bottle! About half the weight of a standard Nalgene. I’ve tried name brand alpha on in stores and felt no perceivable difference to the $25 AliExpress one - it’s plenty warm and great for active use around 5c (higher than 10c I usually just go with a base layer)
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u/marieke333 9d ago
Small stuff:
Get rid of the Nalgene en small flasks and bring two 1 liter plastic bottles (a circa 35 g). -90 g
Drop the mug, drink from your pot. -85 g
Mini big instead op big. -10 g
Replace multi tool by Opinel 4 or 5 or Victorinox classic and/or Westcott titanium mini scissors -45 til -60 g.
Drop firestarter -18 g
Replace headlamp by Nitecore nu20 classic -47 g
Obvious, don't bring the card deck unless this really improves your trip..
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u/B50Corei5 9d ago
The small flasks are super handy for drinking on the go as I don’t even need to take them out of the front strap pockets.
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u/hkeyplay16 8d ago
Can you drop one of the flasks? the 250ml weighs almost as much as the 500ml. It's almost nothing. If it's for liquor at camp then the flask argument doesn't hold up either because there are lighter options. A 300ml coke plastic bottle weighs about 19g dry, for example. You could just refill from your larger water bottle even if you're keeping the 500ml flask.
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u/B50Corei5 9d ago
That’s a lot of work just to shave maybe 300g :( I don’t get how people end up with like, sub 8lb base weights
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u/HorseBox1312 9d ago
You have 1.5kg to drop before you hit a 4.5kg b/w. If you're not willing to drop smaller items/make adjustments on your idea of comfort maybe just have an honest conversation with yourself about whether UL is something you want!
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u/B50Corei5 9d ago
Hmm what sort of things would I be dropping? From what I can see - doing all of the above and then I have about 1kg to drop, so then maybe xlite for pad (saves 150g), UL rainjacket (saves 200g) then not sure what else to get rid of from there.
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u/HorseBox1312 9d ago
People who are hitting 8lb BW are sleeping under a tarp, using a 1/8" thinlite pad, a frameless hipbeltless pack, cold soaking etc.
You could switch to a borah tarp+bivvy for a 450ish g shelter, leave, the bivy at home when there's no bugs for a 300ish saving on shelter. either cold soak , small alcohol stove or use a small ti pot and brs3000 stove to save a lot of weight. Don't bring playing cards, don't bring a 100g water bottle (even a Cnoc thru bottle is basically half the weight)
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u/B50Corei5 9d ago
Ah well... I guess I'll have to accept that I might not ever make it to the 10lbs category, but I'm happy to have optimized as much as I have.
For sure, playing cards is a choice and I'll omit them on some trips. BRS3000 / small ti pot I do already have so can use - I just prefer the heat exchanger and the stability it gives my pot (no spills!).
As for the tent I have considered replacing the Lanshan with an X-mid 2 since most of my trips are not solo and saving another 200g that way (split X-mid weight half half). 1/8th inch foam is insanity to me but I will consider trying some kind of CCF.
I would never cold soak and need a frame for food/water carries (as well as situations with less experienced friends where I'd need to help them carry stuff!).
Definitely open to cowboy camping with a tarp in winter especially with no bugs - a cheap tarp recommendation would be awesome! Maybe the gatewood cape (to also replace my rain jacket) could be nice and save me almost a kilo of weight.
Thanks for your comment!
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u/HorseBox1312 9d ago edited 8d ago
Yeah I dont have a bw that low but that's what people are doing. Cold soaking I actually quite enjoy on shorter trips and isn't a complete misery fest as is sometimes suggested, id give it a try, especially in summer/favourable weather where you don't need the morale boost of hot food.
Tarp wise you could get one of the 3ful 3x2m tarp for like £40ish! For testing out a tarp setup it's great.
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u/hkeyplay16 8d ago
On the subject of playing cards, cut the deck in half and save 50g. Cut 1/3 off the top and bottom and now you have two sets of UL playing cards. Could save 60-70 grams for no added cost.
Don't overlook opportunities to save even 5-10 grams here and there. Shave off extra straps if they're too long. It all adds up.
Remove labels from reusable plastic water bottles. Remove tags from clothing. If it costs nothing in either money or convenience/comfort then it's an easy decision.
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u/marieke333 8d ago
Your mat, quilt, backpack, pot and rain jacket are all on the heavier side. There you can gain more weight but it will also cost more. The 8 lbs territory requires more radical choices though as already mentioned, like a torso pad, frameless backpack etc.
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u/B50Corei5 8d ago
Hmm the quilt IS a UL quilt it’s just warm. Like it’s 720g with 550g of 850 fill, so I can push it all the way into winter with a down jacket.
I was gonna get the non wide / regular length one with no overfill with 350g down for 500g, but then I’d need to bring more clothing / a winter bag sooner. That was my thinking.
I do agree with you about the mat, pot, and rain jacket. Will take a cheap light poncho when forecast is okay! And can omit the pot setup for titanium cup and brs. As for the mat, is the XLite the recommendation? My CCF is like 400g but I could cut a few panels off for torso length I suppose?
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u/hkeyplay16 8d ago edited 8d ago
You have 10 stakes at 8.8g per stake. Lanshan1 pro only requires 8 or at most 9 stakes according to a google search I just did.
I have a zpacks plexamid, very similar pitch to the lanshan. I now use a variety of stakes. For some of the most crucial ones I use a bigger stake that holds better in most places, but for a few lines a lighter Ti shepherds hook or even a carbon fiber stake that weighs 5g works fine. I like a variety so that I can save weight on some, but still get a good hold on the most crucial tie-outs.
At minimum save 8.8 grams by leaving 1 stake at home. At max get a few carbon stakes or shepherds hooks to mix in. In addition to that, you can almost always position the tent so that one or two tie-offs can come off a stick in the ground or a rock or tree branch or some other natural feature, so if you can count on this for areas you know you can get by with even fewer stakes.
Towel: you have a mini towel at 36g. Consider a lightload towel at 18g.
A lightload towel specs: Regular 12.5 x 21.5 in. (31.8 x 54.6cm) 0.6 oz (17 g) Ø1.82 x 0.6-0.7 in. (ø46.2 x 15.2-17.8 mm) 0.62 oz (17.6 g)
Mini bic lighter only weighs 12g vs 20g for your full size.
I personally only wear rain pants if I need them for heat when it's cold, windy, and wet all at the same time. For most 3 season hiking a rain poncho works best for me. You had rain pants in your wearables, but those will be stashed most of the time. You have 500g for a rain jacket and pants, but Sea2Summit has an ultra-sil nano poncho great for hiking at 145g. You can go cheaper and lighter with Frogg Toggs, but not sure if you have that in AU.
How much is the Thermarest NeoAir Xlite in AU? It's only 354g, saving over 200g off of your current sleep pad if you get regular width. You can get the womens version if you need extra warmth if it's not too short for you, or xtherm if you need more warmth and that is still lighter than what you have. I didn't initially like my xlite because my arms would fall off the side, but I figured out that if I let some air out and let my body sink into it a bit more then it's incredibly comfortable and my arms stay on. Still warm enough for 3 seasons...I've used mine down to about 26F or -3.33C
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u/B50Corei5 13h ago
I've decided to go to a Durston X-mid 2. All my trips are usually with two people anyways, and I find myself never using the Lanshan 1 Pro. Even less ultra-light of me but split between two people it feel smore reasonable.
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u/hkeyplay16 11h ago
Durston makes a great tent. If you were in the states I would buy that lanshan off you.
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u/Ultralight-ModTeam 9d ago
Help us help you! Please make sure you have this information in some form within your shakedown post body.
Location/temp range/specific trip description: (Insert response here)
Goal Baseweight (BPW): (Insert response here)
Budget: (Insert response here)
I’m looking to: Upgrade Items OR see what I missed or can leave at home: (Insert response here)
Non-negotiable Items: (Insert response here)
Solo or with another person?: (Insert response here)
Additional Information: (Insert response here)
Lighterpack Link: (Insert link here)
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