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It's Tough To Lighten Up

I keep trying to lighten up my backpack. I have an ultra light pack, a super lightweight down sleeping bag, and a one person light weight tent. Even with all that lightweight gear, I still have a full backpack weight, without water, of 33.25 pounds. This includes 6 pounds of food for about 4 days and 2.5 pounds of clothing. I have to add a few extra items due to the potential cold.
I spent a good hour reviewing all my gear to get rid of everything I figure is unneeded. It amazes me when I read of backpackers with 20 pound packs. I guess I could save some weight by not taking any extra clothing, getting an under 2 lb sleeping pad, trimming pack items and removing a few clips, but I  don't think I will do that. I will just have to deal with it.

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  1. Some ideas: Ditch the tent and just take a tarp or bivy sack. Or have a sleeping bag that has a weather proof shell and sleep under the stars. A ridgerest foam pad is fine unless you sleep on a wood/concrete surface and they don't weigh much. For 4 days you should be able to get the pack around 30 pounds with water. Carry only 1-2 liters of water if you can filter along the way. A gallon of water is about 8 pounds. Cheers!

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  2. Thanks for the tips Haliku, but I am not a tarp person and by body requires the extra comfort of a therm-a-rest pad. The days of sleeping on thin Ensolite passed my by about 35 years ago. :) I need that extra air under me. My next post will have a link to all my current equipment. There are a few things I could still trim for a 4 day trip.

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