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Topic: 15kg kit walk

illinois6

28/3/2015 at 6:12pm
Location: bourton on the water
Outfit: Esvo Bedouin 340 lightwave ultra T20

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In my attempt to do more backpacking adventures, today I had a good 10 mile trial walk over the Malvern Hills carrying initially about 16.5 kgs in my pack . I carried about 8L of water knowing I could remove the weight easily if wanted. I drank about 1.5 litres of this during the walk, I suspect I could have done another 5-10miles in the day .. But think my fitness and strength will need to improve a little before I do a multi day wild camping trip . Would like a little less weight in my kit by trimming down but not sure I would ever get sub 10kg unless I had a reliable water source .
Minimum kit would seem to comprise of
Exped 60L rucksack 1kg
2 man lightwave tent 2kg
Down sleeping bag 1kg
Sleeping mat (downmat) 1kg
Cooking equipment and Gas 1kg
Additional clothing 1 - 2 kg
3L drinking bladder. 3kg (when full)
2 litre water 2 kg
Food ???
I can think of quite a few luxuries and essential I could add

What sort of weight do others carry for a 2-3 trip ?

navver

28/3/2015 at 7:40pm
Location: West country
Outfit: Mondeo

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You can use water purification tablets with water from a stream. You can get detasting tablets as well but I didn't bother.

coreupted

29/3/2015 at 12:07am
Location: Scotland
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It's always going to depend on if you have to carry water or not
My carry weight without water,food or clothes is:6.1k

Tent Vango Apex 200             1.8k
7x5 Cheap Tarp                  0.3k
Down sleeping bag               1.0k
Pillow                          0.3k
No name 120L rucksack           1.1K
Sleeping mat                    0.5k
Cooking + meths                 0.5k
Towel and cloth                 0.3k
Knife,Headlight and plaster tin 0.3k

I could cut it down further by not taking the Tarp and pillow but don't intend to.
I do take some other bits like binocs or the Sawers mini water filter but depends on location.

When i take my son (8) with me, i take the Vango Mirage 300 (3.65k)So have to humf more.

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coreupted

29/3/2015 at 12:09am
Location: Scotland
Outfit: None Entered

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Hmm,
In preview post all those numbers where in a straight line.

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They don't make shortbread any longer.

VangoMan02

29/3/2015 at 10:32am
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I think its really personal preference as to what you are able to carry comfortably or just want to have it lightweight for the sake of it.

Some folks do not take a change of clothes or wash while away for 2-3 days and thats fine if its what they want to do. Some folks will eat cold food and only drink water, so don't need to carry a stove and fuel, a bit extreme but each to there own.

In my own experience (although I do less treks nowadays), I aim for 10kg for a 2-3 day trek but it could be more and around 20kg ish for a week or so all depends on route and if I will be close to a shop en route.

I run cold and am allergic to down so my synthetic bag weighs about 2kg, I have tried several lighter bags over the years claiming all sorts of thermal qualities and most were sold on. So I don't really have a choice if I want to be warm, my medical condition dictates it.

I also have to take or wear thermal base layer, spare socks and a couple of other bits of clothing which are all lightweight.
I will take my Trangia + fuel or F1 Gas stove + fuel depending how I feel.

I have a choice of tents weighing just over 1kg to just under 2kg again choice is dependand of my route. terrain etc.

My meds for 2-3 days will also weigh around 400g.

I couldn't honestly tell you what each individual item that I take weighs but I do know that I can get my packs to weigh as mentioned above, thats how I have done it for the last 50 years of hiking/camping when there was no lightweight kit available but I am glad that there is nowadays as a weeks pack used to weigh in around 50-60 lbs..

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ZIZAG

30/3/2015 at 6:50pm
Location: Cheshire
Outfit: Coleman Novae x 2. + Helium force 10

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illinois6 .
I think your your main kit is a reasonable amount . But I hope you dont mind me pointing out you carried 8 litres of water, Thats equal to 8 Kg thats a lot of extra weight that seems a lot as you only drank 1.5 .
I would say .
12Kg upto 14Kg is Sufficient for a 2-3 day trek . It depends on what you really need ,and If your going wild camping even less .
I walked the Anglesey Coastal path over a two weeks with an 18Kg Rucksack And found It far to heavy averaged 10 miles a day . At the end of each day had a bad back plus shoulder straps cut Into to me . I learned a lot of lessons from that trip . It was a great Adventure .
But when I got home I laid out all my kit and weighed it . And cut It down ,by 4 Kg . which Is more comfortable .
ZIZAG

illinois6

30/3/2015 at 7:04pm
Location: bourton on the water
Outfit: Esvo Bedouin 340 lightwave ultra T20

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😄zigzag .
I was carrying 3L of water in my hydration pouch and 5 litres in platypus water carriers. I did this as I hadn't packet my tent , mat or sleeping bag plus other stuff . These would weigh equal to 5L (5kgs) of water that I carried and if during my test walk, if found it all too heavy I could easily have ditched 6L (6kgs) .
Hope this makes sense .

ZIZAG

02/4/2015 at 6:56pm
Location: Cheshire
Outfit: Coleman Novae x 2. + Helium force 10

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Yes I got the Jist of It .

As you found It all was to heavy .

Its time to lay out all your gear and trim It down .
Just look at essentials . I'm sure you can get your Rucksack down to 14Kg . Then you will feel better Hiking and camping out .
Let us know how you get on .
ZIZAG

illinois6

25/4/2015 at 8:05am
Location: bourton on the water
Outfit: Esvo Bedouin 340 lightwave ultra T20

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wild camped in Elan Valley last weekend . We camped on a small site on Friday night after work and had a relaxed start on Saturday morning setting off from near the visitor centre area (Elan Oaks campsite). We headed to the highest point which is Drygam Fawr and set up camp nearby, the wind was blowing north easterly so the temps dropped quite a bit during the night ,the wind wasn't too strong as as to keep me awake all night . We walked to a near peak to watch a good sunset only a few hundred yards or so from tents , it was fully dark there was no moon visible in the clear sky As we walked back to our wild camp spot and was given a wee lesson in how difficult finding your tent can be !! I will leave a small light on the tent next time . We walked about 10 miles on the Saturday and 7.5 miles on Sunday on the return journey . I weighed my pack when I got home and it was just over 14kgs so must have been over 20kgs for most of the walk on Saturday and at time felt a little too much . I did carry several luxury items including a helinox chair ( this made cooking ,eating , relaxing in the porch of the tent very comfortable ) i think I will try and aim to carry below 15kgs next time which shouldn't be too difficult to achieve . I better start planning my next trip ...☺️

ZIZAG

25/4/2015 at 10:10pm
Location: Cheshire
Outfit: Coleman Novae x 2. + Helium force 10

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illinois6.
Very glad you had a great time .
It sounds like a great adventure .
Also the learning curve about refinding your tent in the dark .
Delighted to hear you are getting the weight down I.E
15/14kgs .
It doe's make a difference to enjoys your trip hiking camping .
Ps what does your Helinox chair weigh .
As us crafty campers sit on the floor with foldup insulated sitting mat weighs 300Grams .
Thats were you start shaving off the excess weight.

Have you ever thought of Camping In North Wales . Its a Paradise ,
Snowdonia and the beautiful Llyn Peninsula.
Check It out .
Cheers ZIZAG

illinois6

26/4/2015 at 3:41pm
Location: bourton on the water
Outfit: Esvo Bedouin 340 lightwave ultra T20

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Hi zigzag,
The Helinox one chair weighs 920g which I have but the Helinox ground chair weighs in at a mere 560g it's slightly lower so would suit most porch areas .
North Wales is on the list again for some time soon . We have used the site below tryfan as a base camp but as yet have not wild camped in the area. We did Carneddau and Carneddau Llewelyn ,a great walk but did some scrambling that I'm not sure would be enjoyable with 15kgs on my back .

purplebean

26/5/2015 at 10:01pm
Location: West Yorkshire
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If you buy one of these you can ditch all that water and just top up from a stream

brianconwy

27/5/2015 at 8:29am
Location: north wales
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I used to have a microfilter pump. It wasn't cheap and was slow but didn't affect the taste of the water. I have used water direct from mountain streams when very thirsty and lived to tell the tale.

The odd thing is that my dog would rather drink from puddles than tap water!

OscarHowells

27/5/2015 at 4:06pm
Location: Carmarthen
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If you don't mind sooty pots then one of the twig burning wood stoves is a great way to break a meths/gas addiction and save some weight on lowland camps.

Food weight/ bulk & expense is something else that catches a lot of people by surprise and if you haven't seen it then check out the Paul Kirtley blog about how to pack enough food for a week without breaking your back or the bank.

Wales May 2015 - Woodland/Bushcraft trek
4nights - 28lbs [12.7kg]

PS: knock off 3lb for a small hatchet

Post last edited on 27/05/2015 16:13:29

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kavsak

22/7/2015 at 4:08pm
Location: Hertfordshire
Outfit: Six Moon Designs Deschutes Tarp + feet

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This is a bit of an old thread but after a lot of trial and error my base kit which I use all year round in the north of Scotland and the islands except when it is snowing is as follows:

Six Moons Deschutes Tarp: 346 gm
Cumulus Quilt 250: 450 gm
Neoair Xtherm small: 320 gm
Double glazing film groundsheet: 15 gm
Esbit cooker: 17gm
Stainless steel pot/mug: 90 gm
Gossamer Gear G4 pack: 470 gm

Total 1.7 kg

None of the above is particularly expensive.

Add about 3 kg for clothes and bits and 600 gm/day for food
And away you go. I rarely go away for less than 5 days and wild camp most of the time. There is nothing quite like the Atlantic coast of the Outer Hebrides in January!

Do not get the impression that I am some super fit hard man - 75th birthday is looming.

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