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Too much gear?

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If you're like me you probably spend a fair amount of rumination on how much gear to take on the next adventure. With the inundation of "new and improved" gear offerings the temptation is two-fold: 1) get more, 2) take more. I'm interested to know how each of us draws the line between "essentials" and "luxuries".
 
What I need at the current age.. nothing more.. This now makes a chair a necessity not a luxury.
How far do I have to carry it is paramount for me.. I guess I am past the more stage. I have all the gear I need in this lifetime.
 
I use lists and check if an item was used last time. Of course, fire, shelter, water, food, knife, first aid, navigation are essentials. Things like a hatchet/ax, fishing gear, chair, extra tarp, small ccf pad, etc. almost always go with. I also try to keep gear weight to 30 lbs or less. Then add food, canoe, pfd, and any extras I am considering. I look at weight and bulk. I have used my lists for about 8 years now and I have it pretty well set.
 
Hmmmm... maybe sleeplessness resulting from wondering how on earth you're going to be able to make the next day's ports could be some kind of sign. Dreadful lonely feeling, that, lying there in the dark imagining that three smoky fires could attract in a bush plane and make life a whole lot easier.

Wouldn't it be nice to actually look forward to them there ports? Make you all light hearted-like, a child of nature living freely with every breath an act of inspiration. Maybe singing something inspirational will help to actually do it... I've had to listen to 99 bottles of beer, and even worse, much, much worse... alouette.

Seven weightless words of wisdom from Mick and the boys...


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BykilS816E

PS... Prince Charles was next, maybe he had something to say on the matter?
 
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Always take too much stuff!!! Always my Kelty Linger chair, and extra food, clothing and emergency stuff. I'd rather take it and not need it instead of needing it and not having it. This past May I made the mistake of not taking my chair on an 8 day trip and regretted that choice. Total gear and supplies was 90+ lbs. Was a river trip so I didn't have to carry it far. If I'm with a group, someone always has an axe/hatchet and saw so mine stay home.
 
A ADK high peaks ranger told my boy scouts to make 2 piles of your gear when you get home- 1st what you didn't use-2nd what you did use. get rid of all of the first pile and half of the second!
Turtle
 
Doc there is one other category, especially on shorter trips and that is field test equipment. We are gearing down for longer carries and we usually have a couple duplicate pieces of equipment, the old standby and the new lighter one.

We're still working on the lightening the load and it will always be a bit on the heavy side, because in the end it is a vacation.
 
I suppose everyone looks at it differently depending on their tripping style and location. Some people base camp and get a lot of pleasure from bringing creature comforts. Even some people that do a fair amount of portaging feel the same way about bringing extra stuff. To them it makes it a more enjoyable experience and it's all worth while in the end.

Other people are made happy by carrying as little as possible with the least weight. Spending extra money on something that's newer and lighter is worth it for the lower pack weight/bulk. Getting their pack down as small as possible makes them happy; as does doing without the creature comforts.

Most people are somewhere in between trying to strike a balance.

When buying gear for the first time I'm likely to spend a good deal of money on it so that I don't find myself incrementally upgrading over the years. Once I have a piece of gear I'm not so likely to upgrade and will make due with what I've got...unless it's something that I can make myself; which is an enjoyable winter hobby.

I tend towards higher tech and lightweight (I'll take silnylon over canvas) but I try to stay within reason. I can still find good comfort by simply sitting on the ground so no chairs for me. I even get some sort of odd pleasure by being able to pick out comfortable rock contours which, just like a good chair, is the key. A small piece of foam for a thermal break and small bit of cushioning is usually all I need.

Trip length and location plays a part. For a short trip (week or less) I might be happy using a small tarp and bivy. A few wet and rainy days would be ok. But on a longer trip (30+ days) where I could possibly get stuck in the wind and rain for 2 weeks I don't want to be huddled under a little tarp wrapped up in a nylon bag. The next long trip will likely see me with both a tarp and a tent; which I'd probably think of as overkill on most shorter trips.

The gear weight for my last long trip (42 days) was about 30 pounds. On my next trip of similar duration it will probably be closer to 35. Will add a little more shelter and clothing weight while subtracting the dog's gear, who will probably not be coming on another one of those.

While I can appreciate good food I don't feel the need to eat luxuriously while tripping. Oatmeal, bannock, peanut butter and dried beans, grains, and vegetables is what I eat; pretty much the same thing for every meal. Salt and sugar are the only seasonings I bring. The lack of variety doesn't bother me and despite the "plainness" of the diet I usually find myself relishing each meal. I bring what I bring because it's nutritious, lightweight, packs small, doesn't spoil, and is easy to cook. My food weight, including snacks, is about 1.65 pounds/day. I work fairly hard on my trips and don't lose much weight with these rations.

I try to be ruthless and unsentimental when I'm packing gear for a trip but that doesn't always work. Sometimes I'll bring something just because it makes me happy and isn't entirely practical. I think that's what it really comes down to. We're all trying to balance aesthetics and functionality based on our own biases as well as working out if the pleasure of using a certain item is offset by the displeasure of carrying it. Good thing we all get to choose for ourselves.

Alan
 
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I work off spreadsheets. An Ozark river trip requires more stuff as it's gravel bar camping
Boreal camping has another spreadsheet as weight is paramount with portages
Yukon rivers are another spreadsheet . Boots appear here
Everglades is another spreadsheet
Desert rivers are another.
Ocean paddle trips are another

There isn't a need to bring too much food as one can get along foodless for two weeks. But I do. And GORP the main culprit
Clothing. I finally have it in a 20 liter dry bag no matter what trip duration
 
I have way to much gear. I bought a used frost river canvas pack years ago and now have maybe 10 of them in all different sizes. Problem is they are heavy.....especially when wet. My "trips" so far have been river floats/fishing. For a three or four day trip my gear is about 90 lbs and now that I moved over from the Yellowstone solo in BG to the Swift Raven for my river trips I will probably add a chair as well. It gets old sitting on a small cooler every evening. I tend to compartmentalize my gear....clothes in a dry bag, food in one pack, tent sleeping bag etc in another pack. Then there is the fishing tackle bag, thwart bag, etc etc etc. I also make lists and check off what I did not use for anything and generally remove it from the have to have list. My goal is to ONLY take the things I know I will use and not lug around stuff that never gets touched. An exception to this rule is emergency equipment. I always have my sat phone, mongo size first aid kit, and other emergency stuff. and socks.....there is nothing better than a dry pair of socks for the evening camping. Socks are high on my list of must haves.
 
I can only carry about 50 Lb comfortably and safely so that sets my limit. My gear pack will be 50 lb and I will have a food pack which I carry with the canoe.
 
Always take too much stuff!!! Always my Kelty Linger chair, and extra food, clothing and emergency stuff. I'd rather take it and not need it instead of needing it and not having it. This past May I made the mistake of not taking my chair on an 8 day trip and regretted that choice. Total gear and supplies was 90+ lbs. Was a river trip so I didn't have to carry it far. If I'm with a group, someone always has an axe/hatchet and saw so mine stay home.

I think I’d enjoy Gramps Paddler as a tripping companion, although we would have to discuss who was going to bring the axe or saw.

The older I get the fewer and shorter any portages have become, and the longer the list of “luxury” gear. If I am doing a long gentle river trip or big lake/coastal bay and carrying from the truck to the water and the water to the campsite I will test the carrying capacity of a soloized tandem.

I work off spreadsheets. An Ozark river trip requires more stuff as it's gravel bar camping
Boreal camping has another spreadsheet as weight is paramount with portages
Yukon rivers are another spreadsheet . Boots appear here
Everglades is another spreadsheet
Desert rivers are another.
Ocean paddle trips are another

I pack using a list as well. Two lists, one for day paddling or hunting, one for tripping. But the tripping list is all inclusive; two columns that cover every possible season, venue and length of trip. It makes me feel like I am making great packing progress when I get to a dozen items I don’t need and can cross them all off in seconds.
 
I pack according to my trip. I pack light when there are long portages.I like one trip portages to save time! I use a Solo Stove which is a twig burner so I don't need to carry fuel.I never carry an axe or saw.I but Mountain House freezedried food and my own dehydrated food. I carry one change of clothes,a headlight,firstaid kit,waterbag with inline filter,small cookkit.I sleep in a Hennessy Hammock,the best sleep in the backcountry! I have a 4 piece ultra light fishing rod mounted in my 36 pound kayak in which I made a carry yoke!
 
I think I’d enjoy Gramps Paddler as a tripping companion, although we would have to discuss who was going to bring the axe or saw.
Mike,
If we ever get to share a trip, I'll make the great concession and let you bring both. That's just the kind of nice guy I am. However, I promise to bring a dutch oven for multiple options. My cakes and brownies don't often turn out well, but lasagna, cobbler, cornbread and jambalaya are some of the things my sons and grandsons ask for. If we are with a group, there are usually people standing around waiting for whatever lasagna happens to left over.
Jon
 
I try to keep my packs down to 30 lbs each. I do tend to bring a lot of gear but have been able to pare it down some. Shoulder seasons require more comfort. I also like to eat good so food is my biggest weight concern pretty much every time.

The shorter 3-5 day trips I look for now is helping to keep the weights under control as I can simplify the food a lot.

I do have a new toy though that I got at Princess Auto. A regulator to convert my white gas old coleman stoves over to 1 lb propane canisters. Huzzahh!!! I have to wrap it up for myself and put it under the tree though.

Christy
 
As I get older, I find that I have everything I NEED... (though I still do need a PBW Rapidfire.)

Stewart Edward White said it best in "The Forest"... It's a little long, but worth the read, I think, to quote it in its entirety. The meat and potatoes is in the "three piles", but here you go:

You can no more be told how to go light than
you can be told how to hit a ball with a bat.
It is something that must be lived through, and
all advice on the subject has just about the value
of an answer to a bashful young man who begged
from one of our woman's periodicals help in overcoming
the diffidence felt on entering a crowded
room. The reply read :
"Cultivate an easy, graceful manner."
In like case I might hypothecate,
"To go light, discard all but the really necessary
articles."
The sticking point, were you to press me close,
would be the definition of the word "
necessary," for the terms of such definition would
have to be those
solely and simply of a man's experience. Comforts,
even most desirable comforts, are not necessities. A
dozen times a day trifling emergencies will seem
precisely to call for some little handy contrivance
that would be just the thing, were it in the pack
rather than at home. A disgorger does the business
better than a pocket-knife ; a pair of oilskin trousers
turns the wet better than does kersey ; a camp-stove
will burn merrily in a rain lively enough to drown
an open fire. Yet neither disgorger, nor oilskins,
nor camp-stove can be considered in the light of
necessities, for the simple reason that the conditions
of their use occur too infrequently to compensate for
the pains of their carriage. Or, to put it the other
way, a few moments* work with a knife, wet knees
occasionally, or an infrequent soggy meal are not too
great a price to pay for unburdened shoulders.
Nor on the other hand must you conclude that
because a thing is a mere luxury in town, it is nothing
but that in the woods. Most woodsmen own
some little ridiculous item of outfit without which
they could not be happy. And when a man cannot
be happy lacking a thing, that thing, becomes
a necessity. I knew one who never stirred without
borated talcum powder; another who must have his
mouth-organ; a third who was miserable without a
small bottle of salad dressing; I confess to a pair of
light buckskin gloves. Each man must decide for
himself, remembering always the endurance limit
of human shoulders.
A necessity is that which, by your own experience
you have found you cannot do without. As a bit
of practical advice, however, the following system
of elimination may be recommended. When you
return from a trip, turn your duffel bag upside down
on the floor. Of the contents make three piles,
three piles conscientiously selected in the light of
what has happened rather than what ought to have
happened, or what might have happened. It is difficult
to do this, Preconceived notions, habits of civilization,
theory for future, imagination, all stand in
the eye of your honesty. Pile number one should
comprise those articles you have used every day;
pile number two, those you have used occasionally;
pile number three, those you have not used at all.
If you are resolute and single-minded, you will at
once discard the latter two.
Throughout the following winter you will be attacked
by misgivings. To be sure, you wore the
mosquito hat but once or twice, and the fourth pair
of socks not at all ; but then the mosquitoes might be
thicker^next time, and a series of rainy days and cold
nights might make it desirable to have a dry pair of
socks to put on at night. The past has been #, but
the future might be y. One by one the discarded
creep back into the list. And by the opening of
next season you have made toward perfection by
only the little space of a mackintosh coat and a ten gauge
gun.
But in the years to come you learn better and
better the simple woods lesson of substitution or
doing without You find that discomfort is as soon
forgotten as pain; that almost anything can be endured
if it is but for the time being; that absolute
physical comfort is worth but a very small price in
avoirdupois. Your pack shrinks.
In fact, it really never ceases shrinking.
 
So, all that said, I draw the line between Need and Want, or necessity and luxury, pretty much the way White explains. If I don't use an item every single day, I try not to bring it. My sole concessions to this are a First Aid Kit (which varies from 4-6oz in weight depending on transport), a Repair Kit (from 1.5-16oz, depending on means of transport), and a poncho.

Items which tend to creep in include a food box, frying pan, grill pipes, and clothing items... If the portage is hard and I'm alone, I will forgoe them. If I'm with my wife, I make it comfortable for her.

I also have tried over the years to come up with a good system for doing things... my wife, on our first trip together a couple years ago, was amazed at a few things I did seemingly miraculously, just because I have a system, or have studied economy of motion and gear. One was how fast I got a tarp up over us in a rainstorm. Another was how well the Whelen Lean-to works with a fire in front of it. Another was on the portage, when she simply couldn't help me carry the canoe any further. I whipped up an old-school yoke out of the 2 painters and paddles and was off before she could understand that it wasn't an issue (that one blew her mind.) I can't claim to have invented any of them... I've just used them and am good at it.

Skills also take the place of gear.
-I try to cook over a fire... this means I often don't take a stove. I don't necessarily have to carry a fullsized axe and bowsaw to do that. I often carry a hatchet and folding saw, or something in-between, depending on the trip.

-In non-bug season, I have figured out how to use a tarp and an air mattress instead of lugging along a tent. I can't do it without the air mattress. In bug season, I use a hammock.

-I made a 6-oz sling chair that requires only a 2oz length of rope and a stick, or a sturdy tripod and a slightly longer stick (easily made from a 2' and almost weightless piece of paracord and local materials). It's more comfortable than any folding chair I'd choose to carry. I use it daily while hunting, woodsbumming, or camping.

Anyway, to sum up, a luxury is something that I don't use every single day, and I have very few of them.
 
I take a notebook with me and write down things I should/shouldn't have brought while lazing in camp. I also write modifications to existing gear. Some of the ideas are great-must be the wilderness air.
Turtle
 
Yes...but. Then there's the first aid kit. My philosophy is and always has been: completely disregard the budget of price space & weight, that you can buy the very best money can buy, and hope like heck you wasted every red cent and drop of sweat carrying it for nothing. Admittedly, on my first long solo excursion I carried a first aid kit that would have done a platoon, but at the end I swore to lighten it only if I could improve it at the same time, and it's now probably 1/4 the size & weight, but I'm still over-prepared and wouldn't have it otherwise.
 
Just remember to rebuild once every decade or two. I have had the good fortune to not used mine in a while. Last month I pull it out and look at what I had in it and ordered a 1st aid kit refill to replace most of what was in there.
 
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