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Thread: Book Review: 12 Steps To A Lighter Pack, by Steven Lowe

  1. #1
    Crotch Rocket


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    Book Review: 12 Steps To A Lighter Pack, by Steven Lowe

    Its free on Amazon as of 12/ 25/ 2013, and I’d recommend it as a decent reference for anyone looking to drop some weight from their packs. As he said himself, if you can shave an average of 4 ounces per step, you’ll drop 3 pounds in weight overall. I’ve found that to be a significant amount in my own trials and errors.

    The author is a self-described “Gram Weenie,” regularly repeating “every ounce counts!“ and it shows in some of the choices he makes. I can’t find any real fault in any but one of them (I‘ll get to that,) and I like most of them. But some? Not so much. My caffeine addiction, for one, is too strong to rely on paper cups for its administration. I’d be a miserable prick if I found them crushed after a couple days. No, thanks. A solid cup for me, please!

    One of the very first things he said should strike a chord with all of us though:

    “Everything in your pack needs to serve at least one purpose related to surviving.”

    To his thinking, this means it better do 1 (or more) of 5 things:
    -keep you sheltered
    -keep you warm
    -feed you
    -make safe drinking water
    -heal you

    I say that’s a good start, but not quite there. A quick glance at the 10 Essentials of Backpacking shows a lack of navigation, illumination, and a repair kit/ tools. I personally don’t think the addition of even those 3 categories is enough from a prepping standpoint, so I would personally add the need for physical security and communication.

    An argument could be made for the addition of sanitation/ hygiene needs as well, but I’ve strayed far enough down this rabbit trail. I just wanted to get people thinking about how many different things we actually “need”, and how their weight can add up quickly. Many are mentioned in this little ebook, just not as necessities. He looks at some things as luxuries, such as toothpaste…

    And it was one hell of an idea he had for that!

    Remember, every ounce counts, so he took a look at his “personal” kit, which I took to be (or at least include) a hygiene kit. One of his actions is something I learned a long time ago from the UL community. Cut the handle of a standard toothbrush in ½ to save weight and space. This guy took it one step further, and got rid of his toothpaste tube by squirting single uses into sections of a McDonald’s straw. He melted the ends to contain the paste until needed. Between this and the toothbrush mod he saved 3 ounces. Almost ¼ pound! That surprised me. The other advantage is there’s less bulk in your pack, and it diminishes after each use, unlike even a travel size tube of toothpaste. I like.
    Since we’re on the topic of teeth I’ll segue to why we need to scrub them: Food. He mentions in the book that a dentist confirmed toothpaste isn’t necessary. It only knocks down bad breath. We need to scrub to remove food particles. I’ve rabbited again though.

    There’s two elements he discussed in reducing the weight of food. One I’ll follow, the other I’ll likely ignore. I bought a Jetboil Flash after seeing one in action, and I’m unlikely to replace that with an alcohol stove, as he recommends. Besides, I’m not sure how much size/ weight savings that really gives when the Flash is a self contained apparatus good for roughly 48 uses, and includes the cup. I may be wrong, but it seems like the stove, liquid fuel, and separate cup could negate the “advantage” of the alcohol stoves smaller size. Can anyone with alcohol stove experience, if not both, educate me here, please?

    What I will likely try is repackaging any dehydrated foods (like MH) in Ziploc bags. Discarding the foil packs in their favor saved him ½ ounce per meal. That may not seem like much, but how many of us are packing BOB’s for 2+ people? That ½ ounce just became 1+ ounce real fast, didn’t it? How many hot meals do you want in a day? For sake of argument I’ll assume two: breakfast, and dinner, so that becomes 2+ ounces a day. At the usual standard of 72 hours for a BOB that means you’d be carrying 6 less ounces, just in packaging. That’s over 1/3 of a pound. Between that and losing a toothpaste container we’re at a weight savings of just over 2/3 of pound. Again, I like.

    Assuming I found accurate data that means I’ve essentially freed up enough weight, in those two UL changes alone, to accommodate: two more meals or 25 rounds of 5.56, or? without a weight penalty. How awesome is that?

    Anyway, moving on, he gained some impressive savings in making changes to his shelter and sleeping bag as well. To the tune of several pounds. First, he advocates the use of down sleeping bags over synthetic, and hammocks over tents or tarps, though he acknowledges tarps are the lightest way to go.

    His example on the sleeping bags showed a 21 ounce difference between two of similar rating, but it comes at a cost. There was roughly $330.00 difference between the two. I’m probably going to wish it was a golden egg after I shit a brick over the cost of a down bag rated for -30*F. Hey, don’t judge. I sleep cold! But yeah, back on topic, some of ya’ll further south could save 1 lb. 5 ounces by grabbing a down bag with a 13*F rating.

    The biggest savings though, comes in the shelter itself. My Eureka Solitaire is light at 4 pounds, some odd ounces, but how many of us can utilize a single person shelter with no vestibule or storage space? So, for illustrative purposes only, lets assume an average weight of 8 pounds for a tent weight, shall we? A single person hammock is less than half of that. I’d guess a double hammock would be at or just over half of that, with much less bulk. No need for level ground either, but if nothing is available to hang from its tarp could still be used for a ground shelter… the best of both worlds, in my eyes! And it frees up enough weight to carry ½ gallon of water all on its own! Nice!

    Speaking of water, he mentioned a product I’d never heard of. A Sawyer Squeeze Filter, that is supposed to be good for 1 million gallons, has its own bag you can drink from to save weight, and costs only $50, which is only $5 more than a replacement cartridge for my Katadyn Hiker…

    There’s a lot more in this little book, from clothing selection, to dual purpose items, to methodology for whittling down what you carry in your pack, but for all of that, there was only one thing he said that I absolutely don’t agree with. His entire fire kit is nothing more than a disposable lighter that he emptied, pulled apart, and filled with jute twine. Granted, there are primitive skills we can learn and employ, but the flint in a disposable lighter is awful tiny to rely on consistently, and has anyone else had a lighter like that fall apart on them? I have. Imagine trying to scrape a flint that size… I’d say, if nothing else, add a small ferro rod in with the twine, or upgrade to a zippo and keep a couple extra flints in there… But hey, that’s just me. Overall, I liked what he had to say.
    Consilio et animis

    Essayons!

  2. #2
    I'll most likely shit myself



    bacpacker's Avatar
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    Thanks for the heads up MIT! I just grabbed the book. Will have to give it a read at first chance.
    Reading thru your review, several things came to mind. I went with a zero degree down bag years ago. I cut two lbs by doing that. And I have been out in it at -5 degrees and stayed plenty warm. I use a thermarest mattress with it and can say I sleep well. The next place I think I can make a huge savings is in my tent. I currently have a older Kelty 4 season model that I fully trust to live in during very severe conditions, other than high humidity hot conditions. It doesn't vent as well as I would like. It also weights 8 lbs. I would like to go with a lighter model and cut back to 4-5 lbs. I have been looking at several Big Agnus models that run from 2.5-5 lbs. They won't be as heavy duty in winter conditions, but will make a really good 3 season model.

    I totally agree with trying to find tools or items that can serve multiple functions. That can give huge savings.

  3. #3
    Crotch Rocket


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    Yeah... shelter. Lol. My new one is around 8 pounds as well, as a single person tent. From what I've read that's from the blackout fabric on the rain fly, which is a feature I like. That and the vestibule and camo pattern.

    I wish it was lighter, but since its also free standing I'm probably just gonna stick with it. That or throw the tent body and hardware in an INCH kit and try to run the fly with my hammock in the BOB. There'll be some redundancy then, but its an area I'm having a hard time finding a compromise on. At least hammock setups are light.
    Consilio et animis

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  4. #4
    Crotch Rocket


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    Btt
    Consilio et animis

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  5. #5
    For the Love of Cats


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    mtr.... have you ever spent extended time in a hammock? They certainly beat time on the ground, but overall, they get old fast, and painful, especially for old farts such as yourself!
    Give a man fire, and he'll be warm for a day!
    Light a man on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life!

    Cat's are food... not friends!

    If you're going to fight, then fight like you're the third monkey on the ramp into Noah's arc... and brother, it's starting to rain.

  6. #6
    Crotch Rocket


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    No, not a whole ton of time yet, but hammock forums describe it as the best sleep they get in the field, for evem older farts than myself. From what I understand it has a lot to do with setting up properly and laying on a diagonal (for my type of hammock anyway)

    It would be hell this time of year though. Adding a tarp and stove for heat, even diy, would be HUGE thus counterproductive for backpacking. Its gonna take me some time before I make hammock camping a priority, so I'll have to wait and see if the insulation products work for me...
    Consilio et animis

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  7. #7
    I call big spoon.
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    Awesome it's refreshing that I'm on the right track and still can read that for more ideas. I've been looking at weights when I buy products.
    the technical hunting gear companies like Eberlestock and kifaru I've had great luck with.

    - - - Updated - - -

    I had a hammock with a bug net and tarp and while it all was a little lighter than the tent I just got, the setup would rake longer, and I'd freeze my ass off. I wanted simplicity and all season capabilities. plus I can set the tent up in my war room for practice. Not so much a hammock.
    Got it for free, but I'm finding I have a ton of gear and no place for it and no projected use.

  8. #8
    For the Love of Cats


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    I had the misguided misconception that a hammock would be the end all be all for off-seasonal camping... but it didn't take many trips to realise that they are a really uncomfortable way to sleep. they force you to sleep on your back, and with company... her too. coupling isn't the easiest, after a long day of hunting/hiking/whatever... NOT my first choice! in fact I would rather sleep on pine boughs on the ground than a hammock!
    IMO
    Give a man fire, and he'll be warm for a day!
    Light a man on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life!

    Cat's are food... not friends!

    If you're going to fight, then fight like you're the third monkey on the ramp into Noah's arc... and brother, it's starting to rain.

  9. #9
    Crotch Rocket


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    Same here on gear, o, and even someI gave away made its way back to me! I'm real close to selling a bit to clear some space.
    Consilio et animis

    Essayons!

  10. #10
    I'll most likely shit myself



    bacpacker's Avatar
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    Aw hell don't do that. just build a bigger closet! I still have, probably WWII or Korea surplus from back in my scouting days.

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