Monday, November 17, 2008

Tentative SHT Winter '09 gear list

Here's my working gear list, and it is subject to change.

Pack Carried Worn Consumable
Granite Gear Vapor Trail 36.90

Shelter Carried Worn Consumable
MK1 XL 77.00

SMC Sno Stake x4 4.23

Sleeping Carried Worn Consumable
Granite Gear Compression Sack (XL) 3.84

Blue foamer (57") 7.65

Ridgerest (57") 8.08

Marmot Col, -20 (long) 74.00

Clothes worn Carried Worn Consumable
OR Sonic Balaclava
2.36
NW Hat (100 weight fleece)
1.02
Stephenson's VBL shirt
8.47
Base layer bottom (Theramar)
6.24
Marmot Scree
15.17
BD Jetstream gloves
2.36
Glasses
0.67
Goggles


Footwear Carried Worn Consumable
Steger Mukluks, Arctic
41.02
MSR Lightning Ascents (25")
60.04
Integral Designs VBL socks
2.19
Smartwool Mountaineer socks
4.62
Fox River X-Static socks
0.85
Clothes carried Carried Worn Consumable
Fox River X-Static socks 0.85

Smartwool Mountaineer socks 4.62

TNF Nupste 24.83

Rab Drillium 14.11

Stephensons VBL Pants 4.69

Montbell UL Thermawrap pants (3/4 zip) 9.77

REI Ridgecrest Mitts
7.30
S2S stuff sack 1.16

Kitchen Carried Worn Consumable
Dragonfly, screen, reflector, repair kit, bag 15.77

33 oz fuel bottle /w pump 2.29

REI 1.3L Ti Pot 4.97

Hot Spark (on ribbon) 0.35

Lexan Fork 0.39

Hydration Carried Worn Consumable
1L Nalgene (x2) 6.38 6.38
Chlorine Dioxide tabs, 4x day (20 tabs)

X
Bottle Parka (x2) 3.28 3.28
Emergency Carried Worn Consumable
FAK; repair kit 3.70

ACR Microfix
10
Fire Kit: Lint, wax'd matches, 1 oz alcohol


Misc Carried Worn Consumable
Headlamp /w lithium batteries
2.75
BD Spires
20.74
Knife
0.67
Cell phone
3.92
$20 Cash; ID; 2x key; Credit; Ins
0.39
Camera
6.56
Toiletries Carried Worn Consumable
Toothbrush 0.42

Toothpaste (baking soda)

X
TP (4x day, 5 days), in sandwich ziplock 0.07
X
Wet Wipes (1xday, 5 day), in sandwich ziplock 0.07
X
Handsanitizer (1 oz)

X
Sandwich bag (toiletries) 0.07

Navigation Carried Worn Consumable
Map(s), average
0.99
Silva Polaris compass
1.06
Aloksak for phone
0.32
Aloksak for maps
0.42
Consumables, trailhead max Carried Worn Consumable
Food, 5 days

149.13
Fuel, 30 oz

21.59
Water, 2 L

35.20
BASE Carried Worn Consumable
OZ 309.52 209.80 205.92
LB 19.35 13.11 12.87
TOTALS BASE SKIN OUT TRAILHEAD
Totals 19.35 32.46 32.21

The base weight is about where I anticipated it to be and about 4 lbs more than I hoped it would be. Also, as anticipated, the bulk (about half) of the weight is in the shelter and sleep systems. My lightest option for a shelter would be a lightweight Duomid from MLD. That would cut about 55 ounces off the above system (3.5 lbs!). As I said before, I really can't justify another shelter or returning the MK1. So I'll keep it.

The other area to cut weight would be the sleep system - the old Col is quite heavy by current standards - but it is what I have and I am in no position to change it. The pads are worth their weight, although I could probably cut 4 oz if I cut the blue foamer in half. I'm not sure I'm willing to do that.

As for the hydration, I have two 1L Nalgenes and two bottle parkas listed. One will be attached to my pack, the other around my neck on a lanyard for accessibility. Although I have looked, I cannot find a decent method of using a single Nalgene canteen. I asked Skurka about it and he said keep it close to your body, of course, but I would rather not put it in my pack's hydration sleeve of put it in my pack insulated by my down coat. If the thing burst, it would be a disaster and wet down would be impossible to dry or otherwise deal with. So I'm going with what I know works.

Finally, there is room to cut weight in the stove. My DragonFly is listed, but a friend and I have been working on modifying a Brunton Stove stand to create a winter canister stove with my PocketRocket. The end result will be a stove that weighs approximately 10 oz less than my DragonFly before one adds the weight of fuel bottles. Either way, the issue is how much fuel to carry - two 8 oz canisters weigh approximately as much as one 30 oz white gas bottle, except I can dispose of empty canisters. The end result is a stove that is more efficient and has a lower initial carry weight than the DragonFly, hopefully. For more on stove efficiencies and comparative carry weights, see this fantastic article series on BPL: Part 1 and Part 2.

(In a later post after I have done some testing on my own, I intend to put these numbers to the test in winter conditions to evaluate what stove I should take).

As stated, I'll probably amend, especially with respect to the consumable stuff and other things not listed above.