Five Favorite Weight-Saving Tips

I doubt anyone sets out to carry as much weight as possible on a backpacking trip. Wouldn’t you rather carry less weight on your back while still being able to be functional? Who wants to carry fifty plus pounds on their back while backpacking? You will probably be exhausted at the end of the day and just too tired to enjoy any aspect of the trip.

If you are like me, you research time-saving, space-saving, and other ideas to make your trip more enjoyable. For me, the easiest way to make my trip more enjoyable is not necessarily to take less stuff, but to find ways to take less weight. With a lighter pack, I am able to enjoy the scenery around me, take fewer breaks and I have more energy at the end of the day than I used to.

We all have our favorite sleeping gear, cold-weather clothes, and our favorite hammock so it may be difficult to lighten the loads in these areas without spending more cash, but there are many ways to lighten your load without spending a lot of money. Here are my five favorite tips to that might help to lighten your load just a little bit. I hope you can use these tips and I assure you that your back and your knees will appreciate every ounce you can remove from your pack.

In my upcoming book, I offer some tips that can help you shave three or more pounds from your pack, so keep an eye out for the announcement. For now let me offer these five favs from my gear.

From your personal Kit

·         Toothpaste pods instead of tubes

Ounces saved:  3oz 

Toothpaste can be a bulky item as well as heavy. The tube I have to take weighs 3 1/8 oz. I have tried the “travel-size” and realized that I had the same tube for a couple of years and it was taking a long time to go through it. Why was I taking the same weight each time I hit the trail? And yes I brushed my teeth. Twice a day. Each day on the trail. So I started looking around and I ran across this tip and have used it since the first time I found it.

I call them toothpaste pods. Here is what you will need to make your own pods: Straws, lighter, scissors, paper towels, needle-nose pliers, and your favorite brand of toothpaste.

Straws? Yup, straws. Here is what you do. Get a straw –the McDonald’s straws work great because of the large diameter of their opening. Squeeze a small portion of toothpaste into one end of the straw. Keep in mind that you are making single use items here so you only need enough for one session of tooth brushing. Take your pliers, pinch the straw tight leaving bout an eighth of inch, and wipe the excess toothpaste from the straw. Take your lighter and melt the straw all the way to the pliers. It may take some practice getting the plastic to melt enough to seal the end.

Using your scissors to cut the straw on the other end and repeat the melting process. Make as many as you will need for your trip and unless you skip a day, you will not have any weight on your last day when you hike out.

For a three-nighter trip I will need five or six pods. Five pods weigh 1/8 oz so I saved three ounces. Depending on how large you make your pods, you should still weigh in at less than ounce for a trip lasting only a few nights and if you only brush your teeth in the morning, three pods weigh in at 1/8 oz. what that tells me is that each pod hardly registers when viewing in ounces so I switched to grams. Each pod weighs only a gram or two, depending on their size. Two pods weigh one ounce and five pods weigh five ounces.

Hopefully you can see the benefit of the pods verses a big tube of toothpaste. They are quite a bit lighter.

·         Deodorant

Ounces saved: 3.5 oz 

Leave your deodorant it at home. I have been on many trips where I took deodorant and never used it once. Instead, use Handi Wipes, Baby Wipes or some other cleansing wipes.  Just wash under your arms. I have and it was actually more refreshing. I felt cleaner and it was a real psychological boost for me on the trip.

·         Handi Wipes-vs-antibacterial lotion

Ounces saved: 1oz

I have taken both on trips but all I really needed were the Handi Wipes. As I stated earlier I would use the wipes to wash under my arms. I would use the lotion for my hands. Well, once I realized what I was doing, I started washing my hands and then my arms and it worked out great. So ditch the anti-bacterial lotion and take the wipes instead.

Take enough to wash your hands like usual, and then run them under your arms and be done with it.

From your pack

·         Cut the straps and tags from your pack

Ounces saved: 4oz 

All the packs I have bought in the past had too much length to their straps so I started cutting to the length that I needed. On my Osprey pack I saved about four ounces and since every ounce counts, I was working towards a lighter pack.

From your cook kit

·         DIY stoves

Ounces saved: 1.5oz 

DIY gear can be much lighter than what you can purchase, although it may not be cheaper, so make your own if you have the ability. DIY stoves are both cheaper and lighter so you can have yourself a win-win if you work it right. Search You Tube for DIY stoves, and you will find plenty of styles to choose from. I use a stove I made from an aluminum Bud Light bottle but from I have noticed in the stores you can’t find this style of Bud Light beer bottles anymore. There are still so many DIY stove styles you can make so research it and make your own.

 I have one primary stove that I would take with me. The Soto Microregulator. It is an awesome stove and I take it on the short hiking trips or when I go car-camping. But on longer trips like the one coming up soon, I will take my DIY. The Soto weighs 2.5 ounces. My DIY bud Light stove weighs one ounces which saves me 1.5 ounces

I hope these tips will help you shave some weight from your pack. I’m sure your back and knees will thank you for any weight you can shave from your total pack weight. As we say on GaHammockBros, Plan Right and Pack Light, which means we try to think about every aspect of the trip. The what to take, how to load the pack, and how to shave some ounces from the pack which is the Pack Light part of our motto.

Every ounce counts and it is easier than you might think to shave some weight. Notice the weight saved on each items. While each tip only saved me a few ounces each time, the total amount saved is 13 ounces. All I need to do is find three more ounces and I will have saved a whole pound.

If you can affectively shave four ounces in four areas, that is sixteen ounces which is a pound. A pound is a lot of weight to shave from your pack so if you can find four or five areas to shave three to four ounces in each area, you have done a fantastic job on shaving weight. Pat yourself on the back.

Keep looking at your pack and the items you carry and you to will be able to Plan Right and Pack Right. You may even start down the path to becoming a Gram Weenie –like me.

Site update

I am working on the site again (swlowe.com) now that I have recovered from both surgeries. I will be announcing a couple of new books as well. Both will be dedicated to backpacking.

I am also working on a mystery. It's all in my head right now, but once the story finishes simmering I will put it down onto paper and get it published.

Momma Lovin' God-Fearing Red-Blooded American backpacker

Hey, now, how's it going?

I will be posting videos as I go as well as writing this blog, and finishing my two books I am working on. This website will include reviews of my gear and food experiments that I think up over time, as well as trip reports so you can join us on the trial. I will also offer the information on how to buy (or make) all the things that you will need to have in your arsenal to go backpacking. Remember though, I am a Gram Weenie at heart and I go light as well as sleep in a hammock.

If you love the outdoors and like to compare and contrast ideas for packs and like to see opinions before you buy something then you have come to the right place. I plan on posting reviews and ratings on products that we use and try out on a regular basis. If you have any questions or comments we really appreciate feedback and hope that you love what we do as much as me and my crew love doing it. But first who am I?

:

I am an avid outdoorsman at heart but seem to be stuck in an office. I would much rather be in the mountains of North Georgia stoking the early-morning fire for coffee or or in a boat in the middle of Lake Seminole at sunrise using a Buzzbait to hook that early-morning bucket mouth. 

Writing is my true passion as i am able to write about the outdoors and enjoy the trail in a fictional story if i am unable to go out there and get into it for real. I am currently working on two books, one to be released soon (July of 2013) so keep coming back for those announcements.

Bottom line- I want to be outside. so every chance I get I hit the trail. Either for a hike or even car-camping. Check out my trip reports and you can experience the outdoors with us. I will introduce you to my pack and the gear I take and why I take it. If I am not on the trail, I am usually writing about it in my trip reports or maybe a tale or two. 

I am a good ole' southern gentleman. I say Sir and Ma’am and Pray to God above. We love our country, our family, and the freedom to camp in the wonderful outdoors. Come on with me and take a trip.

                                                                                                                      -Steve

Grand RE-Opening

I have not been able to heal correctly and went to the doctor's office today. Long story short is this:

It seems, according to the doctor. my body is rejecting the sutures within my body. The doctor had to cut me open again and remove the sutures. so I am back to where I was when I was released from the hospital back in November '11. I have a gaping hole with a long tubular hole going into my gut about three or four inches. And yes I have to pack the hole with gauze. So if the hole does not heal in time for my backpacking trip, I may not be able to go on the trip. I can change the dressing on a cut, but can't pack gauze into myself because I cant see the opening and since I am numb around the area, I cant feel anything.

Wish me luck.

New site on the way

I am working with a friend on a new site dedicated to camping. Specifically, hammock camping in Georgia. The site is "GaHammockBros.com. We will be doing gear reviews as well as trip reports and camp meal ideas to just name a few. We will have a blog here and a YouTube chanel as well- all with the same name. If you are interested in camping and would like to learn about hammock camping, then please subscribe to both the blog and the YouTube chanel. We are going to fill all three with awesome information.

Planning for a trip on the Approach Trail of the AT

We are planning on a trip up the Approach Trail on the AT. The Approach trail is supposed to be the "roughest" section of the entire AT (so I hear) but it is for sure the roughest section of the AT in Georgia so we are all looking forward to it. I will post the pics on my website under Trip Reports so look for that.

I am also starting work on a longer story with the hopes of getting it up to novel status so wish me luck.

It Feels Good To Be Home

I was released Friday the 11th. 11-11-11 will hold a special place in my heart now since that is the day I was released.

This past month or two has been the toughest thing I have had to go through, especially this past week. But with the prayers of friends, family, and the friends of those folks, and the grace of God I was given a clean bill of health and was sent home.

The pathology report stated that the lymph nodes were clean and the mass was benign.

I am still in enormous pain but have meds to keep that under control. I did suffer a slight set-back though. -since I was medicated on Morphine my time-line may be messed yo but I will give it a go...

On Wednesday, I believe it was, they noticed that one of the three incisions, also the larger of the three, developed an infection.

My doctor wanted to start me on I.V. antibiotics and wanted to keep me another "day or two" to monitor the progress. At this point, I was due to go home on Thursday. When he stated "another day or two" my heart dropped. By this point I was ready to come home and start the healing progress without having my my slumber interrupted by the staff to take my vitals.

I fully understand that the staff needs this information and I was very accommodating. Now that I am home and getting plenty of rest, I am feeling much better.

I want to thank my surgeon, Dr. Shroff and his team for taking such good care of me during the surgery. He is an awesome guy and mad me feel so comfortable prior to the surgery. He was empathetic to me, my needs, and my questions and I was comfortable with knowing he was going to take such good care of me.

I also want to take this time to give a special thanks and express my utmost respect to the team at Wellstar Kennestone Hospital - Marietta GA

They not only were professional but they went over and beyond their duties. They
A healthcare professional doesn't have to enter into your room quietly to take your vitals, but they did at Kennestone. They softly came in and woke me up gently to take my vitals. because I was awaken so softly, once they were through, I went back to sleep quickly. One nurse even told me that I slept through the process one night. I was in a position that she could slip the BP cuff around my arm so she didn't feel the need to wake me up.

The dietary representative was awesome as she worked out a meal plan with me each day I was eating (I was on a "NPO" restriction for a while) and helped me pick out the foods that I liked. She was awesome.

Any time I needed anything, the staff there at Kennestone were more than happy to help me or my family and helped without complaining and did so with a smile and an obvious genuine willingness to help.

The staff at Kennestone -along with their cheerfulness and willingness to help me down the healing road- is what provided the nurturing and healing atmosphere that was felt as soon as I woke up in my room after the surgery.

So, Thank you to to the team at Kennestone Hospital. I am grateful that I was in your care and I wish you all well.