Stupid question about kit lists

Imperial Dave

Imperial Dave

Section Hiker
When compiling a kit list does everyone these days go for "skin out" as the standard or do some still go for pure pack weight only? Genuinely interested. These days I seem to be a tad on the heavy side although I use skin out weights. Its been a while since I looked at these things and it seems things have moved on a bit
 
Imperial Dave

Imperial Dave

Section Hiker
another stupid question then.....

do people use their own body weights (versus ideal etc) in the calculations at all, or is that a path most wouldnt want to go down? :whistling:
 
theoctagon

theoctagon

Thru Hiker
As edh says most lists are a bit of a fiddle, using something like lighterpack to list your gear can be helpful as you can see the base weight, total pack weight and also the skin out weight.

You can also see the price breakdown/totals if you dare fill the column in :eek:
 
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Dave5791

Dave5791

Trail Blazer
Baldy said:
`skin out'
`body weight'
WTH!
my new years resolution is not to take life too seriously.

Pull yourself together Dave.

:asshat:

and a happy new year from a sunny south east London.
Click to expand...

Resolution wise, are you not already there with an avatar like that Baldy?

Not that I'm a list obsessive or anything, but the day I start weighing myself when calculating what I'm carrying, is the day where I fess up to my GP that I may have OCD or that I'm perilously close to being on the autistic spectrum (no offence to sufferers intended)!

Body weight????

Can this be for real?
 
craige

craige

Thru Hiker
I'd say base pack weight and and total pack weight are the important ones. Skin out only really matters if you're cheating and "wearing" 2 base layers, a fleece and a waterproof jacket and have your phone, camera, battery pack, compass, headlamp etc. In your pockets.

What's "ideal" body weight? Too many variables. Bodyweight I'm close to obese according to bmi but my hip and chest to waist ratio is pretty good.
 
Baldy

Baldy

Thru Hiker
Dave5791 said:
Resolution wise, are you not already there with an avatar like that Baldy?

Not that I'm a list obsessive or anything, but the day I start weighing myself when calculating what I'm carrying, is the day where I fess up to my GP that I may have OCD or that I'm perilously close to being on the autistic spectrum (no offence to sufferers intended)!

Body weight????

Can this be for real?
Click to expand...
you can mock my hairstyle but don't mock my kitlist :D
 
Mole

Mole

Thru Hiker
What Craige says.

I've still yet to do a kit spreadsheet with weights of everything on.

Or a list....

I just take a pick of what gear I currently have for what is appropriate for the trip in hand.

Seems to work.
These days I rarely end up carrying much redundant stuff.

I do weigh my pack before adding fuel, water and fuel. And am usually satisfied given the constraints of the gear I own.
Then I weigh it after adding the consumables:frown: :cry:
 
cathyjc

cathyjc

Thru Hiker
@Mole :thumbsup: I do much the same. Me on scales without pack versus me on scales with pack.

@Dave5791 Body weight is very important.
I weight about 57 Kg - so my pack makes up a much bigger % of my body weight compared to a guy weighing 120kg - even if his pack is a few Kg more than mine.
 
gixer

gixer

Thru Hiker
I'm only really interested in total pack weight, anything else just seems futile and pointless

It's the total pack weight i'll be carrying so that's the only thing that's important to me.

Don't bother weighing the clothes i'll be wearing cause i tend to wear clothes most of the time and not really had a problem with cloth weight knackering me out.

Stuff like waterproofs, warm layers and extra i'll add to the pack weight.


I do weigh stuff cause i'm fat and unfit, so pack weight does make a difference to how much i enjoy a trip.
When i was younger, slimmer and fitter it didn't seem to bother me at all, so i never weighed anything.

Easy to get caught up in it all though, i've seen folks on other forums brag about 6kg backpack weights, then a few posts later describe their camera equipment, spare batteries, tablet etc etc, so no way they were lugging all that about for the weight they said.

Took a scale to the Lakes earlier in the year.
Weighed all our rucksacks as leaving the car, complete with water and food.

Think i was at around 10kg with the Scarp2, Scott was around 14kg and James was around 7kg (if memory serves)
 
Dave5791

Dave5791

Trail Blazer
Baldy said:
you can mock my hairstyle but don't mock my kitlist :D
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I'd never mock you Baldy. God forbid.

As someone who has been follicly challenged but isn't in 'Cueball' territory, that would just be bad form.

Is mild ribbing permissible though? Apropos - are you partial to the odd Hamlet?

Gear lists are definitely off limits imho ;)
 
Baldy

Baldy

Thru Hiker
Dave5791 said:
I'd never mock you Baldy. God forbid.

As someone who has been follicly challenged but isn't in 'Cueball' territory, that would just be bad form.

Is mild ribbing permissible though? Apropos - are you partial to the odd Hamlet?

Gear lists are definitely off limits imho ;)
Click to expand...

Condoms, Greek and Shakespeare in one line. Bet that don't happen often.:o o:


I have a sense of humour Dave.....and i'm not afraid to use it.
 
Dave5791

Dave5791

Trail Blazer
I know you have and aren't - my comment was meant as a compliment!

I shall refrain from unsolicited humour henceforth...
 

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craige

craige

Thru Hiker
I keep saying I'm going to do a proper pack list but I've yet to get around to it.

In regards to hair loss... I'm looking at it as a positive... I'm receding fast enough that I might manage to stay the same weight after all the seasons festivities :cigar:
 
WilliamC

WilliamC

Thru Hiker
I have the weight of every piece of gear as it can help with deciding whether or not to replace it with something newer/shinier and sometimes it can help deciding which one to take on a particular trip; i.e. I'm more likely to make certain sacrifices in order to save weight on a longer trip where I'm trying to keep the total pack weight down. I never actually weigh the final pack any more (nor calculate the total base weight) since it won't change anything. I do weigh food for longer trips, though, to make sure we're not carrying more than we need.
 
Padstowe

Padstowe

Thru Hiker
I never weight anything, don't even own any scales. My reasoning is I have what I have to choose from, I choose what I believe i will need & don't believe I carry much if any redundant gear bar food which sometimes I don't eat lunch so would be fuel as well but been using gas the last year so its a new can or used.
So with this in mind & being a person of simple logic I don't see the point of weighing my pack as no matter what it weighs am still going to have to carry it.:angelic:
I'll just get me coat then :(
 
Imperial Dave

Imperial Dave

Section Hiker
cathyjc said:
@Mole :thumbsup: I do much the same. Me on scales without pack versus me on scales with pack.

@Dave5791 Body weight is very important.
I weight about 57 Kg - so my pack makes up a much bigger % of my body weight compared to a guy weighing 120kg - even if his pack is a few Kg more than mine.
Click to expand...

just curious and I'm with Cathy on this. I'm a wispy 62kg so skin out/packweight as a %age is a large proportion for me. I've only got weeny legs :chicken:
 
S

Scottk

Trail Blazer
Dave5791 said:
I'd never mock you Baldy. God forbid.

As someone who has been follicly challenged but isn't in 'Cueball' territory, that would just be bad form.

Is mild ribbing permissible though? Apropos - are you partial to the odd Hamlet?

Gear lists are definitely off limits imho ;)
Click to expand...

Hamlet adverts might be too old for some to remember. They were banned on TV around the early 90s!!
 
Robin

Robin

Moderator
Staff member
Some good points made here. I use a spreadsheet with weights but its main function is to make sure I pack everything I need. Inevitably the spreadsheet weight is less than the weight using a luggage weigher. I don’t bother weighing all the stuffsacks etc. I feel happy if my pack ex-comsumables (i.e. food, fuel, lotions etc) is 8-11kg depending on season. It makes sense to substitute lighter weight items for heavier as long function is not compromised.

I’ve tried pushing my “base” weight below 7kg but it means cutting out too much on clothes and comfort. I know people who backpack with no change of clothes but that’s not my idea of fun. In the end the decisions and compromises are down to the individual.

I’ve looked at the kit lists of people like Joe Valesko and there’s no way I’d backpack with what they use. Some “Ultralighters” leave all manner of gear like cameras, first aid kit, wash kit etc out of their base weight.

One year I caught out a “UL” blogger who was doing the TGO Challenge claiming he had a 5kg base weight, having missed out all manner of gear on his published list. He wasn’t happy when I and another reader pointed this out on the comments on his blog :angelic:
 
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