Thanks for sharing ideas - I love looking over different gear! I learn about lots of stuff I didn't even know existed this way. The real question of this thread is, if I sacrificed all extra comforts and went purely for what would get us by as light as possible while still being durable "enough" to be safe, how light could we get? I apologize for sort of forgetting that in my last response and justifying some of our current gear. Really some choices like the EE Convert may be ideal toward that end, and a 5+lb tent is not, despite how much I may like it. I will think further on the different ideas you're presenting and work on a spreadsheet with gear weights and see what magic can happen.
That brings up an interesting idea - I could have a bag that I carried along in one hand if the child were being carried, that got stuck into the carrier when he wanted to walk. As long as it weren't terribly heavy, simply toting along a small duffel could be workable. Worst case it could be clipped on to the back of a carrier, though the problem with that is that the weight is very far back....and eventually when the new one outgrows the front pack the older one is big enough to walk some.
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If you're talking preparing for two now... Maybe you grab the osprey Poco and simply plop the food bag or other dense heavy items into the kid seat.
Without the winter gear, but still including the heavy 4-season tent (because I haven't gotten around to updating our lists) and winter sleeping bag setup with all four pads, our weights are at 45 and 42lbs. That's with water but without food, and counting 25lbs for the baby which is his current weight. We've made a few gear adjustments that I haven't accounted for but it should be pretty close to the same.You know the drill- get out the spreadsheet and shoot for 80-90lbs as a group. I would try to set a limit of 40 for Gina, 50 for you.
Oh, I meant to ask - why did you opt for a Plus rather than the Premium?You can't do anything about the kiddos... so like em or not that's why I did the Osprey. 6lbs stripped down and it can handle 60lbs.
Our cook kit is one place I can shave weight and bulk...our current kitchen setup is over 2lbs and could probably be at least halved pretty easily. The biggest pot we have is a 1600ml so removing that would cut down on bulk. On the other hand it's nice to make one big pot of food at once, which can be more time- and fuel-efficient. We could perhaps instead ditch the smaller pot and pack other stuff we are carrying anyways in it, to reduce the cookware weight.I cut us both down to almost zero spare clothes, minimal diddy bag and cook kit. I went heavy on snacks and no cook food as that's what he likes anyway...
I will start a new lighterpack list which is really UL-focused, using some gear that I have or at least think will work, so I can see where I am as a starting point and get some more specific feedback on it.
Yarr!The good news; you got the most important thing- a willing wife