Dollars for Ounces

[Singto]

Of course there are many considerations but as a "rule of thumb" what are you willing to pay per ounce to reduce pack weight?

Example: I have a warmer weather Nature Hike LW180 bag that weighs 1.5 pounds with it's compression sack. I can spend $75 to get an Aegismax down bag that weighs 1 pound and 1 ounce with compression sack. This results in a 7 ounce savings which comes out at $10.71 per ounce. The Aegismax offers a slightly smaller compressed size and a little lower temp rating too.

Deal or no deal?

[Dogwood]

This is not in context of gear and not to be contentious but I have to say this because more times than not the majority of backpackers rationale is that it costs money to save pack weight. What one carries in a backpack most often includes consumables. It doesn't cost any added money to learn how to save on food and water wt. Actually, when one can knowledgably dial down personal consumable wt in terms of food and water wt it can put money back in your pocket...to possibly focus on reducing gear wt a few more ozs. And, if for example your carrying 5+ days of food at an average of 1.5 -2.5 lbs/day the total food wt alone can often be the single heaviest category in one's packs... more than the wt of a tent, sleeping bag, cook system, pack etc. Now add in water wt at 2.2 lbs per liter. But talking about reducing kit wt by solely focusing on gear wt especially when it gets into saving ozs and $/ozs spent is so much sexier and appealing to our U.S. consumer shopaholic tendencies.


Getting to your question though IMO it depends where on the kit wt scale you've evolved. There are several threads on this exact question you posed that I recall that went several pages of opinions. Maybe, others with better WB search skills will link to them for you.

[El JP]

I've done it a few times. Seeing as i don't have the budget for the gee wiz specialist featherweight gear i did what i could within reason. Before all this i never ever would have given the slightest thought of spending money on a titanium pot or a jacket based on weight considerations.

I'm pretty sure i'm not going to be anyone's example of ultralight, but still.

[MtDoraDave]

Some people pay $50 per ounce to save weight (cuben tent vs tarptent), so $10 per oz sounds like a bargain.

[4shot]

I'm not an UL guy but I think the answer to your question depends where you are on the learning curve. Initially I turned over a lot of gear until I found out what I liked/didn't like. it wasn't cheap but it takes trial and error and everyone is different. Now I will only spend to replace gear at or near the end of its life cycle. I carry a pack that many on here would consider heavy but I love its fit and comfort. So. I am not going to spend just to drop another pound (+/-) of gear weight. As I prepare for my upcoming summer hike, my focus is on dropping 12-15 lbs. of body weight. That is often overlooked and neglected and will help a hiker more than dropping 2 ounces by switching to a titanium spork.

[garlic08]

I am a UM hiker, ultra-miser. I never spent any extra money to save ounces. When I hiked the AT my pack weighed 8 pounds. Everything, including what I wore, cost $800, and that included a new 15F Marmot down bag, Tarptent shelter, and Gossamer Gear pack. Weight savings came from gradually replacing worn-out gear with lighter stuff, and looking for sales and deals and bartering with friends with sewing machines. From my experience, going lighter actually saved money, especially considering the quality and durability of the gear I hike with. My down bag, for instance, has outlasted several cheaper, heavier synthetic bags.

I don't own anything made with Cuben. I haven't had to replace anything yet that would realize savings worth the extra cost. My pack is light enough now that I barely notice it. A seven pound pack vs an eight pound pack won't affect my hiking at all, really.

[Maineiac64]

Be careful you are getting comparable performance, how are you saving the weight in a bag?

[Hikingjim]

To someone that actually needs their cash and just wants to walk, that type of decision is probably a bad deal
But for someone who is struggling with their carried weight, or has some extra cash they want to buy some things with, maybe a good deal.

Depends how much you walk as well. If you go out month or several weeks a year, or are doing a thru, it could be worth it.

[Gambit McCrae]

My latest and last purchases for many years now that fall under the category of saving weight would be me replacing my tent and pack this year. My Tarptent was worn out so it needed to be replaced, and I impulse on the pack and thru it in the cart. So without the $100 discount my total was just over 1K. Which came out to $23.81/ounce. By making the gear choices that I did, I took out about 3.5-4 lbs. from my pack base weight. Putting my in the sub 6lb big four weight range. I purchased this with funds solely off of older gear that was not and had not been used for several years, and I waited until the holiday sale went off which gave me $100 off my order. I am a happy camper with my purchase.

[devoidapop]

What I'm finding out is that you really pay a premium for gear that packs down tightly. You pay in cash, comfort, or both. I can't justify the money, so I try to figure out what comforts I can do without and still enjoy my trips.

[colorado_rob]

Of course there are many considerations but as a "rule of thumb" what are you willing to pay per ounce to reduce pack weight?

Example: I have a warmer weather Nature Hike LW180 bag that weighs 1.5 pounds with it's compression sack. I can spend $75 to get an Aegismax down bag that weighs 1 pound and 1 ounce with compression sack. This results in a 7 ounce savings which comes out at $10.71 per ounce. The Aegismax offers a slightly smaller compressed size and a little lower temp rating too.

Deal or no deal?

Might be pure coincidence, but my rule of thumb is pretty close to your example. Lots of things go in to the purchase of a new piece of gear, but if I have a perfectly good piece of gear, and something comes out that is lighter and has at least as good of performance, I'll seriously consider buying it if I can save a half a pound per $100 spent, which of course is about $12/ ounce.

This has nothing to do with being a shopaholic, imho, it has to do with the simple fact that since long distance hiking is our favorite thing to do, and is relatively inexpensive all things considered, buying excellent gear is well worth it. And gear weight (or lack of it!) is one very important measure of its excellence.

I love the saying I heard here once: "buying an outstanding piece of gear hurts only once, but buying cheap gear hurts as long as you use it", something like that.

[Gambit McCrae]

I love the saying I heard here once: "buying an outstanding piece of gear hurts only once, but buying cheap gear hurts as long as you use it", something like that.

Oh man I like that!!!!!! lol

[Slo-go'en]

Well, considering your current bag is comfort rated at 68 degrees, 59 min, it's hardly better then a bed sheet. The

Aegismax is rated down to 36 degrees, which is a significant improvement (if it can be believed). So, for $75 and if you only do summer time camping, it seems like a good deal.

[Dogwood]

Might be pure coincidence, but my rule of thumb is pretty close to your example. Lots of things go in to the purchase of a new piece of gear, but if I have a perfectly good piece of gear, and something comes out that is lighter and has at least as good of performance, I'll seriously consider buying it if I can save a half a pound per $100 spent, which of course is about $12/ ounce.

This has nothing to do with being a shopaholic, imho, it has to do with the simple fact that since long distance hiking is our favorite thing to do, and is relatively inexpensive all things considered, buying excellent gear is well worth it. And gear weight (or lack of it!) is one very important measure of its excellence.

I love the saying I heard here once: "buying an outstanding piece of gear hurts only once, but buying cheap gear hurts as long as you use it", something like that.

Not always! Nowhere do you mention durability. When going lighter even though performance standards can increase, and one might perceive their gear purchases as 'outstanding?' or 'excellent?', some lighter wt and certainly UL/SUL gear sacrifices durability and sometimes even gear performance to achieve that lighter wt making more regular major $$$ UL/SUL gear replacement purchases a necessity so it certainly can hurt one's pocket book. This is one of the things one can sacrifice to gain that lighter kit wt and what it seems the OP was asking. Again, this depends on factoring in where on the kit wt reducing learning curve one is.

[colorado_rob]

Not always! Nowhere do you mention durability. When going lighter even though performance standards can increase, and one might perceive their gear purchases as 'outstanding?' or 'excellent?', some lighter wt and certainly UL/SUL gear sacrifices durability and sometimes even gear performance to achieve that lighter wt making more regular major $$$ UL/SUL gear replacement purchases a necessity so it certainly can hurt one's pocket book. This is one of the things one can sacrifice to gain that lighter kit wt and what it seems the OP was asking. Again, this depends on factoring in where on the kit wt reducing learning curve one is.

Agree on the durability thing, but if you buy carefully, I think you can get near identical performance out of UL (but expensive!) gear.

Many times it is a trade off lack-of-weight vs. durability.

I've found that UL packs definitely have a shortened life vs. heavier material packs. At least the ones I've owned. However, I have not seen any durability issues with Cuben ("dyneema composite") tents. I've had one for 5 years now, used well over 100 times, I see zero wear/tear. Same with sleeping bags. I have had one particular super-light, expensive, high quality bag for 14 years, don't see any wear/tear on that either. I switched to quilts a couple years ago, purchased a couple of top quality ones, should last a long time.

So it does vary depending on the particular piece of gear.

[Dogwood]

Well said.

[AllDownhillFromHere]

$10-15 is a common number I've heard, but as others have said, be careful about performance - or at least be aware and ok with it

[QiWiz]

For me, I don't want to think about how much I've spent to go lighter. Too much I'm sure. The best pounds for the $$ for me has been to have good information about water sources so that I have to carry only the water I need to get to the next water source after drinking my fill at the water source in front of me. To do this most effectively, you need information (like Guthook's app and/or the AT Guide pdf on your smartphone) about water sources and a way to treat it quickly for instant drinking (like a SteriPen, Sawyer filter, or BeFree filter) so that you can "camel up" and carry less.

[Cheyou]

Buy used, returned, on sale. Get quality light big 4 (back pack,sleeping bag tent and pad). No need to spend big money clothing. IMHO. Well maybe not so H ;0)

thom

[HooKooDooKu]

Ditto on the notion of making sure you're spending money on quality light weight gear and not simply just light weight gear.

Also keep in mind (for those of use who are over-weight) losing body weight also lightens your load without lighting your wallet.