Gearing Up for Backpacking, Part 10 (and last): Base Weight-In

Final Base Weight: 16.08 lbs

That's with the lighter-weight options (55 degree bag, not the 25er, etc.), but without any radio gear, food, water, or fuel.  Load in the those last three for an overnighter plus reading material, and we're still in the neighborhood of 23 lbs.  Not bad!  While I will admit to some titanium here and there and having spent a little bit of money, it was still much less than a bike.  No buckyball insulation, no Puppeteer hull material fiber (well, isn't that essentially what Dyneema is?), no smoking credit cards anywhere in sight.

And this pretty well ends the "gearing up" series.  Gear has been gotten, tested, weighed, replaced, and tested again.  It's been a quick and ruthless process this past camping season, but the results are good and ready to roll when the weather allows.  Don't expect a detailed gear list or weigh-out here.  That's too much work and it's going to change anyway.  Go look at youtube videos from the experts if you need more, don't look to a newbie like me.

So, that's all for backpacking until the fall rolls around.  Maybe some gear fiddling toward the end of summer, or a quick dash into the woods in August if there happens to be an early cold front.  (Hey, it happens.)  Maybe... even a brief trip up north?  But for now, I'll leave the south Mississippi foot trails to the reptiles and bugs.