Originally Posted By: jaywalke
I have 5 or 6 of everything but I find myself using the same items over and over. A lot of my excess gear is now finding permanent homes in car kits, BOB, etc., or going to live with friends who need it.

When I saw your big list I thought: he's got four cups. I stopped counting at four knives, but I like knives so I was willing to let them slide. Four cups . . . the mind boggles. What I am saying is that there were redundancies in items that may not be critical to mission success. I can see a spare blade (although that could be a scalpel in a PSK), and three methods of lighting a fire, but two stoves? Fire is my stove back-up.

Pack up all the things you think are nice to have. Then go for a ten-hour hike with a few thousand feet (or meters!) of ups and downs. If you can find a rocky trail with lots of bugs and do all this during a torrential rainstorm, you will add fine nuances to your experience. At the end of your hike, look at the extras and ask if they are still worth it. Some will be. Even when I get my base load down in the 10-15 pound range I always have a book to read and usually a little fine bourbon.

Have fun. I occasionally pack up loads even when I'm not going anywhere, and LS isn't talking dirty when she tells people I am in the basement "playing with my gear."




That's exactly it. I don't need all those things...I just want to always have them near me. It's a problem in more ways than one.