First up, the Editor's Choice award winner from Backpacker magazine, the Nemo Astro Insulated Pad, combined with the Pillowtop sleeping pad sleeve. The combination on sale and with the discount was $139, but worth every single penny. I thought long and hard about this one because I was worried about leaks in the backcountry. However, it got great reviews on multiple sites, so I went for it. I used the "pillowtop" sleeve at Horseshoe Meadows for an extra inch of foam padding in a microfleece cover for comfy car camping. Wow. I left that behind and brought just the Astro Pad for the backpacking portion. It packs down to just a bit larger than a Nalgene bottle (4.5x8 inches) and weighs less than a regular Thermarest (1lb 8 oz). Not the lightest option on the market, but wow, I had the best sleep ever in the backcountry and that's 45 years of backpacking. Awesome! It comes with a patch kit just in case, and I'm a side sleeper and could finally do that in comfort.
Next up, a packable down jacket. Time to retire the bulky, space-consuming fleece jacket and get a thin, down jacket just for backpacking. I watched the sales, checked the jackets being discontinued, read the reviews to see why (maybe) and try to get one on the cheap. Well, they are never cheap, especially the ones with good reviews even if they are discontinuing them, but I picked up a Sierra Designs Gnar Jacket at the REI Outlet store for $95. A bit pricey for a discontinued item, but it had great reviews and I loved it. The thumb holes in the sleeve were handy when hiding from mosquitoes and it was quite warm. Even with a light breeze I didn't need a shell. Definitely a worthwhile item - especially if I am going to be using a smaller pack...
The third item was to finally replace my aging load monster pack, an old 7 & 1/2 lb. Gregory. I was very tempted to go with an ultralight, but when we do family backpacking trips, I need something bigger and with more bells and whistles. So, I went with a pack in the light (but not ultralight) category: the Osprey Aether. There were three sizes, the two largest being a 70 liter and an 85 liter. With the requirement to carry a bear canister at times, and the need for size for family trips or longer outings I was leaning towards the larger one already, but weight would be the deciding factor. I was surprised to see that the difference between the two was only 5 ounces, which to me was worth it for the size upgrade, so I went with the 85 liter. At 5 lbs 1 oz it was two and a half pounds lighter than my old pack. The bear canister was an easy fit (as easy as they can be anyway). Once I got it fit to my body and adjusted (the load lifter straps had twisted under and I couldn't find them at first) it rode like a dream. With the weight savings in the sleeping pad, clothes and bear canister I was skipping down the trail compared to previous years. Regularly $299 I got it for $239 with a 20% off sale. Hopefully it will last as long as my last pack. Great detachable top that I used for dayhiking with my fishing gear, it has its own strap and buckle. Very nice pack.
The Bearikade Weekender. $225 bucks for a bear canister? At 31 ounces it is the lightest one on the market. Fortunately I had a friend who was not using his so I was able to borrow it. If I ever have this much money to frivolously blow on a bear canister I would get one in a heartbeat. I like the more narrow profile and the weight savings are pretty good. But is saving 10 ounces (over my Bear Vault 500) really worth the money? Not yet. Ask me in a few years.
So, that was what I did this year to save some weight. I put some serious thought into ultralight gear, at my age it is almost a requirement in order to keep backpacking. On the other hand, as you get older you want your creature comforts. For example, I'm not going to start sleeping under a tarp in my 50's just to save a couple of pounds. But, there are some places to trim which is what I tried to do on this trip. I also got tired of cleaning coffee grounds every morning, so I left the french press, the coffee, the creamer and the sugar at home and brought a five hour energy bottle for each morning. Did I save weight? I don't know, but I saved some space and some kitchen chore work in the morning, so it was worth it. Who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks? As long as I have some caffeine I'm ok (Mark, if you ever show that morning video of me pre-caffeine I will have to strangle you in your sleep).
My overall pack weight for three nights on the GTW trip came in at 34 lbs. which I consider to be pretty good compared to what I used to carry. My next purchase will be the titanium version of the JetBoil. I wrote the company and they told me that the titanium cup will fit onto my old base, but that the base is just a bit too large to fit into the new cup. So, I will have to consider whether to buy a new setup entirely, or just the cup and pack the stuff separately. I hope these reviews helped some of you who want to trim a few pounds from the overall load!
