Bag Check - Sleeping Pad and Chafing Powder

[Lin]

Hey STP, I've been planning on hitching out of Texas and would appreciate any tips on lightening my pack. My synthetic bag is fat and heavy, but down bags cost a lot. I dunno about dropping the sleeping pad and baking soda though. I can sleep on a bag of my clothes for insulation, but I know chafing can be a total bitch...

 

[Deleted member 23824]

What does all that weigh in your pack, less the gallon of water and what you’ll be wearing? A synthetic bag does not lose insulating ability when wet, vs. down. You can get relatively lighter synthetic bags, they also are rather pricey.

 

[MetalBryan]

I had both a inflated pad and a folding pad but after testing them I think cardboard from a thick box is close to the same experience. And yes I'm talking shit about the camping gear I purchased vs cardboard... glad for the lesson but I felt it was wasted money. You can get boxes from liquor or furniture stores and the bonus is you can ditch your whiteboard.

It's not much weight but isn't your mp3 player redundant because of your phone? Might be worth swapping it for a small usb charger at the same weight.

Another small swap is the towel for a sham wow style squeegee pad. Sold mostly at auto parts stores. It dries faster and doesn't get as funky if it has to stay wet.

Others have advised me that 3 pairs of underwear and socks is enough. The rotation is one for wearing, one clean, and one drying/dirty. As a personal preference I wear cargo pants instead of jeans. They're more functional with pockets and dry a little faster if you don't get the heaviest (Duluth Trading Co).

The wallet concentrates your IDs and money so you could ditch it and spread out these valuables. Might free up a pocket too.

Not sure what the sesame oil is for but consider finding a smaller, plastic airtight container to refill and get rid of the larger glass bottle. Might even be able to top it off for free at restaurants that have outdoor seating condiments or from asian restaurant to go packets.

If you carry baking soda, a tube of toothpaste is a luxury not a necessity.

Good luck!!!!

 

[Deleted member 23824]

Agree with all but the cardboard. I don’t want to search every time I go to sleep for bedding. A closed cell foam mat weighs next to nothing, and will not get soggy when wet. It adds some small amount of cushioning, cardboard doesn’t really do much along those lines.

I’d add a power bank. A cook kit? Cup? Small bottle of Dr. Bronners to do dishes/clean your body? Hat(s)?

 

[watson]

could honestly get away with halfing the entire list.. if you dont now your gonna end up throwing things out along the way like we all did when we started... this is coming from someone who prominently rides freight and hitch hikes.. i dont hardly ever settle and camp or any of the like. im always on the move to my next destination so these decisions reflect the mindset.

towel - is useless in my opinion.. you can dry off whatever your trying to with clothes and save space/weight.

water bottle - doesnt make sense to me because you have a gallon of water.... drink from the gallon.. wrap your ducktape around a credit card for less weight..

im confused about the whiteboard? are u traveling in a van? then sure... but backpacking with a whiteboard? just use cardboard. if u ditch whiteboard replace your expos with SHARPIE markers

i personally ditched my stainless steel water key because you can fill up water literally anywhere now adays unless your stuck in the middle of nowhere i guess... walk into a mcdoanlds or a gas station..

campt stove(can) - assuming your leather tramping it you probably wont be cooking as much as u think u will be unless ur going into the woods...

sawyer filter - again if your not deep in the woods camping, why would u need a water filter if ur carrying a gallon of water and a bottle?

unpopular opinion on shirts: i only carry 2 shirts and 1 long sleeve, 3 t shirts is alittle excessive especially if ur carrying a long sleeve and a jacket.


scissors - i carry a knife, and a multi tool with scissors on them so no reasno to have just scissors

matches - like the above if ur not deep woods camping no real reason to need matches...

alcohol - like the above if ur not deep woods camping no real reason to need matches...

shaving razor - get an electric shaver its a bitch shaving with no shaving cream and even more annoying to find a spot to shave in a public place... and its a waste of alot of water to shave outside of a public bathroom you usually dont want to lose.

sesame oil - probably way over the top... i carry a "all spice" in a little shaker. it seaosons all youll need. no need for anything else.. i would also reccomend garlic salt and pepper mixed into one...

 

[Romanriff]

It's your list you know what your needs are but a word of advice, you don't need the hiking polls or the water filter. They're going to get clunky and annoying to fit in a car. I'd consider going to you're local pharmacy and picking up some extra shoe insoles since it seems like you plan on doing a bit of walking. It gives you a second life when you've been walking 10 miles and you just change out your flat sweaty insoles with the fresher ones in your bag every couple miles or so. Last thing if those blue jeans are extras I'd replace it with a hoodie. You only need one pair of pants.

 

[Lin]

Thanks for all the tips! I dropped a bunch of stuff and the dry weight is down to 15 lb. It was probably 30 smth the first time I put it on...

Adding:​

extra insoles

Keeping:​

mp3 - it's tiny/light and is great at not dying. Sucks at everything else though
sesame oil (plastic) - liquid calories, seasoning, sunblock. Olive oil works too besides sunblock
tactical knife - it's heavy and I don't have multitool. Still better than mace for now

Not Sure:​

water key or sawyer filter - I'm not sure how accessible water is during the covid pandemic
hat - apparently hats make you look shady? I think a hood should work for warmth/shade

Dropped:​

towel, wallet, bottle, toothpaste, a shirt, shorts, scissors, stove, pot, matches, alcohol, whiteboard, extra liners/bags

• stove - raw rice/beans/meat are nice, but the tools/fuel are heavy and there's a lot of alternatives.
• power bank - my phone will be off most of the time

 

[Matt Derrick]

My synthetic bag is fat and heavy, but down bags cost a lot.

If you're looking for a new sleeping bag, you might be interested in this one:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01KLZWI3A/

it's a little high in the temp rating, but you could layer up with other clothing. it's light, packs small, and is CHEAP. i haven't personally tested it, but it came recommended on some youtube channels i follow.

 

[Desperado Deluxe]

Go with a tarp and blanket. Way more packable. get a cheap Amazon down quilt.

 

[croc]

I've found a water key to be very useful during a pandemic as a train rider. It helps save time finding a place to fill up water inside like gas stations or McDonald's n shit like normal. Lots of places won't let u refill ur jugs at their sinks or fountains rn.
As a hitch hiker, it's prob less necessary. Ends up being more of a choice between convenience of less searching for water source vs convenience of lighter pack weight.

And in my 2.5 years on the road I've only wished I had a water filter one time. It was a train ride I'd run out of water on during the summer and we kept siding out near creeks/rivers. It felt like the train gods were tormenting me lol. Didn't have fuel to boil said water on my stove.
Hitching, you're around civilization/roads/ppl much more and shouldn't run into this problem.

The hat I find incredibly useful when hitching and walking. What happens when u have to face DIRECTLY toward the sun with ur thumb out? U can stand there w ur eyes basically closed from squinting too hard or u can wear a hat and be able to make better eye contact w cars. Choosing a sun hat might be the "least sketchy" looking hat... Can't say I've ever found someone in a sun hat threatening lol. But I wear a baseball hat or trucker hat like 90% of the time and I don't think it's hurt my getting rides when I hitch. Sunglasses would be worse in that regard.

 

[Lin]

Last pic before heading out. Probably too much food. I'll cut down on that once I get a better feel for things.

I'd prefer spigots/freshwater to awkwardly filling a gallon of water at McD's, but I'll take what I can get. Sounds like I'll be fine unless I get lost in the desert or something.

::banghead:: Bahaha, you got me sold on the hat. That'd be awful now that I think about it.