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Search 69,459 Camino Questions

You know it's too heavy, but you pack it anyway

DurhamParish

Un Cerveza, Por Favor
Time of past OR future Camino
Caminho Portuguese 2012 & 2018
Camino Frances 2014, 2015, 2015, 2017, 2018
Since it is the off season (for most of us) and we are coming up with items for discussion, here is one to consider.

Do you have an item that you know weighs too much, and that you shouldn’t put in your backpack, but you bring it anyway?

I’ll go first. Six bars of Dove soap. Why? I only brought one on my first camino, knowing that I could buy a bar of soap in a market. Given that I use the bar soap for not only personal use, but also for washing my clothes, my clothes began to take on the scent from the soap I had purchased. For me it’s worth the weight to not pull on my shirt and have it smell heavily like scented soap.

I also bring unscented deodorant for the same reason.

One positive thing. My pack gets lighter the closer I get to Santiago.
 
The one from Galicia (the round) and the one from Castilla & Leon. Individually numbered and made by the same people that make the ones you see on your walk.
Transport luggage-passengers.
From airports to SJPP
Luggage from SJPP to Roncevalles
I brought a pair of lightweight (500 g.) Nike shoes, in addition to the boots that I walked in. No forum post that I can remember suggested extra shoes, except for plastic shoes for the shower that might be worn around the albergue or in towns. I wanted a pair of shoes for town use and took the shoes that I wore for that purpose in New Zealand last year. As I finished my camino ahead of schedule and had to wait for my return flight, I got a lot of comfortable all-day use out of these shoes as well as every evening after my shower. But there is no question that their weight added to an already heavy pack.
 
St James' Way - Self-guided 4-7 day Walking Packages, Reading to Southampton, 110 kms
My pack weight when I started was 8.5 kg with a ltr of water, but I had to buy a sleeping bag on the way which then made it 9.3 kg, as the journey progressed it seemed to up in weight, That could have been because I bought loads of body wash and shampoo. Next time I'll only buy a small amount but regularly.
 
My one luxury item:

Electric toothbrush - Bare with me a second: I would never haul this item up a mountain because it does weigh a bit more. But, I’m used to an electric toothbrush at home and planning to be on the Camino several weeks made me consider the luxury. The one I use is really light at just over an ounce (28 grams) and uses one AAA battery that lasts for weeks on end.
 
Six bars of Dove soap.
:D:D:D With all due respect @DurhamParish, perhaps there should be added to the title of this thread ".......because you're obsessed." I've been on only one Camino and I took with me a trekking umbrella with UV protection; the darned thing weighs 1lb. It paid for itself in the rains of Santiago, but I used it only once for sun protection. Still, the wonderful shade, and the difference in temperature it provided - even on that one day - would make me hard-pressed to not take it again.
 
New Original Camino Gear Designed Especially with The Modern Peregrino In Mind!
Good Lord!
You go through 6 bars of soap on a Camino?
You must loooooove taking showers!

Just kidding - I, for one, appreciate you not smelling like a chemical perfume factory!

I think the one thing I agonize over the most is the ALTUS poncho and its weight.
But it has proven itself worthy so many times and for so many uses that I keep taking it.
It keeps me warm from the wind, dry from the rain, and on very cold nights serves as a blanket.
I've also used it for shade with my poles.
Until I find a lighter alternative, it will continue to go with me.
 
I'm with you Icacos the umbrella its a must the most heaviest item second only to my backpack, but since I don't take six bars of soap or a full bottle of deodorant its all good LOL

Zzotte
 
5 pair of socks, cigar lighter to sterilize my blister puncturing scalpel or needle. 1 meter of moleskin to fix my & others blisters. It also fixed other chaffing such as raw hips from hip belts. Had a 6 inch square left on arrival in Finnesterre.
 
Get a spanish phone number with Airalo. eSim, so no physical SIM card. Easy to use app to add more funds if needed.
Good Lord!
You go through 6 bars of soap on a Camino?
You must loooooove taking showers!

Just kidding - I, for one, appreciate you not smelling like a chemical perfume factory!

I think the one thing I agonize over the most is the ALTUS poncho and its weight.
But it has proven itself worthy so many times and for so many uses that I keep taking it.
It keeps me warm from the wind, dry from the rain, and on very cold nights serves as a blanket.
I've also used it for shade with my poles.
Until I find a lighter alternative, it will continue to go with me.
Annie you weigh your Altus & compare to my 1.5lb rain coat & pants combined. I am not willing to give up those either unles I walked in the summer, Triple digits not my idea of walking fun.
 
Since it is the off season (for most of us) and we are coming up with items for discussion, here is one to consider.

Do you have an item that you know weighs too much, and that you shouldn’t put in your backpack, but you bring it anyway?

I’ll go first. Six bars of Dove soap. Why? I only brought one on my first camino, knowing that I could buy a bar of soap in a market. Given that I use the bar soap for not only personal use, but also for washing my clothes, my clothes began to take on the scent from the soap I had purchased. For me it’s worth the weight to not pull on my shirt and have it smell heavily like scented soap.

I also bring unscented deodorant for the same reason.

One positive thing. My pack gets lighter the closer I get to Santiago.
Do you share all of those bars if you do you may get a following :)
 
The 2024 Camino guides will be coming out little by little. Here is a collection of the ones that are out so far.
My Mac Air Book, I can't write more than a few minutes by hand due to arthritis damage to joints and I do my best thinking things through when writing them down. I know, at 1+ kg including charger it is heavy, but still, I am a much happier pilgrim since I bought and took it, a tablet and external keyboard are just not the same. Buen Camino, SY
 
Do you share all of those bars if you do you may get a following :)

Actually, I do. On my last camino with my nephew from Sahagun to Santiago, he brought a container of clothes washing liquid he used in Boy Scouts. Wasn't long until that was gone and I supplied him a bar of Dove.

The previous year I made it to Sahagun with a bar left over. I gave it and some camping toilet paper to a lady I had met at several albergues along the way. She was thrilled.
 
... The previous year I made it to Sahagun with a bar left over. I gave it and some camping toilet paper to a lady I had met at several albergues along the way. She was thrilled.

Now imagine this kind of gift in our so-called normal lives ... SY
 
Very light, comfortable and compressible poncho. Specially designed for protection against water for any activity.

Our Atmospheric H30 poncho offers lightness and waterproofness. Easily compressible and made with our Waterproof fabric, its heat-sealed interior seams guarantee its waterproofness. Includes carrying bag.

€60,-
My one extravagant item was a micro fiber mattress cover for my dust allergies. My allergies were under control, and no bed bug bites and my pack was still under 14 pounds (under 7 kilos).
 
...and when people obsess about pack weight, I kinda wonder.
On my first camino I carried a friend's book for him over about half the camino: a big fat breviary. It must've weighed a kilo, but honestly, carrying the pack and the book never bothered me. Yes, I do have a strong back and shoulders, but I think I just made up my mind that I wasn't going to feel the weight, and I didn't.
I since began using a much smaller pack, an old JanSport 30 liter TreeFrog. I cannot fit a whole lot of gear in there, so I guess I cut back my pack weight by default that way. Still though, I only ever weigh my pack when everyone else is doing it.
Ergo, drilling holes in your toothbrush, and tearing pages out of guidebooks, well. It just strikes me as curious.
 
St James' Way - Self-guided 4-7 day Walking Packages, Reading to Southampton, 110 kms
drilling holes in your toothbrush
People do this?! Wow, I had no idea.
I just try to take the least that I need and to heck with what it ends up weighing. That it's under the limit for the airlines is all that matters. And that I examine the thoughts about what "I really need..."
(The heavy camera--I know I definitely don't need it. But I'm not ready to let go of it. Not ready at all.)
 
We all know that weight reduction both on our bodies & what we carry significantly helps in the first couple weeks. After that the pack seems to be just an extension of your body. We are very lucky with housing, food & modern technology. Yet when I think of early Pilgrims they had less convenience & I assume more weight or they simply starved. When looking at paintings of pilgrims & Saints that walked (in the Prado,Madrid) The burdens were great. The illness very prevalent along with starvation. My point being that sometimes it seems our community focuses on benign competition, such as weight, or size of pack.

Yet at the same time the amazing truth of threads especially this week reminds me that we honor those early Pilgrims & just how special the Camino is.
 
St James' Way - Self-guided 4-7 day Walking Packages, Reading to Southampton, 110 kms
My one luxury item:

Electric toothbrush - Bare with me a second: I would never haul this item up a mountain because it does weigh a bit more. But, I’m used to an electric toothbrush at home and planning to be on the Camino several weeks made me consider the luxury. The one I use is really light at just over an ounce (28 grams) and uses one AAA battery that lasts for weeks on end.

I know we are not meant to break the rules with brand names, but I would love to know the brand of that 28gm toothbrush & where you bought it. I take my 75 gm electric toothbrush and I would love a lighter one


Edit from moderator: Brand names are fine, we all benefit a lot from specific recommendations and reviews, understanding that they are just personal opinions. The thing that we don't want is advertising from the people or company making those brands.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
The focus is on reducing the risk of failure through being well prepared. 2nd ed.
My Mac Air Book, I can't write more than a few minutes by hand due to arthritis damage to joints and I do my best thinking things through when writing them down. I know, at 1+ kg including charger it is heavy, but still, I am a much happier pilgrim since I bought and took it, a tablet and external keyboard are just not the same. Buen Camino, SY
I completely and totally understand. I will do the same on my next Camino, and know exactly what I will leave out to make room for the extra item.
 
Good Lord!
You go through 6 bars of soap on a Camino?
You must loooooove taking showers!

Just kidding - I, for one, appreciate you not smelling like a chemical perfume factory!

I think the one thing I agonize over the most is the ALTUS poncho and its weight.
But it has proven itself worthy so many times and for so many uses that I keep taking it.
It keeps me warm from the wind, dry from the rain, and on very cold nights serves as a blanket.
I've also used it for shade with my poles.
Until I find a lighter alternative, it will continue to go with me.

2012 Camino - last four days into SdC in torrential rain with no Altus :(
2015 Camino - last days into SdC 31 degrees and the Altus remained unopened in my pack - no regrets, wouldn't leave home without it!

JC
 
Euroschirm handsfree trekking umbrella. Supposedly lightweight but is not - they need to do something to reduce the weight. I used it all the time to provide shelter from rain on the Norte, and shade on the Francés.
 
New Original Camino Gear Designed Especially with The Modern Peregrino In Mind!
Since it is the off season (for most of us) and we are coming up with items for discussion, here is one to consider.

Do you have an item that you know weighs too much, and that you shouldn’t put in your backpack, but you bring it anyway?

I’ll go first. Six bars of Dove soap. Why? I only brought one on my first camino, knowing that I could buy a bar of soap in a market. Given that I use the bar soap for not only personal use, but also for washing my clothes, my clothes began to take on the scent from the soap I had purchased. For me it’s worth the weight to not pull on my shirt and have it smell heavily like scented soap.

I also bring unscented deodorant for the same reason.

One positive thing. My pack gets lighter the closer I get to Santiago.
I bring a small jet boil stove with a coffee press attachment. It makes a quart of wonderful coffee and with the dry weight of a full bag of coffee the total comes in with fuel at about 24 ounces. I enjoy the coffee in the morning and on the trail and I safe quite a bit of money along the route by not purchasing in the cafes at 1 euro and up per cup.
 
I safe quite a bit of money along the route by not purchasing in the cafes at 1 euro and up per cup.
Except you had to buy the expensive stove, yes? o_O
But a fine idea. For those of us on a budget, an immersion heater plus a plastic cone and filters would be a much cheaper (and probably lighter) way of doing the same thing.
 
Except you had to buy the expensive stove, yes? o_O
But a fine idea. For those of us on a budget, an immersion heater plus a plastic cone and filters would be a much cheaper (and probably lighter) way of doing the same thing.
And no warm leche either ... And you then pass on thr opportunity to go to the loo. I am happy to support the local economy with my cafe con leche, and keep the trails free of TP :rolleyes:
 
The focus is on reducing the risk of failure through being well prepared. 2nd ed.
My new sleeping bag. It's wider than my old one and a bit thicker, and I sleep SO much better. Well worth the extra weight!

I got a lot of interested looks when I was testing it on the floor in the sports shop, but the man who sold it to me explained that this is a sleeping bag that you can turn around inside, instead of turning WITH the sleeping bag, and that means there's less rustling.
 
Except you had to buy the expensive stove, yes? o_O
But a fine idea. For those of us on a budget, an immersion heater plus a plastic cone and filters would be a much cheaper (and probably lighter) way of doing the same thing.
Excuse me. I thought the thread was "You know it's too heavy, but you pack it anyway". I didn't understand that the thread was "Why the hell did you do it that way!"
 
€2,-/day will present your project to thousands of visitors each day. All interested in the Camino de Santiago.
Can only think of the trekking umbrella... But it replaced the poncho last Summer on the VdlP and was (prob. litterally!) a life-saver during that heatwave in June...
 
The one from Galicia (the round) and the one from Castilla & Leon. Individually numbered and made by the same people that make the ones you see on your walk.
Dove Soap? Ivory Soap? I am glad that I am not the only person who can type faster than my brain can process what I just wrote...o_O

Personally, my "sin" is the cello-wrapped three-pack of the green, olive-based soap "Heno de Pravia" that I buy in the first shop I can find it on arriving in Spain. Carrying three bars, using one at a time, for a week (each), the weight penalty resolves itself over time. The soap is good for almost everything and I love the smell.

In fact, when I get to Santiago, I start hoarding packs of this soap to bring home. I am still using soap I bought this past August. The smell immediately brings me back to the Camino. Ah, deep nostalgia...a cheap day-trip bak to where I/we were happiest...

Smells are one of the the strongest memory links we have. To this day, I will bet that when you smell something from your childhood and it brings back nostalgic memories. No? If you live in the US (and maybe Canada), how about the seminal smell of "Crayola" crayons when you first open the new box? I go to the crayons in stores and open the box just for the "odor hit." How about "Play-Doh?" Perhaps "Oreo Cookies?" I think you understand. For my European friends, how about Nutella, after you have not opened a jar for some years?

So. I very much understand both the urge to brings important things for a variety of reasons, regardless of the weight penalty, as well as Scruffy's soap confusion. It is partially a guy thing. Hey! It's soap! It cleans dirty skin and removes odor, at least temporarily. What else does soap need to do?:)

I hope this was entertaining...it was intended to be...:)
 
Dove Soap? Ivory Soap? I am glad that I am not the only person who can type faster than my brain can process what I just wrote...o_O

Personally, my "sin" is the cello-wrapped three-pack of the green, olive-based soap "Heno de Pravia" that I buy in the first shop I can find it on arriving in Spain. Carrying three bars, using one at a time, for a week (each), the weight penalty resolves itself over time. The soap is good for almost everything and I love the smell.

In fact, when I get to Santiago, I start hoarding packs of this soap to bring home. I am still using soap I bought this past August. The smell immediately brings me back to the Camino. Ah, deep nostalgia...a cheap day-trip bak to where I/we were happiest...

Smells are one of the the strongest memory links we have. To this day, I will bet that when you smell something from your childhood and it brings back nostalgic memories. No? If you live in the US (and maybe Canada), how about the seminal smell of "Crayola" crayons when you first open the new box? I go to the crayons in stores and open the box just for the "odor hit." How about "Play-Doh?" Perhaps "Oreo Cookies?" I think you understand. For my European friends, how about Nutella, after you have not opened a jar for some years?

So. I very much understand both the urge to brings important things for a variety of reasons, regardless of the weight penalty, as well as Scruffy's soap confusion. It is partially a guy thing. Hey! It's soap! It cleans dirty skin and removes odor, at least temporarily. What else does soap need to do?:)

I hope this was entertaining...it was intended to be...:)

I sure relate with the nostalgia of childhood olfactory memories :).

My mother used to wear a perfume called Arpege, by Lanvin. Even thinking of it now, I can see my mother in front of her vanity mirror, getting ready for a special night out.

A very close friend wore Skin Trip, a body lotion that smells faintly of coconut--again. As I lived through the 70's, I associate it with the smell of just about every girl in the school halls wearing Musk, or Love's Sunny Lemon, or the rich girls--Cierra?

Thinking of childhood toys, Play do, for sure; crayons, yes; and how about the smell of Lucky Charms?

Nothing beat my mom's cooking though. Too many good foods---and none of them chemical, as the smells above, to mention.
 
€2,-/day will present your project to thousands of visitors each day. All interested in the Camino de Santiago.
Since it is the off season (for most of us) and we are coming up with items for discussion, here is one to consider.

Do you have an item that you know weighs too much, and that you shouldn’t put in your backpack, but you bring it anyway?

I’ll go first. Six bars of Dove soap. Why? I only brought one on my first camino, knowing that I could buy a bar of soap in a market. Given that I use the bar soap for not only personal use, but also for washing my clothes, my clothes began to take on the scent from the soap I had purchased. For me it’s worth the weight to not pull on my shirt and have it smell heavily like scented soap.

I also bring unscented deodorant for the same reason.

One positive thing. My pack gets lighter the closer I get to Santiago.

I had a very hard day on the CF on about day seven, and bought a pair of Teva sandals to wear, as my feet swelled terribly and I did not want to hike in my Crocs. I carried them the rest of the trip, as I had already shipped a sleeping bag to SdC and was just a tad concerned that I would need the Tevas at some point. I never did.

Owing to the size of my feet :( I am sure that the Tevas added at least a kilo of weight!
 
Will keep a lookout for this, t2andreo. Any tienda or is it a pharmacia thing?

No, it is sold in nearly every supermercado I have been in when in Spain, all along the Camino Frances. Some mid-sized tiendas may carry it. It comes in three-bar packs. There are two size bars: 115 gm (4 oz) and 150 gm (5.3 oz). Someone told me a few years back that this is the "Ivory Soap" of Spain. Evidently, it is universally popular among Spaniards, or so I am given to understand.

When walking, I buy the smaller size, to shave weight. Once I arrive, I try to buy the larger bars to bring home, as they are cheaper per gram/oz. However, based on the total weight of a three-bar pack, you save 115 gm by going with the smaller bar package. I find that one bar lasts a good week. So, the "sin" penalty is only the weight of the two bars, beyond the one in my soap box. Once in the soap box, the weight does not count...;)

I LOVE the smell. It works well too on my olive complexion...o_O

I hope this helps.
 
A selection of Camino Jewellery
Will keep a lookout for this, t2andreo. Any tienda or is it a pharmacia thing?
It's probably sold enven on the tiniest of villages. It's the brand Iberia used back in the day when airlines had little soaps in the washrooms. I can still see the soggy packaging being left around the sink by passengers. There was a layer of thin cardboard and the the paper. The other classical Spanish scent is the baby cologne by Puig. Bought by the liter and splahed on evey child's head. Lemony and fresh.
 
Except you had to buy the expensive stove, yes? o_O
But a fine idea. For those of us on a budget, an immersion heater plus a plastic cone and filters would be a much cheaper (and probably lighter) way of doing the same thing.

Hi, Viranani,
I always walk with an immersion coil, as I frequently blather on about, but on my Levante in 2014 I walked with two French guys who had a jet boil. That meant that promptly at 10 am, no matter where we were, we took off our packs and sat down to a proper little cup of coffee. Since I had the coil, we could boil water at the albergue/hostal without using gas, and that kept them from having to find more replacement gas so often. That's the one challenge of something like a jet boil -- on the Levante, the only place they found it was in Toledo, out of town in the Decathlon.
 
The 2024 Camino guides will be coming out little by little. Here is a collection of the ones that are out so far.
And no warm leche either ... And you then pass on thr opportunity to go to the loo. I am happy to support the local economy with my cafe con leche, and keep the trails free of TP :rolleyes:

I am happy to do that too, but what I am not happy to do is to start walking only to learn that there is nothing open in town and the first place with coffee will be 20 or more km away. ;) So for me it's worth its weight in gold. Not a problem on the frances, norte, etc, of course, but I wouldn't walk the Levante, Olvidado, Invierno, etc without it! I get too cranky if I don't have my early morning coffee.
 
The jetboil is an amazing thing. It is so fast, so fuel efficient, so convenient. If you have used other camp stoves, you might re-calibrate your ideas about them, this one is a quantum leap forward. We bring it out for a hot drink kayaking all the time.

I wouldn't bring one on the Camino, as I leap out of a bed fully energized and ready to go, while all the coffee fiends sulk around trying to get their chemicals balanced. But I can see the appeal of a jetboil.
 
Do you have an item that you know weighs too much, and that you shouldn’t put in your backpack, but you bring it anyway?

I have packed a kite. But it is light: about 50 grams, including the plastic handle.

And a tent: with sleeping pad and stakes this is about 800 grams. The stakes mean I have to check my bag in at airports. My explanation is two fold. First I notice the gite d'etape are a bit further apart on the lower reaches of the GR 65, so I have camping options. And I plan to do the West Highland Way in Scotland and Thames Path in England next northern season also: backpacker hostels are almost unknown here, as in many other parts of the UK.
 
The one from Galicia (the round) and the one from Castilla & Leon. Individually numbered and made by the same people that make the ones you see on your walk.
I, too, love the kite! What a wonderful way to lift the spirits of everyone around. I can just see it dancing along the path, high overhead.

One of the advantages of living in Wellington, Aotearoa New Zealand, is the frequency of winds fast enough to lift even a very lightweight kite.
 
Down bag (90/10 duvet) of 700 fills with 180 g (6.34 ounces) of filling. Mummy-shaped structure, ideal when you are looking for lightness with great heating performance.

€149,-
Why waste all that glorious wind on the meseta.

Do I see the genesis of an opportunity to design and provide portable, lightweight, turbine generators to put on top of your pack to recharge gadgets whilst trudging the meseta for seven or so days?

Your could hire them at Burgos and give them back at Leon.

Now, is that eccentric, or is it just Heath Robinson?
 
Why waste all that glorious wind on the meseta......and you can fly it while you walk!

Icacos, do you know the prevailing direction of the wind on the meseta?

If from the east, then not a problem, as the kite will be before me as I trudge westwards. It might even pull me along!!! (dreams are free)

Although if my gaze is skywards I may not see any "lumps and bumps" on the pathway ahead.
 
St James' Way - Self-guided 4-7 day Walking Packages, Reading to Southampton, 110 kms
Since it is the off season (for most of us) and we are coming up with items for discussion, here is one to consider.

Do you have an item that you know weighs too much, and that you shouldn’t put in your backpack, but you bring it anyway?

I’ll go first. Six bars of Dove soap. Why? I only brought one on my first camino, knowing that I could buy a bar of soap in a market. Given that I use the bar soap for not only personal use, but also for washing my clothes, my clothes began to take on the scent from the soap I had purchased. For me it’s worth the weight to not pull on my shirt and have it smell heavily like scented soap.

I also bring unscented deodorant for the same reason.

One positive thing. My pack gets lighter the closer I get to Santiago.
Umbrella I don't leave home with one but end up with one
 
My one luxury item:

Electric toothbrush - Bare with me a second: I would never haul this item up a mountain because it does weigh a bit more. But, I’m used to an electric toothbrush at home and planning to be on the Camino several weeks made me consider the luxury. The one I use is really light at just over an ounce (28 grams) and uses one AAA battery that lasts for weeks on end.
You could get that electric toothbrush down to a couple grams if you cut the handle short . . . ;)
 
389 grams. Santa is throwing one down the chiminee for me this year, with the silver reflector. Can't wait to try it.
Santa decided I needed the Euroschrim Telescoping Trekking umbrella nefor Christmas and it was given to me today for my bday. It's the one with the silver outside, black inside, so for use against the sun and heat as well as rain. Super solid, great quality (German after all!) and verysimple mechanisms to keep it open or collapse ot so it will not break easily. And it is huge! It comes with a little nylon bag to hold the clips that go on the backpack.

Santiago, can't wait to head out your way!
 
A selection of Camino Jewellery
I need orthotics in my hiking boots, and even my spare shoes need to have decent support, but my oversized feet don't allow for many options. Hence a big hefty pair of Birkenstock sandals. They take up a lot of space and they are rather heavy but I can't imagine how bad my feet and legs would feel without them to change into!
 
Can you put up a link to this tent, pretty please? Thanks y Buen Camino, SY

http://www.zpacks.com/shelter/hexamidtwin.shtml

I bought the physically attached bug screen with the separate Twin Poncho groundsheet. They come in a stuff bag.
The stakes and two poles also came with separate stuff bags. I have combined them into one so they are not loose.

I keep the Poncho/ground sheet (which also acts as an all in one pack cover with a peaked hood) folded in the outside pocket on the back (front?) of my pack.

The sleeping mat is a "TMN06645 / Therm-A-Rest NeoAir XLite Small Mattress / Radiant Yellow" sourced locally.

The stakes come in their own stuff bag.

For packing I fold the tent into the width I need for the stuff bag. The place the mattress on top of that and the stakes/poles in their bag to start the roll up. It is relatively bulky despite the light weight.

As the difference in base weights between the single and twin was not much I opted for the larger to give me room to have my pack fully inside.

I researched alternatives and could not find any that approached this lightness. As it is a backup option I chose lightness.

Hope that helps you.
 
A selection of Camino Jewellery
Can you ... ? Thanks y Buen Camino, SY

Still on the topic of "you know it's too heavy ..."

I have read a well known published author write, in relation to towels/sarongs/pareo etc: "a piece of cotton 2m x 1m will weigh about 100 grams". I calculate this as 50 gsm (grams per square metre).

Look as I might, both locally and in our largest city, the lightest cotton I can find is 100 gsm and is described as "poplin". Can you please advise the name/description I should use to get down to half that weight. Assuming I have correctly recalled my reading.
 
The focus is on reducing the risk of failure through being well prepared. 2nd ed.
Still on the topic of "you know it's too heavy ..." I have read a well known published author write, in relation to towels/sarongs/pareo etc: "a piece of cotton 2m x 1m will weigh about 100 grams". I calculate this as 50 gsm (grams per square metre). Look as I might, both locally and in our largest city, the lightest cotton I can find is 100 gsm and is described as "poplin". Can you please advise the name/description I should use to get down to half that weight. Assuming I have correctly recalled my reading.

You did, but the bad message is that I bought this Sarong around 20 years ago, still working fine btw and I have no idea of the brand and even no memory (getting old here) where I bought it exactly. I picked it up on one of my travels. I would have a look at Asian/Ethnic flea markets/stores, they tend to have similar ones. Sorry, SY
And yes, it is just under 100g, I checked it on the balance.
 
You did, but the bad message is that I bought this Sarong around 20 years ago, still working fine btw and I have no idea of the brand and even no memory (getting old here) where I bought it exactly. I picked it up on one of my travels. I would have a look at Asian/Ethnic flea markets/stores, they tend to have similar ones. Sorry, SY
And yes, it is just under 100g, I checked it on the balance.

Washing will have removed the finishing products and made it more pliant. And wear will have reduced it somewhat as well.

I am taking a short sleeve button up cotton shirt I bought near 30 years ago (for dressing up to dine at the Parador!!!). It is lighter than my other lightweight tops for much the same reason.

When in Auckland last week I was near the city centre and could not find the time from my course to go south to where the Polynesian/Asian fabric shops are.

Thanks for a prompt reply.
 
Alwyn, I have a cotton shawl that I got in India that's very light. I don't weigh things so I don't know, but probably around that weight. So check out TradeAid perhaps?
 
Very light, comfortable and compressible poncho. Specially designed for protection against water for any activity.

Our Atmospheric H30 poncho offers lightness and waterproofness. Easily compressible and made with our Waterproof fabric, its heat-sealed interior seams guarantee its waterproofness. Includes carrying bag.

€60,-
Yikes, I just checked for the Jet Boil system mentioned above. Here is the REI (US) link:

http://www.rei.com/product/791308/jetboil-flash-cooking-system

It weighs 15.25 ounces! That's like ONE POUND, or about .5 kilos - without the fuel can I am sure. IMHO, that is simply too great a weight penalty to ever carry on Camino. I would recommend either an electric coil, or my solution...

I must use protein powder each day 3x to supplement my diet - I have a bariatric lap band on my stomach. To start my day, I mix my "start up" protein in the hottest tap water available wherever I am staying and add one tube of instant coffee (Nescafe, Folgers, Starbucks, etc.). The water goes into a .5 liter plastic mineral / spring water bottle. Shake it, and I have a warm mocha to start my morning. That jump starts me and is adequate to get me to my first cup of fabulous Spanish coffee - solo.

In a related vein, I continue to find humorous the oft-stated claim that an item "weighs almost nothing." Those of use who are repeat Camino pilgrims can recount multiple instances over the years where pilgrims, including ourselves, are toting rucksacks full of individual items that each "weigh virtually nothing." However, somehow, those items, when stuffed into a rucksack, all of a sudden weigh 13 - 15 kilos...

Yikes! I remain perplexed by this new law of physics...How does this happen?

I hope this contributes to the dialog.
 
Yikes! I remain perplexed by this new law of physics...How does this happen?
It's the same thing that causes back accounts to bounce when they're 'just' used to buy a daily paper and cappuchino at S*******s.
A lot of a little is a lot.
Fortunately that's not all bad: the same process applies to footsteps. After a few thousand of them we get to Santiago!
 
New Original Camino Gear Designed Especially with The Modern Peregrino In Mind!
Can you put up a link to this tent, pretty please? Thanks y Buen Camino, SY

Sybilla:

I just checked out the ZPacks tent. It is a LOT of value for the money. The low weight of the all-in package is phenomenal. Hut, the cost of shipping one to the EU and paying the VAT on arrival would be daunting.

The easiest and cheapest way for you to obtain one and save about €150, or more, is to ask a forum member or another friend to bring one over as a "gift" in their checked baggage in the future. You pay for it online and have it shipped to the person's US address.

They bring it over to the EU, and mail it from the first EU post office, direct to your home. I have done this for friends living in several EU countries. I also use the procedure to mail ahead, supply cache packages for my Caminos. I tote them to Europe then mail them from my first destination, usually Paris, Brussels, or Madrid.

If I knew when I was returning to Europe, for Camino, or any other reason, I would gladly do this. But, I will not know my plans until late January. Stay in touch. Take this to a PM if you are interested. I know a fellow forum member who is returning to Spain in April, even if it is not me, though I hope it is. My heart is there, always, but my brain is here...sigh...

I hope this helps.
 
Thanks @t2andreo ! At the moment I am not planing a Camino/hike that requires a tent, but after the VdP in Spring - who knows ... the West Higland Way in Scotland looks tempting ... Will bear your offer in mind. And yes, I do agree, that tent looks stunning! Buen Camino, SY
 
I haven't walked yet but I will be walking Jan-Feb 2016 and I need to bring my small laptop computer. Why? Because while the Camino is meant to be about getting out and leaving life behind, I get paid to work 16 hours a week from wherever I am and those 2 days a week pay for me to keep traveling. So I better bring it and sneak out a couple of hours work every day. Besides, I heard the albergues can be lonely and quiet in winter (if they are open at all) so I might have a little time to spare at night.
 
A selection of Camino Jewellery
I haven't walked yet but I will be walking Jan-Feb 2016 and I need to bring my small laptop computer. Why? Because while the Camino is meant to be about getting out and leaving life behind, I get paid to work 16 hours a week from wherever I am and those 2 days a week pay for me to keep traveling. So I better bring it and sneak out a couple of hours work every day. Besides, I heard the albergues can be lonely and quiet in winter (if they are open at all) so I might have a little time to spare at night.

Shame but...fair enough! Buen camino :)
 
Ya gotta do what ya gotta do!!!

Buen Camino!!
 
Not so eccentric that my level headed wife, when we first met, found flying a kite in the air outside as an attractive point in my favour. :)
Flying a kite while actually walking might be a bit eccentric. Flying a kite during one's downtime, whether on the Camino or not, is.....yes, I think...........rather endearing. :)
Do I see the genesis of an opportunity to design and provide portable, lightweight, turbine generators to put on top of your pack to recharge gadgets whilst trudging the meseta for seven or so days?

Your could hire them at Burgos and give them back at Leon.

Now, is that eccentric, or is it just Heath Robinson?
Oh, no! :confused::confused: The thought alone would completely detract from anyone's experience of the Camino. :D Heath Robinson is all well and good, but not on the Camino! :D:D
.......do you know the prevailing direction of the wind on the meseta?

If from the east, then not a problem, as the kite will be before me as I trudge westwards. It might even pull me along!!! (dreams are free)
No, I don't know the prevailing direction of the meseta wind; I thought with the wide open space it wouldn't matter. I didn't consider, if the wind is from the west, the 'drag' factor. My mistake. :D
Although if my gaze is skywards I may not see any "lumps and bumps" on the pathway ahead.
Why would your gaze be 'skywards'? You're eccentric, aren't you? ;)
 
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Still on the topic of "you know it's too heavy ..."

I have read a well known published author write, in relation to towels/sarongs/pareo etc: "a piece of cotton 2m x 1m will weigh about 100 grams". I calculate this as 50 gsm (grams per square metre).

Look as I might, both locally and in our largest city, the lightest cotton I can find is 100 gsm and is described as "poplin". Can you please advise the name/description I should use to get down to half that weight. Assuming I have correctly recalled my reading.
I'm on the fence about bringing my sarong. My lightest one is 209g, but I have a 46" scarf that comes in at 160g. Couldn't find anything lighter that would actually conceal anything.....
 
I love to cook and to entertain, but often find albergue kitchens to lack basics (or they're already in use). Therefore, I'm taking a portable kitchen (right at 16 oz) to supplement the most common shortfalls that I experienced at albergue kitchens. It includes a 6" ceramic chef's knife with edge guard, a flexible cutting board, an 18 oz titanium mug with measurement marks, a spork, a G.I. can opener, a corkscrew/church key, a turner, a cooking spoon, various freshly dried herbs and spices, a water coil, and a small bottle of chili sauce (habanera/ghost).

I'm also taking about an 8 oz set of pipe tobacco, pipes, and paraphernalia.

I'm also bringing a third set of clothes (pack two, wear one). This allows me to wash only every second to third day with a full load, which really opens up time in the afternoons for relaxation, exploration, pipe smoking, cooking, entertaining, listen to ukulele players, etc.

Even with all of this, I'm still under 15 lbs total pack weight (without drilling holes in my toothbrush or cutting tags out of my clothes).
 
St James' Way - Self-guided 4-7 day Walking Packages, Reading to Southampton, 110 kms
I love to cook and to entertain, but often find albergue kitchens to lack basics (or they're already in use). Therefore, I'm taking a portable kitchen (right at 16 oz) to supplement the most common shortfalls that I experienced at albergue kitchens. It includes a 6" ceramic chef's knife with edge guard, a flexible cutting board, an 18 oz titanium mug with measurement marks, a spork, a G.I. can opener, a corkscrew/church key, a turner, a cooking spoon, various freshly dried herbs and spices, a water coil, and a small bottle of chili sauce (habanera/ghost).

I'm also taking about an 8 oz set of pipe tobacco, pipes, and paraphernalia.

I'm also bringing a third set of clothes (pack two, wear one). This allows me to wash only every second to third day with a full load, which really opens up time in the afternoons for relaxation, exploration, pipe smoking, cooking, entertaining, listen to ukulele players, etc.

Even with all of this, I'm still under 15 lbs total pack weight (without drilling holes in my toothbrush or cutting tags out of my clothes).
Amazing!
 
Mostly I know exactly what I need compared to what I want because I practice a lot with my gear (I backpack regularly in the Colorado Rockies). I'm ruthlessly minimalist and multi-use, and I've invested in specific gear with an eye to reducing weight. In full disclosure, I'm at 14 lbs 15.7 oz, without food and water, so a butterfly landing on my pack puts me over the 15 lb mark.

Of course, my wife points out that, if I were truly committed to ultralight backpacking, it would be cheaper and more effective to lose my spare tire . . . :eek:
 
I didn't bring them with me to Spain but over the VDLP I acquired 3 snowglobes (Merida, Salamanca and Santiago) for my daughter's collection. I carried them all the way because I could never find a post office open when I wanted them and by the end I didn't care.
 
€2,-/day will present your project to thousands of visitors each day. All interested in the Camino de Santiago.
Hi, Viranani,
I always walk with an immersion coil, as I frequently blather on about, but on my Levante in 2014 I walked with two French guys who had a jet boil. That meant that promptly at 10 am, no matter where we were, we took off our packs and sat down to a proper little cup of coffee. Since I had the coil, we could boil water at the albergue/hostal without using gas, and that kept them from having to find more replacement gas so often. That's the one challenge of something like a jet boil -- on the Levante, the only place they found it was in Toledo, out of town in the Decathlon.

I looked on amazon to find a new immersion coil and there are so many of them. The only one with good reviews appears to be too large to put into a regular sized coffee cup.
Do you know the brand of coil you are using now? I'm researching the threads, but thought you might answer quicker. You mention one purchased from a Spanish shop, but the link does not lead to the coil.
 
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Hi, Annie,
This is the one I bought, at least you can see some of it in this old picture, but Magellan's doesn't sell it anymore, unfortunately. I'll hunt around a bit, though and let you know what I find. L.

p.s. There are tons online, as you know. Walmart, Bed Bath and Beyond. I think the bad reviews may come from people who do't know that you can never plug it in or unplug it unless it is immersed in the liquid or it will short out.

Also if the complaint is over the time it takes to heat, you will find that in Spain because the watts or volts or whatever are higher, it heats a cup very quickly. I think you just have to make sure about being able to use it in the 220 V (???) system. And you will have to tape an adapter plug onto the end (at least that's what I do, otherwise I lose a few each year).
 
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Also have a look at the airport travel shops, they carry them frequently. SY
 
I love to cook and to entertain, but often find albergue kitchens to lack basics (or they're already in use). Therefore, I'm taking a portable kitchen (right at 16 oz) to supplement the most common shortfalls that I experienced at albergue kitchens. It includes a 6" ceramic chef's knife with edge guard, a flexible cutting board, an 18 oz titanium mug with measurement marks, a spork, a G.I. can opener, a corkscrew/church key, a turner, a cooking spoon, various freshly dried herbs and spices, a water coil, and a small bottle of chili sauce (habanera/ghost).

I'm also taking about an 8 oz set of pipe tobacco, pipes, and paraphernalia.

I'm also bringing a third set of clothes (pack two, wear one). This allows me to wash only every second to third day with a full load, which really opens up time in the afternoons for relaxation, exploration, pipe smoking, cooking, entertaining, listen to ukulele players, etc.

Even with all of this, I'm still under 15 lbs total pack weight (without drilling holes in my toothbrush or cutting tags out of my clothes).
Very good did you give up underclothes & soap, shaving, & sleeping bag? Or just the sleeping bag?
 
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Very good did you give up underclothes & soap, shaving, & sleeping bag? Or just the sleeping bag?
Nope.
  • I use a very light synthetic sleeping quilt (DIY at <500g including waterproof stuffsack). It's still reasonably warm, and with clothes and jacket, I can get down pretty cold without major discomfort. (But I also like to sleep cold, so that helps.)
  • I only need a little high-lather shampoo since what little hair I have left is clipped very close clipped (1/8"). This also doubles for body soap for pits and groin.
  • I don't shave, but do visit the barber for beard and hair after about 3-4 weeks growth.
  • I use a 16x16 Rayon "shammy" for my towel (32 grams). It ain't sexy or luxurious, but it works and wrings out almost completely dry.
  • I pay a little extra for laundry soap packets at the albergues and use washing machines, so nothing to carry except a light nylon web "laundry" sack.
  • I use a DIY top sheet made of permethrin-treated Tyvek fabric (I include grommets so I can use it as water resistant tarp tent in case I have to sleep out "go to ground". At 128 grams, it's a fraction of the weight of a standard cotton sheet.
  • I don't bring a headlamp, just a small Photon light.
  • I don't carry much sunscreen because I use a lightweight long sleeve backpacking shirt, long (zip-off) pants, a brimmed hat (Tilley for you aficionados who like outwear that an elephant can eat and pass, you know who you are) and/or a lightweight backpacking umbrella.
  • No waterproof jackets or pants or ponchos.
  • Other than my luxury 4 oz ceramic chef's knife, I only carry a 16 gram mini "Swiss army" pocket knife.
  • My pack is an Osprey Talon at 840 grams (29.6 oz), plus a 113 gram (4 oz) rain cover. There are some high-tech packs (e.g. ZPacks) that could help me drop a full pound of weight, but I'm content (for now).
  • I only carry basic water/soda bottles; no bladders or straws or tubes.
  • I carry a home-made, sub-6 oz first aid/survival kit that I think is prudent but not overdone.
  • No books; just Kindle app on my smart phone.
The point is minimalism, knowledge of my gear, and awareness of my abilities and limits, all learned through trial and error and observation of others.
 
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I looked on amazon to find a new immersion coil and there are so many of them. The only one with good reviews appears to be too large to put into a regular sized coffee cup.
This is the [/B] I bought a couple of years ago on Amazon. It's worked well on my international travels, although I know there are a number of bad reviews. You have to make sure you don't plug it in until it's in the water and then unplug before you remove. Or else it will fry itself.
 
€2,-/day will present your project to thousands of visitors each day. All interested in the Camino de Santiago.
Not so much something we packed, but traveling with a 13 month old, shopkeepers and perigrinos kept giving us stuffed animals, and then knicknacks for the baby pack. The first few times we were touched, and put the knicknacks on the pack. But that only inspired more gifts. It didn't feel right to discard of them, but good gosh it was a lot of stuff. In 500 miles we were gifted a whole lotta stuff. You can see a good bit of the bling in this picture taken as we walked back in to town from Fisterre. But that doesn't include his miniature walking stick (gifted in O'Cebreiro) or any of the stuffed animals (a dog in Estella, a santa bear in Fromista, and some kind of pilgrim doll in Galicia)

9327154583_3eb20bb67a_z.jpg
 
like Jimabfalter I like to have a coffee whenever I feel like it- so i take an espresso pot when cycling (have cooker onboard already) but managed to talk my husband into buying me a Handpresso (like a bike pump) as it is much lighter for walking. Obviously the daily bottle of vino tinto has to be carried from last town to camping spot - or to albergue... (I haven't travelled the Frances - so can only imagine the luxury of albergues every day!) A seed-sprouter (small, plastic) as otherwise I feel like I've got scurvy...
If I could shift the spare tyres around my middle - i'm sure I could take even more in my rucksack/saddlebags!
 
My planned indulgence is a small ukulele to entertain myself and annoy others :rolleyes:. It weighs 396g. I figure if it's a mistake, I can gift it to someone along the way. Nothing ventured ~ something lost.

That uke sounds well worth the grammage. Now if you were talking about an accordion . . . . . . .
 
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That uke sounds well worth the grammage. Now if you were talking about an accordion . . . . . . .
Thanks. I know I'll enjoy it, hope others do too. I'm loading as much well-known sing-along music as I can onto a light tablet (265g). The tablet weighs less than the guidebooks (e.g. Brierley guide is 282g), so I figure it's a good way to go.
 
A bottle of hot chilli sauce. Me and my sauce made a lot of friends! I also carried a Eroschirm hiking brolly, but that was indispensable, I am an English gentleman afterall!
 
Do I see the genesis of an opportunity to design and provide portable, lightweight, turbine generators to put on top of your pack to recharge gadgets whilst trudging the meseta for seven or so days?

Your could hire them at Burgos and give them back at Leon.

Now, is that eccentric, or is it just Heath Robinson?
There are very light weight solar panels that already exist and are being carrid by many. Saw my first in 2012. Many brands and models on Amazon.
 
The focus is on reducing the risk of failure through being well prepared. 2nd ed.
Not so much something we packed, but traveling with a 13 month old, shopkeepers and perigrinos kept giving us stuffed animals, and then knicknacks for the baby pack. The first few times we were touched, and put the knicknacks on the pack. But that only inspired more gifts. It didn't feel right to discard of them, but good gosh it was a lot of stuff. In 500 miles we were gifted a whole lotta stuff. You can see a good bit of the bling in this picture taken as we walked back in to town from Fisterre. But that doesn't include his miniature walking stick (gifted in O'Cebreiro) or any of the stuffed animals (a dog in Estella, a santa bear in Fromista, and some kind of pilgrim doll in Galicia)

9327154583_3eb20bb67a_z.jpg
Kepa! Such a cheerful and inquisitive baby. Just loved his big blue eyes. Great photo!
 
Wouldn't have subjected him to the Camino (or perigrinos to him) if he hadn't been!


How have you been doing? Think of you often!
Wondering where to walk next! Have been thinking of the portugese, but then I could do the Salvador and do the Primitivo again, or discover the Invierno, add Fisterra and Muxia. You know, just typical Camino addict daily challenges :eek:

BTW, not a single peregrino was subjected to Kepa, and by the smile on hos face whenwvwe I saw the 4 of you I doubt je felt anyone had subjected him to anything bit a whole lot if fun!

Ok, what did I carry that I could have left home? A hanging toilettry back with about a dozen transparent zippered pockets. It's a good 14X30 inches when open, but I just love having all those items readily available: meds in this tiny pocket, blister stuff in the other, sewing kit next to them, etc. Noone ever had to put up with me making noise searching through my backpack at all hours. Loved it! I have now downsized to the Eaglepack hanging toilettry back. Not transparent and few compartments, but I also bring less stuff.
 
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In Leon, I saw a lead crystal block with the cathedral etched inside it. I bought it for my architect husband who was back home. My son kept telling me I was crazy. Yes, I carried a 1.2 pound hunk of lead from Leon to Santiago, and then home. This, after I swore I'd never buy anything heavy again having hiked for days in Southern Africa with a bottle of south african wine, and two stone sculptures I bought in Zimbabwe. --
 

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