I’ve left home a little after noon. Walked to the airport. In the “truest” possible tradition of pilgrimages, I started from where I live and plan to walk something like 2,300 kms. (I have to attend to a couple of things, but will return to, and resume at the end of the month, out of Paris airport).
I am, at last, almost free of the ultra light obsession. In preparing for this, I’ve learned about cuben and exquisite things made of titanium. Minimized my base weight and my wallet at the same time. Now that I no longer feel the urge to google ultralight [some gear], I want to share a few things that I have learned and may not be totally obvious when you start thinking about “less is better”.
I see two major and philosophically different driving forces. One emphasizes “fewer and simpler things”. Walking the camino is an occasion to focus on what really matters. And things do not. The other is pragmatic and underscores the fact that unless I rely on a luggage transfer service, everything I am going to use will travel with me, on my shoulders. Both motives make sense, but as always, there are trade-offs.
Cutting to the chase, here are my metrics.
10,869 grams: Total Out of Skin (i.e. the pile of stuff I start with, naked)
-1,457 grams: Worn
9,412 grams: Packed (i.e. on my shoulders)
-3,376 grams: Consumables (i.e. things that will not be there forever. Like fuel and food)
6,036 grams: Base weight (i.e. what will be carried all the way)
To put these numbers in perspective, Backpacking Light (2001) compares the weight carried by traditional/light/ultra-light backpackers. Those loads were 24.8/17.3/10kg respectively. The base weights were 14.5/9.13/4.13kg. Another arguably useful benchmark is 16kg (35 pounds) – this is the weight that US postal workers are required to be able to carry on a daily basis. I was happy to see that I’ll carry significantly less than a regulation postal worker, and even marginally less than an ultra light backpacker. But to be honest, less would be better.
Now with the list of “systems”, inspired by Jo Jo’s excellent post. Items in bold are counted in the base weight. Items in blue are consumables.
1. Sleeping (1,494g). The lightest system is hostels/albergues all the way. But costs do add up. I am looking at 100+ nights, 65/35 France/Spain. I would peg the average cost of French accommodations at 35 euros per night, 10 in Spain, for a total of 2,625 euros, vs 500 for a mixture of bivouacs and campgrounds. Bivouacs provide more flexibility (no reservation, no set stages), less anxiety (will there be places left, pre-dawn bed runs) and intimacy (dorms can be quite something). Would not change a thing to the following.
a. 123g: Silk liner. So I will not have to wash my sleeping bag.
b. 216g: Sleeping pad. Inflatable. Rolls to the size of a soda can. Makes it possible to stow in the backpack, protected from rain.
c. 427g: Sleeping bag. Down. Stuffed in a dry bag, stowed in a water resistant compartment of my backpack.
d. 728g: 2-person tent. Uses trekking poles. Latched to the backpack where you’d normally expect to see a rolled pad. Makes it possible to make/break camp in a downpour as the tent goes up/or down with the backpack protected by its rain cover.
2. Cooking (1,020g). Same logic. Eating in restaurants would probably average 25 euros a day, vs about 8 euros a day relying on supermarkets. That means potential savings of 1,700 euros. In addition, self-reliance means a hot coffee first thing in the morning and a tea at night. Not so clear wrt dinner, though – restaurants have their advantages. We’ll see…
a. 128g: Kettle .65L. Titanium
b. 62g: Solid fuel stove. I love this system. A single 4g fuel tablet is enough to heat a cup of water to a near boil.
c. 480g: One month worth of solid fuel
d. 32g: Storage container. A repurposed small can of Kusmi tea. Fuel comes in sealed packs of 20x4g tablets. Tablets tend to crumble over time if left in the original box.
e. 14g: Mixing container. An old pillbox used to mix water and powdered milk. Prevents lumps in the coffee... (Actually, a vigorous shaking and the coffee looks like a true latte)
f. 5g: Tea sock. Cotton. To make infusions.
g. 17g: Folding spoon. Titanium. Sure sign that someone got ultralight crazy. Rationalized by the fact that the folded spoon will fit inside the kettle for storage, while a cheap plastic won’t.
h. 12g: Folding fork. Same (ir)rationale.
i. 43g: Swiss army knife “waiter”. A blade, a corkscrew and a bottle and can opener.
j. 16g: Sponge. Scrubber.
k. 16g: Disposable Towel. Viscose, similar to a J-cloth but packed as ridiculously small pellets hard as wood. Worth it just for the show.
l. 5g: Stuff sack. Made to fit the kettle, which holds everything in a minuscule volume.
m. 190g: Water reservoir and tube. If I had known that hands-free tubes could fit bottles, I would have opted for that system instead. Hopefully, not too much regret in store.
n. 12g: Mini Bic lighter. Forgot to include it in the original post. I'll update totals next Fall
3. Food (2,417g). The plan is to always pack three full meals or more (In France, nothing is open on Sundays).
a. 60g: Tea. Probably a month supply.
b. 170g: Coffee. Starbucks VIA singles. Probably twice as much packaging as coffee, but I see no other decent alternative. Should last about a month.
c. 272g: Powdered milk. To put in the coffee. Might last the whole trip. Stored in a tin can.
d. 300g: Trail mix. Ex: Almonds and raisins. Stored in a tin can at night to protect from our small fury friends, portions carried in stuff sack during the day.
e. 600g: Various food items. Adding up to 3+ meals. (Breakfast, lunch and dinner). I'll have to ask how the locals deal with bears
f. 15g: Dry bag. An additional barrier to keep the smell to a minimum.
g. 1,000g: Water. Will see how things go. 500ml is probably more than enough.
4. Clothing (2,563g). Run of the mill multi-layered system. Difficult choice between a light fleece (350g) vs two long sleeve Ts. I ended carrying a merino and a tech LST.
a. 240g: Three underwear. Black polyester boxer briefs if you want to know.
b. 40g: Two pairs of low cut socks. I’d bet one pair is enough.
c. 294g: Two short sleeve Ts. Base or single layer, depending on what feels right.
d. 200g: Long sleeve mid layer. A zippered T of waffle-like fabric. Extremely effective.
e. 198g: Long sleeve merino. Love it.
f. 270g: Long sleeve white linen shirt. To wear when it gets hot and sunny. Protects from the sun. Natural fibre dries very quickly, so wash every night. Wear in Spain, were modest dress is the norm. Wear in Spain, to protect from the sun. Wear most of the time, weather permitting, because I don’t want to give the impression that this is a sporting event. Impression on me as well as on others. May be superficial, maybe not.
g. 205g: Hiking shorts. One pair. Dries very very fast. Double as swimming trunk.
h. 287g: Long pants. Recycled polyester “yoga pants”.
i. 10g: Two stuff sacks. One for base layer, one for mid layer items.
j. 380g: Sandals. In my experience, better than trail runners or light approach shoes. Sandals can be infinitely adjusted. Dry immediately. Weight nothing. Offer limited protection and there is often that little rock or this straw that annoys for a second. Shake it out.
k. 32g: Buff. Looks cool. Feels even cooler.
l. 82g: Hat. Like a baseball cap with a removable curtain that covers the back of the head, from ear to ear. Hideous/hilarious
m. 180g: Rain jacket. I don’t like the way it feels, but it does what it is supposed to do and is remarkably compact.
n. 145g: Rain pants. Wouldn’t be surprised if they spend the whole trip in a crevice at the bottom of the backpack. Took them at the last minute. I remembered saying “never again [will I be caught without rain pants]”. That was in a large city, last Fall where I’ve been drenched in a cold deluge. I have better pants, but they weight twice as much. I know of lighter ones (70g) but the shopping spree has to stop.
5. Health (720g)
a. 107g: First aid kit. I haven’t really looked at what is in there. Bandages I suppose. Probably no axial tomography however. Living on the edge.
b. 131g: Prescription drugs
c. 35g: Two disposable towels.See above.
d. 17g: Sponge
e. 70g: 5 Action wipes. For when there is no shower but I positively need one. More wipes would probably have been a welcome luxury.
f. 38g: Toilet paper. Made for the trail…
g. 11g: Small Plastic bottle. With flip cap. Dilute some concentrated liquid soap and use as a dispenser.
h. 51g: Razor and 2 additional blades. Shaving… probably twice a week. I have to figure.
i. 16g: Scissors. Folding. Plastic handles. I’ll buy a better pair.
j. 90g: Shampoo.
k. 28g: Toothpaste.
l. 19g: Toothbrush. Folding.
m. 86g: Liquid soap. Concentrated. A backpacker's standard.
n. 16g: Solid sunscreen. Won’t use much. I prefer physical barriers (e.g. clothing) and avoiding sun 12h-16h.
o. 5g: Stuff sack
6. Electronics (778g)
a. 71g: GPS Watch. A triathlon watch purchased on a day where Amazon pricing module went crazy and offered me a 60% discount. Nothing to do with Compostela -- I was getting into distance running and wanted to train based on various metrics. Discovered fortuitously that the watch can be used to navigate a course. Tried in unfamiliar cities (ex: walking to a meeting, running a course in a distant park, etc.). FANTASTIC! Provides directions, pace (useful if you want to maintain speed), distance from start and end points, and much more if so desired, including time of day Even today, on a terrain I should be familiar with, GPS guidance prevented mistakes.
b. 296g: 7-inch tablet. I must remain somewhat connected. Work. I played with the idea of carrying an ultra light laptop (e.g. MacBook Air) but it made no sense. The tablet can do quite a lot. And the remote desktop application will save the day if need be. Holds several books that I’ll not find the time to read, I suppose. Or maybe I will…
c. 197g: Smartphone. More a backup for the tablet than anything else.
d. 126g: Powerpack. Close to 6000 mAmp I believe.
e. 63g: Wall USB charger. 3.1A output, 2 USB outlets for fast charge
f. 9g: ANT+ dongle. Required to push additional courses to the watch.
g. 16g: Drybag. Electronics are sensitive to water.
7. Miscellaneous (582g)
a. 18g: 6 Carabiners. At 3g each, I prefer carabineers to clothespins or safety pins. One secures my wallet to my pants (no money belt). Others are used in a variety of situations
b. 209g: Umbrella. For the rain. And the sun.
c. 255g: Trekking poles. Made me smile prior to considering Compostela. After reading about poles, became a reluctant convert. After using, agree that they are useful in many situations especially hilly, rocky or wet trails. They will also be used as tent poles.
d. 100g: Papers. Passport, credit cards, driver’s licence, paper money.
8. Packing (1300g+). Things are organized in smallish stuff sacks. (1) Base layer clothing + shorts; (2) mid layer clothing; (3) toiletries; (4) cookware; (5) food; (6) trash; (7) just in case. Another stuff sack is used to store trail mix. And two passport-size sacks to store cards and currency in different locations.
It makes things easy to find and the backpack easy to empty/load. It all fits in a 36L backpack with room to spare. To some extent, I regret having purchased this specific model more than six months ago. I find myself lucky to end up almost exactly where this backpack shines in terms of load and volume, but it may also be a case of self-fulfilling prophecy. Starting with a backpack and working our way in seems to be an unavoidable error, because the backpack symbolizes the walk.
---
So, that's it for my list and rationale. Will eventually comment on what has worked beyond/under expectations.
---
Preparing for Santiago de Compostela has been… how to put it… more challenging than I thought. In a good way, I think. Discovering that the simple act of walking from A to B becomes fundamentally different when B is months away.
This forum, this website, is an extraordinary source of information. Ivar is doing a heck of a job. Thanks.
I am, at last, almost free of the ultra light obsession. In preparing for this, I’ve learned about cuben and exquisite things made of titanium. Minimized my base weight and my wallet at the same time. Now that I no longer feel the urge to google ultralight [some gear], I want to share a few things that I have learned and may not be totally obvious when you start thinking about “less is better”.
I see two major and philosophically different driving forces. One emphasizes “fewer and simpler things”. Walking the camino is an occasion to focus on what really matters. And things do not. The other is pragmatic and underscores the fact that unless I rely on a luggage transfer service, everything I am going to use will travel with me, on my shoulders. Both motives make sense, but as always, there are trade-offs.
Cutting to the chase, here are my metrics.
10,869 grams: Total Out of Skin (i.e. the pile of stuff I start with, naked)
-1,457 grams: Worn
9,412 grams: Packed (i.e. on my shoulders)
-3,376 grams: Consumables (i.e. things that will not be there forever. Like fuel and food)
6,036 grams: Base weight (i.e. what will be carried all the way)
To put these numbers in perspective, Backpacking Light (2001) compares the weight carried by traditional/light/ultra-light backpackers. Those loads were 24.8/17.3/10kg respectively. The base weights were 14.5/9.13/4.13kg. Another arguably useful benchmark is 16kg (35 pounds) – this is the weight that US postal workers are required to be able to carry on a daily basis. I was happy to see that I’ll carry significantly less than a regulation postal worker, and even marginally less than an ultra light backpacker. But to be honest, less would be better.
Now with the list of “systems”, inspired by Jo Jo’s excellent post. Items in bold are counted in the base weight. Items in blue are consumables.
1. Sleeping (1,494g). The lightest system is hostels/albergues all the way. But costs do add up. I am looking at 100+ nights, 65/35 France/Spain. I would peg the average cost of French accommodations at 35 euros per night, 10 in Spain, for a total of 2,625 euros, vs 500 for a mixture of bivouacs and campgrounds. Bivouacs provide more flexibility (no reservation, no set stages), less anxiety (will there be places left, pre-dawn bed runs) and intimacy (dorms can be quite something). Would not change a thing to the following.
a. 123g: Silk liner. So I will not have to wash my sleeping bag.
b. 216g: Sleeping pad. Inflatable. Rolls to the size of a soda can. Makes it possible to stow in the backpack, protected from rain.
c. 427g: Sleeping bag. Down. Stuffed in a dry bag, stowed in a water resistant compartment of my backpack.
d. 728g: 2-person tent. Uses trekking poles. Latched to the backpack where you’d normally expect to see a rolled pad. Makes it possible to make/break camp in a downpour as the tent goes up/or down with the backpack protected by its rain cover.
2. Cooking (1,020g). Same logic. Eating in restaurants would probably average 25 euros a day, vs about 8 euros a day relying on supermarkets. That means potential savings of 1,700 euros. In addition, self-reliance means a hot coffee first thing in the morning and a tea at night. Not so clear wrt dinner, though – restaurants have their advantages. We’ll see…
a. 128g: Kettle .65L. Titanium
b. 62g: Solid fuel stove. I love this system. A single 4g fuel tablet is enough to heat a cup of water to a near boil.
c. 480g: One month worth of solid fuel
d. 32g: Storage container. A repurposed small can of Kusmi tea. Fuel comes in sealed packs of 20x4g tablets. Tablets tend to crumble over time if left in the original box.
e. 14g: Mixing container. An old pillbox used to mix water and powdered milk. Prevents lumps in the coffee... (Actually, a vigorous shaking and the coffee looks like a true latte)
f. 5g: Tea sock. Cotton. To make infusions.
g. 17g: Folding spoon. Titanium. Sure sign that someone got ultralight crazy. Rationalized by the fact that the folded spoon will fit inside the kettle for storage, while a cheap plastic won’t.
h. 12g: Folding fork. Same (ir)rationale.
i. 43g: Swiss army knife “waiter”. A blade, a corkscrew and a bottle and can opener.
j. 16g: Sponge. Scrubber.
k. 16g: Disposable Towel. Viscose, similar to a J-cloth but packed as ridiculously small pellets hard as wood. Worth it just for the show.
l. 5g: Stuff sack. Made to fit the kettle, which holds everything in a minuscule volume.
m. 190g: Water reservoir and tube. If I had known that hands-free tubes could fit bottles, I would have opted for that system instead. Hopefully, not too much regret in store.
n. 12g: Mini Bic lighter. Forgot to include it in the original post. I'll update totals next Fall
3. Food (2,417g). The plan is to always pack three full meals or more (In France, nothing is open on Sundays).
a. 60g: Tea. Probably a month supply.
b. 170g: Coffee. Starbucks VIA singles. Probably twice as much packaging as coffee, but I see no other decent alternative. Should last about a month.
c. 272g: Powdered milk. To put in the coffee. Might last the whole trip. Stored in a tin can.
d. 300g: Trail mix. Ex: Almonds and raisins. Stored in a tin can at night to protect from our small fury friends, portions carried in stuff sack during the day.
e. 600g: Various food items. Adding up to 3+ meals. (Breakfast, lunch and dinner). I'll have to ask how the locals deal with bears
f. 15g: Dry bag. An additional barrier to keep the smell to a minimum.
g. 1,000g: Water. Will see how things go. 500ml is probably more than enough.
4. Clothing (2,563g). Run of the mill multi-layered system. Difficult choice between a light fleece (350g) vs two long sleeve Ts. I ended carrying a merino and a tech LST.
a. 240g: Three underwear. Black polyester boxer briefs if you want to know.
b. 40g: Two pairs of low cut socks. I’d bet one pair is enough.
c. 294g: Two short sleeve Ts. Base or single layer, depending on what feels right.
d. 200g: Long sleeve mid layer. A zippered T of waffle-like fabric. Extremely effective.
e. 198g: Long sleeve merino. Love it.
f. 270g: Long sleeve white linen shirt. To wear when it gets hot and sunny. Protects from the sun. Natural fibre dries very quickly, so wash every night. Wear in Spain, were modest dress is the norm. Wear in Spain, to protect from the sun. Wear most of the time, weather permitting, because I don’t want to give the impression that this is a sporting event. Impression on me as well as on others. May be superficial, maybe not.
g. 205g: Hiking shorts. One pair. Dries very very fast. Double as swimming trunk.
h. 287g: Long pants. Recycled polyester “yoga pants”.
i. 10g: Two stuff sacks. One for base layer, one for mid layer items.
j. 380g: Sandals. In my experience, better than trail runners or light approach shoes. Sandals can be infinitely adjusted. Dry immediately. Weight nothing. Offer limited protection and there is often that little rock or this straw that annoys for a second. Shake it out.
k. 32g: Buff. Looks cool. Feels even cooler.
l. 82g: Hat. Like a baseball cap with a removable curtain that covers the back of the head, from ear to ear. Hideous/hilarious
m. 180g: Rain jacket. I don’t like the way it feels, but it does what it is supposed to do and is remarkably compact.
n. 145g: Rain pants. Wouldn’t be surprised if they spend the whole trip in a crevice at the bottom of the backpack. Took them at the last minute. I remembered saying “never again [will I be caught without rain pants]”. That was in a large city, last Fall where I’ve been drenched in a cold deluge. I have better pants, but they weight twice as much. I know of lighter ones (70g) but the shopping spree has to stop.
5. Health (720g)
a. 107g: First aid kit. I haven’t really looked at what is in there. Bandages I suppose. Probably no axial tomography however. Living on the edge.
b. 131g: Prescription drugs
c. 35g: Two disposable towels.See above.
d. 17g: Sponge
e. 70g: 5 Action wipes. For when there is no shower but I positively need one. More wipes would probably have been a welcome luxury.
f. 38g: Toilet paper. Made for the trail…
g. 11g: Small Plastic bottle. With flip cap. Dilute some concentrated liquid soap and use as a dispenser.
h. 51g: Razor and 2 additional blades. Shaving… probably twice a week. I have to figure.
i. 16g: Scissors. Folding. Plastic handles. I’ll buy a better pair.
j. 90g: Shampoo.
k. 28g: Toothpaste.
l. 19g: Toothbrush. Folding.
m. 86g: Liquid soap. Concentrated. A backpacker's standard.
n. 16g: Solid sunscreen. Won’t use much. I prefer physical barriers (e.g. clothing) and avoiding sun 12h-16h.
o. 5g: Stuff sack
6. Electronics (778g)
a. 71g: GPS Watch. A triathlon watch purchased on a day where Amazon pricing module went crazy and offered me a 60% discount. Nothing to do with Compostela -- I was getting into distance running and wanted to train based on various metrics. Discovered fortuitously that the watch can be used to navigate a course. Tried in unfamiliar cities (ex: walking to a meeting, running a course in a distant park, etc.). FANTASTIC! Provides directions, pace (useful if you want to maintain speed), distance from start and end points, and much more if so desired, including time of day
Even today, on a terrain I should be familiar with, GPS guidance prevented mistakes.b. 296g: 7-inch tablet. I must remain somewhat connected. Work. I played with the idea of carrying an ultra light laptop (e.g. MacBook Air) but it made no sense. The tablet can do quite a lot. And the remote desktop application will save the day if need be. Holds several books that I’ll not find the time to read, I suppose. Or maybe I will…
c. 197g: Smartphone. More a backup for the tablet than anything else.
d. 126g: Powerpack. Close to 6000 mAmp I believe.
e. 63g: Wall USB charger. 3.1A output, 2 USB outlets for fast charge
f. 9g: ANT+ dongle. Required to push additional courses to the watch.
g. 16g: Drybag. Electronics are sensitive to water.
7. Miscellaneous (582g)
a. 18g: 6 Carabiners. At 3g each, I prefer carabineers to clothespins or safety pins. One secures my wallet to my pants (no money belt). Others are used in a variety of situations
b. 209g: Umbrella. For the rain. And the sun.
c. 255g: Trekking poles. Made me smile prior to considering Compostela. After reading about poles, became a reluctant convert. After using, agree that they are useful in many situations especially hilly, rocky or wet trails. They will also be used as tent poles.
d. 100g: Papers. Passport, credit cards, driver’s licence, paper money.
8. Packing (1300g+). Things are organized in smallish stuff sacks. (1) Base layer clothing + shorts; (2) mid layer clothing; (3) toiletries; (4) cookware; (5) food; (6) trash; (7) just in case. Another stuff sack is used to store trail mix. And two passport-size sacks to store cards and currency in different locations.
It makes things easy to find and the backpack easy to empty/load. It all fits in a 36L backpack with room to spare. To some extent, I regret having purchased this specific model more than six months ago. I find myself lucky to end up almost exactly where this backpack shines in terms of load and volume, but it may also be a case of self-fulfilling prophecy. Starting with a backpack and working our way in seems to be an unavoidable error, because the backpack symbolizes the walk.
---
So, that's it for my list and rationale. Will eventually comment on what has worked beyond/under expectations.
---
Preparing for Santiago de Compostela has been… how to put it… more challenging than I thought. In a good way, I think. Discovering that the simple act of walking from A to B becomes fundamentally different when B is months away.
This forum, this website, is an extraordinary source of information. Ivar is doing a heck of a job. Thanks.
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