Weight reduction – How far will you go?

[annelise]

I just found myself cutting out pages of a 'pretty' guidebook (Brierley's – glossed pages – therefore somewhat heavy) thus reducing it to half its weight (now only 150 g). Maybe I might have found another lightweigh guide, but I did not know better at the time.

It certainly went against my grain to cut up the book (being a book lover and my house is full of books). But on the other hand, the guide was too unhandy to carry in my belt pouch, so now I will carry only a few pages in the belt for ready reference for the day's walk (rest of relevant pages in my backpack).

Having now scoured (I believe) about 80 % of the threads of this whole forum, you have given me a healthy respect to beware of not carrying one ounce/gram more than I will truly need (i.e 'need to carry'; not 'nice to carry'.) – Thanks.

I believe that the gear I have bought is as lightweight as it can be (told my sons that their inheritance had now gone ) – but am still tempted to to bring the Sea-to-summit wash basin!

Any further advice on weight reduction before I am leaving on Thursday 28 of April for my first camino would be received with thanks.

I am now full of anticipatory worry

Kindest, Annelise (Denmark)

 

[annakappa]

Hi Annelise. How much do you weigh and how much does your pack weigh now? Always remember that you will be adding a few things as your go (daily supply of water plus your snack). And then sometimes you have to buy other items (usually foot related)! I always tend to pick up a few brochures along the way too. Buen Camino! Anne

 

[annelise]

Hi, Anna, - since you are asking: I weigh about 73 kg (167 cm) - so slighty - or more than slightly - overweight – but I actually did not wish to publish this - but who cares anyway? (Guess that I may be somewhat lighter after my 30 days )

Only when I have bought walking pants on Tuesday (everything is closed for Easter now) will I know the exact weigtht of my backpack, and I think it will be low. Unhappily I am somewhat prone to leave some things to the last moment. - Also have some work commitments to finish.

I cannot figure out how to attach a file to this post (current weight-list of items), but I meticulously weigh every item - as so many of you have suggested - and list the them, but the weight of major things are low:

backpack - Osprey Exos 43: 1 kg (lowest weight, I could find)
sleeping back – Western Mountaineering: 600 g (ditto)
Altus poncho: 400 (highest recommended raingear in the forum - easy to order from Madrid)

Any other item is low weight. And with regard to clothes, I have bought them with consideration to weight - and only one set to wear and another to carry – it goes against my grain, but so be it! – I will certainly be outside my comfort zone, but this could also be the reason to go on the camino – exactly the fact of getting out of your safe-zone!

Thanks, and kindest
annelise

 

[viajero]

I also cut out pages from the Brierley book. I tore out pages as I went, as well, so at the end, I really just had the cover of the book. I also love books but, I guess, I loved my comfort more. On my second Camino, I followed the advice of others and cut all of the tags out of my clothes, sleeping bag, etc. which reduced things by a few ounces.

 

[Kitsambler]

Can you make it down to 15 pounds (6.5 kilos) dry weight? Figure 1.5 liters of water and a lunch, makes 2 kilos "wet" or transient weight on top of that.

Be ruthless. Get a digital scale (baking) to weigh each item, and a digital scale (luggage) to weigh the loaded pack. I ran 5 pounds too heavy last year and it was excruciating. Do yourself a favor, leave those anxieties and the sink at home.

That being said, I did not count the contents of my pockets toward the weight limit: the two cell phones and the pocket knife.

But seriously, anything over 7 kilos you will really, really feel.

 

[jeff001]

Don't ignore the fact that every pound that you weigh adds to the load on your feet, ankles and knees. Extra body weight is equal to weight in the pack so getting rid as much excess as possible is a good idea.

 

[Sojourner47]

Being somewhat obsessed with reducing the weight carried, I agree with the other comments. I think you're on the right lines with "one set to wear, one set carried", and your pack and sleeping bag are light. One tip, from another post, take a length of muslin for a towel - lighter and quicker drying than travel towels.On the Camino Ingles recently, I carried about 3.5kg total, including water, but that did increase with food etc, though of course gets less as the day goes on.

 

[Pieces]

I am still in the planning stage, and is also obsessing about weight. My expected gear at the moment will be about 5,5 kilo + food and water, but I am still working at that.

I have done some practice walks, and 6 kilos on my back feels like nothing even for long stretches, then one day I did the groceries on the way back and went to somewhere between 7,5 & 8 kilos, and that was heavy !!

So apparently the last pound magically gives weight to the first 14 and it does make sense to obsess :lol:

 

[Sojourner47]

Just an example of the other extreme - the couple I met at Hospital da Bruma albergue had huge packs, and wore/carried their usual day to day gear, including large (cotton) bath towels!! (which probably weighed as much as my entire pack). However, they got there, and no doubt completed the C.I. (and I bet they didn't get blisters, so had the laugh on me!) :mrgreen:

 

[+@^^]

@Annelise
youre welcome to have my Sea to Summit wash basin
i dumped it somewhere between El Cubo de Tierra del Vino and Fontanillas de Castro
it morphed in "kit category" from Essential Gear to WTF Was i Thinking
.
that shaved a massive 80g off my kit weight
but along with many other Essential items i dumped along the way, i jetisoned a total of 2.5kg worth of Essentials

 

[Portia1]

The first week or so, I was so aware of my pack but after that, it didn't seem to matter. I could add nectarines, a kilo of cheese, tomatoes, etc. and I barely noticed. I think your body responds to walking and carrying a load every day. So while the beginning is the harder part, once you get going and keep going, your body adjusts. There was only one thing I did not use--my first aid kit--but I did share the contents with others. I lost my towel and ended up with a replacement that actually weighed more. I had to buy new hiking pants because the ones I started with got to be too embarassing to wear--they wanted to crawl down my body--not a good look. And the replacements were much heavier than the first but were all I could find in Leon. [I weighed them when I got home and they were almost a pound heavier!!] However my body and feet did not seem to notice. I arrived in Santiago with no blisters and with everything (albeit some replacements!) I started with.

I too removed/razored out unessential pages from Brierley (a habit from my AT days) but kept the remainder rather than tossing because I kept it as an adjunct to my journal. I noted weather, stops, where stayed/$$, time left--time arrived, incidences--all because it was easier to jot quick notes on the Brierley at specific locations. I also had the Brierley in my waist pouch so it was right there.

It is important to be as ruthless as possible at the beginning. More so because your body and more particularly your feet are not used to the daily routine. You can always add items when you find out you really need them. There were some days when I had to pull on all the clothing I had with me to keep warm and other days when I would have gladly walked with nothing on at all--the weather makes a huge difference. For me it is easier to carry my pack with great comfort when it is cool than when it is hot and humid--same pack/same weight feels very different, at least to me!! And don't even get me started about the gnats and flies when it was hot and humid--talk about making you miserable..... It was always a mystery to me that they preferred the faces of sweaty pilgrims to the piles of cow dung everywhere. But that is another issue unrelated to weight! (Although I would have given anything for a face net--2 oz).

What you feel is necessary and what you are willing to carry is so very personal. I continue to this day to be amazed by the young women in the Burgos alberque who were carrying jars of cosmetics and hairdryers.

 

[Deleted member 3000]

Poor Brierley, subject to a death of a thousand cuts!

His book of maps eliminates the verbiage that so many find irritating. Consider taking just the map book.

For short pilgrimages, photocopy the relevant pages, and discard them as you walk. You are covered by the fair use doctrine on copyright if you have purchased the book.

The cover is a major component of weight. Two-sided copies weigh less than the book, but will be less water resistant. Copy just what you need, or the entire book. You can drop one ounce every six pages as you walk, all without destroying the original.

Use your digital camera to photograph the book. Use the zoom function on the viewer to see the details. You will have reduced the weight to zero. (While you are at it, take a photo of your passport "just in case.")

 

[Sojourner47]

But be aware that if you do copy stuff on an inkjet printer, the ink will run if it rains (as it probably will),so keep the copy in a clear plastic bag....

 

[Caminando]

On the Camino Ingles recently, I carried about 3.5kg total,

SJ, your 3.5 kg is eyewateringly brilliant! Gold medal to you!

 

[Luka]

Weight is always a big issue among pilgrims. I understand why. But sometimes I get the feeling that people are exaggerating. I am still a rookie. Did a six-days-walk along the Via Monastica with about 10 kilo on my back, including water and some food (female, 1.69, 73 kilo). I know some ways to reduce the weight. My sleeping bag for example weights 1200 grams. But if I get it down to 8 kilo it would be fine for me. One gets used to carrying weight. And weight might be just as important as packing and carrying your pack the most comfortable way.

 

[Pieces]

well but 8 kilo is not really too far from 5,5 plus food and water, and in any case both are about 10% of the carriers body weight (im about 62 kilo) so there really isnt much difference in the end, obsession or not.

 

[Tia Valeria]

Left over from last year we have 12 euros in small change, it weighs in at 175+gms. While a couple of euro coins in hand are useful for a cafe con leche don't carry a purseful! I learnt that this morning when I carried them as extra weight in my rucksack where I had stashed them, so they didn't get forgotten, along with 4 tubes of Polos - another 100gms. Funny how that extra weight makes a difference especially on a hot day. Still it was equal to my extra fleece which wasn't in the pack so I am quite happy as I was thinking I had an 'up to the limit' pack and still needed to put that fleece in.
Happy packing
Tia Valeria

 

[annelise]

Small wonders never cease to happen –and miracles take time! Whether it is one or the other that did it, I have finally calculated that the weight of the pack on my back will come to only around 6300 g (In this I have excluded my walking boots. the clothes that I will be wearing plus a few minor extras which will be in pockets).

I have meticulously weighed every tiny item on an electronic kitchen scale (accuracy to 1 g) as you advised – and it is truly rather amazing how the weight of small items will add up!

I am still in doubt whether I will bringing the right things and whether I could have reduced the weight, but I have chosen to opt for the possibility that the weather in May might be cool, windy and/or rainy.

Thanks again to all of you on this forum who have contributed to my decision to actually take the plunge into the 'unknown' and for all your great advice. Will be leaving from Denmark on Thursday 28 April – please wish me luck!