I’ve been trying really hard to get my gear base weight down to what would be categorized as ultralight, ie. <4.5kg or 10 lb, but for the life of me I can’t see where I can shave off any more weight to do this. There are the obvious things like doing with away with the electronics (1.1 kg) but this still leaves me with a whole other kilo to drop. Is there anything obvious you reckon I can ditch?
Anyway, here is my gear choices for the Larapinta Trail in July 2017.
Decisions factored in in my choices:
- nights in the desert are going to be cold hence taking my winter bag. I could drop 300g by taking my summer bag and wearing all my clothes to bed but I don’t really want to do that.
- I’m not taking rain pants and will be relying on a rain skirt to keep my bottom half dry. Rain pants in the desert, even in the rain, are going to be hot and clammy. A rain skirt will be much more comfortable, breathable and save on weight.
- Given that I have no rain pants for extra warmth at night, I’ve chosen to take convertable long pants in lieu of shorts alone so I have a bit more warmth at night plus swapped out my regular thermal bottoms for a heavier pair.
- I’ve opted for a tarp set up over a tent to save a bit of weight.
- An umbrella you ask? Yep, not for rain, although that will be handy, more for sun protection.
Mick Beckers 