If you want to achieve a goal, you must be able to make measurements of where you are at along the way.

Therefore, one of the first things to do if you want to pack light is to finding out how much the stuff you are currently packing weighs.

Having decided to do this, I needed to get some device to weigh things with. I drove over to my local Sportsmans Warehouse and bought myself a fish scale. The one I bought cost about $25.00 and will weigh fish (or packs) up to 50 pounds in weight with a readout in pounds and ounces. It is made by an outfit called Rapala, was designed in Sweden and made in China. It takes a 9 volt battery and seems to work just fine, with some care in the 0 to 2 pound range.

I also have a little 0-5 pound postal scale that reads out in tenths of ounces and agrees nicely with the fish scale. For example my impact XL flashlight weighs 6.7 ounces on the postal scale and 7 ounces on the Rapala.

The following images show the scale itself, and then the scale in use weighing my day pack, as well as the sophisticated accessory I use to weigh smaller items. The scale has a tare feature which allow you to zero it with whatever "container" you choose to use. I find I get more accurate results, especially with small light items, by adding some initial weight so the scale is reading non-zero before I weight something, and then subtracting that initial value. In other words, it seems that the Rapala has some kind of "dead zone" near the zero reading.

The following are the weights of various pieces of gear I have. Believe it or not, almost every one of these items has been hauled along at some point in time on a backpack trip.

Remember: Ounces add up to pounds, and pounds add up to pain.

• My big Dana Astralplane pack with side pockets - 6 pounds 12 ounces (108 ounces)
• My big Dana Astralplane pack w/o side pockets - 6 pounds 3 ounces (99 ounces)
• Empty Marmot Eiger 36 pack - 4 pounds 8 ounces (72 ounces)
  (this is a 2200 cubic inch pack - I measure 2178)
• New style Bomb pack - 5 pounds 4 ounces (84 ounces, the insanity!)
  (this is a 3100 cubic inch pack, more or less).
• My Jansport big beater pack - 3 pounds 2 ounces (50 ounces)
• Old style Bomb pack - 2 pounds 10 ounces (42 ounces)
  (I measure 1800 cubic inches in the main compartment).
• Gossamer Gear Miniposa without belt - 10 ounces, 2800 ci.
• Mountain Laurel Designs "Exodus" - 14 ounces, 3200 ci.

  Just a note here that I can't resist. I loved that old bomb pack. I was dismayed when I bought the new one mail order and it was a completely new and overfeatured monstrosity. Worst of all I couldn't wear it for biking without having the pack shove my head and helmet forwards. Too bad. More is not always better. I have repaired the flap zipper on the old twice and done some patching; an old classic like that is worth it. I gave the new version away - a nice pack, but not for what I had in mind.

• North Face Inferno down sleeping bag - 6 pounds 13 ounces (109 ounces, rated to -35 degrees or some such)
• Slumberjack generic fiberfill bag - 4 pounds 12 ounces (76 ounces, used hard, pounded flat)
• Marmot Pinnacle Long bag - 2 pounds 12 ounces (44 ounces, rated 15 degrees, 24 ounces of 800 fill down, deluxe)
• Big Agnes Horse Thief = 25 ounces (quoted by manufacturer, 35 degree rating).
• Mountain Hardware down upgrade bag = 2 pounds 9 ounces (41 ounces, rated 40 degrees, adds 25 degrees to another bag)
• Mountain Hardware 3D upgrade bag = 2 pounds 1 ounce (33 ounces, rated 45 degrees, adds 20 degrees to another bag - Polarguard 3D synthetic)
• Jacks R Better Rocky Mountain Sniveler Quilt (long) 32 ounces. rated 12 degrees, 18 ounces of 800+ down. (this item "should" weight 29 ounces with an ounce of overstuff, but mine actually weighs 32 ounces).

• Thermarest classic camprest - 4 pounds 5 ounces (Yikes!).
• Thermarest classic regular - 38 ounces.
• Thermarest trail comfort regular - 39 ounces
  (this pad is 20x72 inches, no longer made).
  I measure 1.75 inch thick, they say 2.0 inches. R value 6.2 !
• Thermarest "ultralight" long - 30 ounces
  (this pad is also 20x72 inches, but maybe 0.75 inch thick)
• Exped Downmat 7 - 31 ounces (22 by 72 inches). R value 5.9
• Exped Downmat 7 UL LW - 26.5 ounces (26 by 77.5 inches). R value 5.9
  This is more delicate, but lighter and bigger than my other downmat. It uses an external pump. The extra width should be much better in a hammock.
• Exped Megamat 10 LXW - 92 ounces!! (5 pounds, 12 oz)
• Big Agnes insulated air core 23 ounces 20x78x2.5 Mummy. R value 4.1
• Tyvek ground sheet 4 ounces

  The marketing names from thermarest are pretty funny. I like their products, but they change product names so often that nobody knows what is going on. All the above names are discontinued products.

• Mountain Hardware "Conduit SL" bivy - 17 ounces
• Jardine Tarp tent - 1 pound 5 ounces (21 ounces).
• MLD mini-tarp - 8 ounces.
• My 5x5 foot mini-tarp (sewn 6/2012) - 5 ounces.
• Nemo Hornet 1P tent - 32 ounces
• My small Sierra Designs Tent - 4 pounds (64 ounces)
• Chouinard Megamid tent (fabric only) - 2 pounds 14 ounces (46 ounces)
• Megamid pole - 10 ounces
• North Face bivy - 20 ounces

• JetBoil stove with one cartridge - 22.4 ounces (635 grams)
• One 100 gram JetBoil cartridge - 6.7 ounces (192 grams)
• Jetboil pot with cozy - 6.8 ounces (194 grams)
• Jetboil pot without cozy - 5.8 ounces (164 grams)
  The jetboil pot will hold 4 cups (32 fluid ounces) full to the brim.
  filled to "limit line" it holds 2 cups (16 ounces, i.e. 1 pint).
• Caldera Cone alcohol stove (includes pot) - 5 ounces.

• Garcia Bear Canister 2 pounds 11 ounces (43 ounces)
• Ursack 8 ounces

• Patagonia Goretex "primo" parka - 36 ounces.
• Marmot Goretex "alpinist" parka - 33 ounces.
• Cloudveil Serendipity Parka - 23 ounces.
• Sierra Designs "hurricane" rain shell - 15 ounces.
• Patagonia Houdini wind shirt - 3.7 ounces (now we're talking!!)

• Patagonia down vest - 7 ounces (packs a punch!).
• Patagonia nano air parka - 14 ounces.
• Mont Bell down parka - 14 ounces.

• Patagonia R1 hoodie - 10 ounces.
• Patagonia R1 pants - 8 ounces.
• Patagonia R0.5 zip top - 8 ounces.
• Patagonia R2 fleece vest - 9 ounces.
• Patagonia R4 fleece vest - 15 ounces.
• Patagonia R3 radiant jacket - 20 ounces.

• Panasonic LX3 camera with spare battery and card - 13 ounces.
• My ski pole hiking stick - 9 ounces
• Thrunite TH10 18650 headlamp - 5 ounces

Now, a list of things I (mostly) no longer carry, but which at one time or other I actually did!

• Full size pillow and case - 36 ounces.
• John Muir Laws Sierra Field Guide - 1 pound 3 ounces.

• 80 foot 11mm rope - 4 pounds 9 ounces
• Full size coffee press - 24 ounces
• Zeiss 7x42 binoculars - 33 ounces

• Canon 20D Camera with 17-40 zoom in case - 3 pounds 11 ounces.
• Canon 70-200 f/2.8 zoom in case - 3 pounds 8 ounces
• Gitzo G2220 tripod - 6 pounds 13 ounces.

• MSR whisperlight stove in stuff sack - 16.6 ounces
• 22 ounce MSR fuel bottle (full) - 21 ounces
• 33 ounce MSR fuel bottle (full) - 32 ounces
• My trusty old stainless cookset - 37.6 ounces (1068 grams)

• fishing pole (wheel) - 41 ounces
• fishing pole (slab) - 35 ounces
• fishing pole (air) - 15.4 ounces (+3.5)

• Sweetwater filter - 13.5 ounces (383 grams)
• Lexan tablespoon - 0.4 ounces (11 grams)
• Lexan teaspoon - 0.2 ounces (8 grams)
• Stainless tablespoon - 1.4 ounces (39 grams)
• Stainless teaspoon - 0.8 ounces (23 grams)
• Blue poly cup - 3.1 ounces ( 88 grams)

• Pair of Tevas - 21 ounces
• Vibram five finger KSO (pair) - 11.7 ounces
• Peterson Guide - 19 ounces
• My entire wallet - 5.5 ounces.
• Large folding knife - 5 ounces.
• Sunglasses in case - 3 ounces.
• Impact XL flashligh (4 AA) - 6.7 ounces.
• Aurora Headlamp (AAA) 2.8 ounces (83 grams)
• 3 Cliff Bars - 9 ounces total - never more than one per day.
• 32 ounces of water in a GatorAide bottle - 19 ounces
• Empty GatorAide bottle (32 oz/ 1 liter) - 1.8 ounces (52 grams)
• Empty 2 liter soda bottle - 1.8 ounces (53 grams)
• Radio Shack battery thermometer - 4.5 ounces. (130 grams)

1) My packs (even empty) are heavy!!

2) Leave the heavy camera gear at home!

3) Climbing gear is really heavy

4) Go places where there is a water source.