Lizzy wrote:Hi Jelly Bean,
I have also recently tried to go a bit more light weight- I have tried some Dunlop KT26's which some UL walkers appear to be fans of- overall I am comfortable with a shoe but don't think KT's are not the best for me- sore toes and feet. I used to do outdoor courses up in QLD and salomen hiking shoes were excellent. Still not sure about these in Tassie or NZ... will be interested to see how you fair in a bit of weather.
On a recent trip to NZ I took a montbell sleeping bag less than 600g and rated to about zero which I think should be ok for most of my trips in Aus & NZ- need to look at a lightwweight jacket to boost it when needed. Also bought the neoair which I love- the whole setup is so much lighter and smaller than my usual its great.
Hard to beat the NZ'ers though- they carry a cup rather than a couple of litres of water
(but then again water water everywhere....).
In my reoutfitting I also got an Aarn pack and the redistribution of alot of the weight to front packs has been great for me...makes everything feel much lighter
. Althouggh I would be interested to hear how people have faired off track with these packs as they have quite a few straps etc.
Have a great walk and will be interested to hear what worked for you.
Cheers Lizzy
PS- I did the Acropolis & Labirynth years ago and loved them both!!
Hi Lizzy,
If I do the OT in April/May I think I'll stick to my boots (if I did it in Jan - March, especially with the weather they seemed to have this year, I'd definitely consider using the trail runners, especially if I could get my pack weight down to around the 15kg mark). [I'd also consider them in NZ in summer, at least for the walks I've done so far - Routeburn and Queen Charlotte]. I'm having the same thoughts re rain gear - while I appreciate that you can get any weather at any time of the year on the OT, in general there seems to be less rain over the summer months compared to the Autumn/winter months. My thoughts at the moment are that I'd definitely take my lighter weight rain gear in Jan to March (Montane Quattro DT jacket and Atomic DT pants ~450g total, but am not sure whether I would do so in April/May or whether I should take my heavier gore-tex gear - something to ponder (I'm leaning towards the gore-tex) but I'm keen to hear any thoughts re that).
Re sleeping bags - yes that's definitely somewhere to lose some weight, especially if you have a decent lightweight jacket to add to your sleep system. Depending on the conditions I currently use a Mont Hotwire Extender bag (4 to 13C) (~650g) (I originally bought it to use with a Macpac Exped wt bag in Nepal - handled down to - 20 with ease) or a Marmot Helium bag (comfortable down to about -5) (a very good bag and while alot lighter than the Macpac bag - which is excellent - still weighs around 1kg. I may look at a lighter weight Montbell or WM bag further down the track
).
In terms of jackets, last year I bought a Patagonia nano puff pullover (230g) to use as an mid layer alternative to a fleece and a North Face thunder 800 fill down jacket (330g). Both are warm, lightweight and water resistant. Really happy with both.
Yes, it would be very nice to be able to carry just a cup instead of a couple of litres of water!
I bought a GoLite Pinnacle when looking for a lighter pack but a friend has an Aarn and loves it. The redistribution of weight makes a lot of sense.
Will definitely provide a report once I’ve completed the walk and let you know what I decided on. (The trick will be finding a window where I can get away for a week!).
Cheers,
JB