A collection of backpaking/hiking kilt blogs/site etc. and "rain kilts"

[Alan H]

I've made small boat sails out of Tyvek and they worked pretty well. I've even epoxy-laminated a couple of layers of house-wrap tyvek onto curved foam to make a composite structre for a boat and that worked OK. I'm not sure about kilts, though...but heck, it would be worth a try.

Me? I"m squarely in the Old Skool camp. I hike 5-8 miles a day carrying 48 pounds, more or less. Our favorite gig is to take two days to get "In" beyond the reach of 99% of the day hikers and find a nice lake to set up at. We then spend 3 days day-hiking and exploring. Then we either blast out in one day because the packs are lighter (we ate all the food) or take two days to get out to the trailhead.

[Calgacus]

Me? I"m squarely in the Old Skool camp. I hike 5-8 miles a day carrying 48 pounds, more or less.

Wow, that's quite a lot. I generally carry a pack of between 20 and 30 pounds.

[Alan H]

Yes, when I look at people on the trail these days, most are carrying much smaller packs than I am.

One things that really makes things tough, is if you hike the two really big 100+ mile Sierra trails, you have to put your food in a "Bear Cannister". Not every national park or wilderness area requires this, but enough do that you might as well just start out with it, and carry it. This is a Bear Cannister... this is the size my wife carries:


When we first bought cannisters, this was all that was available, so this is what I carry.



These add about 2-3 pounds to your pack. UGH. They're totally worth it, though, if you have a bear incident.

Our tent is about 6 pounds. I carry the cloth, Joan carries the poles and stakes.
Joan has a new sleeping bag made of microfiber, which cut about a pound and half off of her load, compared to her old bag. I didn't quite spend that much money, but my "new" bag is about a pound lighter than the old one.

we both usually carry 3 changes of undergarments, 3 t-shirts, and I make do with one long-sleeved wool shirt and a rain/wind layer. Joan gets very cold, so she carries layers so that she can pile on 4-5. Add to that a pair of shorts, the hiking kilt and a pair of long pants. I've recently taken to bringing a pair of zip-off convertible pants, which are much lighter 9but not warmer) than blue jeans.

Then, of course there's the water filter, since you take a chance on giardia infection now, if you drink raw Sierra water. That's two pounds. Food is usually in the range of 6 pounds when we start out.

[Andrew Breecher]

When I started the Appalachian Trail my base weight (that is, everything in my pack except for food, water, and fuel) was 8 lbs. Now it's more like 12-15 lbs. The difference is that when I hike I like to hike all day and make a lot of miles (not necessarily faster, but if you hike all day, even at a 3 mph pace, you'll just end up going 30 miles or so). I don't actually like to "camp" and hang out around my tent. I'll cook dinner and crash and wake up at dawn and keep hiking. This system works well when hiking 3,000 miles in one season. I don't really know any other way of hiking - I've done this for around 10,000 miles now and it works for me.

The bear can in the Sierras does weigh a lot - as do instep crampons and an ice axe if you're doing any early-season snow hiking. Still, I think my pack weight through the Sierra was around 20-30 lbs with 7 days of food.

[Calgacus]

Yes, when I look at people on the trail these days, most are carrying much smaller packs than I am.

One things that really makes things tough, is if you hike the two really big 100+ mile Sierra trails, you have to put your food in a "Bear Cannister". Not every national park or wilderness area requires this, but enough do that you might as well just start out with it, and carry it. This is a Bear Cannister... this is the size my wife carries:


When we first bought cannisters, this was all that was available, so this is what I carry.



These add about 2-3 pounds to your pack. UGH. They're totally worth it, though, if you have a bear incident.

Our tent is about 6 pounds. I carry the cloth, Joan carries the poles and stakes.
Joan has a new sleeping bag made of microfiber, which cut about a pound and half off of her load, compared to her old bag. I didn't quite spend that much money, but my "new" bag is about a pound lighter than the old one.

we both usually carry 3 changes of undergarments, 3 t-shirts, and I make do with one long-sleeved wool shirt and a rain/wind layer. Joan gets very cold, so she carries layers so that she can pile on 4-5. Add to that a pair of shorts, the hiking kilt and a pair of long pants. I've recently taken to bringing a pair of zip-off convertible pants, which are much lighter 9but not warmer) than blue jeans.

Then, of course there's the water filter, since you take a chance on giardia infection now, if you drink raw Sierra water. That's two pounds. Food is usually in the range of 6 pounds when we start out.

The bear canister certainly doesn't help, I agree!

Your tent is quite heavy by modern standards. I have a Terra Nova Laser Competition. It's a one man tent weighing only 0.9kg (2 pounds 2 ounces), but there is a two man version weighing only 1.25kg (2 pounds 12 ounces) packed weight. There is an even lighter version, the Laser Photon, which weighs an incredible 1 pound 9 ounces for the one man, and 2 pounds 1 ounce for the two man version.



I use down sleeping bags instead of microfibre, but largely because they pack smaller. No clothing changes, apart from socks, but all base clothing is wool which is heavier than cotton so probably no real saving there. Blue jeans are lethal in the Scottish climate, so only proper walking trousers or a kilt. Titanium cookwear and a lightweight stove, and fortunately no need for a water filter here in the highlands.

[tundramanq]

I have used a stain/waterproofing spray on one of my off white Workmans. The rain drops bead and run off even after two washings.
I don't recall the brand. It took a lot of it to saturate one kilt.

[Alan H]

Yes, our tent is an 80's vintage Sierra Designs Meteor Light. It's a classic design, but heavy, for sure. I have been tempted by some of the newer Big Agnes tents.

Calgacus, Joans bag is down-stuffed with a microfiber inner and outer skin instead of ripstop nylon. It's also a +15 degree bag instead of a -15 degree bag since we never do winter camping. Mine is a North Face 600 down fill +15 bag with a ripstop shell.

After hiking around Scotland for a few days, I have to agree that blue jeans are NOT the thing to be wearing, *Ever* in the outdoors, there! Here, I only wear them in the evenings as a rugged insulation layer. As of this season, though, I've stopped doing that as I'm sold on these convertible pants.

If we were to cut more weight, the obvious and easy thing to do is to invest in a new tent...which would mean that I'd own FOUR of them! I've been reluctant to do so. We've just inherited an old North Face "Windy Pass" tent from Joans aunt and uncle. It's an interesting piece of backpacking history.

The Windy Pass line was developed and marketed for about two years when two things happened almost simultaneously.... 1.) North Face acquired Sierra Designs and 2.) North Face moved it's production (or most of it) "offshore". To "Try out" the offshore production facilities, North Face marketed this "second tier" line of equipment called "Windy Pass" and had the facility make modified versions of Sierra Designs stuff. So this tent is a Chinese knockoff of a Sierra Designs tent...the Moonlight....that I literally sold dozens of back in the late 1980's. It's OK for what it is. I use it for car-camping in when I go to local Highland Games without Joan. I wouldn't want to be using it on a ridgline at 10,000 feet with a front moving in!.

[Calgacus]

Calgacus, Joans bag is down-stuffed with a microfiber inner and outer skin instead of ripstop nylon. It's also a +15 degree bag instead of a -15 degree bag since we never do winter camping. Mine is a North Face 600 down fill +15 bag with a ripstop shell.

Ah, I see what you mean now. I have two bags, I can't remember the models now, but both are RAB bags, the first was sold as a four season bag, but I find it a little chilly in winter, so only use it when it's not too cold. The second is a full on high altitude expedition job, and I don't ever feel chilly in that!

After hiking around Scotland for a few days, I have to agree that blue jeans are NOT the thing to be wearing, *Ever* in the outdoors, there! Here, I only wear them in the evenings as a rugged insulation layer. As of this season, though, I've stopped doing that as I'm sold on these convertible pants.

Jeans are quite heavy to carry about just for evening use. I can see why you've dropped them in favour of the convertibles. My only complaint about convertible pants is that I find the leg zips uncomfortable.

If we were to cut more weight, the obvious and easy thing to do is to invest in a new tent...

We're in sort of the same boat here. My Laser Competition is the one-man version, so no room for Mel or the dog in that one. My other tent is an old Vango Hurricane Alpha, which I grudge carrying around. I'd buy the two-man version of the Laser Competition, but realistically, for the use it would get, it's hard to justify. We are getting soft in our old age and prefer to go out in the motorhome!

[Alan H]

Andrew, I'd love to get my pack down to 30 pounds! Now that I'm getting older, and I can afford some new kit, it's becoming more worth it to trade $$ for weight.

Joans ultimate favorite thing to do whilst backpacking is at polar opposites to your day! She likes to sleep until maybe 8-8:30 AM, get up and wash her face, and make a leisurely breakfast. Once the cereal is eaten, she takes her coffee up on the nearest big rock and settles in for 30-40 minutes to just enjoy the view of the lake. I have learned to just shush up and let her have her time. If she has that, then Joan is a happy camper. If I interrupt it, I might as well go home! LOL

Once we get going though...probably about 10:30-11:00 AM, we go more or less nonstop until we get back to camp about 5:00 or 6:00 PM. So that's a solid 7 hours of being actively on our feet.... though we do like to stop and look at every flower and every butterfly, and take pictures of the view! This approach pays off every now and then, though. This past summer we were stopped for a brief lunch by a stream and a pine martin approached us as we sat there, and got to within about 8 feet before he realized that we were there. If we'd been going full-speed we never would have seen the little fellow.

[Dughlas mor]

A wise old Northwest mountaineer by the name of Harvey Manning once said "To make the wilderness bigger, walk slower." The older I get the more sense it makes.