Wednesday, June 29, 2016

Weights and Measures

When planning to go backcountry canoe camping you select each item you are going to bring based on weight and mass. Tossing this, that and the other thing into your backpack can really add up. Not just in how heavy your bag gets, but how much you can fit into your bag. 

I carry a 75 liter pack - that's the space measurement. I could not carry 75 liters of water in that pack, that would be over 150 pounds, phew! Maybe they fill 75 balloons the same sized as ones filled with a liter of water then fill the pack to measure its capacity. LOL
Loaded and ready to go...
When I first started planning to camp two years ago I was keen and weighed each item I was putting into my pack. This post is a great opportunity for me to update that list as I've certainly altered what goes into my bag.

See here for a description of all the items I carry in my bag.
Every little thing weighs something! (16 grams)
Here goes (all items with an asterisk * vary in weight from trip to trip) sorted from the lightest item to the heaviest:
Item
 Weight (grams)
Bear bell
 35
Shiny mattress liner
 38
Emergency blanket
 47
Lighter, firestarter
 70
Camp soap
 75
Mosquito coils
 86
Deck of cards
 97
Blue foam kneeling pad
 98
Notebook and pen
104
Salt and pepper mill
107
Backpack protective cover
113
Large carabineer
113
Map, clear bag for map
114
Shower
122
Extra filter in plastic bottle
132
Pocketknife
154
Dry bag 10L
155
Bug hat, bug shirt, bag
170
Headlamp, flashlight/lamp
173
Bug spray
190
Stove diffuser with fabric oven
194
Small camera with case
194
Kettle
201
Extra water bag for lake water
203
Dry bag 20L
214
Travel mug with lid
251
Personal towels (1 large, 1 small)
262
Pillow
279
Dish towels, sponge
300
Toilet paper and wipes, mini shovel
380
Platypus water filtration system
405
Bag liner (cold weather only)
443
Toiletries
500
Extra tarp
544
Stove with fuel, lighter, windbreak (empty gas bottle)
591
Sleeping bag
736
Chair
881
Pot set with dish, cozies, lid, handle, measuring cups, utensils, holding case (minus big pot)
 1,362
Hammock, fly, snakeskins, hanging straps
 1,388
Clothes(varies by days - estimated for 7 days)*
 1,565
2 Nalgene bottles filled with water
 2,424
Air mattress (in bag)
 2,500
Backpack
 5,700
Food bag with food (varies by days - estimated for 7 days)*
 7,000
TOTAL WEIGHT IN GRAMS
30,710

The total weight of the above list is: 30.710 kg which is equal to 67 pounds and 11 ounces. I have estimated this load based on a trip of 7 days, so that would be the heaviest I would carry. Also because some of my load is food, as the trip progresses, my load lightens by a kilogram a day. 

My new Cabela table is not in that list. I would not be able to fit it in my backpack, and it's too heavy to bring on a long trip. I might not bring my air mattress on a warm weather trip, it's pretty heavy as well.

I have to give a lot of credit to my backpack, it's pretty amazing at distributing the weight and making this load comfortable to carry. I even took it on a 12-km hike to carry my water, lunch and snacks, as I don't like a fanny-pack style waistband cutting into me while hiking. There's a hip band that swivels, I can hike up the backpack higher and my hips take the weight for a change. There's a moveable chest strap holding the shoulder harness tighter in the front, I will put my hands on that to help carry the load also for a break. And I couldn't do any of this carrying without my trusty walking poles!

When I get home from my camping trips, my final carry is three flights of stairs up to my apartment. That's the only time I wish I had an elevator. 

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