Bad overpacking habit

Shirt357

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So, as I am getting ready for a 4 day trip to The Needles, I starting thinking about my packing habits and wondering if/what I seem to overpack. It got me thinking to ask and see what others seem to find themselves with too much of after a trip. I seem to find myself overpacking in two areas. For one, I seem to sometimes pack too many shirts, a if I really need to change daily, and perhaps twice. Second area seems to be food. No matter how many times I sort it out and lay out the game plan for meals and snacks, I seem to rationalize that extra this or that.
Overall the last few years I have been only doing my trips solo. I think if I did a few more trips with groups I would probably get better in my habits since I could see how others are doing it, and secondly, no doubt I would take some ribbing over my overpacked this or that.

So... what do you seem to put too much of in your pack?
 
So, as I am getting ready for a 4 day trip to The Needles, I starting thinking about my packing habits and wondering if/what I seem to overpack. It got me thinking to ask and see what others seem to find themselves with too much of after a trip. I seem to find myself overpacking in two areas. For one, I seem to sometimes pack too many shirts, a if I really need to change daily, and perhaps twice. Second area seems to be food. No matter how many times I sort it out and lay out the game plan for meals and snacks, I seem to rationalize that extra this or that.
Overall the last few years I have been only doing my trips solo. I think if I did a few more trips with groups I would probably get better in my habits since I could see how others are doing it, and secondly, no doubt I would take some ribbing over my overpacked this or that.

So... what do you seem to put too much of in your pack?





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I tend to take too big a first aid kit, too big of a repair kit, too much fuel, and too many extra clothes. I've been fixing this by buying replacing my unreliable cheap gear with super high quality (thus more expensive) light weight gear. Good luck. I'd like to get my pack and gear down to a base weight under 20 lbs but I'm down to 25 lbs so far. I just replaced my MSR SweetWatter filter with the much smaller MSR Trail Shot.

I've got one of those tents from Zpacks made from Cuben Fiber on my wish list. Perhaps next year when the price comes down.


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Socks. I bring seven pairs on each backpacking trip.

Sock set #1 - Socks, liner socks, and toe socks
Sock set #2 - Socks, liner socks, and toe socks
Sock set #3 - comfy socks to sleep in.

I know it's kind of ridiculous, but I've had bad, bad blister issues in the past. I started using LB's patented 3-sock system maybe 500 miles into the AT and haven't had nary a blister in years. I don't really recommend it, because seriously, carrying the better part of a pound of socks is more or less absurd, but it works for me.
 
Jackets and food.

I bring an insulated jacket, a rain jacket, a wind shirt, and a fleece pullover. I don't think I've ever used all of them on one trip. I just don't want to get stuck out there with my drawers down and not have the jackets I need, I guess. This only applies to mountain trips or winter desert trips though.

And food, I never ration out what I'll eat every day, other than dinner. So I just throw a bunch of Clif bars, Pop Tarts, trail mix, beef jerky, etc. in my pack and end up eating about half of it.

This is why my 65L Atmos always seemed small, even for overnighters. Haha. I overemphasize the remote possibility that I'll get stuck somewhere and not have all the stuff I need in getting out.

I got a 60L Granite Gear pack recently and I swear that it can hold more stuff because of the way the volume is used. However, it also has inspired me to try to pack less, but I've only used it once so far.
 
I'm pretty lean and mean for the most part. I'm not UL but I have my base weight down to 11-13.5lbs for 3-season use. I tend to pack too much food, that's probably the biggest offender for me.
 
More snacks than I can ingest and digest always seems to be the recurring deal for me on multi-day trips.
 
Socks. I bring seven pairs on each backpacking trip.

Sock set #1 - Socks, liner socks, and toe socks
Sock set #2 - Socks, liner socks, and toe socks
Sock set #3 - comfy socks to sleep in.

I know it's kind of ridiculous, but I've had bad, bad blister issues in the past. I started using LB's patented 3-sock system maybe 500 miles into the AT and haven't had nary a blister in years. I don't really recommend it, because seriously, carrying the better part of a pound of socks is more or less absurd, but it works for me.

What kind of socks and shoes/boots are you wearing? I haven't worn more than one pair of socks at a time since converting to trail runners and darn tough socks but you could be putting way more miles in than I do.
 
What kind of socks and shoes/boots are you wearing? I haven't worn more than one pair of socks at a time since converting to trail runners and darn tough socks but you could be putting way more miles in than I do.

La Sportive Raptors are my go-to. My feet are not exactly a cheap date :(

For socks, I'll wear a pair of Smartwool toe socks, some generic synthetic thin liner socks, and a medium to light Darntough over top.

I do know that my sock system is still necessary for me though, as every time I try to simplify, I start getting hotspots. The tri-sock is a bit of a weapon of last resort and I don't really recommend it unless you absolutely need it, as I do.
 
Jackets and food.
And food, I never ration out what I'll eat every day, other than dinner. So I just throw a bunch of Clif bars, Pop Tarts, trail mix, beef jerky, etc. in my pack and end up eating about half of it.

This is why my 65L Atmos always seemed small, even for overnighters. Haha. I overemphasize the remote possibility that I'll get stuck somewhere and not have all the stuff I need in getting out.

LOL. This is both me with food and how my pack looks. I use a Deuter 65 air and yeah, people probably look at me and think I am going out there for a week or two.
 
LOL. This is both me with food and how my pack looks. I use a Deuter 65 air and yeah, people probably look at me and think I am going out there for a week or two.

But is you backpack in a national park in California, you use a bear canister. That's an immediate solution to the problem of packing too much food. It won't fit.

We've been doing this for so many years, and for so many miles, that we really don't pack too much extra. Of course we pack things in the FAK that we don't use--thank goodness. And I've stopped taking binoculars because we used them about once in every five trips...
 
Glad to know that I'm not doing anything terribly wrong. Almost nearly normal.
I'm planning a 7 day shakedown trip before Labor Day to get ready for a 7 day long loop in the Winds. Hopefully I'll have my stuff together after that.
Wayne


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Actual backpacking load I've got dialed in pretty well these days. But I do always seem to end up hauling one heavy ass camera lens that I never end up using. Usually for no better reason than being too lazy to stop, dig it out and swap it.
 
I occasionally have this overpacking problem, but it's never a problem on the way out...

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