Rundown of my ultralight base pack

I go through the contents of my base pack in this video. This ultralight 7 lb. load is good for 3 season backpacking. It uses a lot of homemade gear to lighten things up.

Category:

Howto & Style

Tags:

• Ultralight
• Backpacking
• Gear
• Camping
• Base
• Weight
• DIY
• MYOG

[kesnermatt]

Using your clothes stuff sack as a pillow is old news, BUT putting softer material on one side of the stuff to make it comfy IS BRILLIANT! My jaw dropped when you showed that feature. Great job. Also, great idea using the shock cord to hold your sleeping pad as opposed to the huge pocket like the Gossamer gear uses.

Does your rain jacket protect you from rain as well as a goretex jacket would? How does it compare?

[chemicalcraig69]

@kesnermatt Thanks a lot. I put in the softer material after sleeping on bare silnylon for many nights and wishing for something a bit more comfortable without the weight of an extra pillow.

The rain jacket is fantastic. It's incredibly light and 100% waterproof, much better than goretex. It is not breathable, like goretex, but I don't ever wear it while hiking, only around in camp. I think wearing waterproof clothing while hiking is pointless.

[CDoggsRandoms]

Great video! Love the wind jacket, genius! The pillow/ clothes bag is so creative, might need to try making some gear soon so I don't have to pay hundreds of dollars on something a little creativity and effort can create the same thing, or better! Thanks for the awesome video! Happy Trails!

[chemicalcraig69]

@CDoggsRandoms Thanks a lot. You should definitely try to make your own gear. That rain jacket probably cost $15 to make, but would probably run $60-$90 if you bought it. The thing I like the most about making your own gear is that you yourself are the quality control and can make sure every seam is up to standard. Much better than some factory in China. If your mom has a sewing machine get her to teach you how to use it, or you can get a cheap one at target. I use a Bernina, it's worth it.

[PacRat69]

Wow! Great job of the MYOG. I'm jealous. I assume you made your your tarp as well. Were do you get your sil-nylon. I'd like to give this a try

[chemicalcraig69]

@PacRat69 Thanks. Yes, I made the tarp. I've been making my own tarps for years. It's a great lightweight easy piece of gear to make. I've made a bunch of different designs but have found that a simple rectangular tarp is the best design for my needs. I buy all of my material from seattle fabrics, but I live 5 minutes away from the warehouse and can check out the colors in person. Before I lived here I ordered everything from owfinc dot com. They're awesome for mail order fabric. Good luck.

[OzClawhammer]

very nice!

[alteregoash]

I'm curious about this adjustable sleeping bag. What did it cost you?

[mghaub]

Hey thanks for this! Can you tell me more about the sternum-strap pack? I love the idea....

MH

[chemicalcraig69]

@fuctfuct28 No, it used to be a 3/4 length but I've cut it down so that it is now only a torso length. No leg coverage. I kept the original width, as it acts as the frame sheet in my pack and would be too short for the pack if I cut it down.