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Leave non-essentials at home. Ask yourself, “Could I die if I don’t take this?” If the answer is no, try going without it. You probably won’t miss it, but you might wind up with a pack many pounds lighter. Of course, if your thing is photography, take the monster zoom lens, if you like to read, take War and Peace (softcover). But when it comes to things you took last trip and didn’t use, be ruthless.


Upgrade


Once you’ve pared your pack down to essentials you’ll have an easier time affording an equipment upgrade. When replacing gear, seek out the lightest, highest-quality gear you can afford and start with the heaviest items: tent, pack, grill or stove, sleeping bag and mat.


Throw off your yoke You can carry a 45-pound canoe forever, but a 65-pounder gets heavy after a few hundred metres. Ultralight composite boats (carbon or Kevlar) are expensive, but if used with respect, your grandchildren will someday find them as easy to carry as you do. A weight savings of 20 pounds in the hull is as good as in the pack.


Leave the water at home


Your food pack shouldn’t weigh more than your canoe. You can get an ample daily ration of 3,000 nutritious calories from 800 grams if it is dehydrated. Buy a dehydrator, make your own or use a convection oven and see how easy it is to remove water that is quickly replaced at your campsite.


LEATHERMAN Skeletool


This is one multi-tool that doesn’t revel in excess. The bare bones stainless steel frame houses needlenose pliers, wire cutters, a straight blade (deployable from the closed position), four screwdriver bits—most of what you’ll need and little you won’t. The handle’s carabiner clip means you won’t need a sheath, will have no excuse for losing it and can even open a beverage if you ever lose your go- light mojo. At 10 centimetres long and 142 grams it is the lightest full-sized tool you can buy.— I.M.


$72 US leatherman.com BIG AGNES Horse Thief 35


Big Agnes designers have taken bold steps to solving a fundamental flaw of sleeping bags by replacing the underside of their sleeping bags with a sleeve into which you slide a matching sleeping pad. The pad provides insulation under your body, and you never wind up on the cold ground having slid off the pad. It’s a great idea, since the underside insulation in a sleeping bag was always compressed down to uselessness by your body weight anyway. The Horse Thief 35 thus shaves superfluous bulk and weight from your sleeping bag, but the system requires a road test, since the stiffening effect of the sleeping pad may make some sleepers who like to thrash around feel a little tied down. The 725 fill goose down bag weighs 680 grams, packs down to the size of a football and is sufficient down to 2°C. — I.M.


$180 US (bag only) bigagnes.com


32 n C ANOE ROOT S fall 2008


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