sjarelkwint wrote:

BrunoM wrote:You don't like the extra weight but you go backpacking in the Ardennes wearing your Nepal Extremes...just saying

Those are the only boots I ever felt comfortable in ... I have week ankles and I just fall because of those ankles, with my nepal extremes I never had that problem ... Just feel more safe/comfortable in those WAY TOO heavy boots ...

My sleeping pad needs replacements and it almost has no isolation value or added comfort, that's why I don't take it with me I think ...

Time for a new pad then? Santa Claus is coming this week.

Id agree with most above, (except to not bring a pad) and repeat...first off a mountain 25 is WAY TO HEAVY for a solo climber. I know new gear is expensive, but there are several single wall 4 season tents that weigh about 4 lbs or less, that should save you 9 - 10 lbs! aslo like said above -20 bag, be sure you need this. Carry the pad on the outside of your pack, and they make insulated pads, that might allow you to go with a lighter sleeping bag (wear your parka to sleep in, or spread it over your bag {of course}). Also, one pair of boots, and wear them, you can bring down booties for around camp, but to pack extra boots.......at least it is not my style. Just trying to help.

check out the MSR fury. its bigger and lighter than the mountain25. the fury is 94 inches long on the interior. the mountain is only 80. fury has a bigger vestibule. my personal choice would be the single wall eldorado from black diamond. the bibler toddtex fabric is bomber. i believe the dimensions are about the same as the fury on the smaller side. as far as pack.. id love to have the gregory whitney 95 when i have the mulah.

packing small...
i take my 3/4 inflatable, 20 degree down bag, 1p tent and gcloth and put it all in one compression sack and get it as small as possible (about 3/4 the size of a basketball when im done). i mean rele rele small... i can backpack a week out of my 2950ci gregory gpack. ive never had to sacrafice anything to make it work either. the compression sack key or it wouldnt work.

As others said - the mountain 25 is far to heavy if you are going alone. If you are looking only for a short trips - a small solo tent like the Akto is great!. For long trips I would look for a light and small 2 person tent. I used the TNF Westwind for a long time and replaced it now by MH EV direct 2. A lot of space, easy setup and sturdy. The Hilleberg Soulo is also a very good and spacy solo tent.
Gert

leaving the sleeping pad at home on a long winter trip is terrible advice.

I agree with Kevin. I take two pads in the winter (Prolite 4 regular and 3/4 Z-Rest) and still can use a 55L pack for winter technical trips. It's less of an issue of leaving things behind than having the lightest gear. I picked up a Western Mountaineering Antelope sleeping bag, BD Firstlight Tent and a comfy pair of La Sportiva Nepal EVO boots which collectively saved me a ton of weight and bulk in my pack and eliminated the need for more than one pair of boots.

DanielWade wrote:I agree with Kevin. I take two pads in the winter (Prolite 4 regular and 3/4 Z-Rest) and still can use a 55L pack for winter technical trips.

Interesting.

My winter setup is the inverse: a full lenth Ridgerest and a 3/4 length Prolite 4. Do they make 3/4 length Z-Rests or did you just hack a full size one down?

Regardless, I concur that omitting the sleeping pad is a bad idea for winter camping.

i also usually question the conventional wisdom of carrying a voluminous (albeit lightweight) sleeping pad on back-country forays - personally, i find zero added comfort from such pads on the vast majority of substrates - so for me, warmth is the only factor - my criteria are snow or extreme cold - if i am literally going to be sleeping on top of the snow or i anticipate temperatures significantly less than 20 F, then i bring a cheap blue foam pad (lightest weight, but least comfortable?) - even for lengthier trips in wet conditions hovering around the freezing mark, i will omit the pad, but agreed that for true winter conditions, the warmth factor is critical - the sleeping pad is not heavy and is easy to throw into your car and later attach to your backpack - however, if traveling for example, by buses in latin america, the extra space from a pad strapped to the outside of a pack can be a huge inconvenience

returning to the OP's question, dropping the spare boots should help - i also own a TNF 25 tent and find that i never use it because its so dang heavy and i generally travel solo - i just invested in a black diamond single wall tent that weighs 1/3 as much as the north face tent - there are plenty of reasonably sturdy tents coming in at 5 lbs and under, but they aren't cheap and they still generally aren't quite as bomber as your current digs - a good down sleeping bag (850+ fill) should also help considerably - plus, for example, a high end 0 F down bag (WM, FF, etc) should be nearly as warm as your -20 F REI bag and the weight/space differential will even allow you to bring an extra warm layer if necessary - of course good down also is not cheap - anyway, good luck - just try dropping items one at a time so you can make sure you are reducing weight responsibly without giving up too much comfort/safety

DanielWade wrote:I take two pads in the winter (Prolite 4 regular and 3/4 Z-Rest) and still can use a 55L pack for winter technical trips.

I had that combo, too. Then I switched to an Exped downmat. Heavier than a Prolite or Z-Rest, but (if I did my math right) lighter than the combination of the two, and a better overall insulation (R) rating. And a downmat is much smaller than the two put together. I think the price of the downmat vs. the Prolite/Z-rest combo may be comparable depends on sale prices).

Just an idea.

I used an Exped and I liked it for a a few trips but one time if deflated due to a hole and I didn't like the idea that I didn't have the Z-Rest just in case. I've also found the Z-Rest to be nice for standing around and sitting at camp. I bought a full-length one and cut it in half and gave it to my partner so I have a 1/2 Z-Rest not a 3/4, sorry.

Given the previous posts some of you probably won't like my set up. On big expeditions I take three pads, a Z-Rest for the bottom, a full-length Prolite 4 in the middle and a 3/4 length 1/4" closed cell foam pad for the top. Nothing better for me than getting a good night sleep. The top pad gives me that added comfort while preventing my sleeping bag from spinning around me during the night which is a bonus. That said, all my pads go on the outside of my bag and I can still take enough gear/food for a technical route on Aconcagua using a 66 liter pack. There are plenty of other ways to save on weight.

A lot of good info in here about gear..

It seems I'm in need of more gear

I think I'm going to start looking for a light, 1-person 4-season tent and a 0* sleeping bag. Remove the 2nd pair of boots and I should be able to drop ~12 pounds.