Every quarter or so I like to browse around the various ultralight gear vendors and see what’s new. This time I bought a bunch of stuff from Litesmith to help shave some grams off of my upcoming Enchantments trip. Without further ado:
Nylofume pack liner
(not pictured because it’s a clear bag)
28g | $2.49 | 12g saved | 4.8g/$
I’m currently using the Gossamer Gear pack liners which, in addition to being made out of polyethylene, are a penny dearer and 12g heavier. I have no complaints about the GG liners but wanted to see if nylofume might be an improvement. It definitely feels flimsier but I’ve heard reports that it’s more durable – and that it crinkles more. We’ll see.
Oh, and the other nice thing is that Litesmith sells them individually while GG only sells them in pairs.
6″ Cross Bands
7g | $1.60 | 9g saved | 5.6g/$
I’m currently using the mesh stuff sack that came with my Evernew Ti Mug Pot 500. Being very generously sized it doesn’t apply any pressure to the pot lid which means that it can (and does) fall off while it’s bouncing around in my pack, spilling the contents. Now, the lighter and stove and pot holder that I keep in there aren’t going to go anywhere because of the mesh sack but still, there’s room for improvement.
The cross bands are basically just an x-shaped rubber band that’s made out of silicone. In addition to keeping the lid on and being lighter they should also be a heck of a lot harder to lose thanks to the safety orange color.
45ml Snap-Top HDPE Tottle
11g | $1.80 | 22g saved | 12.2g/$
I store my sunscreen in a 1.25oz GoToob which weighs in at a whopping 33 grams. On the one hand it’s made of a super-squishy material which means it’s very easy to squeeze stuff out of and it has a fancy cap with a rotating collar that allows you to “label” the contents by moving the hole in the collar to reveal one of four words that are etched onto the inside. On the other hand, it’s clear and my sunscreen is clear so I don’t really need all that to know what’s inside.
This tottle (which is a word I’d never heard before but apparently is a tapered bottle with a loop at the end for attachment) is slightly larger while also being a third of the weight. The HDPE isn’t as nice to squeeze as the gooey GoToob and I’ll probably never be able to use the stuff that’s just inside the cap due to the rigidity but the extra volume should make up for that. Total weight of newly-filled tottle: 56g.
1.5″ 9.8ml Hinge-Top Container
4g | $1.50 | 4g saved | 2.7g/$
Right now I keep my pills (ibuprofen, toothpaste, Benadryl, etc.) in a pink-lidded screw-on container which is littered with cracks. I think it was a hand-me-down from Person B’s makeup drawer but the true origins have been lost to time. In any case, it isn’t super great.
“Robust” is not the first word that comes to mind for the hinge of this new container but we’ll see how it plays out in practice. I think the important thing (in addition to being half the weight) is that it’s not composed of shards of sharp plastic.
Nitecore NU25 Ultralight Headband
8g | $8.95 | 20g saved | 2.2g/$
The Nitecore NU25 is widely considered to be the best headlamp for ultralight backpacking. Sadly, the stock elastic headband is a bit on the heavy side at 28g (the headlamp body itself weighs 25g).
Litesmith sells a custom “headband” and mounting bracket combo which weighs in at only 8g. The headband portion is made from stretchy reflective cord whose size is adjustable via a very small cord lock. Now, you’re not going to win any fashion contests with this (Person B’s one-line review: “That looks ridiculous.”) but you might just win some weight (loss) contests, so probably worth it in the end.
Surprisingly it’s actually pretty comfortable to wear, at least in my living room. I don’t do as much night hiking as I’d like but we’ll see how it feels out in the field.
Summary
I spent $16.34 to drop 67g (2.4oz) of weight, or about 4.1 grams per dollar. Not too shabby!
Thanks Litesmith!