Backpacking - tents, bags, and 4x5's.

**Drew Wiley** · 18-Aug-2010, 11:03

Dear Goamules - this is quite confusing. Since neither a horse nor a mule has an
opposable thumb, why would you hire one as a darkroom assistant?

**ljb0904** · 18-Aug-2010, 11:29

I've not been backpacking for 30 years nor have I been photographing that long. But here's my take:

I get my LF gear down to about 13 lbs (inc tripod). Using film holders, you may not be able to get down to that weight, but maybe. I carry 3 lenses, chamonix 4x5, fuji film holder and QLs and a few filters. You can substitute a tshirt for a focusing hood, but mine only weighs 1/2 lb so I take it.

Next really try to prune your pack weight. I use an older Osprey Aether 70. Light but supportive. Trim down your essentials. If your too tired at the end of the day from carrying the pack, you won't make images. I go pretty basic for camp stuff. Alcohol or esbit stove, 3/4 pad, lightweight sleeping bag, lightweight bivy (mine is 1/2 lb), etc. My camp gear adds up to 13-15 lbs including the weight of the pack. Total dry weight for bag and gear comes to about 30 lbs. Add on 2-3 lbs of food per day and whatever water weight you need to carry (I carry 3-4 liters where I am).

Hope that helps

**QT Luong** · 18-Aug-2010, 13:31

For a tent, I've been using a Stephenson Warmlite. The current 2-person tent is less than 3lbs (mine is a bit heavier, esp. since I had to recoat it). It *is* expedition grade (for ex: http://www.terragalleria.com/mountai...mcki3374.html).
See http://warmlite.com/tents/tents-technical-data For various reasons, if I was to do it again, I may consider the Bibler instead. However, if backpacking on short trips and mild climates with favorable forecasts, I don't even bother with a shelter of any kind. For many situations, I think a tarp would be a good compromise.

For a backpack, I've been using a custom backpack from McHale of Seattle, already mentioned in a previous post. It carries heavy loads extremely well, however it is very heavy empty (8bls !).

I've done quite a bit of demanding backpacking with LF in the past, so it's not that I couldn't do it, however, I found that the kind loads involved are tiring. The last two backpacking trips, I carried just digital and enjoyed myself much more.