Pack weights

I recommend the Domex Copland if you're after a good Winter bag - 1.5KG, good down to -16 °C (comfort), Pertex shell to shed snow and ice, and compresses down really well. In Summer I use a Fairydown Equator I bought off Trademe for $20 - weighs just over a kilo and it's all I need. Of course, I also have an 'Autumn' bag. And a couple of others :-)

Some interesting comments here, I have whittled my pack weights down over the years but tbh never actually weighed my pack. In summer I use a Rab 150 (thats 150gsm of down) and thats about 300grams total weight and packs down to about the size of a large grape fruit ($250 nzd). This with my summer down jacket, a Quechua cheapie ($30 Euro) if I'm cold and its fine. In summer I usually use a 35L Berghaus pack, and carry my tent (luxe lightwave2) and still use my old UL 3/4 thermorest. In winter Mont Bell alpine #1 bag (not sure its weight) and winter down jacket (these two, were $$$, but anything you need above the snow line gonna cost you) and usually use a cactus deep winter pack for everything. Obviously we all sleep different temps and thats what matters- being comfy, but down bags have come a long way since fairy down and our dollar is strong now so take advantage and buy gear from overseas its cheap. If you just replace as you go with light new stuff, its not a big deal usually, but buying some of these things can be a big outlay for some (terra nova tents are up there..) so shop around theres always another option too ($ vs Kg)

They reckon the energy cost of heavier footwear is 4-6x greater than a corresponding pack weight. Reducing footwear weight significantly lightens your days effort. My Summer sleeping bag is a 530g Macpac down job. Then again, I carry a light merino LS top, Long Johns, & 2nd pair of socks. I change into that as nightwear, and sleep in more or less depending on comfort. Can throw a coat over the top as a blanket or even wear a wool hat if bad enough, but have only ever woken cold because of exposed face. Throwing something over as a face cover solves that. I don't have mega bucks to throw at expensive gear either, so look at systems & combinations that have multi-purpose. Would still carry a little more "just in case" rather than omit & be caught short.

I've been "lightening up" gearwise for a while now, replacing old gear as it wears out with lighter gear and being more critical what what I carry. It's a case of taking enough appropriate gear for the environment and weather to remain safe. My gear for up to 4 day solo tramp into the Tararuas with no snow (3-season) fits into a simple frameless 40 litre pack, and with food and 2l water weighs less than 10kg. I use trail runner shoes for pretty much every tramp now. As @Pro-active notes lightweight footwear makes a large impact in energy levels (the 4-6x figure comes from US Army study). My favourite shoe at the moment is the Saucony Xodus, robust (when "seamgripped"), traction as good as most boots. Now I would only use boots for serious bushbashing, snow and ice, or for scree-running. The rest of my gear is a Macpac Neve sleeping bag, a 3mx3m sil-nylon tarp, groundsheet, Exped UL 7S mattress, Snowpeak gas stove and gas cannister, 1 litre Al billy, and other misc. gear such as map, compass, knife, headtorch, camera, meds, lighter, spoon, sunscreen and insect repellent. Clotheswise apart from the clothes I walk in, I take a thermal top and bottoms, spare socks, 100wt fleece, raincoat and overthrousers, hat and gloves. Foodwise I allow 800g/day with an average calorific content of 1800kJ/100g.

Wow, envious of you hikers doing it light!!!! With all my fisherman crap loaded plus water (I don't trust our dodgy streams anymore) I'm usually 25-28kg's for a 4 day plus trip. Waders and wading boots are a horrid thing to have to pack, and with my pack being smaller I have to take a day pack too. It's a ludicrous system (kind of like those Macpac's that have the small day pack on the back of the larger pack), and I hope to change it soon when I have the cash for a 90L pack. Oh well at least I got a sleeping bag now, so no more carting round that queen sized duvet. haha

@contour_lines ... There was an October thread on the Flextrek Whipsnake. http://rhodesandrose.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/steve1.jpg VDO if you search it.

If you cant drink the streams do you really want to eat the fish out of them?

Pro-active - lol looks all too familiar!! A heavy pack isn't so bad when you don't generally scale summits and whatnot, well not many fishermen set out intending to at least!! geeves - I catch and release everything. I did have plans to eat a few on a couple of long trips I had planned this season but good ol' Mr Rudolph or whatever you fellas are calling it put the big kibosh on those.

@ contour_lines. It's true that the armies of the two rival brothers-in-law (kings of the German states), Henry IV, King of the Romans and Rudolf of Rheinfelden met at the Weisse Elster river in the Great Saxon Revolt civil war of the Holy Roman Empire. Unfortunately, Rudolf was the victor but died the following day at Merseburg of wounds received. However, fish are okay. But that would be another thread ?.

Not sure about the etiquette and structure of this forum as I'm obviously a newbie here (the branch function for instance). Will say this though, the recent studies on trout visited by obscure 18th century royalty have been quite an eye opener, and I'm erring on the side of caution. The trout have been going to town on mice and even rats this season. I saw a pic recently of a trout with a rat's tail dangling out of it's backside, a pretty crazy sight.