r/Ultralight

Hi everyone, I'm heading to Olympic National Park in late July and would love to get your advice. I've section hiked the AT for years but this is my first time hiking out west. I'm most interested in getting outside opinions on my setup and leveraging the sub's experience to make sure I'm on track for a new environment.

Current base weight: Showing 16lbs for this trip, as low as 10lbs on others.

Location/temp range/specific trip description: Olympic National Park 7/21-7/28, expecting lows in the 40s and highs in the 80s, elevation ranging from 500 to 6700ft. Three back to back trips meeting up with old friends, swapping one or two people out between. Deer Park Loop followed by a loop in the Buckhorn Wilderness and finishing with the Enchantments from Dosewallips Trailhead to Grave Creek. I'll be out for eight days but won't need to carry more than three or four days of food due to resupply opportunities with people/trail swaps.

Budget: I'd prefer not to spend more than another $100-200 on gear for this trip.

Non-negotiable Items: I've hiked with a tarp/bivy setup but am excited to get some reps in with my X-Mid. Topo maps and compass are there to build a new skillset rather than sheer necessity.

Solo or with another person?: Two people on the first loop, two on the second, three on the third.

Additional Information: I already have some long term gear purchases planned but haven't pulled the trigger because my existing gear has either been good enough or I haven't had the disposable funds. These include the following (definitely open to feedback):

• Swap Exped Synmat (basically 10yrs old now but stubbornly still working) for a lighter modern pad such as an Xlite (drops at least 3oz, ~$210)

• Swap Nanopuff for an EE Torid (drops 4.5oz, ~$180). Could sub with my old, beat up Patagonia UL Down Jacket (weighs 8.6oz) but I'm not sure it's warm enough anymore and would prefer synthetic for this trip anyways.

• Swap Northface TKA for a Senchi Lark (drops 5.3oz, $95)

For reference, swaps I've already made from my standard AT list include: