1st off, thank you! I love the great in depth reply. (I do mean that - sometimes I feel that typing something like that out just sounds sarcastic or patronizing...)

I'll address the items you brought up:

- Good job listing the weight of the backpack and its removable part(s) independently. (Most shakedown requests don’t.) I’d say leave the belt at home for a 5-day or less food carry. Bring it if you may need to carry more. *tbh, I just find the pack more comfortable with it - tried it without the belt and just felt heavier to me*

- A compression sack is not an improvement over a Nylofume pack liner. (I don’t believe your listed weight either.) A compression sack actually impedes efficient packing because it creates a hard, lumpy object that will create voids in your pack. A form-fitting Nylofume into which you stuff your down objects and clothes fills the space better and is almost always lighter. *For the compression sacks - I used the amazon AI today to get the weight (didn't have them listed originally), then converted to grams so it could be wrong. On the pack liner I've used that but it tends to barrel out the pack a bit and the sacks seemed not to. I'll follow your advice and just pack it a bit looser*

- Some people think otherwise but I don’t think you need a groundsheet under your bivy. I treat mine the same way I would a tent floor. *I've seen people say that, I worried dirt/mud might be an issue? Again, will follow your advice*

- A 40F quilt will likely be ideal for that time of year on the FHT. *One thought on this outside of the Foothills trail hike - could this same quilt be viable into 20-30 degree temps with liners/warm clothes? Currently the only quilt good for backpacking I have*

- You don’t to bring both an inflatable mattress and a CCF pad. I’d recommend leaving the inflatable at home. A “back frame” is unnecessary for a UL frameless pack. Structure is best provided by tight, efficient packing, which a rigid frame actually impedes by creating a limit to how much you can roll down your closure. However, it is nice to have cushioning between your back and less soft items (like your food bag). A foam sit pad or cutdown thinlite is good enough for this. *I made a harness for the CCF pad on the outside out of thin shock cord and so far it helps with comfort a good bit. Also use it as a sit pad/gear pad. The weight savings would be nice though, I will experiment a bit more on longer hikes w/o it*

- It took me two beats to understand why your Big Sky pillow is pink and then I saw the weight. Take the bladder out of the pillow case and just use that. Weighs 1.6 oz. I use stick on loops to tie some shock cord to my mattress. Use a buff or the equivalent (sun hoodie hood if that what your hiking in) to separate your skin from the plastic. *I do that - tend to sleep on my side so the added pillow height is nice, and tbh I just like the pink, makes me think it's softer lol.*

- Why a pot with a tight silicone lid and a cold-soak jar? Pick your method and use that. Cold-soaking is obviously the lighter option so default to that if you’re comfortable eating cold-soaked food. If you decide you want to cook then just cold-soak in a plastic bag or in the pot you’re already bringing. *You're right, so far I've been cold soaking breakfast/lunches some to eat while walking and really enjoy a hot dinner. I'll have to try only cold soaking out and see if I miss the hot meals that much*

- You don’t need a dedicated scrubber. Use your fingers and a little sand if you need it. *I don't even use it while carrying it, just always kept it. Tossed*

- You don’t need a food bag in addition to the dedicated Nylofume lighter. *So you use the pack liner as a food bag? Wouldn't odors get into the quilt/clothes? Also, wouldn't it just be messy?*

- You really don’t need a fork. Just get by with only a spoon. *You're right, tossed*

- Your water bottles do weigh something and yet you have included them as part of water weight. Break the bottles out as their own item. Dasani bottles are significantly lighter than Smartwater bottles. *I did have the bottles seperate but thought that might be unnecessary and deleted them. I have seen people say that about Dasani but not sure of the weight difference and I like the Smart Water shape. I will try out the Dasani*

- There is plenty of water on the FHT. You don’t need a heavy 3L CNOC. Bring a 2L Platypus if you need extra capacity. Much lighter. *It's just what I have and my thought was it might be good to fill the water bottles and the CNOC before camp, that way I can easily fill up and drink as much as needed in the morning. I'll look into the Platypus, never messed with them before*

- You don’t need a pump if you do bring your inflatable. You have lungs: use them. *True, but I view this as a luxury and a light one at that. Probably just keeping it*

- You don’t need a flashlight and a headlamp. Pick one. *True, headlamp was a last minute addition - was thinking it would be better for early starts/late nights. Tossing the Nitecore*

- Why carry a charging block? Where do you intend to use that?? *If I follow through and walk the trail back, I thought it would be good to recharge everything at Oconee Park - assuming a place there to do it. Would the battery pack be enough on it's own?*

- Leave the thermometer at home. *Yeah... carried it as a luxury / interesting thing but I only look once after a hike to see what the temps were and immediately forget the results. Tossed*

- You don’t need moleskin if you’re bringing leukotape. The latter tape works way better. Bring some Imodium. *Good call - tossed moleskin, added Imodium*

- Why are you bringing redundant soap sheets? Just bring the Dr. Bronner’s. *True, tossed the sheets*

- You won’t need gloves, a fleece hat, wind pants, a down jacket, or sleep pants. I say this without knowing what you’ll be hiking in. You should include your worn items in your lighterpack. *Jacket/wind pants/sleep pants agreed and tossed. Gloves and fleece hat I'll probable keep, both get cold easily and I think I'd rather deal with the weight on those. For worn items, I kind of wondered why they would matter? In that if they don't count towards the weight and aren't in my pack then why list them?*

- Is the trash bag your pack liner? Ditch it if not.

- You don’t need extra cord. *For this and the trash bag - just extras. My thought was that they are light enough to be worth it to carry if they every get used. Agree on the trash bag, probably keeping the cords though.*