Some gear and weight odds and ends

Here are some things I may not have mentioned in previous posts:

I wore New Balance 481 All Terrain running shoes for the actual point to point hiking (see photo below). Even with a moderately heavy pack I had no blisters or other foot problems. These are the most comfortable ligh hiking shoes I've ever worn for smooth trail hiking, like most of the El Camino.

I did not take my eTrex GPS receiver, and largely did not miss it. With the two alternatives available, the iPhone using citymaps2go and the WalMart Hisense android tablet with OSMAND Spain maps, I really had plenty of gps mapping with off-line maps not requiring an internet connection (like google maps requires). If I had decided to really map the el Camino in detail (in 3D for instance) I might have needed the eTrex, but that was not my goal.

I never used my sleeping bag since I had a silk sheet and there were plenty of blankets in Albergues. I could have saved about 1.5 pounds.

For walking around town after long hikes I could have gotten along fine (in fact better) with lighter Crocs instead of Tevas, which I took in case I had shoe problems. Savings of maybe .5 pounds and much more practical since no straps needed for taking off and putting on.

I used both the iPhone and tablet a lot, so they were not wasted weight.

I could have saved a couple of pounds on clothes by taking rain pants and leaving out my extra pair of zip-offs, by leaving behind a couple of T shirts, socks, and underwear since I could wash these most stops.

I threw out my battery-powered clippers and a larger writing pad after a few days to save weight (maybe .5 pound).

All-in-all I could have saved  maybe 3-4 pounds by cutting back on unused stuff.