08/26/15: Chopped

Nothing is safe (source)

Current base weight is 17.7 lbs. Working my way through the lists again to see what else is a big contributor.

List of heavy items that could potentially be eliminated: sandals (TBD, approx. 2.20 oz), gaiters (LevaGaiters, 1.80 oz, $28), knife (Mora Companion, 3.40 oz), pack cover (ULA, 3.00 oz), sit pad (3.25 oz), mug (GSI, 1.5 oz), miscellaneous cord lengths (2.35 oz), and my grandpa's old candle lantern (old school REI, 8.60 oz). Eliminating everything would save 26.1 oz (holy crap that's a lot), but would come at a cost.

1. Sandals (2.2 oz, source) - These are for lounging around camp. I'm either going buy a cheapo foam pair or make them out of a blue foam sleeping pad from WalMart. I kind of love how ugly they are. Plus, they are lighter than any other options and are dirt cheap (can make multiple pairs from one sleeping pad). If I don't bring sandals, I'll be stuck wearing my hiking shoes around camp, which sounds annoying. I'd probably want to wear socks in the shoes but could go barefoot in the sandals. These will stay for now.
2. Gaiters (1.8 oz) -  This will have to be trail-tested once I get low-top trail runners. The idea is that they keep crap out of your shoes, but I'm not convinced this will be a problem. From what I've read, most of Oregon is packed dirt. This is in contrast to southern California (sand) and the Sierras (rocks) where gaiters would be much more valuable.
3. Knife (3.4 oz) - I already have a small folding knife (Gerber Compact Scout, 0.90 oz) included in my base weight. The question is whether or not I need this larger, fixed-blade knife. Pros: allows me to process firewood, provides a better sense of security/self-defense. Cons: weight (obvi), likely to have no fires due to fire restrictions, false sense of security. Apparently the only reason I have the knife is for a (potentially false) sense of security, so I'll need to decide if this is something that is 3.4 oz important to me.
4. Pack Cover (3.0 oz) - I'll definitely be using a heavy duty trash bag (1.5 oz) inside my pack as a liner for my sleeping bag and clothes, so I'm not sure a pack cover is really necessary. Plus, pack covers don't keep the pack 100% dry (the area on your back is still exposed), so water will work its way into the pack one way or the other. I think this is gone.
5. Sit Pad (3.25 oz) - I always said this was worth its weight, but nothing is safe at this point. Actually, I just read that the ULA Ohm 2.0 has a removable foam back pad weighing (1.5 oz) so this additional sit pad is out.
6. Mug (1.5 oz) - For lunch, there will be no cooking and therefore no mug required. For dinner, I'll boil water in the cookpot, then pour it into a freezer bag containing dehydrated food. The freezer bag sits in a reflectix cozy (size and weight yet to be analyzed) and the food is eaten straight from there (no need for a mug/bowl). For breakfast, I'll either be eating oatmeal or danishes. The oatmeal can be repackaged into sandwich bags or can be eaten straight from its pouch (although that may make it difficult to add fruit/toppings). However, I'll likely want to be eating 2 oatmeal packets per breakfast anyways, so I'll just repackage them into sandwich bags (and perhaps add the fruits/toppings beforehand). This means I can rehydrate, cook, and eat directly out of the bag (assuming my pot cozy works with both large and small bags). So, the only thing left for the mug is hot beverages. On the mornings when I'm heating water for oatmeal, I'll probably want tea or coffee and will thus need something to drink it out of. This means either drinking from a mug or drinking straight from the cookpot. My current cookpot is fairly large (1.8 L), and the orientation of the handle makes it too unwieldy for direct drinking. Since the most water I'll need to boil at a time is 2 cups (16 fl oz, 0.5 L), I could find a smaller cookpot that is smaller, lighter, and more suitable for drinking (new cookpot to be analyzed below). The other option I've seen is a cheap plastic travel mug. This would likely add 2-3 oz, but would allow me to hike with a hot beverage instead of trying to gulp it down at camp so I can start hiking. It would also keep the beverage hot for a long(er) time than an uninsulated metal cookpot. In conclusion, I think all this means that I should ditch the small GSI mug. If I want to drink tea at camp, I'll use the cookpot (if I get a new, sexier one) or get a travel mug (cheap, sexy in its own way). The travel mug also gives me the added flexibility of walking and drinking, which my current one does not.
7. Miscellaneous Cord Lengths (2.35 oz) - This is a group of cordage lengths on a carabiner. I typically bring this when using my Mamajamba tarp as it allows more flexibility in setup. However, the TarpTent Protrail is pretty much a one-trick pony so the only extra cordage I need will be for hanging food, clotheslines, etc. which I can accomplish with one 30 ft length (already included in base weight). For these reasons, Miscellaneous Cord Lengths (2.35 oz), you've been chopped.
8. Lantern (8.60 oz) - As bloody heavy as this thing is, I don't want to leave it behind. After my grandma bequeathed this to me, I knew I owed it to my grandpa to use it in a deserving way. I believe a month-long trek on the PCT is a as good a chance as I'll ever get, and that both my grandma and grandpa would be happy to know that I brought it along. However, I have two concerns: that it might get damaged and that fire restrictions wouldn't allow its use. I know I can come up with a safe way to store it (I'm thinking reflectix, maybe integrated with my pot cozy...). If the fire season allows, I'll bring it.

With these optional items gone, I just saved 15.3 oz. This is assuming I actually follow through with the gaiters and knife. Along with some other minor changes, my base weight is down to 16.1 lbs.

The list of heavy items I have to keep, but could replace, is as follows: insulation layer (Columbia Platinum, 22.25 oz), battery pack (Outdoor Tech Kodiak, 9.4 oz, $50 or Mophie Powerstation, 4.4 oz, $80), cookpot (GSI 1.8L, 8.05 oz), pot cozy (1.09 oz).

1. Down Jacket (22.25 oz) - Clothing is a frustrating category because unlike some other items, money is pretty much the only way to make any significant gains. I'm happy with the weight of the rest of my clothes (shirts, light jacket, pants, beanie, gloves), but the Columbia puffy jacket I have leaves a lot of room for improvement. A Montbell jacket (Ex Light, 5.6 oz, $200) would provide a pound of savings. At $12 per oz saved, it's not the best deal, but 1 lb is a lot of weight.
2. Battery Pack (9.4 oz) - For an extra $30, I can shave 5 oz ($6 per oz saved) by going to the Mophie Powerstation. I've tried my darndest to eliminate this brick all together, but I believe it will be the lightest way to keep my devices (phone and camera) charged.
3. Cookpot (8.05 oz) - Per the mug discussion above, I only need 16 fl oz / 0.5 L of cooking capacity as opposed to the 1.8 L I have now. The SnowPeak 600 (2.8 oz, $40) is a good fit and a pretty good value at only $7.62 per oz saved. I'll also get a lip guard (SnowPeak HotLips, 0.3 oz, $4) so I can use the pot as a mug without burning my face off.
4. Pot Cozy (1.09 oz) - My current pot cozy is sized to fit snugly around my GSI cookpot. If I do get the smaller SnowPeak pot, I'll make a new pot cozy that fits snugly around it. I'll still eat dinners directly out of the freezer bag, which sits in the cozy. This will likely only result in about 0.5 oz savings, but is free and makes packing easier.

Current base weight after all these (assumed) changes is 14.4 lbs. Hooray that's light! In reality, my pack will end up somewhere in between a number like this (15 lbs) and the number I'm at with my current gear (24 lbs). I have no intention of making all the changes I've listed so far, but rather analyzing which changes would give the most bang for my buck.