Maximum Pack Weight Recommended
Encompassing all gear, food, and the pack itself....what would you recommend for the maximum weight to take on? I've heard 25-30 lbs. is usually the norm? Thanks so much!
The main number I've heard is that you don't want a pack to be more than 20% of your body weight (that includes gear, water, and food).
Of course since the average hiker is between 150 to 200 lbs, you can understand where a number like 30 lbs comes from.
So for those hiking with kids, you'll need to pay more attention to 20% rather than any fixed number.
Mine runs 20-30 lbs depending on the number of days supplies, but, one shoe size doesn't fit all, what others do may not be the best for, only experience will answer your question, and I'm guessing there are hikers here that have been at it for many years and they're still modifying thier gear.Originally Posted by MikeV
There's base weight, and there's total weight. Base weight doesn't vary. But total does, mostly on account of the food and water you may need to carry. No need for base weight to ever exceed 20-25 lbs. on the AT, unless you're hiking in the dead of winter. However: you might end up carrying 10 lbs. for 4 or 5 days' food, and another 3 quarts (6 lbs.) of water on a hot day over a long ridge... it all adds up. So keep the base weight low!!!
The good news is that the food/water weight drops off. So you see a typical pattern of hikers leaving town going real slow, overloaded with food... and then speeding up as their packs lighten up over the next several days. It's not always necessary to carry 3 quarts of water. But if it's a hot day and I'm heading up to a long ridge, I do just that.
What others tell you will be far less important than what your back and knees say. Try some things out. Generally the lighter you go, the happier your body will be.
Of course, the lighter you go the lighter your wallet also becomes. It is amazing how much so little costs. So, it ends up as something of a compermise between weight and cost. Thankfully, you can pretty much go "middle of the road" on weight and price and still end up with a base weight under 20 pounds, so your fully loaded pack with food and water will stay under 30. Get much over 30 pounds and walking up and down hills all day gets to be really exausting.
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+1 to this. If I wasn't packing food for my kids, my weight would be in the mid to upper teens depending on resupply. With the kids, my pack weight is around 30-35 pounds right after resupply. It is much more enjoyable for me at 15-20 than 30-35. But that's what fits my frame. If you're 6'3" and 200 pounds of lean muscle you might be perfectly comfy at that weight. Your pack will make a big, big difference in what is comfortable.
2,000 miler. Still keepin' on keepin' on.
It All Depends
Takes a lot of knowledge and experience to get below 10 lbs comfortably. Carrying 30 lbs base pack weight is no fun for most people over the long haul.
For many people ~15 lbs+ BPW is an easy to achieve with no effect on comfort and functionality. ULA, Gossamer, Tarp Tent et al make some really good gear that is light and not functionally different from traditional gear..but a heck of a lot lighter! A light famed pack, a tarp tent of some sort, a lightweight pad, a down bag and a canister or alcohol stove and you are off to the races.
Ultimately, though, you have to get out there and use the gear to see what works for you.
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Ive carried 25 lbs of food and water before, so I have to agree, it depends.
On the AT, that kind of thing is unlikely
For most AT hikers , 8 lbs food for 4 days, and 2L water= 4.4 lbs = 12.4 lbs. With a comfortable 15lb base wt they would be 27.4 lbs. You can easily stay under 30 most all the time, which is what I would suggest. I would really, really suggest changes is you top 35 lbs with 12lbs food and water. But it does depend on weather, trip, and goals.
Last edited by MuddyWaters; 02-26-2014 at 17:41.
Five pounds lighter than the minimum anyone tells you.
"Maybe life isn't about avoiding the bruises. Maybe it's about collecting the scars to prove we showed up for it."
I agree. 15# base pack weight is not that hard to achieve. You can be very comfortable with that.It All Depends
Takes a lot of knowledge and experience to get below 10 lbs comfortably. Carrying 30 lbs base pack weight is no fun for most people over the long haul.
For many people ~15 lbs+ BPW is an easy to achieve with no effect on comfort and functionality. ULA, Gossamer, Tarp Tent et al make some really good gear that is light and not functionally different from traditional gear..but a heck of a lot lighter! A light famed pack, a tarp tent of some sort, a lightweight pad, a down bag and a canister or alcohol stove and you are off to the races.
Ultimately, though, you have to get out there and use the gear to see what works for you.
I have a number of gear lists with weights and cost for U/L, Summer lightweight and 3-season lightweight. Base between 12.5 lbs and 15 lbs. If you would like to see them, please send a PM and I will forward. The lists also have the costs.....
In summer, for a week, without trying hard to go light, I end up at 35 lbs. I could go lighter by going no- cook on the food and not bringing a camera.
"It's fun to have fun, but you have to know how." ---Dr. Seuss
My current load with 4 days food and 40oz's water is 33 lbs.
It also depends on fitness level, muscle mass, cardio capacity, and of course knowledge. What's interesting is that a 200-lb, athletic guy who grew up in the flatlands may still not enjoy lugging a 40-lb pack, even though that is 20% of his bodyweight. Whereas a moderately fit 130-lb woman who grew up in the mountains and doesn't mind sweating a bit can be just fine with a 30-lb pack (23%).
Of course, the first requirement is that you have the equipment -- and the knowledge to use it -- to keep you sufficiently safe and reasonably comfortable so you enjoy your outing. Most newbies significantly overestimate what they need, or don't know how to cut the ounces that add up to pounds. This is why a full gear review by an experienced backpacker can be so effective at reducing weight...not just by replacing everything with pricey Cuben Fiber products.
I was able to help my 107-lb newbie daughter -- who frankly doesn't bother to workout much at all but has a great attitude and doesn't mind putting in a bit of effort -- to put together a 19-pound pack (18%) with a 15-degree bag. Yes, she has a lighter pack (REI Flash 50) and one of my old silnyl tents, and she doesn't eat as much as a big guy, but she also learned to do without some gear that she might have thought she really needed. That pack was so darn light I could pick it up with one finger, and in fact I had to carry it for a few miles after she wrenched her knee scampering up a mountain. Her pack was only 14 pounds (13%) on her first backpacking trip, but I was carrying some of her weight to keep her light (pushing my packweight all the way up to 31 pounds (18%) from my typical 25-26 (15%).
Sure, you can carry a lot more weight (I recall carrying 50-60 pound packs (30-40%) on my section hikes as a teenager, but you would feel it towards the end of the day and I had to cut two hikes short because of injury. I don't miss the extra equipment.
GA←↕→ME: 1973 to 2014
I never have understood why some folks carry so much water, I can normally get by with a 24 oz water bottle, drink all you can at each water source, know where the next one is and drink the 24 oz early on and have the bottle empty when you reach the next source...there's a big difference in 4.4 lbs and 24 oz.
I prefer to keep my bones at least a little moist.
35 lbs. is my norm
'Cuz being out of water is the worst thing in the world, and can kill you. I don't like carry extra weight either, but dehydration sucks and is really bad for you.
One quart of water weighs 2.2 pounds. 24 ounces of water is 3/4 of a quart. 3/4 of a liter weighs 1.65 pounds, which is 26.4 ounces.
This zinger of the day was sponsered by Odd Man Out. (which of course sets me up for him to correct my math and zing me right back)
Sorry Drybones- nothing personal.
Last edited by Just Bill; 02-27-2014 at 13:39.
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