Maximum Pack Weight Recommended

[Just Bill]

sorry- double post

[Sierra2015]

What's FSO?

[Just Bill]

An application of the 80% rule-
Carry 80% of 20% of your HEALTHY body weight and make that your FSO goal. If you are overweight don't use that number.
150 pound hiker- 20% equals 30 pounds. 80% of that is 24 pounds. An easy to accomplish goal.
20% of your body is a good "all day" number (comfortable maximum). Pick up a paper clip a thousand times and even that gets heavy, walking is little different.
A typical resupply is 5 days. Two pounds of food a day adds 10. A pound of consumables and a quart of water bring you more or less to 15 pounds.
FSO+resupply puts this hiker at 39 pounds lumbering out of town but at an averaging closer to thier ideal weight of 30 pounds.

A better FSO goal is 15 pounds, a pretty standard UL benchmark. Why?
That puts our UL hiker at 30 pounds leaving town and carrying 22.5 pounds on average, just below thier 80% of 20% goal and just kissing thier max weight for the first day.

FSO is from skin out for those not familiar with the term- a better way to prevent yourself from lying to yourself about what you carry. Wear it, stuff it in your pocket- or count it in your pack- It all goes on your back.

It's not UL- its ultra easy.
UL is only 20% more expensive after you've bought 80% of your gear.
Otherwise it's 80% of the cost of traditional gear if you don't go off the SUL deep end.

[Sierra2015]

The letters FSO mean "from skin out"?

[fredmugs]

I find it a whole lot harder to carry a 25 lb pack when I weigh 215 than a 35 lb pack when I weigh 195. I concentrate more on my body weight than I do on my pack weight.

[Chair-man]

Encompassing all gear, food, and the pack itself....what would you recommend for the maximum weight to take on?

For me it's 25 lbs. Even at 60 years old I have no problem carrying 25 lbs total weight but for some reason 30 lbs is just too heavy so I really try to keep my total weight no more than 25 lbs.

[Just Bill]

The letters FSO mean "from skin out"?

Yar-
Everything you got- from your undies to your trekking poles gets counted.
It's a bit anal, pun intended.

Some folks think it's silly and I tell them this (which you may be too young for)-
Remember the ankle weight craze in the 80's? Lot's of folks getting in really good shape just from walking around with 1lb weights on thier ankles and wrists?
Those folks walked for 2 hours a day and got in great shape with just four pounds, we walk for 8 hours or more.

From Skin Out helps you remember to pay attention to shoes, poles, pocket knife, lighter and the pile of little odds and ends you toss in your bag at the last minute. People agonize over saving 8 ounces in a sleeping bag or if they should bring an extra 2 ounce pair of socks. Then those same people buy three pound shoes and stick a 6 ounce knife in thier pocket.

It's not saying you should DO anything in particular, just reminding you to pay attention to what you choose to do.

[garlic08]

Wise water management can be an effective part of reducing pack weight. On my AT hike, I met hikers who would fill up a 3 liter camelback in the morning, every day, even if they were literally walking in fresh spring water all day. On days like that, I often carried no water at all. That's over six pounds of extra weight, carried out of habit or fear. On some stiff climbs where there was a guaranteed water source on the other side, I often dumped what water I had after drinking my fill, sometimes saving a pound or two on the ascent.

A one-liter bottle of water is the heaviest single item I carry in my pack, including the pack. It makes a difference if I can jettison that load, and I do so as often as I wisely can. It's a strategy that works well for me, on foot or bicycle.

Likewise, food management is important. So many hikers finish a section with three or four pounds of extra food. While water is immediately necessary, food is not. Hikers do not die of hunger after a day or two of light rations. I feel a successful hike is reaching town having eaten my last nut a few hours earlier. That usually saves me a couple extra pounds leaving town.

Contrary to legend, I've found that reducing load is actually cheaper, with the exception of down insulation. My entire AT kit, including an excellent Marmot Helium bag, weighed right around ten pounds and cost $850. Most heavier tents, packs, sleeping pads and clothing cost much more than what I carried.

AT hikers' packs seem to usually be at least 20 pounds base weight, and that's a good number to shoot for if you don't have a lot of packing experience. What you carry and wear really makes little difference if you don't know how to keep things dry while climbing in the rain, for instance. It makes sense to carry extra clothing if you can't keep what you're wearing dry. If you gain the experience on keeping stuff dry in all conditions, you can start carrying less, and eventually migrate to lighter shelter, pack, etc.

[Drybones]

Pack weight is important, but the more important thing for me is a comfortable pack. After a few weeks on the trail I notice very little difference in carrying 5 days of supplies vs 1 day.

[rafe]

Personally I'm finding... the older I get the less I'm willing to carry. I moved a lot faster at age 55 than I did at age 37, and it was mostly due to a lighter load on my back. Lighter footwear and poles helped, too. Maybe I got smarter about movin' my feets.

When I was a yout, my chums and I had good times hauling 50 pound packs all through the Whites and even up to Chimney Pond in Baxter SP a couple of times. We hardly ever went more than 5 or 8 miles a day but we had a luxurious camp.

I suppose one can't get older, faster and lighter forever. Something's gonna give.

[Kerosene]

Wise water management can be an effective part of reducing pack weight.

So true. I know that I've become overly cautious since I became very dehydrated over a dry section in north Jersey almost 40 years ago. Sometimes I can convince myself to cut back on the water weight, but I always seem to carry more than I need. Encountering a lot of dried up springs on my Fall hikes, including a dry night between back-to-back 13-mile days, makes it harder for me to be aggressive in this area, even when I camel-up at a spring.

[Seatbelt]

Wise water management can be an effective part of reducing pack weight. On my AT hike, I met hikers who would fill up a 3 liter camelback in the morning, every day, even if they were literally walking in fresh spring water all day. On days like that, I often carried no water at all. That's over six pounds of extra weight, carried out of habit or fear. On some stiff climbs where there was a guaranteed water source on the other side, I often dumped what water I had after drinking my fill, sometimes saving a pound or two on the ascent.

While I agree with the points you have made about carrying as little water as absolutely necessary, I fail to see the wisdom in purposely dumping ALL one's water with more trail to walk. There are too many unforeseen possible scenarios where one might wish they had saved that last few ounces of water before they get to the next watering hole. JMO
I will admit that I carry less water than I used too and travel faster as well, thereby needing to carry less.

[rafe]

I've had a bout with kidney stones a few years back... docs say poor hydration habits can cause it. Hiking the mid-Atlantic portion of the AT in a seriously dry year caused me to carry more water than I'd have liked to. Many times when I tried to skimp, I regretted it. Experience tells me to err on the side of too much water vs. too little.

Besides, if you've got enough water in your platy, you can make camp almost anywhere. Gives you freedom.

[earlyriser26]

with food for 3 days and water, 25 - 35 lbs.

[Just Bill]

Wise water management can be an effective part of reducing pack weight. On my AT hike, I met hikers who would fill up a 3 liter camelback in the morning, every day, even if they were literally walking in fresh spring water all day. On days like that, I often carried no water at all. That's over six pounds of extra weight, carried out of habit or fear. On some stiff climbs where there was a guaranteed water source on the other side, I often dumped what water I had after drinking my fill, sometimes saving a pound or two on the ascent.

A one-liter bottle of water is the heaviest single item I carry in my pack, including the pack. It makes a difference if I can jettison that load, and I do so as often as I wisely can. It's a strategy that works well for me, on foot or bicycle.

Likewise, food management is important. So many hikers finish a section with three or four pounds of extra food. While water is immediately necessary, food is not. Hikers do not die of hunger after a day or two of light rations. I feel a successful hike is reaching town having eaten my last nut a few hours earlier. That usually saves me a couple extra pounds leaving town.

Contrary to legend, I've found that reducing load is actually cheaper, with the exception of down insulation. My entire AT kit, including an excellent Marmot Helium bag, weighed right around ten pounds and cost $850. Most heavier tents, packs, sleeping pads and clothing cost much more than what I carried.

AT hikers' packs seem to usually be at least 20 pounds base weight, and that's a good number to shoot for if you don't have a lot of packing experience. What you carry and wear really makes little difference if you don't know how to keep things dry while climbing in the rain, for instance. It makes sense to carry extra clothing if you can't keep what you're wearing dry. If you gain the experience on keeping stuff dry in all conditions, you can start carrying less, and eventually migrate to lighter shelter, pack, etc.

Can't say I've mastered the food and water- but with you 100%.
I still talk myself into that extra quart and justify it by recalling all the other weight I've saved. Tough habit to crack. Maybe by the time I'm 50 I'll have it nailed.

[takethisbread]

I never let my pack weight exceed 3.87lbs including food and water.


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[English Stu]

+1 for Drybones comment. Water and food management is one of the skills the AT teaches you.
Keep abreast of the water situation ahead by a careful eye on the maps for water sources. Ask folks coming in the opposite direction about the condition of the sources and drink as you go along. Only once out of necessity did I carry 3ltr and I didn't like it, I carry one litre most of the time and find I drink more a the sources because I do not think about rationing the water I have. Weather conditions/exertion can have a bearing on consumption so needs thinking about.

[Capt Nat]

Guilty on the water mismanagement. I routinely arrive at a water source with plenty of water then, run out and arrive at the next source parched. I really admire you folks that have that skill mastered...

[Seatbelt]

Guilty on the water mismanagement. I routinely arrive at a water source with plenty of water then, run out and arrive at the next source parched. I really admire you folks that have that skill mastered...

I was not insinuating that I have this skilled mastered either--still learning--right there with you.

[Just Bill]

A curious question.
I never thought of water bottle choice in terms of water management. Besides old habit I carry a 3L platy and 1L bottle at a minimum to be able to carry a gallon.
Now for me this has always been a no-brainer- a 3L platy weighs grams more than a 1L- meaning- You can always carry less in a 3L, but you can't carry more in a 1L so take the extra room for the few gram penalty.

So the curious question- Do some of INTENTIONALLY carry smaller bladders to prevent you from carrying too much water?