UL backpackers - what is your average weight?

[ike1985]

Right now im looking at 19lbs w/o food and water. I have a 2.5lb aarn featherlite freedom pack, hammock, tarp, uq, tq, gps, camera, etc. That is my summer setup. Winter w/o food and water: 24lbs.

[ike1985]

@Quoddy

Can you elaborate on what you bring, as far as pack, gear, etc?

[sbhikes]

On my PCT hike my pack was about 15 pounds. Now for weekend trips in my local area it's about 10. The difference being less guidebooks, journals, books to read, odd-and-ends, town clothes, rain gear (because it doesn't rain enough here, you can trust the weather report.)

The best way to get help is to go to Backpacking Light and read people's gear lists. Read the gear list threads where people give feedback on their gear lists. The most common mistake I see people make is to carry extra clothing. You don't need to carry any more clothes than you can wear all at once. If you have a spare shirt, spare pants, shorts just riding around in your pack doing nothing, you have too much. I did a 3 day section hike with a woman who I swear brought half her closet. She had enough outfits to wear something new every day for a week. No wonder she struggled.

I too have been working on the water management issue. Not carrying so much water. If I'm going to be hiking along a creek most of the day, I shouldn't have to carry any water. I still do, though, because it's a pain in the butt to stop and treat it when all I want is about 20 ounces to drink real quick.

[JohnnyMuir]

I'm looking at about 6.5-7 for my CT hike this summer. Its been a couple years, I was at about twice that for AT hikes in high school so I'm definitely going to do a couple overnights to make sure I'm comfortable at such a low level but I think I've got everything figured out. I'm making most of my gear, so that's really helping. With a 10 oz pack and a 4 oz shelter, the rest comes easy!

[garlic08]

...I'm making most of my gear, so that's really helping. With a 10 oz pack and a 4 oz shelter, the rest comes easy!

Good for you. Many successful AT hikers come out West and lighten their loads, and not all of us spend lots of money doing it. You are probably further proof that going light does not require lots of cash. In its purest form, light gear is simple and cheap, and it's easy to make (except for that eider down, of course).

Welcome to Whiteblaze. Have a great hike on the CT.

[sbhikes]

I made some of my gear. My tent and quilt were the most expensive things. The next most expensive were my two jackets. Everything else was pretty cheap. My clothing was either old stuff I've had for years or stuff I bought at the thrift store. I made some insulating things out of an old fleece sweater from the thrift store and they turned out to be really useful and light. My pack was only $80 new. I used a few tiny containers that once held other things like medicine for my pet bird or visine. I refill my little travel-sized toothpaste over and over. I even refill a sample-sized foil pouch of anti-biotic ointment. I never bought any stuff sacks (that's another place people waste a lot of weight). I just used ones that other things came in. I only had one stuff sack anyway, which held all my hygiene items. Otherwise I used trash compactor bags. Containers for drinking once held Gatorade or Naked Juice. I felt like the queen of trash, the dumpster-diver of backpacking. Going light can be way cheaper than going heavy because you need less gear overall and much of it can best be found by scavenging.

[1azarus]

well, just weighed my pack for an upcoming four day hike in the SNP. I get to cheat a bit because of the waysides, but with a pound and a half of food, no stove, and two empty gatorade bottles my pack weighs ten pounds. that also includes a hammock and tarp, by the way... what's that expression? i'm a happy camper...

[MedicineMan]

I've never asked for mine to be critiqued, would you all mind? If not here it is:
House
3sYeti 11.8oz
3sMamba 20.6 oz
Warbonnet Tarp 11.0 oz
Blackbird 1.7 Single 25 oz
stakes 3 oz
71.4 oz

Kitchen MLD CC Ti 5oz
cozy/bic 2.0 oz
plate/spoon .75 oz
8.25 oz
Rain eV Packa 17oz
MLD chaps 1.4 oz
Bucket hat 2.0 oz
mitts 2.0 oz
22.4 oz
CampClothes
SW tights 5 oz
BPL merino hoodie 6 oz
MB vest 4.0 oz
WM Flash 10 oz
25 oz
Electronics
Droid/extended batter 7.0 oz
Fujifilm 4.2 oz
11.2 oz
First Aid 2oz
Repair 2oz
Glasses/Meds 3oz
7 oz

Pack
Mariposa Plus for grand total of 168 oz or 10.51 pound
or Osprey Eos 34 180.25 oz or 11.26 pounds

[JohnnyMuir]

MM, I'm not familiar with hammockpacking, so I have no idea where weight could be cut in that setup but it's clearly a huge percentage of your overall weight. Myself, I use a Zpacks Hexamid (5 oz w/stakes), a plastic groundsheet (1 oz) and a ray-way quilt (25 oz) or, if I have the time and money to make it, a cuben/down quilt (13 oz). Grand total of 31 or 19 oz depending. I know I won't convert you to ground sleeping, but it is much lighter.

Other than that, the only things I can see are your massively heavy eVent Packa (a Marmot Mica is half the weight), and the vest and flash jacket. For Summer in TN, you could probably leave the Flash at home.

[MedicineMan]

thanks JohnnyMuir....your right about the Packa---its a cult thing that is def. in my head! I hear ya too on the Flash but my excuse is that Roan Mountain is literally my backyard and my playground and I'm the coldest sleeper I've ever met--I wear smartwool tights here in the hospital all year long! but that is rationalizing I know and something Garlic mentioned rings loudly--something about you pack for your fears! So true.
I will say this though, I'm really curious about the no cook method--why not? But I do look forward to that hot cup of tea at night, it's like a little reward I look forward to. That is something I will try this summer on a 3 or 4 day event....I've got a 24 day event coming up and this time I'll stick to what I know...
Thanks again.

[ChrisFol]

MDM,

No experience with hammocks, so I cannot say were to cut the weight and your list is not very clear.

-Nix plate, eat out of your pot.
-Do you need the cozy?
-Rain jacket is heavy-- save half the weight with a precip.
-Is there a need for two down middle-layers? MB Vest and WM Flash. Nix one.
-Nix the phone and battery
-What is in the repair kit? Nix, ductape and krazy glue solves 99.9% of repairs.


-I don't see a bag or pad listed?
-No sunscreen?
-No Deet?
-Fuel Bottle?
-Hydration bottle?
-Filter?
-Purification?
-Trekking poles?
-Warm Hat?
-Bear rope?
-Bear bag?
-Headlight?
-Lip balm?
-Matches?
-Sanitizer/TP/Soap?

[MedicineMan]

Good eye ChrisFol
Pad or bag replaced by Yeti(underquilt) and Mamba(topquilt) for hammock use
2x 1 quart mtn. dew bottles with a camelbak hose in one.
Warm hat=hood on the merino hoodie and the hood on the Flash and hood on Packa.
Fuel bottle=I count that with food since it goes up and down and up and down. My hiking stile is bar for breakfast,bar for lunch, snack all day, cook one hot meal/tea at night so one ounce r-oh per day.....I usually will carry 2 x 2ouce fuel bottle on 3-4 day hike.

What I forgot in my list but in the pack:
I carry visine bottle of chlorox for super suspect water (have never filtered/treated springs on the AT),
visine bottle of bonners soap,prepackaged roll of TP (need to vaccuum pack those though)....never use lip balm, have never used a bear bag on the AT, did in yellowstone and glacier duh

[J-Rod]

my weight for the summer with 3 days of food is 11lbs

for the winter i come in at 15lbs ....
that also could change depends on what i bring ...

[Wolf - 23000]

On my PCT hike my pack was about 15 pounds. Now for weekend trips in my local area it's about 10. The difference being less guidebooks, journals, books to read, odd-and-ends, town clothes, rain gear (because it doesn't rain enough here, you can trust the weather report.)

The best way to get help is to go to Backpacking Light and read people's gear lists. Read the gear list threads where people give feedback on their gear lists. The most common mistake I see people make is to carry extra clothing. You don't need to carry any more clothes than you can wear all at once. If you have a spare shirt, spare pants, shorts just riding around in your pack doing nothing, you have too much. I did a 3 day section hike with a woman who I swear brought half her closet. She had enough outfits to wear something new every day for a week. No wonder she struggled.

I too have been working on the water management issue. Not carrying so much water. If I'm going to be hiking along a creek most of the day, I shouldn't have to carry any water. I still do, though, because it's a pain in the butt to stop and treat it when all I want is about 20 ounces to drink real quick.

sbhiker,

I'm going to disagree with you sense I've never found gear list were any benefit at all and sometimes can even cause more problems than they're worth. A gear list only tells you what gear someone is carrying and often not what they are using for the whole trip. When you hiked the PCT, I'm sure you carried different equipment in hot southern CA desert compare to say the Sierras Mt. A gear list also doesn't tell you how they are using the equipment. The same equipment could serve different purpose that you may not be aware of. UL hikers often know how to use their equipment in many, many different ways that many hikers don't even think about.

Wolf

[Greenmountainguy]

One day he decided to load one of our cheaper packs with 4 gallons of water and walked for an hour or so. He's still complaining about being sore, and I thought, "Sheesh, 33 lbs isn't a whole lot." Well, that's my foot in my mouth, because this morning I picked up the pack to see how it felt . . . . and gosh, 33 lbs is a huge load!
. . . . but 33 lbs! We guesstimated that we would carry around 30 lbs with food, but even at my healthiest and strongest that still seems like a daunting weight, day in and day out for nearly 6 months.
!

I remember in my callow youth once going out for a week with an absurd 64 lbs. (Do not ask.)

Now I struggle to keep it under 25 lbs. and I cannot but think I am being too cautious in some things. I do carry a lot of first aid stuff to aid my fellow on trail, who are often absurdly unprepared for bodily damage.
Maybe if it is not bug season I can go back to my tent-tarp. That will shave up to two pounds. M

aybe a lighter stove, possibly a Sierra Zip? Or would a microscopic propane stove be better? You can get them that weight a couple ounces, but there is the canister weight.The Zip stove would cut my fuel weight (although I would have to carry alcohol or paste as a starter.)

Less clothes if the weather is supposed to be good. Go to lightest of my raingear if it is summer. Vapor barrier clothes for bed and for sudden weather change for the worse might help shave as much as a pound. My summer down bag has already helped. A lighter cookpot (than the stainless one I have now) would for sure help.

Although a lot of this I have already or can obtain even in my impoverished state, but some stuff is just too pricey. Titanium cookware for instance.

[Greenmountainguy]

Good plan. I recommend training with about 5 pounds more than you plan to carry.

I train with a full sized pack filled with individual water bottles for a fill weight of 24 lbs., total pack weight of a bit less than 30 lbs. which is pretty much what I will carry without food or H2O. Yes, I need to get my weight down.