UL backpackers - what is your average weight?

[Sassafras Lass]

So . . . . I've been a bit sick these past few weeks - coughing, no energy - and my husband has been going for proper jaunts in the woods without me. 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!

Understandably, 4 gallons of water is not the same as a full pack which will sit nicer and not want to pull you backwards quite so much . . . . 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.

Sorry for being long-winded, but I guess my point is this: I don't want to set myself up for failure. I want to be reasonable, I want to be safe, and I want to not feel miserable every evening when we set up camp. I have just about a year to get myself ready mentally and physically.

Which leads me to this: I'm not lightweight crazy, but I certainly do take each ounce into consideration (as much as I can with our budget for our hike). So can you folks tell me how much you carry on average? With/without food is fine, whatever advice you have at this point I'm sure to appreciate

Thank you everyone!

[Trooper]

My base weight (everything, including pack, excluding food/water) is 15lbs +/- 2lbs depending on time of year and dressing for the weather.

I'll usually carry 2 liters (4lbs.) of water, and food weight depends on how long I'm out for.

[SGT Rock]

I'm not an ultralighter, but have done it in trips. My lightest ever pack weight for a trip was about 9 pounds with food and water. About 14 FSO,

My current Summertime weight for 5 days hiking is ~27.6 pounds or 33 FSO.
My current Spring/Fall weight for 5 days hiking is ~30.5 pounds or 36 FSO.
My current Winter weight for 5 days hiking is ~33.5 pounds or 39 FSO.

If I were you I wouldn't compare weights to weights though. You need to work on getting your pack and gear set to what is comfortable and works for you. Trail and error is a good place to sort that out. Posting packing lists on here and let people make suggestions can be helpful but should be done with a grain of salt since sometimes their suggestions are their own personal preferences and may not work out well for you.

[Storm]

I don't have all my gear together yet so I'm not sure what my pack weight will be.

To gain strength I bought a large and relatively cheap training pack. Every week or so I add a little more weight for my training walks. Last Saturday I did 15 miles with about 25 lbs. A few months ago this would have seemed extremely heavy. I think adding a large amount of weight at one time would be a problem. As long as you build up gradually it's amazing how your body will adapt. For an old fart like me it's probably the only way I can get into shape and avoid injury. You have a year to train,you'll be surprised at the gains you can make in that amount of time.

[SGT Rock]

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

When I get ready to make major gear changes I usually create a packing list with weights to see how it will all work together. It's not uncommon for people to post what they plan to get as their gear here before they spend all the money collecting gear. I'd like to think we have helped people save some cash by not buying that thing they thought was cool before they found out otherwise.

Good luck.

[Deadeye]

Here's a really good start: the 18-pound, 3-day pack or 27-pound-7-day pack are real close in concept to what I carry.

http://thelightweightbackpacker.com/

Everyone's needs are a little different, but this is a pretty good list, with or without brand names, as a guide to the basic necessities.

For example, for clothes, I don't carry gloves, but I do carry an extra long-sleeve T. For shelter, I have a much lighter tent (2-pound TarpTent Squall), but a heavier pad, and more often than not I carry a hammock instead.

The gist of the sotry is if you can get the weight of your stuff under 15 pounds, you have room for 10+ pounds of food, fuel & water, without hitting the 30 pound mark.

[butts0989]

my 3 season base weight is just over 9 pounds, so with food and water for 5-6 days im never carrying much over 15 pounds. It was actually quite cheap to get to this point. Just dont follow what the outdoor tells you to do, think practically about what you REALLY need. heres a link to my gear list on youtube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gl-PYMyiL7w its a 2 part series. Ive cut down a bit of weight on my ground tarp by using the GG polycro cloth. The best way to go lighter is to simply watch other peoples gear lists.

[Tenderheart]

My base weight is 11 - 12 pounds, and this is with a 3.5 pound backpack. With food for 5 days or so and 2.5 liters of water, my pack weight would be in the mid 20's. It's not that my stuff is so ultra-light, it's that I don't have much stuff. For me, it's not only being light, but also not having a lot of items to keep track of. It's a good feeling to hike along and to know that you have only the equipment that you really need.

litefoot 2000

[grayfox]

Like others have said, start out your training hikes carrying a few liters of water and add more as you feel comfortable. You will be amazed at how soon you will adapt to more weight. Seems to me that no matter how light my pack is, it always feels heavy for about three days on the trail. I wish that was because I ate the food but I usually don't eat much during those first few days.

I remember, quite a while ago now, when I first started training with weight in my pack. I filled it with a couple of bags of flour and sugar that I found in the pantry. I thought at the time that this was a wonderful idea, until I got tired enough to head home and realized that I would have to carry all of these bags home. After that I used water. I got used to the sloshing sound and dumped it a few times when I got tired.

Have fun training, it is part of the journey. Like they say, the only way to get used to carrying a pack is to carry a pack. It is kind of a joke saying but the real thing that you have to get used to is how the weight changes your balance, so the saying has a lot of truth in it.

[Mags]

~165 lbs. Depends on how many burgers, beers and fries I had after a backpacking trip....


Taking off my smart ass hat, if you are a traditional backpacker who wishes to lighten up, I have high praise for this book:
http://www.amazon.com/Lighten-Up-Com...ref=pd_sim_b_5

Rather than telling you WHAT to do, it tells you HOW and WHY to go lightweight.

It gives a solid foundation in an easily read, understood and quick format.

[garlic08]

My AT pack weighed about 8 pounds, without food or water, by the time summer came along.

I feel for you. At Upper Goose Pond in MA there's a cabin staffed by a caretaker, and hikers pitch in with chores. I volunteered to fill water bottles at a spring accessed by canoe. I carried four one-gallon jugs at a time from the canoe up a short steep hill to the cabin. I was in the best hiking shape I've ever been in, and that winded me! Then, just like you, I realized that's the average AT pack weight. That moment really justified the effort I went through to lighten my load over the years. I wish you luck in your effort.

[Deadeye]

~165 lbs. Depends on how many burgers, beers and fries I had after a backpacking trip....


Taking off my smart ass hat, if you are a traditional backpacker who wishes to lighten up, I have high praise for this book:
http://www.amazon.com/Lighten-Up-Com...ref=pd_sim_b_5

Rather than telling you WHAT to do, it tells you HOW and WHY to go lightweight.

It gives a solid foundation in an easily read, understood and quick format.

yep, good book, fun read, no preaching

[skinewmexico]

Buy the "Lighten Up" DVD from Gossamer Gear. It's a little extreme, but it kind of helps you see a target in the middle of the weight range. And it's really entertaining.

[garlic08]

This guy has some good videos as well: http://www.lwgear.com/

[Sassafras Lass]

Thank you everyone : )

I'm a bit stuck at the moment because I'm in the process of removing this 25 lbs I put on (why, oh why, did I decide to eat fast food again?) and so I cannot buy my clothing and my pack because I'm not at the size I will be when we leave next March.

Here is what I've accumulated so far:

GoLite Venture 20 bag
33 oz.

Big Agnes Insulated Air Core pad
18 oz.

(will buy) TarpTent Double Rainbow
38 oz.

So right away I'm at 5 lbs, 9 oz. and I've only got 3 items! Granted, they're the big ones, so perhaps I'm freaking for no reason. I've no idea how much clothing weighs, and my husband and I are each going to carry our own little emergency kit, and I'm considering buying a down jacket/vest because my body doesn't regulate temperature terribly well and I'm terrified of freezing out there with no house to retreat too.

Yes, I guess I'm a bit of a weenie. I've grown a lot softer the older I've gotten.

I very much want to get into a training schedule (whenever this cough decides to leave me) but my work schedule is in sharp contrast with that. I leave the house at 9 a.m. and come home around 7:30 p.m., 5 days a week, and on Saturdays I'm gone from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. I need at LEAST 2 hours in the morning for shower/breakfast/etc. due to living with inflexible in-laws, so . . . . . . yeah, I feel like I don't have time to even relax, much less do laundry, make dinner, and then schedule in a hike.

But I'll quit complaining now. Keep the suggestions coming, I very much appreciate them

[garlic08]

Great start with that gear! Do not buy the pack until you have everything else figured out, then get the lightest pack for your load. Don't be surprised if you don't get it right the first time. Hardly anyone does. It's always an evolution, personally tailored. Look around the trail and you seldom see any two people using exactly the same gear, even married couples.

The vest is a great idea for the typical AT NOBO spring start.

Throw in the pack and you'll have your "big four"--called that for a reason. Those four items are often heavier than everything else combined, especially for UL hikers. For example, I do not carry any extra hiking clothes, just insulation. I don't cook on the trail, so no stove, fuel, or pot. I don't carry a phone, music, book or camera. I don't carry a water filter or multi-tool. So besides warm clothing and raingear, personal hygiene and first aid, maps and compass, a spoon and a few water bottles, there's very little besides the "big four" in my pack. For me, much of UL hiking is not so much reducing the weight of the items, it's modifying your hiking style to leave stuff behind.

Your instinct is right about loosing extra body weight first. You wouldn't be the only overweight hiker on the AT, but you know you'll enjoy it much more without the extra load and with the extra physical fitness. Maybe get an orange vest and light, get up 1/2 hour earlier and go for a fast walk? Walk some stairs at work/walk at lunch? Can you bicycle to work? Sure it's hard, but I believe that kind of discipline is necessary for a thru-hike, by the way.

[Speer Carrier]

I pretty much agree with everything that has been said about cutting out the unnecessary stuff to keep the pack weight down, and I have done that. My full pack including 3 liters of water, and 5 days worth of food is about 28 pounds.

But in addition to only carrying what's necessary (I don't ever want to be that guy who has to "borrow" stuff from people), I have concentrated more lately on strength training.

I've got to the point now where 25-30 pounds on my back doesn't seem like much of anything.

Just my two cents. Consider building leg, shoulder, and back strength to make carrying your back that much easier, and don't rely so much on leaving stuff at home that you really wish you had with you.

[weary]

I've suddenly become an ultra-light convert. I was convinced against my judgment a month ago to have a heart pacemaker installed. So on a follow up visit with my cardiologist, I mentioned I was planning a four-day hike in Baxter Park in July.

His reply: "BTW way you can't carry a backpack any more." Hmmm. No one had mentioned that before the surgery. But I figure I can cheat a bit. If I keep the weight down, maybe the pacemaker nestled under my collar bone won't notice.

BTW, has anyone tried backpacking with one of the gadgets installed?

Weary

[ChrisFol]

My normal baseweight is around 11lb without food or water. I could easily knock a couple of pounds off by nixing some comforts like my MSR Ti mug, TP, and changing from a regular length to a short/torso length pad etc-- even though I could easily live without these items and others, I have no desire to do so for general 3-4 day backpacking. If I was thru-hiking the CT or CDT again then I wouldn't carry the additional weight.

The point that I am trying to make is that UL backpackers substitute weight for experience. My "emergency kit" consists of nothing more than a couple of band-aides, tylenol, duct-tape and a few other bits and pieces-- it weighs 1.3oz total. I have seen novice backpackers FAK/EMK coming in at around 8oz with full field surgery kits . The same could be said for almost every bit of kit from GPS verses map and compass to too much clothing for a summer overnight trip.

I second the advise of purchasing the pack last. The pack should fit you and your gear and not the other way around. The first item you should purchase is a scale that give you the nearest ounce or better-- this way you know what you are putting in your pack and you can determine if the weight is worth its use and then make a spreadsheet of your gear.

Finally, since costs is an issue-- the cheapest way to bring your pack weight down is to leave stuff at home. Throwing stuff out costs $0.

[Wise Old Owl]

I will put this out there, carry less water, keep gatorade and/or potassium pill each morning. if you replace the electrolites in the morning when cameling up, less need for water. I did Pinnacle & Pulpit last week 8.5 miles with a 1200 ft climb with a quart of water, for me and the dogs. On the way back down in the last two miles we drank from a spring.

oh and if you do a 90mg of potassium, use a pill cutter or knife, 45 mg per day appears to be plenty.