Pack weight

[shaughnessey34]

What weight should I shoot for a threw hike? Also I did the Maine section of the trail and I felt too heavy any ideas on saving weight? what some things you brought that you live without?

[mattjv89]

This is a question you'll get a huge range of answers for but a general guideline I hear is to not exceed 30% of your body weight. My personal experience is that anything 30lbs or less fully loaded rides pretty well, after the 30 mark I can still make some miles but my body will protest noticeably more at the end of the day.

There are many ideas for saving weight but they are mostly a shot in the dark without knowing what you're carrying. If you have a scale or know most of the weights of your items you can use geargrams.com to make a gear list to share. Failing that, just posting a list of what you're carrying here will give folks a pretty good idea of what you have and where you can cut weight. It's also helpful to know what, if any, budget you have for changing gear as answers will vary tremendously based on this.

[Slo-go'en]

A March 1st start means a bit heavier pack then an April 1st start since you need a warmer sleeping bag and clothes. Even so, a fully loaded pack with 3-5 days of food and a little water should come in about 30 pounds, give or take a little. This is not hard too to do with modern gear, but it does cost money. When it comes to backpacking equipment, less costs more. Some times a lot more.

What you need to do is weigh everything in the pack. A cheap digital postage or food scale is good for small stuff, a digital fish scale with 50 pound capacity is good for overall weight and big stuff. Walmart has these for not a lot of money.

Once you find out what everything weighs, you can start to figure out what can be eliminated and what needs to be replaced with lighter versions. Trust me, if you start out with a 55 pound pack, you will either go home before getting far or spend a lot of money at Neels gap replacing gear. Something which happens a lot.

[shaughnessey34]

Yeah I'm at 27.8 pounds the only this I missing is my 100l camelpak filled 2 48 ounce cap nalgenes couple of clothing items a winter jacket which I need to upgrade to a water proof outer and down removable inner. I still feel like I have to much might be more concerned with hygiene items them I need to be

[mattjv89]

is 27.8 pounds without all your consumables (food, water, fuel)? If so there is definitely room to trim some weight. You've alluded to a few things like hygiene items, but without a full gear list most of the advice you get will be broad or a guess.

I would say that the amount of water carrying capacity you have is more than you will ever need on the AT, that is room for 6 liters between your Camelbak and 48oz. Nalgene's. Water is heavy at around 2 pounds per liter, so you have room there to carry a whopping 12 pounds of it. I generally don't carry more than 1 liter at a time unless filling up for the night before a dry camp, and what I've heard is that completed thru-hikers do fine with this over most or all of the trail. Switching out the Nalgene bottles for something lighter is a great start to weight savings, I love my hard shell Nalgene bottle but it never comes backpacking with me anymore. At 6oz. each for the one liter size that's 3/4 of a pound just to carry your water. Smartwater, Gatorade, or really any store bought beverage bottle usually rings in between 1.5 and 2 oz.

[bigcranky]

30% of my bodyweight is 60 pounds. No way I'm carrying that much ever again

I think it's possible to get a base pack weight for a March thru-hike start down below 20 pounds, without spending too much money or sacrificing any comfort at all. An 18 pound base means that, with 2 liters of water (4 pounds) and 4 days of food (less than 8 pounds), you're under 30 pounds starting off at Springer.

You don't need two 48-oz Nalgenes and a 100-ounce Camelback - that's twelve pounds of water, when in March you'll be walking past water all the time.

Lots of threads on WB about pack weight. You might start with this list, which is pretty good.

[CarlZ993]

Check out some people on YouTube for 'Ultralight Backpacking Gear' & you can get some examples on what some people carry. Then, you can get a digital scale & weigh all your stuff. Create a spreadsheet (Excel or on Google Docs; there are other YouTube versions of spreadsheets) with your stuff on the spreadsheet. Add or subtract gear to get your base pack weight (everything in your pack minus food, fuel, & water) down to a 'manageable amount.' I'd shoot for something in the teens as a target base weight. Then, you'd add 2 - 4 lbs of water (1 - 2 Liters) & about 2 lbs of food per day to the pack (some can get by on less). That would be your total pack weight. The total pack weight will fluctuate as you go (drink water, eat food, use fuel, etc).

Good luck on your quest for a lighter pack. I spent some of my grandkids' inheritance whittling my pack weight down.

[shaughnessey34]

The nalgenes will be used at camp as far as food and fuel and extras I'll be relying on my dog to carry that. Ive seen a few different gear lists base my gear on those. The things I have that I probably could go without or lighter is a water filter kit and biodegradable wet wipes vs tp but those are more my preference than anything else. I'm making a gear list currently I'll post soon any criticism tips or advice would be appreciated this will my first complete threw hike but I've done all of new England in sections

[russb]

Once your list is posted, I am sure you will get plenty of advice as to what is not needed, redundant, etc...

[Malto]

Starting in March I would carry a single 32oz. gatoraid bottle, no more.

As as to your question on pack weight. There is no right answer but generally the lighter the better.

[MuddyWaters]

The correct answer is 15.2563 lbs before food and water.

If that's too hard to hit, something between 10 and 20 will work too.

[RED-DOG]

Anything 30lbs or less for your total pack weight, that should include Food, Water, Fuel and all your gear.

[shaughnessey34]

Pack list:
Sleeping bag
Pad
2 man tent
Pocket rocket stove
3 fuel canisters
Titanium pot
2 bowls
1 cup
Titanium spoon fork knife
Hurting knife
Knives sharpener
50 ft paracord
8 gears ties
3 lighter
Water filter
2 48 oz nelgenes
3l camelpak
Fit aid kit
2 pack wipes
Deodorant
Tooth brush and paste
Camp soap
Body soap
Garmin GPS
Solar charging unit
2 cell phones
Flashlight
Headlamp
Extra batteries
Meds (type 1 diabetic)
Winter jacket/rain coat
Rain pants
4 pairs wool socks
Hat and gloves
3 long sleeve base layers
3 short sleeve base layers
Compression shorts
2 pair drawers
Hiking pants
Gators
Thermal pants
Flannel

[russb]

Pack list:
Sleeping bag
Pad
2 man tent
Pocket rocket stove
3 fuel canisters
Titanium pot
2 bowls
1 cup
Titanium spoon fork knife
Hurting knife
Knives sharpener
50 ft paracord
8 gears ties
3 lighter
Water filter
2 48 oz nelgenes
3l camelpak
Fit aid kit
2 pack wipes
Deodorant
Tooth brush and paste
Camp soap
Body soap
Garmin GPS
Solar charging unit
2 cell phones
Flashlight
Headlamp
Extra batteries
Meds (type 1 diabetic)
Winter jacket/rain coat
Rain pants
4 pairs wool socks
Hat and gloves
3 long sleeve base layers
3 short sleeve base layers
Compression shorts
2 pair drawers
Hiking pants
Gators
Thermal pants
Flannel

Caveat, this is your gear list and it is all is your choice as to what to bring (and carry).

Here are my initial thoughts. It looks like you have many redundancies. Hence what "I" would eliminate is below.

What I would eliminate:

4 of the shirts
flashlight
1 cell phone
both nalgenes
knife sharpener
both bowls
1 fuel canister

[russb]

oops, hit enter too early

also eliminate:
knife and fork
8 gears ties?
probably pare down your first aid kit
solar charger
1 pack wipes

if possible switch:

2-man tent for a single
hunting knife to a small SAK or leatherman

[bigcranky]

This is for a thru-hike starting next March, right? Same caveat as Russ -- these are my choices, not yours. However, they might be useful. Remember that the primary activity on a thru-hike is hiking, not camping. Things that are *great* to have on a weekend hike aren't as useful on a thru.

Things I would not take:

2 of the fuel canisters. You can buy more at Neels Gap. You might occasionally hike with 2 -- one mostly empty and a new one -- but no need to start with 3.

The third lighter. Also, if you can find one of the pieze mini-bics, that works better when wet.

Most folks carry a big knife to start, and realize they aren't using it, nor the sharpener.

That's a lot of water capacity. A pair of 1-liter Gatorade bottles weight less than half the weight of one of those big Nalgenes. I bring a water bag to collect water for filtering or treatment in camp.

I eat from the pot, no bowls required. A cup is nice, but even better is an insulated mug with a lid, so I can make a hot drink and sip on it while cooking dinner, then eat right out of the pot. Edit: make a Reflectix cozy for your pot, to keep dinner warm and/or to cozy noodles or other dishes for less fuel use.

You really won't need deodorant. You'll stink all over. Same with body soap. You can shower at hostels and motels when you resupply. The wipes are nice, but I find I only use one or maybe two per day, so one package is plenty. I use a wet bandana for most cleaning, and use a wipe for my face and 'pits.

A very small tiny squirt bottle of clear dish soap is useful for cleaning kitchen gear. An eye dropper bottle is enough - one or two drops at a time. I like an 8x8 inch piece of nylon mesh from an onion bag as a scrubbie.

The flashlight. If you need a second light (which you don't really), take a pinch light. The extra batteries - get a set of lithium AA or AAA batteries for your headlamp, they last for a long time. When they start to die, just replace them in town.

One or both of the cell phones.

That's a lot of clothing. Here's what I take for clothing.

The good news about a northbound thru-hike is that you can start with whatever you want, and make changes 30 miles up the trail at Neels Gap. Many (most?) hikers do....

[rafe]

Absolutely no need for three fuel canisters. I can make the small ones go for at least two weeks (one meal per day, no hot breakfast.) In any case, better to carry one large canister than two small ones.

Other extravagances others have noted: deoderant, flashlight, bowls... quite a bit of clothing. IMO, keep the flannel but make sure it's wool or synthetic, not cotton.

[ericmcdaniel]

The nalgenes will be used at camp....The things I have that I probably could go without or lighter is a water filter kit ....

The short answer, OP? "As light as you can get while staying within your budget and without leaving anything necessary out of your pack."

I'm confused though, because when someone gave you a way to save about 8 ounces while saving about $14 (using Gatorade or other water bottles - I liked a 1L bottle of whatever I was craving at a resupply, personally), you just kind of wave it off....I'm confused. The two reasons that people have heavier-than-necessary packs are (1) packing their fears ["just in case" items] and (2) packing things they "really need for x good reason," like your Nalgenes "at camp." On my 2014 thru-hike, I never "needed" a Nalgene for anything that a .99 cent 1L plastic bottle couldn't do. Ditto for a water purification system that's heavier than either chemical treatment or a water filter.

[shaughnessey34]

I got rid of the 2 nelgenes bowls knife and fork hunting knife flash light ànd 4 shirts I'm down to 24.6 thanks for the advice guys

[shaughnessey34]

Also got rid of 1 fuel canister and 1 pack of wipes I'm now down to 23.7