How much should a typical thru hike pack weigh starting out?

[SGT Rock]

I hiked with 16 pounds in winter for the gear. I added a little since then. My base is about 11.5 pounds in summer. Fall/Spring is somewhere in the middle.

I carried about 2 pounds in bourbon

I carried about 1 pound in water.

I carried about 1 pound in miscellaneous consumables.

And I carried about 10 pounds of food. That is about 4 days food for me - I like to eat.

The most my pack ever weighed was about 35 pounds leaving Damasus. I had 5 days of food (about 12.5 pounds) plus a box of fried chicken and biscuits plus a few cigars with all my winter stuff.

[bigcranky]

I could knock off a pound in shelter weight, but my kid swiped my bivy and tarp for a trip to the Southwest for her spring break. So I'm taking our Double Rainbow. Not sure what I'm going to do with all that space...

[SGT Rock]

Oh I could have knocked off a pound or two from my pack as well. But I started with stuff people told me I would absolutely need and it turned out I was right thinking I didn't. I also started with some stuff I thought I might need based on a few winter hikes - but I didn't this time. And I started off with a few things I wanted that I got rid of...

But I also ended up adding in a few things I didn't plan for initially. And I ended up changing some things and bringing some new things that it turned out I wanted and carrying them didn't hurt me - and they made my hike more enjoyable.

In the end, weight is something you should obsess about. BUT it isn't something you should let kill your hike by going too heavy to take everything or too light to drive the fun away.

[TOW]

I was looking to get into the 28-35 lb marker? Is that legit?

A typical pack when you are first starting out should weigh in around a couple of hundred pounds..........you'll fugure out how lite it should be after that.......

[RememberYourZen]

A typical pack when you are first starting out should weigh in around a couple of hundred pounds..........you'll fugure out how lite it should be after that.......

hahahah aint that the truth

[Blissful]

I was looking to get into the 28-35 lb marker? Is that legit?

Looks good.

[double d]

RememberYourZen, you might want to do some "shake down" hikes, such as, go on a 3 day hike (Say FRi. to Sunday afternoon) and find out what you like to carry and what is not needed. It always helps, but you can't go wrong with good ol' Sgt.Rock's advice. Good luck and have fun.

[Big Dawg]

To me, the right pack weight depends on the size of the person. How big are you? Pack weight comfort will probably be different for a person 5'3" & 120 lbs versus a person 6'5" & 250 lbs. I'm the latter, and feel light & free w/ a total pack weight (w/ 7 days food & 2 liters water) of 38 lbs. To me, each person has to find the right balance of wants & needs, & the willingness to carry it.

[maxNcathy]

You will carry far more food than you need to..like I do most of the time.This year I hope to wisen up.
Sandalwood

[Doctari]

Like Sgt Rock says "Don't try to anticipate every need before you go" cause that is a sure way to add un-needed pounds. On my first long trip I used about 30 Lbs of gear, counting food. Actually carried over 65 Lbs of Stuff! OR: over 35 Lbs of "Anticipation".

[Footslogger]

Hindsight is 20/20 ...as the saying goes.

I started off at Springer in 2003 carrying around 43 lbs. After downsizing my pack and widdling away at the unecessary stuff I finished at Katahdin carrying 26lbs.

If I had it to do all over again I would have tried to start at my finishing carrying weight - mid 20lb range.

'Slogger

[Pony]

If you want to feel better about your pack weight read the sign in book at
Amicalola Falls. I was freaking out about my 46 lb pack until I read it. I was shocked by the amount of people starting with 60-80 lbs of stuff. After Neels Gap my weight was around 35 lbs and that was comfortable for me. I stopped weighing my pack, because it seemed like if I knew how much it weighed then I thought about it more. If it felt heavier than I wanted leaving town, then I would eat a lot of food on my first day out of town. Get some real food in your stomach before you resupply in town, or you'll most likely buy more food than you need.

[JAK]

It isn't rocket science to get down to 20 pounds plus 10 pounds of food and water.

It takes only one 2-5 day hike in summer to learn you need less food.
It takes a second 2-5 day hikes in summer to learn you need less clothing.
It takes a third 2-5 day hike to learn your shelter can be much much lighter.
Then you realize your tent is still fun, but your backpack was a total waste of money.

Then you get angry and decide to figure things out for yourself from then on.
You might freeze and starve a little on your first winter trip, but at your making your own mistakes.

[SGT Rock]

To me, the right pack weight depends on the size of the person. How big are you? Pack weight comfort will probably be different for a person 5'3" & 120 lbs versus a person 6'5" & 250 lbs. I'm the latter, and feel light & free w/ a total pack weight (w/ 7 days food & 2 liters water) of 38 lbs. To me, each person has to find the right balance of wants & needs, & the willingness to carry it.

Good point. I would just say take into account body shape too. So if you are 6'5" 250 pounds and are overweight - your body fat could be around 75 pounds - and your lean body mass is only 175. So in essence you already are carrying a 75 pound pack of food that you body has yet to digest. Now add a 35 pound pack in you are in the range of effort of 110 pounds for a 175 pound frame. If you just went by straight body weight it would seem you are only carrying a pack that is 14% of your weight, but if you compare your pack to your lean body mass it is more like 20% which is a more realistic way to gauge it. A hiker with that much body fat is probably going to end up burning it up on his hike and wonder how he got so skinny.

For what it is worth - this is how I figure a person should determine their From Skin Out Weight (FSO). So if you figure your LBM to be 175, then you want the weight of everything you wear and carry to come in at about 44 pounds. I say that because when you look at some folks gear list they "cheat" by having extra fanny packs and stuffed pockets to get that pack weight to 35 pounds, but have 12 pounds of other stuff.

OK, so say I am 5'8" 175, I have about a 10% bodyfat - so I have an LBM of about 157 pounds. That means I want to keep my FSO weight down to about 39 pounds so I'm only at 1/4 my LBM for what I have to carry. That is just a goal and these are all done using beer math. There is no hard rule.

[lingo]

Rock, I like the idea of using LBM as a determining factor in pack weight. After doing a little beer math of my own, I feel better about my pack. I am used to carrying about 50 lbs of gear through the woods for work. I was getting tired of people that I have talked to about my 40lb pack being too much. My #'s are close to yours. That is the first reasonable way I have seen of roughly determining pack weight. Thanks

[JAK]

I use height squared, as a good target FSO weight for adults.
That would be 25 pounds for 5', 36 pounds for 6'.

Lean body mass is probably better, and a good thing to know anyways.

Here is a good site for estimating lean body mass, based on weight, height, and waist line.
There are more accurate formulas, but waist line is a good thing to watch anyways.
http://home.fuse.net/clymer/bmi/

I am 6' 0.5", 220 pounds, 43" waist
So I am 28.2% fat, which is 62#, so my lean body mass is 158#.
I think my lean body mass is actually a bit lower than than, but I'll take it.
It also estimates my basal metabolism and surface area, which is pretty cool.

Anyhow, 36 pounds FSO feels good for me, but when I am 230 I find it hard, and when I am down to 200 I find it very easy. Everyone is different by I feel it mostly in the mid-back, and the feet, and of course in the number of miles I can do in a day. In summer I try and go as low as 20 pounds FSO so I can run some, Spring/Fall 30 pounds, Winter as high as 40 pounds if I go out long enough, but 30 if on skis for just a weekend.

[Big Dawg]

Good point. I would just say take into account body shape too. So if you are 6'5" 250 pounds and are overweight - your body fat could be around 75 pounds - and your lean body mass is only 175. So in essence you already are carrying a 75 pound pack of food that you body has yet to digest. Now add a 35 pound pack in you are in the range of effort of 110 pounds for a 175 pound frame. If you just went by straight body weight it would seem you are only carrying a pack that is 14% of your weight, but if you compare your pack to your lean body mass it is more like 20% which is a more realistic way to gauge it. A hiker with that much body fat is probably going to end up burning it up on his hike and wonder how he got so skinny.........

Good info, Rock. I agree. &.... you called me out,,,, YES, I'm fat. hahahaha. Seriously, the reduction of the "50+ lb fat pack" I wear all the time would make me feel like I'm flying. I think if I got down to 175, I'd look emaciated, but understand what you mean re: LBM. Honestly, 200 lbs is prolly a good weight for me. I'm working on it. FWIW, last year this time I was 330 lbs. I've come a long way baby!!

[JAK]

Well done Big Dawg. You must feel great now.
How did you do it? Was if hiking or dieting or both?

I'm 6' 0.5" and 220#, so we have the same BMI.
I want to get down to 200# by summer, eventually 175#, maybe more.

At 6'5" 200# would be a great hiking weight. That would be like me at 175#.

[Big Dawg]

Well done Big Dawg. You must feel great now.
How did you do it? Was if hiking or dieting or both?

I'm 6' 0.5" and 220#, so we have the same BMI.
I want to get down to 200# by summer, eventually 175#, maybe more.

At 6'5" 200# would be a great hiking weight. That would be like me at 175#.

Thanks! I feel awesome, but realize at 200 lbs or lower, I'd feel,,, well,, friggin incredible!

A couple of things assisted my journey,,,,,, diet, excercise (hiking, Power 90, & I also own/operate a landscaping business). I could've been at 200 easy by now if I'd have stayed the straight and narrow, but it's been a roller coaster ride,,,, damn delicious food. That's ok, I'm heading in the right direction.

I summitted Katahdin 8/07 w/ a buddy, Diablo, who thru'd that year, & I was around 300. It kicked my ass. That was one of the catalysts to my weight loss journey. I set a goal that once I reached 210, I'd head back up to Maine & kick some K ass... & take on the Knife edge too!

[garlic08]

I know this is an AT forum, but I think it's interesting that if this discussion were on a PCT forum, the pack weights would be about 1/2 of what is being discussed here. On the AT, you can carry pretty much whatever you want and still hike it in six months or so. But many hikers carry a much lighter load and have a different kind of experience. It all depends on what kind of hike you want to do, and you can adjust as you go, as many have already said.

I like Sgt Rock's post about the food bag outweighing everything else in the pack. Mine's the same, especially for the longer (100 mile) food carries.