Couples hiking pack size recommendations?

[jdavis7590]

My wife and I are section hiking the AT this coming March. We are hoping to get 1000 miles in. If I was going by myself I would consider taking a 50-65L pack. Since we are split packing (and we tend to be minimalists) I don't see a need for a total between the two of us to be around 100-130L. I'm hoping that someone will have some advise on this. A few things to consider: If one of us can't hike due to health reasons the other will not continue alone. We have down bags that compress real well. We have nice light compressible winter clothes. I will carry the kitchen, food, tent poles, rain fly, first aid kit, action camera and batteries, plus obvious stuff like head lamp, my own extra socks etc. She will carry the sleeping bags, sleeping mats (self inflatable), tent main body and footprint, her own clothes and our luxury items (deck of waterproof cards, waterproof notepad etc. I guess this is my real question, do you think I can get away with a combined Liter size of 70? If not, what combined size would you recommend? Than k you in advance for any responses.

[egilbe]

I would keep my own sleep stuff with me. GF and I carry our own food and sleeping gear. I take the majority of the food and she has her own snacks and I take the tarp. If one person falls in the water, you don't want to go swimming for both sleeping bags plus mats. Try to keep each hiker as self sufficient as possible.

[MuddyWaters]

The only items I share, and it is only when I hike with my son I share anything, is tent, and stove/pot.
I agree, carry your own stuff, all of it.
Split up the shared items.
Each person needs to be responsible for their own gear AND food AND water. For packing it, taking care of it, etc.
If someone cant carry their gear......hello.....red flag....theyve got too much crap.
If you want to bring unneeded crap...YOU deal with it. YOU carry it.

[Derf]

Funny you ask this as my wife and I just packed our packs today for our 2016 thru hike. We both carry our own sleeping gear and clothes I carry the cooking system and first aid she carries toiletries and some personal items we use. As for the tent I carry everything except the stakes and poles as for food I carry lunch and snacks and she carries breakfast and dinners that way we can put it down in her pack and not worry about it until we get to camp. We are by no means ultralight her pack weighs in at 18.68 and that's with her winter gear of 4.95 pounds. Me, I am at 20.55 with my winter gear at 4.69 we both carry the Osprey Exos 48. With that said if you work it right 48 liter is just right for both of you in fact we even looked at a 38 for my wife will see maybe when we dump our winter gear.

[bigcranky]

My wife and I used the same pack - a ULA Circuit - on our long hikes. Of course hers was smaller so it had lower volume. We carried our own individual gear and clothing. We shared a tent and kitchen kit. We both carried food bags, though not our individual rations - the food was divided up to keep the weight proportional.

I would echo the advice to be as self contained as possible. Of course you don't plan to ever be separated on the trail. However, this happened to me once with my hiking partner (not my wife) -- totally unintentional, but it can happen.

It may be possible to carry everything for a winter trip for two people in a combined total of 70 liters of pack space, but we would not be able to do it.

We've thoroughly enjoyed our hikes together. Hope you do, too.

[colorado_rob]

I'd go with 90-100L, basically two 50L packs. A pair of those sweet ULA Circuits, like BC says, sounds perfect. My wife and I own a pair of the OHM 2.0's, which has about the same volume as the Circuit, but less of a suspension, but is about 11 oz lighter per pack, if you really are fairly light, those might work two.

Funny, I carry MORE, not less, when we backpack together.... Instead of my solo 16 oz cuben tent, I carry our BA fly creek for the two of us, which is heavier, even though she carries the poles. I also still carry the complete stove and canister, though she carries the water filter, at least. she is petite (but strong), so I feel a slight need to keep her fairly light.

We don't feel any need whatsoever to be individually self sufficient, as there is simply no way we'd separate. That being said, there is no reason for me to carry any of her gear (clothes, sleeping bag), nor vice-versa, at least along the AT. Out here in Colorado, when off major trails, that's a different matter, and we'd both have maps and compass, and she even likes having her own GPS (and I always carry one).

Enjoy your AT section together! My wife joined me for 3 separate 100+ mile sections (smokies, whites and 100-mile/Katahdin), sure mad the overall trail easier with her there part time.

[takethisbread]

Well if you are minimalist and want to reduce your pack size I would first recommend wait a couple weeks before starting. If you can avoid the long stretches of cold weather that require heavy clothing.
Secondly, it's hard to say what you'll need as each hiker is different. I thruhiked the AT with a 26 liter pack, so I could say that is what u need. But someone else might say something else . Based on what you are carrying two 48 liter packs would seem reasonable with room to pack some of your winter clothes.


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[LIhikers]

My wife and I backpack together but have never done more than a couple of hundred miles at a time. Most of our trips are just a few days.
Our shared items are tent, kitchen kit, water filter, toilet bag (paper and hand sanitizer) and first aid items. I carry the first 3 of that list and she carries the last 2 plus a piece of Tyvek we put down under the tent. She uses a 65 liter pack and mine is 75 liters. That leaves us plenty of room for winter gear where the sleeping bag is larger than the rest of the year and food and gear for our dog. In the dead of most winters I also carry a sleeping bag to keep our 90 pound shepherd warm.