View Full Version : Non UL Pack Weigh-in
Mr. Sparky
03-12-2016, 23:05
Time for the non UL crowd to weigh-in: how much is your total pack weight for a 3-4 day Spring trip including food and water? Please specify how much water you are carrying and if you are geared up for something out of the ordinary such as extra camera equipment, et cetera.
Feral Bill
03-13-2016, 00:19
Maybe 30 pounds, depending on the specifics. I usually pack a liter of water.
mt3dwards
03-13-2016, 01:25
22-25# range for 3 days
Sarcasm the elf
03-13-2016, 01:32
I seem to be slowly slipping into the UL category for three season hikes, as my pack for that sort of hike would be around 19lbs. Back before I rebought my big 4, my pack would have been around 25lbs. I usually have 1 to 1.5 quarts of water on me.
fastfoxengineering
03-13-2016, 04:22
4 days of food and a liter of H20 I'd be right under 20lbs.
Carrying a smartphone, Sony action camera, 11oz battery bank, action cam tripod, and a bunch of other "useless" stuff.
I sometimes pack in my miniature daschund. But you said no ultralight stuff. Get it.. He's a mini.. Haha. Its late.
bigcranky
03-13-2016, 08:36
Non-UL? On our first real section hike my wife and I shared 110 lbs between us - 65 for me, 45 for her. For a three-night trip in Virginia in late May, in perfect weather. We each had 1.5 liters of water and we ended up having the perfect amount of food, so all the weight was inappropriate gear and clothing choices. :)
Lately we've been in the high 20s total pack weight for a four day spring weekend, all-in.
Waiting for Tipi Walter to, er, weigh in here.
Tipi Walter
03-13-2016, 08:51
I'm back! Let's see, I quit doing 3 to 4 day trips about 16 years ago so it's hard to remember but such trips were common for me back in the 1980s when all my gear was different---external-frame North Face pack was about 5 lbs, tent was 6 lbs, bag about 3.5 lbs, pad 2 lbs etc. Total I'd say for 4 days was between 30 and 40 lbs including fuel and my Svea 123 stove. In those days we humped in water melons and quart glass bottles of fruit juice and my buddy had to have his giant Dinty Moore cans of beef stew.
Today if I were to pull a 4 day trip my weight would be heavier since my pack is heavier and my tent is 8 lbs 10 ozs alone. Then add the winter gear and luxury Thermarest with minimal food and fuel and we're talking about 45 lbs with a full winter kit.
Of course last April I had to keep up with my friend Amy Willow who wanted me to thruhike the BMT with her and so I went with a much lighter pack and a 3 lb Hilleberg Akto tent and managed to stay out w/o resupply for 18 days so my food load was the killer. 18 days in the tiny Akto tent drove me nuts towards the end esp as our trip encountered a week of cold April rains.
Another Kevin
03-13-2016, 09:53
I seem to be slowly slipping into the UL category for three season hikes, as my pack for that sort of hike would be around 19lbs. Back before I rebought my big 4, my pack would have been around 25lbs. I usually have 1 to 1.5 quarts of water on me.
I'll confess. I've never weighed my pack. I carry what I need, and a few pounds of what I don't. When I'm replacing a piece of gear, I usually try to get a lighter one.
When I'm hiking with others, my reaction to their stuff ranges from "I can't believe you're humping a load like that" to "I can't believe you can make do with that little stuff."
I've been hiking with the Elf, so we've pretty much seen all of each other's stuff. It's pretty similar, now that I got rid of the pack I was using the last time I was Out There with him. (The pack fell in the "don't laugh, it was $79, and I've put hundreds of miles on it" category.) I had a few things he didn't: my nylon bucket, my battery pack, and my Melitta filter come to mind. On the other hand, he was using a Jetboil and I was using an alcohol stove and Grease Pot, so my cooking setup was lighter. I'm sure that my clothing and sleeping bag were a few ounces heavier because I'm bigger than he is. He carries a bigger and heavier tent than mine, for the times that he brings a dog. I usually carry more water than he does. If I hiked where he did, I'd carry less, and when he came with me, he carried about the same amount I did, because water supply was less certain where we were.
Do I wish it were lighter? Sure. But I can carry it to where I want to go. Measuring the number of pounds isn't going to make it any lighter. I'm really at the point where making it lighter means a real sacrifice in either comfort or the ability to do the stuff that I'm in the woods to do. (Photography, map making, research for the occasional blog post, ...). Or else a major expense in getting stuff that's made of exotic, superlight materials, and is likely too fragile for my rough handling. And the expense is something I can't justify on a hobby.
Mr. Sparky
03-13-2016, 11:59
Thank you, all. AK, this seems very reasonable and completely understandable. Tipi, Dinty Moore cans? I remember that when I was car camping, but backpacking? :eek:
I am right there with most of you at about 28 pounds including 2 quarts water. I would love a lighter weight bag and insulating coat but allergies to down, as well as my budget, make much the UL material prohibitive. A UL tent is more than twice what I paid. I've considered the tarp shelter approach, but my desire to not be feasted on by mosquitos makes me hesitant.
Tipi Walter
03-13-2016, 12:36
Thank you, all. AK, this seems very reasonable and completely understandable. Tipi, Dinty Moore cans? I remember that when I was car camping, but backpacking? :eek:
Oh how I wish I had pics of our 1970s camps in Pisgah NF. People weren't such wimps back then, and we carried bow saws and walmart tarps, big walmart tarps, (or were they Kmart tarps??). I didn't eat meat but my buddies did and they humped in large cans of Dinty Moore, as below, and cooked them right on the fire. These were standard-load items in the old days.
http://www.cycoactive.com/media/XSiFCl/?size=photo
This is not my pic. It is from---
http://www.cycoactive.com/Adventure/Photos/IhdQQE/Horsethief-99-1999
https://tipiwalter.smugmug.com/BooneYears/Pisgah-Upper-Creek/i-MTTkgjG/0/L/jodal%20and%20the%20mighty%20mite-L.jpg
Here is one of our old vintage camps on Upper Creek in Pisgah NF. Did we worry about humping gear? Oh hell no. Check out the water bottle of fruit juice by Jodal. Check out the big conga drum hauled in by one of us idiots. Check out Jodal holding the Mighty Mite. And god help me but barely visible behind and to the left of Jodal is a white canvas tipi cover I hauled in to set up in camp. We were motards but we had fun. The tipi was hellishly heavy.
Tipi Walter
03-13-2016, 12:45
To give you an idea of how we packed for a weekend Pisgah trip, here is George coming in with his gigantica kit---
https://tipiwalter.smugmug.com/BooneYears/Pisgah-Upper-Creek/i-9jfNcDb/0/O/Scan6_1-0001.jpg
And the trail in was a nutbuster with some rugged climbs and canyon cliff skirts. His pack was so anusly-kicking big because his wife brought up the rear with . . . wait for it . . . the KID---
https://tipiwalter.smugmug.com/BooneYears/Pisgah-Upper-Creek/i-ND89T2G/0/O/Scan8_1-0001.jpg
Right around 25lbs, including 5.75lb Allak and 1 liter of H20.
Hiking in jeans and sweatshirts, I remember those days Walter.
Tipi Walter
03-13-2016, 12:58
Hiking in jeans and sweatshirts, I remember those days Walter.
Yes, we grabbed crap and hit the trail. Jodal though in the upper pic has a first generation polypropylene top, those blue things which stunk like heck and melted in the dryers.
Reminds me of a story: My backpacking buddy CampTrails Bob had an old Toyota corolla circa 1980 and it was trashed but a perfect trail car for our backpacking trips. It looked like he rolled it a couple times and would go down the road leaning alot to the right.
He always left the keys in the thing and one day some idiot stole it from his apt lot. A couple days later the cops reached him and found his car:
"Mr Bob____, we found your car out of town parked on a road. You can come and pick it up, but we're sorry to tell you it has been vandalized and partially destroyed."
So he gets to the impound lot and the cop says,
"I'm sorry sir but here it is----"
And Bob says, "It looks perfectly fine and just as I left it!!"
AtWokman
03-13-2016, 13:21
Anywhere from 20-70 depending on how far we are going and how much fun extra's I bring
Another Kevin
03-13-2016, 13:23
Hiking in jeans and sweatshirts, I remember those days Walter.
One of my favourite toasts: "Here's to my lost youth - and may the Lord save me from a relapse!"
Around 25 lbs., all-up, for a three or four day section. That includes about 1.5 liters of water. I still carry a camera but not a SLR. No bongo drums.
Yes, we grabbed crap and hit the trail. Jodal though in the upper pic has a first generation polypropylene top, those blue things which stunk like heck and melted in the dryers.
Reminds me of a story: My backpacking buddy CampTrails Bob had an old Toyota corolla circa 1980 and it was trashed but a perfect trail car for our backpacking trips. It looked like he rolled it a couple times and would go down the road leaning alot to the right.
He always left the keys in the thing and one day some idiot stole it from his apt lot. A couple days later the cops reached him and found his car:
"Mr Bob____, we found your car out of town parked on a road. You can come and pick it up, but we're sorry to tell you it has been vandalized and partially destroyed."
So he gets to the impound lot and the cop says,
"I'm sorry sir but here it is----"
And Bob says, "It looks perfectly fine and just as I left it!!"
I need one of those cars to leave at beech gap.
Tipi Walter
03-13-2016, 13:54
I need one of those cars to leave at beech gap.
Slap some tires on this baby and replace some wires and you're good to go. Taken at Beech Gap.
https://tipiwalter.smugmug.com/Backpacking2012/Tipi-Walter-in-Snowbirds/i-t4QjzX9/0/L/TRIP%20129%20157-L.jpg
Walter, Yikes! Did someone deliberately torch it or...? I think someone tried to pry my pillar open on my last hike up there. Must have gotten spooked because everything was intact when I arrived. Might have to start coming up NG trail and keeping off Skyway. Not too keen on wolf laurel parking, either.
colorado_rob
03-13-2016, 14:13
I guess I shouldn't reply here, but can't resist. I just returned from a short CO mountain overnight where I left the trailhead with over 60 pounds. For a 30-hour trip! Tipi would be proud.
But "UL" is relative, because I was still "UL", because I was probably at least 10 pounds lighter than anyone else. So maybe Tipi would actually be disappointed....
It was a high altitude mountaineering class trip with ropes, harnesses, 0 degree bag, mountaineering tent, shovel, avy probe, snowshoes, crampons, ice axe, 2nd ice tool, the works. I also carried a group "kitchen" shelter (see pic of our kitchen dug into eight feet of snowpack...). Oh yeah, I also carried liter of wine to share (again, see folks enjoying the wine in the pic). I guess I wasn't UL after all with the wine and the extra shelter. Or was I?
Tipi Walter
03-13-2016, 14:26
Walter, Yikes! Did someone deliberately torch it or...? I think someone tried to pry my pillar open on my last hike up there. Must have gotten spooked because everything was intact when I arrived. Might have to start coming up NG trail and keeping off Skyway. Not too keen on wolf laurel parking, either.
Deliberately torched, culprits unknown. Not my car, though.
I guess I shouldn't reply here, but can't resist. I just returned from a short CO mountain overnight where I left the trailhead with over 60 pounds. For a 30-hour trip! Tipi would be proud.
60 lbs for a 30 hour trip is wonderful and I am very proud. As noted, we carried similar loads for our Pisgah trips and gathered all sorts of willing or unwilling backpackers. I like your pic, Colorado Rob---the top tipi looks like an old Chouinard pyramid or megamid---now probably black diamond.
https://tipiwalter.smugmug.com/BooneYears/Pisgah-Upper-Creek/i-45DLqmc/0/M/pisgah%20gatheringsmallercropped%2090s-M.jpg
Here's a typical Pisgah cluster taken around 1990---backpacking trip, folks. Not car camping. Back in the days when kids actually left the house and their handheld devices to enter the actual woods. When kids were actually happy to be outside.
https://tipiwalter.smugmug.com/Backpacking2002-2004/Pisgah-Upper-Creek-2004/i-fk2cBjM/0/M/36%20new%20%207-M.jpg
Keeping the Pisgah tradition alive---this time in 2006 on Upper Creek at the swimhole.
colorado_rob
03-13-2016, 14:49
---the top tipi looks like an old Chouinard pyramid or megamid---now probably black diamond.
... Back in the days when kids actually left the house and their handheld devices to enter the actual woods. When kids were actually happy to be outside.
Very cool classic pics of people truly enjoying themselves!
Yep, BD megamid, very popular in the mountaineering community. And note the prevalence of Arcteryx Jackets? Of the 21 total of us, I bet 15 had Arcteryx. Best there is.
And finally, "kids" being happy to be outside is very much still alive and well ! I don't remember seeing a single phone being browsed on the entire trip (though probably were in the tents at night), even though most of the group were 20-somethings. 20-somethings are "kids" by my perspective....
Tipi Walter
03-13-2016, 15:06
Yep, BD megamid, very popular in the mountaineering community. And note the prevalence of Arcteryx Jackets? Of the 21 total of us, I bet 15 had Arcteryx. Best there is.
I love me some Arcteryx! Best there is.
https://tipiwalter.smugmug.com/Backpacking2010/10-Days-In-The-Cold/i-Mrk4z2W/0/L/TRIP%20117%20089-L.jpg
saltysack
03-14-2016, 21:23
I guess I shouldn't reply here, but can't resist. I just returned from a short CO mountain overnight where I left the trailhead with over 60 pounds. For a 30-hour trip! Tipi would be proud.
But "UL" is relative, because I was still "UL", because I was probably at least 10 pounds lighter than anyone else. So maybe Tipi would actually be disappointed....
It was a high altitude mountaineering class trip with ropes, harnesses, 0 degree bag, mountaineering tent, shovel, avy probe, snowshoes, crampons, ice axe, 2nd ice tool, the works. I also carried a group "kitchen" shelter (see pic of our kitchen dug into eight feet of snowpack...). Oh yeah, I also carried liter of wine to share (again, see folks enjoying the wine in the pic). I guess I wasn't UL after all with the wine and the extra shelter. Or was I?
Now that's a good trip!
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FooFooCuddlyPoops
03-14-2016, 21:53
For a 4-5 day trip with tough terrain, I would guess 25lbs. This is with gear that isn't expensive but is lighter weight than your classic newb purchases.
For a 4-5 day trip with easy terrain, low miles, I rarely focus on weight. I will probably have a base weight of 15 lbs, and food galoreee for pure pig out times.
Odd Man Out
03-14-2016, 22:45
My base weight is about 13 lbs for summer. For spring I might throw more insulation (sleeping clothes, a fleece, etc..) which might bring it up to 15 lbs. For three day, let's say 6 lbs of food and fuel. Water is quite variable. If both of my 20 oz Gatorade bottles are full they wight about 3 lbs. That's a total of 24 lbs. If I have to fill both 900 ml water bladders for a dry camp, that's an extra 4 lbs.
Smoky Spoon
03-16-2016, 15:09
I love how you always accompany pics with your post. I enjoy seeing your campsites. I also enjoy your posts!
Oh how I wish I had pics of our 1970s camps in Pisgah NF. People weren't such wimps back then, and we carried bow saws and walmart tarps, big walmart tarps, (or were they Kmart tarps??). I didn't eat meat but my buddies did and they humped in large cans of Dinty Moore, as below, and cooked them right on the fire. These were standard-load items in the old days.
http://www.cycoactive.com/media/XSiFCl/?size=photo
This is not my pic. It is from---
http://www.cycoactive.com/Adventure/Photos/IhdQQE/Horsethief-99-1999
https://tipiwalter.smugmug.com/BooneYears/Pisgah-Upper-Creek/i-MTTkgjG/0/L/jodal%20and%20the%20mighty%20mite-L.jpg
Here is one of our old vintage camps on Upper Creek in Pisgah NF. Did we worry about humping gear? Oh hell no. Check out the water bottle of fruit juice by Jodal. Check out the big conga drum hauled in by one of us idiots. Check out Jodal holding the Mighty Mite. And god help me but barely visible behind and to the left of Jodal is a white canvas tipi cover I hauled in to set up in camp. We were motards but we had fun. The tipi was hellishly heavy.
So I'm confused. If you are not trying to be UL, why do you care about the weight? But to answer your question, I might have an 9-12 pound base weight, 4.5-6.5 pounds of food, and would typically start hiking with 2.5 pounds of water (2 x 20oz bottles). So the math looks like about 16 to 21 pounds pack weight for 3-4 days in Spring. If I were going UL, base weight would be 7-8 pounds and the rest the same.
saltysack
03-17-2016, 16:13
So I'm confused. If you are not trying to be UL, why do you care about the weight? But to answer your question, I might have an 9-12 pound base weight, 4.5-6.5 pounds of food, and would typically start hiking with 2.5 pounds of water (2 x 20oz bottles). So the math looks like about 16 to 21 pounds pack weight for 3-4 days in Spring. If I were going UL, base weight would be 7-8 pounds and the rest the same.
[emoji38]true.....I guess I'm in a class all to myself! I don't own a lil digital scale but I'm very conscientious of what I carry!! Strange!!!
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