Lightening the load.

[Christoph]

Was thinking I'd have had a better experience/success attempting my thru last year if I had lightened the load a little. Not Ultralight, just losing a little here and there with what equipment I already have. I started my hike with a 42 lb pack, which is still respectable with 10 days of food/2 liters of water. I was fairly new to hiking, never been on a long hike before. Recently, I went on a section hike from the Falls to Unicoi Gap and it seemed so easy going, I was baffled as to why I didn't think of or try some of this on my thru hike. Now I'm not one to spend a lot of money on gear, I have a $40 tent I got from Ebay (4.2 lbs), sleeping bag is a military issued 30* mummy bag (it's ~2 lbs), and my pack is a Kelty Santa Fe 4000 (~5 lbs).
Pack mods: Removed 3 piece internal metal frame and removed the top cover (I was only using it for storing my Frogg Toggs jacket anyway) (dropped almost 3 pounds!).
Tent mods: Taking 7 of the 14 aluminum tent stakes and replaced the poles with thinner replacement fiberglass poles. (now 3.2 pounds).
Threw away my boots (they lasted to Laughing Heart) and found trail type sneakers were much more comfortable and lighter and lasted longer for me.
Odds and ends: a shammy cloth for keeping tent dry, way too many meds (Advil, etc), batteries, Camera, and AWOL's guidebook, knife swapped for 2 razor blades.
So all in all I lost right around 10 pounds. Shammy (not sure what I was thinking there), batteries and camera (I took my smartphone and external battery so why not just use the phone for pics and vids?), guidebook I will go pdf next time, and the knife is still out. All I need is something to open packages with anyway (razor does the trick).

Probably one of the often overlooked areas to drop some pounds is..... the beer belly and overall fitness. Next time I'll definitely be in better shape from the start. Not that I was overweight (OK a little, 220 at 6'2"), this is an easy/somewhat free area to drop a few extra for those long uphills.

Here's my gear list:
Food: Drop the 10 days of food down to 7
Pack: Kelty Santa Fe 4000, lightened
Sleeping bag: Mil issued 30* mummy bag (very light, I'm a hot sleeper too)
Tent: Load Mountain Dowson products Ebay tent (6x4 feet, I sleep diagonally with plenty of room and with all gear inside)
Cook kit: Walmart Mess kit (only cup and pot/lid), plastic spork, plastic bowl, MSR Rocket, small canister
X-Therm air mattress
Meds/wash kit: 2 bandanna's, back pain meds/Ibuprofen, external battery, Phone, charger, wet wipes
Clothes: 2 pr Darn Tough/1 smartwool socks, 1 short/1 zip off long pant, 2 100% poly shirts, 1 cotton blend long sleeve shirt to sleep in, Frogg Toggs rain jacket, sneakers.
Extras: Ziploc bags, trash compactor bag (pack liner), headlamp, Walmart hiking poles.

Right now, I'm pretty comfortable with my gear and this is what I found what works for me, but to help others out a bit do you have any other tips and tricks to drop some weight with equipment you already have besides going out and buying new/used gear?

[saltysack]

Don't forget to saw off that toothbrush!!![emoji38]. Not talking about you but I find it comical when a overweight hiker try's to save a few grams instead of dropping Lbs by getting in shape....


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[Christoph]

I fell into that category, somewhat (not gram crazy). Didn't even cross my mind about losing the midsection the first time around. That's a lot of extra weight to carry up them thar hills. haha

[Dogwood]

You are enlightened recognizing a reduction in excess wt carried on the body could be and should be IMO included in the wt saving goal.


Common, particularly with Newbies and Gear Junkies, but even observed among some in the UL crowd, is to assume dropping wt hauled is about obsessing on gear. Not necessarily and your scenario demonstrates the point in textbook fashion! Let's look at that 10 days of food for the AT. AT resupply and supplement locations and logistics are supremely analyzed and recognized in countless sources. Assuming the avg daily food eaten is about 1.5-2.5 lbs for AT thru-hikers if you could do 6 days of food hauling on avg rather than the 10 days the consumable food wt goes down DRASTICALLY from 15-25 lbs to 9 - 15 lbs.

Another supremely analyzed logistic and recognized in countless sources on the AT is water sources. There are also times on the AT when carrying 2 L of water is unnecessary as sources are so frequent or conditions allow it. Water is located at the vast majority of AT lean-tos which avg about 7.8 miles apart. That is NOT WHERE the only sources of water are located though. Water is typically found much more frequently. Dropping 1 L of water on these occasions AFTER learning of these reliable water locations drops your haul another 2.2 lbs.

Weight saved?….8+ lbs to 12 + lbs. Requirement? Knowledge and wisdom!

Now the gear wt saving yakkety yak yak yak that so many like to endlessly obsess about can commence. As this is done consider the wt savings in gear which will be endlessly opined about. Is it more wt than 8-12+ lbs and at what costs?

[Traillium]

You are enlightened recognizing a reduction in excess wt carried on the body could be and should be IMO included in the wt saving goal.


Common, particularly with Newbies and Gear Junkies, but even observed among some in the UL crowd, is to assume dropping wt hauled is about obsessing on gear. Not necessarily and your scenario demonstrates the point in textbook fashion! Let's look at that 10 days of food for the AT. AT resupply and supplement locations and logistics are supremely analyzed and recognized in countless sources. Assuming the avg daily food eaten is about 1.5-2.5 lbs for AT thru-hikers if you could do 6 days of food hauling on avg rather than the 10 days the consumable food wt goes down DRASTICALLY from 15-25 lbs to 9 - 15 lbs.

Another supremely analyzed logistic and recognized in countless sources on the AT is water sources. There are also times on the AT when carrying 2 L of water is unnecessary as sources are so frequent or conditions allow it. Water is located at the vast majority of AT lean-tos which avg about 7.8 miles apart. That is NOT WHERE the only sources of water are located though. Water is typically found much more frequently. Dropping 1 L of water on these occasions AFTER learning of these reliable water locations drops your haul another 2.2 lbs.

Weight saved?….8+ lbs to 12 + lbs. Requirement? Knowledge and wisdom!

Now the gear wt saving yakkety yak yak yak that so many like to endlessly obsess about can commence. As this is done consider the wt savings in gear which will be endlessly opined about. Is it more wt than 8-12+ lbs and at what costs?

Well-said, sir!


Bruce Traillium, brucetraillium.wordpress.com

[Puddlefish]

It's rare that you'll need seven days of food, even accounting for carrying an entire extra day of food. Once you figure out what your pace is, you'll be able to work out easily where your next resupply point will be, and how long it takes to get there for you.
I planned for the exact number of meals depending on what time of day I was departing and arriving, then I added one extra meal in the event of a small delay or change of plans.

[Heliotrope]

You are enlightened recognizing a reduction in excess wt carried on the body could be and should be IMO included in the wt saving goal.


Common, particularly with Newbies and Gear Junkies, but even observed among some in the UL crowd, is to assume dropping wt hauled is about obsessing on gear. Not necessarily and your scenario demonstrates the point in textbook fashion! Let's look at that 10 days of food for the AT. AT resupply and supplement locations and logistics are supremely analyzed and recognized in countless sources. Assuming the avg daily food eaten is about 1.5-2.5 lbs for AT thru-hikers if you could do 6 days of food hauling on avg rather than the 10 days the consumable food wt goes down DRASTICALLY from 15-25 lbs to 9 - 15 lbs.

Another supremely analyzed logistic and recognized in countless sources on the AT is water sources. There are also times on the AT when carrying 2 L of water is unnecessary as sources are so frequent or conditions allow it. Water is located at the vast majority of AT lean-tos which avg about 7.8 miles apart. That is NOT WHERE the only sources of water are located though. Water is typically found much more frequently. Dropping 1 L of water on these occasions AFTER learning of these reliable water locations drops your haul another 2.2 lbs.

Weight saved?….8+ lbs to 12 + lbs. Requirement? Knowledge and wisdom!

Now the gear wt saving yakkety yak yak yak that so many like to endlessly obsess about can commence. As this is done consider the wt savings in gear which will be endlessly opined about. Is it more wt than 8-12+ lbs and at what costs?

Very well stated. I've watched many hikers routinely start the day with 2L of water while good sources were abundant.


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[Christoph]

I took 10 days of food to start because I heard so many say only take about a weeks worth of food, so I upped it to 10 days thinking hey, I'm probably going to eat...a LOT. Well, that may be the case, but it wasn't a very smart choice. You guys are right, even 7 days is realistically too much. I found, I often had left overs when resupplying, which in itself, isn't really a bad thing, but I could have done it smarter. For instance, my first resupply point was Franklin! I'll say that I sure learned a lot from my first hike and hopefully some new hikers will benefit from my story. Another issue is water. That stuff weighs a lot! Last section, I carried 1 liter and when in camp made sure I had 2 for cooking, then left the next day with 1. More than enough, resupply is almost everywhere early on. Maybe next year I'll be able to go all the way and I'm sure I'll learn even more in the time I'm up there. Now to work on this belly thing.... :) Say I started at 220 last time (it was around there, maybe a little more), my goal weight is right around 200 for this next attempt. Also something everyone says is a healthy weight for a 6'2" person. That's a 20 pound drop in weight I'd have to carry! Think of it this way. If my pack is weighing in at 30 lbs fully loaded, I drop 20 lbs... well you do the math. I think that will be my biggest (challenge) benefit when starting next year. I think my gear is tweaked fairly well, but short of cutting the arms off my long sleeve shirts, sawing my toothbrush in half (I actually saw this one), or hiking barefoot.... Any other ideas to shed some weight with the gear you currently have? Also, no need to carry the big canister (if you have a canister type stove), the little ones last forever and are literally found everywhere.

[garlic08]

Excess food and water is a favorite rant of mine. Many AT hikers carry too much of each.

Many years ago I took a survival course, and the only time food was mentioned was to tell us, don't worry about it. (Some courses tell you to start worrying about it after three weeks.) Years after that I thru-hiked the PCT, and ran out of packed food in the Sierra a day away from resupply. As it turns out I did not blow up. I went to bed hungry for the first time in more than four decades of pampered life, and learned quite a lesson. From that point on, I made it my goal to finish off my food bag the morning of my resupply. I consider it a failure to have extra food when I get to town. My pack weight dropped by a good three pounds after that lesson.

On the AT, I met some hikers with 100-oz bladders who would fill said bladders every morning, no matter we were walking through pristine spring water most of the day. They would carry over six extra pounds of weight just for the convenience of not having to bend down and fill a smaller bottle when it got empty. I've hiked plenty of desert miles, and on the AT I was often comfortable carrying none at all. That's quite a weight savings.

For carried gear, the only place I think money needs to go is a good down sleeping bag. (And you need to know how to keep it dry, which comes with experience.)

[Traffic Jam]

You are enlightened recognizing a reduction in excess wt carried on the body could be and should be IMO included in the wt saving goal.


Common, particularly with Newbies and Gear Junkies, but even observed among some in the UL crowd, is to assume dropping wt hauled is about obsessing on gear. Not necessarily and your scenario demonstrates the point in textbook fashion! Let's look at that 10 days of food for the AT. AT resupply and supplement locations and logistics are supremely analyzed and recognized in countless sources. Assuming the avg daily food eaten is about 1.5-2.5 lbs for AT thru-hikers if you could do 6 days of food hauling on avg rather than the 10 days the consumable food wt goes down DRASTICALLY from 15-25 lbs to 9 - 15 lbs.

Another supremely analyzed logistic and recognized in countless sources on the AT is water sources. There are also times on the AT when carrying 2 L of water is unnecessary as sources are so frequent or conditions allow it. Water is located at the vast majority of AT lean-tos which avg about 7.8 miles apart. That is NOT WHERE the only sources of water are located though. Water is typically found much more frequently. Dropping 1 L of water on these occasions AFTER learning of these reliable water locations drops your haul another 2.2 lbs.

Weight saved?….8+ lbs to 12 + lbs. Requirement? Knowledge and wisdom!

Now the gear wt saving yakkety yak yak yak that so many like to endlessly obsess about can commence. As this is done consider the wt savings in gear which will be endlessly opined about. Is it more wt than 8-12+ lbs and at what costs?


Dropping body weight makes hiking easier, but 40 lbs on your back still feels like 40 lbs on your back.

[Christoph]

Dropping body weight makes hiking easier, but 40 lbs on your back still feels like 40 lbs on your back.

Truth! But overall you have to see the benefits of overall weight loos. Be it pack or body weight, you are still carrying that uphill.

[Maydog]

It's amazing how my knees suddenly got better after I lost 40 lbs.

[Traffic Jam]

Truth! But overall you have to see the benefits of overall weight loos. Be it pack or body weight, you are still carrying that uphill.

Absolutely...both contribute to a more enjoyable hike...also important is to strengthen hamstrings, quads, glutes, and core.

I've thought about body weight vs pack weight quite a bit and whether losing body weight makes a pack easier to carry. If anyone has lost more than 10lbs of body weight, did it affect how much weight you could carry, (particularly in your shoulders and back)? Was anyone able to increase their pack weight?


(sorry if I'm derailing your thread...btw, I sawed the handle off my toothbrush :) makes it easier to fit in my hygiene kit)

[Hikingjim]

Absolutely...both contribute to a more enjoyable hike...also important is to strengthen hamstrings, quads, glutes, and core.

I've thought about body weight vs pack weight quite a bit and whether losing body weight makes a pack easier to carry. If anyone has lost more than 10lbs of body weight, did it affect how much weight you could carry, (particularly in your shoulders and back)? Was anyone able to increase their pack weight?


(sorry if I'm derailing your thread...btw, I sawed the handle off my toothbrush :) makes it easier to fit in my hygiene kit)

No. I have fluctuated from close to zero fat to having an extra 20 or so lbs of body weight at various points, and it doesn't affect shoulders/back with any of my packs. Just my general fatigue

So if someone is heavy enough where their general fitness is poor, that would obviously affect it, but I don't think a little extra weight correlates with most pack strains.

[egilbe]

No. I have fluctuated from close to zero fat to having an extra 20 or so lbs of body weight at various points, and it doesn't affect shoulders/back with any of my packs. Just my general fatigue

So if someone is heavy enough where their general fitness is poor, that would obviously affect it, but I don't think a little extra weight correlates with most pack strains.

Having recently lost 25 pounds, I can corroborate what HikingJim stated in regards to pack weight. Losing bodyweight is easier on the joints in the legs and feet on the descents and climbing is much easier and quicker. Energy levels througout the day is generally higher although I'm hiking longer and farther. The heaviest my pack has weighed is 40 pounds for a 9 day trip without resupply and it was noticebly lighter at the end. It was not easier cayying 40 pounds. The weight still threw me off balance occasionally. When the weight lost is moved from the belly to your back and hips, it does some interesting things to your reflexes.

[gracebowen]

I haven't done any long distance hiking yet. I can tell you though that losing weight will make hiking easier. Not having ld hiked how can I say this with any believability? Several years ago I weighed 220 lbs. My feet and heels began hurting very badly and it was excruciatingly painful just to walk from my car to my desk. I lost 20 lbs. My pain went away.

I was happy to weigh 200lbs for a while but last year when I began to dream about hiking the AT I realized it was time to lose more weight.

I switched from soda to tea. Thats pretty much all I did thats consistent. I lost another 20 to 25 lbs and went from obese to overweight.

My weight currently flucuates between 175 and 182. At 182 I become obese again. Id like to get down to 160.

[Traffic Jam]

Having recently lost 25 pounds, I can corroborate what HikingJim stated in regards to pack weight. Losing bodyweight is easier on the joints in the legs and feet on the descents and climbing is much easier and quicker. Energy levels througout the day is generally higher although I'm hiking longer and farther. The heaviest my pack has weighed is 40 pounds for a 9 day trip without resupply and it was noticebly lighter at the end. It was not easier cayying 40 pounds. The weight still threw me off balance occasionally. When the weight lost is moved from the belly to your back and hips, it does some interesting things to your reflexes.

That is my perception as well. I'm not comfortable carrying more than 22 lbs and mistakenly thought I could carry more after losing weight. However, the pack was a few lbs heavier on my last hike (about 65 mi with no resupply) and it felt better but I attribute that to strength training.

[Traffic Jam]

I haven't done any long distance hiking yet. I can tell you though that losing weight will make hiking easier. Not having ld hiked how can I say this with any believability? Several years ago I weighed 220 lbs. My feet and heels began hurting very badly and it was excruciatingly painful just to walk from my car to my desk. I lost 20 lbs. My pain went away.

I was happy to weigh 200lbs for a while but last year when I began to dream about hiking the AT I realized it was time to lose more weight.

I switched from soda to tea. Thats pretty much all I did thats consistent. I lost another 20 to 25 lbs and went from obese to overweight.

My weight currently flucuates between 175 and 182. At 182 I become obese again. Id like to get down to 160.

Way to go!

[Bronk]

I started with 55lbs not including water. I dropped 15 pounds at Neels gap and I felt light the weight of the world had been lifted from my shoulders...the first 6 days it took me to get ot Neels Gap were just plain miserable. After that, at least once a week I'd dump everything out of my pack and go thru it and get rid of some stuff. By the end my rule of thumb was "Did I use this in the last week?" If the answer was no, I got rid of it. I ended my hike with a 28 pound pack loaded with a week's worth of food, or roughly half the weight I had started with. I had also lost about 50 pounds of body weight.

[jjozgrunt]

The one thing I would suggest if you are lightening the load by changing gear is not to change to much all at once. Change some things try them out make sure you are comfortable with those changes and then change some other things on your list. Keep going until all you need to change is the pack. The pack should always be last so you know exactly what size you need to fit your new gear list into and what features you really need as well.

[Dogwood]

I started with 55lbs not including water. I dropped 15 pounds at Neels gap and I felt light the weight of the world had been lifted from my shoulders...the first 6 days it took me to get ot Neels Gap were just plain miserable. After that, at least once a week I'd dump everything out of my pack and go thru it and get rid of some stuff. By the end my rule of thumb was "Did I use this in the last week?" If the answer was no, I got rid of it. I ended my hike with a 28 pound pack loaded with a week's worth of food, or roughly half the weight I had started with. I had also lost about 50 pounds of body weight.

See, he realized that large size 3 lb bottle of Tabasco Sauce, 3 lb Spice Kit, and "UL" 2 lb coffee press wasn't absolutely needed. :D

[Dogwood]

If anyone ever sees me in a video promoting this for a backpacking/camping trip as an expert for fill in the blank - big box outdoor store - skewer me with a Ti shepherd hook.

https://www.rei.com/product/820424/rei-table-top-french-coffee-press-32-fl-oz

[saltysack]

If anyone ever sees me in a video promoting this for a backpacking/camping trip as an expert for fill in the blank - big box outdoor store - skewer me with a Ti shepherd hook.

https://www.rei.com/product/820424/rei-table-top-french-coffee-press-32-fl-oz

Haaaa I thought the same a few weeks ago...I get alerts from youtube of new vids....I typically like this store but this is a joke.....

https://youtu.be/Y7Tbm_68RHw


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[Traffic Jam]

Haaaa I thought the same a few weeks ago...I get alerts from youtube of new vids....I typically like this store but this is a joke.....

https://youtu.be/Y7Tbm_68RHw


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Yeah! What self-respecting female hikes in fashion boots? ;)

[DuneElliot]

If anyone ever sees me in a video promoting this for a backpacking/camping trip as an expert for fill in the blank - big box outdoor store - skewer me with a Ti shepherd hook.

https://www.rei.com/product/820424/rei-table-top-french-coffee-press-32-fl-oz

I could totally see it going on a camping (not backpacking) trip with my parents. Coffee is pretty important to them!

[Fireplug]

I'm at 14 lbs BPW and I still want to cut weight. The reason most people quit is weight. Remember 2189.2 miles is a long walk with heavy packs.

[Dogwood]

Haaaa I thought the same a few weeks ago...I get alerts from youtube of new vids....I typically like this store but this is a joke.....

https://youtu.be/Y7Tbm_68RHw


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What no pumpkin scone? She's on what is referred to as a coffee at an overlook hike. That looks like a pretty tasty coffee, made better if she carries it, makes it, and then shares it with me. I'll bring the scones.

[FreeGoldRush]

I'm at 14 lbs BPW and I still want to cut weight. The reason most people quit is weight. Remember 2189.2 miles is a long walk with heavy packs.

Can you tell us which pack you use and how much it weighs?

[GoLight]

This is not meant to be disrespectful, quite the contrary, I was once grossly overweight so I speak from truth.
Being 6´2¨ and 220 pounds puts you at the threshold of obese. Dropping to 180 pounds would put you mid-range normal.
I dropped from 228 to 160 and it brought incredible changes to my life. Now I can live the kind of outdoor life I always wanted.
Here´s a webpage where you can check your body-mass index:
http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/educational/lose_wt/BMI/bmicalc.htm

[saltysack]

This is not meant to be disrespectful, quite the contrary, I was once grossly overweight so I speak from truth.
Being 6´2¨ and 220 pounds puts you at the threshold of obese. Dropping to 180 pounds would put you mid-range normal.
I dropped from 228 to 160 and it brought incredible changes to my life. Now I can live the kind of outdoor life I always wanted.
Here´s a webpage where you can check your body-mass index:
http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/educational/lose_wt/BMI/bmicalc.htm

Those Bmi calculators are a joke....kind of a one size fits all thing......


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[Fireplug]

Can you tell us which pack you use and how much it weighs?
I'm using Zpacks Arc Haul pack. Not the Arc Blast. It weights 1.6 lbs 52L and waterproof

[GoLight]

Those Bmi calculators are a joke....kind of a one size fits all thing......


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Yes, one size fits all but that´s okay. Its just a group of broad ranges pointing to being underweight, normal, overweight or obese. It doesn´t need to account for male or female, body type, waist size, muscle versus fat, couch potato versus athlete or a range of other possible variations.
Its basic purpose is to compare height to weight and see where the resulting BMI appears on the scale. Its simply one way to determine if your weight is suitable for your height.
My point is this. Rather than obsess about a few ounces of pack weight to take a load off our feet it might be more useful to obsess about the 10-20-30-40 pounds that some of us are overweight.
The pack will still weigh the same whether we lose body weight or not, but our feet will be more able to cope with the weight of the backpack if they don´t also have to cope with an overweight or obese body.

[DuneElliot]

I'm at 14 lbs BPW and I still want to cut weight. The reason most people quit is weight. Remember 2189.2 miles is a long walk with heavy packs.


I'm using Zpacks Arc Haul pack. Not the Arc Blast. It weights 1.6 lbs 52L and waterproof

I'm carrying the same pack and having trouble with the same thing. You are not alone. There are places I could drop weight, but they aren't feasible for my part of the country...sleep system is one place I could drop a couple of pounds if I camped in warmer places.

[jeffmeh]

Yes, one size fits all but that´s okay. Its just a group of broad ranges pointing to being underweight, normal, overweight or obese. It doesn´t need to account for male or female, body type, waist size, muscle versus fat, couch potato versus athlete or a range of other possible variations.
Its basic purpose is to compare height to weight and see where the resulting BMI appears on the scale. Its simply one way to determine if your weight is suitable for your height.
My point is this. Rather than obsess about a few ounces of pack weight to take a load off our feet it might be more useful to obsess about the 10-20-30-40 pounds that some of us are overweight.
The pack will still weigh the same whether we lose body weight or not, but our feet will be more able to cope with the weight of the backpack if they don´t also have to cope with an overweight or obese body.

BMI is absolute BS except as a very general guideline. A 6', 220 lb. man is classified as obese per BMI, whether he has a lean body mass of 205 lb. or 145 lb. Nonsense.

[saltysack]

Yes, one size fits all but that´s okay. Its just a group of broad ranges pointing to being underweight, normal, overweight or obese. It doesn´t need to account for male or female, body type, waist size, muscle versus fat, couch potato versus athlete or a range of other possible variations.
Its basic purpose is to compare height to weight and see where the resulting BMI appears on the scale. Its simply one way to determine if your weight is suitable for your height.
My point is this. Rather than obsess about a few ounces of pack weight to take a load off our feet it might be more useful to obsess about the 10-20-30-40 pounds that some of us are overweight.
The pack will still weigh the same whether we lose body weight or not, but our feet will be more able to cope with the weight of the backpack if they don´t also have to cope with an overweight or obese body.

Agree it's probably far more feasible to drop weight off your fat arse vs a few oz off your back. Im an example what BS that the BMI says...I'm 5'11" athletic muscular build @ 212lbs....it says I'm obese.. I weight train 5 days per week and under 10% body fat with 32-33" waist...go figure...

[ralph23]

BMI is absolute BS except as a very general guideline. A 6', 220 lb. man is classified as obese per BMI, whether he has a lean body mass of 205 lb. or 145 lb. Nonsense.
Wrong, wrong, wrong. BMI is actually pretty good at determining body mass for a wide swath of the population. The people it doesn't work for the the top 5% of fittest people in the nation. And they have no need to use a BMI calculator. The fact remains that the average American male weighs 15 pounds more than what the average male weighed twenty years ago. Thats not a BMI calculator issue, that's an obesity epidemic. The BMI calculator will give you a quick and reasonable idea of where your weight should be.

[JC13]

Wrong, wrong, wrong. BMI is actually pretty good at determining body mass for a wide swath of the population. The people it doesn't work for the the top 5% of fittest people in the nation. And they have no need to use a BMI calculator. The fact remains that the average American male weighs 15 pounds more than what the average male weighed twenty years ago. Thats not a BMI calculator issue, that's an obesity epidemic. The BMI calculator will give you a quick and reasonable idea of where your weight should be.The problem is insurance companies use BMI and it dings you based on the results. I got hit because I was 6'1" at 215lbs 10% BF. Chart said obese...

[tflaris]

The BMI works for me. I lost 17.5 pounds before my JMT Thru hike and it was effectively reflected in my BMI number. Huge difference on the trail. Hard to lose that amount of weight in a backpack unless you go with one.


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[saltysack]

The problem is insurance companies use BMI and it dings you based on the results. I got hit because I was 6'1" at 215lbs 10% BF. Chart said obese...

Agree..if your athletic muscular build not a bean pole your obese....dumb.......


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[egilbe]

BMI was never meant for individuals. It was a metric for the general population. On average, people in a certain part of the world are getting fat because of a high carb diet and little to no exercise.

Dumb that its applied to individuals.

[Greenlight]

Seven days of food? May I ask why? If you're carrying a guide, and know how many miles you are from the next trail town, I'd carry only that much food.


Was thinking I'd have had a better experience/success attempting my thru last year if I had lightened the load a little. Not Ultralight, just losing a little here and there with what equipment I already have. I started my hike with a 42 lb pack, which is still respectable with 10 days of food/2 liters of water. I was fairly new to hiking, never been on a long hike before. Recently, I went on a section hike from the Falls to Unicoi Gap and it seemed so easy going, I was baffled as to why I didn't think of or try some of this on my thru hike. Now I'm not one to spend a lot of money on gear, I have a $40 tent I got from Ebay (4.2 lbs), sleeping bag is a military issued 30* mummy bag (it's ~2 lbs), and my pack is a Kelty Santa Fe 4000 (~5 lbs).
Pack mods: Removed 3 piece internal metal frame and removed the top cover (I was only using it for storing my Frogg Toggs jacket anyway) (dropped almost 3 pounds!).
Tent mods: Taking 7 of the 14 aluminum tent stakes and replaced the poles with thinner replacement fiberglass poles. (now 3.2 pounds).
Threw away my boots (they lasted to Laughing Heart) and found trail type sneakers were much more comfortable and lighter and lasted longer for me.
Odds and ends: a shammy cloth for keeping tent dry, way too many meds (Advil, etc), batteries, Camera, and AWOL's guidebook, knife swapped for 2 razor blades.
So all in all I lost right around 10 pounds. Shammy (not sure what I was thinking there), batteries and camera (I took my smartphone and external battery so why not just use the phone for pics and vids?), guidebook I will go pdf next time, and the knife is still out. All I need is something to open packages with anyway (razor does the trick).

Probably one of the often overlooked areas to drop some pounds is..... the beer belly and overall fitness. Next time I'll definitely be in better shape from the start. Not that I was overweight (OK a little, 220 at 6'2"), this is an easy/somewhat free area to drop a few extra for those long uphills.

Here's my gear list:
Food: Drop the 10 days of food down to 7
Pack: Kelty Santa Fe 4000, lightened
Sleeping bag: Mil issued 30* mummy bag (very light, I'm a hot sleeper too)
Tent: Load Mountain Dowson products Ebay tent (6x4 feet, I sleep diagonally with plenty of room and with all gear inside)
Cook kit: Walmart Mess kit (only cup and pot/lid), plastic spork, plastic bowl, MSR Rocket, small canister
X-Therm air mattress
Meds/wash kit: 2 bandanna's, back pain meds/Ibuprofen, external battery, Phone, charger, wet wipes
Clothes: 2 pr Darn Tough/1 smartwool socks, 1 short/1 zip off long pant, 2 100% poly shirts, 1 cotton blend long sleeve shirt to sleep in, Frogg Toggs rain jacket, sneakers.
Extras: Ziploc bags, trash compactor bag (pack liner), headlamp, Walmart hiking poles.

Right now, I'm pretty comfortable with my gear and this is what I found what works for me, but to help others out a bit do you have any other tips and tricks to drop some weight with equipment you already have besides going out and buying new/used gear?

[Christoph]

7 days was a general starting point. I did start with 10 days on my attempt and found that was way too much, very quickly. So I tailored it down a bit and vary it depending on the distance from town to town and whether I want to go into town or not.