View Full Version : body weight vs pack weight
PUNKINPUSS11
02-03-2010, 12:18
not sure how to word this. if u have a 35lb pack but u lose 35lb does it work out like ur not carrying a pack????
JustaTouron
02-03-2010, 12:24
Not exactly.......
First lets assume you are 35lbs overweight. You will should be 250lbs but you weigh 285 lbs. It is gonna be at least as hard for you walk the AT without a pack as it would be for you in tip top shape (at 250lbs) to walk the trail with a 35lb pack. In reality when you are carrying a 35lb pack it is as hard on your body as if you were in ideal shape and carrying a 70lb pound back.
not sure how to word this. if u have a 35lb pack but u lose 35lb does it work out like ur not carrying a pack????
It would if the your pack weight was distributed over your body the same way your body composition is, but it's not - so the answer is no.
For a crude analogy, gaining 15 lbs of body weight is not the same as walking around with a 15 lb weight in your right hand.
Pedaling Fool
02-03-2010, 14:14
not sure how to word this. if u have a 35lb pack but u lose 35lb does it work out like ur not carrying a pack????
Forget the conventional body weight vs pack weight guidelines, it's so flawed not even worth discussing. Just look at the size of most sherpas and what they carry.
Loosing the 35 lbs will make your hiking easier. It MAY make sleeping on the ground (or worse, in shelters) less comfortable.
IF you are already underweight, you may want to reconsider.
Will it make it feel like you are not carrying a pack? It SEEMS logical, to me at least. In March, you weigh (lets say): 175 Lbs, 4 months later you are down to 140 but are now carrying a 35 Lb pack, there is still 175 Lbs on your legs & feet. It may even be better, because now you have less fat around your heart & other vital organs. I know for a fact that If I lose 35 Lbs I will feel 50 Lbs better. Exercising to help loose the weight will also make the effort of hiking easier.
sasquatch2014
02-03-2010, 15:03
If during the day you have eatten 2 lbs out of your food bag but have not visited the priviy do you still take that weight into consideration?
If during the day you have eatten 2 lbs out of your food bag but have not visited the priviy do you still take that weight into consideration?
<nevermind what I was going to say.>
fredmugs
02-04-2010, 09:08
It would if the your pack weight was distributed over your body the same way your body composition is, but it's not - so the answer is no.
For a crude analogy, gaining 15 lbs of body weight is not the same as walking around with a 15 lb weight in your right hand.
Great analogy. Over the last two years I have hiked from a body weight anywhere between 195 and 220 pounds. A 35 lb pack is a 35 lb pack. My lower back feels pretty much the same at the end of the day.
However - when I'm slacking with a 3 liter camelbak that probably weighs 10 pounds I can't even tell it's there.
I figure that if I loose 30 pounds and carry a 25 pound pack the end result will be that I am negative 5 pounds and I will float down the trail. I need to go hit the treadmill now :)
I figure that if I loose 30 pounds and carry a 25 pound pack the end result will be that I am negative 5 pounds and I will float down the trail. I need to go hit the treadmill now :)
Or you could just take laxatives the night before a big climb. :)
jnl82381
02-04-2010, 10:18
it depends, if you carry it all in your belly and you lose the weight but get a really big fanny pack and keep all of your stuff in there...the weight would be in about the same place on your body. the same could be said if you keep it in your butt and turn the fanny pack around the other way.
who cares though, you'll lose weight on the trail anyways.
I read in an UL backpacking book that your ideal packweight is 25% of your body weight (not that reading it makes it fact but...). so if you have a 35 pound pack and are 140 pounds or heavier, you'll be fine!
Good Luck!
it depends, if you carry it all in your belly and you lose the weight but get a really big fanny pack and keep all of your stuff in there...the weight would be in about the same place on your body. the same could be said if you keep it in your butt and turn the fanny pack around the other way.
who cares though, you'll lose weight on the trail anyways.
I read in an UL backpacking book that your ideal packweight is 25% of your body weight (not that reading it makes it fact but...). so if you have a 35 pound pack and are 140 pounds or heavier, you'll be fine!
Good Luck!
So if your 250 you can go out with a 62.5 lb pack, thats scary!
JustaTouron
02-04-2010, 10:36
I read in an UL backpacking book that your ideal packweight is 25% of your body weight (not that reading it makes it fact but...).
What I think folks are missing is if you are overweight that ain't accurate.
A 5 foot 400 lb fat slob that is 250lb overweight isn't gonna be able to to hike the AT with 100 lb backpack. Probably can barely walk from the fridge to the couch in front of the TV carring a pound of junk food.
If you are 10% overweight your ideal packweight is 15% of your ideal body weight.
As you hike a long distance, you will lose weight and you'll get so used to your pack that you feel strange hiking without it.
I think the 25% of your body weight is a good place to start, but if you do like I did and try to go well below that, a whole new world will open up. Hiking with a pack so light you barely notice is a joy. Plus if your essentials are really light, you can take more real luxuries like better food, wine and books.
It is the same on your feet and ankles and knees.
It is a little different on your shoulders and back.
Either way, as a pack or as body weight, it is way better than carrying it in your left hand.
Also, as Justatouron said, pack weight guidelines should not be based on body weight.
Take these 3 people:
1. 6' tall. 150 pounds lean mass. 200 pounds total.
2. 6' tall. 175 pounds lean mass. 200 pounds total.
3. 6' tall. 150 pounds lean mass. 175 pounds total.
More than likely, #2 and #3 can carry more than #1.
However, who can carry more? #2 or #3?
Chances are, #2 can probable carry more weight up a flight of stairs.
However, #3 can probably carry a 30 pound pack more miles on the AT.
As you hike a long distance, you will lose weight and you'll get so used to your pack that you feel strange hiking without it.
I keep waiting for that day!
Old Hiker
02-04-2010, 11:35
I figure that if I loose 30 pounds and carry a 25 pound pack the end result will be that I am negative 5 pounds and I will float down the trail. I need to go hit the treadmill now :)
Just add 7 pounds of rocks and you'll be fine. In fact, let your hiking partners (if any) know about your calculations and they will be MORE than helpful with suggestions!
Doooglas
02-04-2010, 11:40
I figure that if I loose 30 pounds and carry a 25 pound pack the end result will be that I am negative 5 pounds and I will float down the trail. I need to go hit the treadmill now :)
Treadmills are useless. Go find some stairs.
Pedaling Fool
02-04-2010, 12:00
Your body can get use to any exercise, such as steps...But there's a big difference in going up steps and a steep incline. I do both, but since I live in Florida I have to do my inclines at the gym. These machines are awesome http://www.treadmillreviews.com/treadmill-reviews/nordictrack-incline-trainer-x10-treadmill-review.html
50% incline eh. They need to put some switchbacks on that sucker. ;)
this is just silly.....loose some weight...I know I need to...
sasquatch2014
02-04-2010, 20:14
Will loosing weight also help curb monkey butt? If so then I can loose the 8 oz in my first aid kit specifically for bad cases of Monkey Butt.:-?
I read in an UL backpacking book that your ideal packweight is 25% of your body weightGo back and read again. I think you will find it says that 25% of your body weight is the MAXIMUM pack weight, not the ideal. If it was an UL book, it likely says that under 10 pounds pack weight is ideal.
GeneralLee10
02-04-2010, 22:10
I have not read this whole thread so please excuse me if this has been posted. I just came across this and thought it would help out some.
http://www.trailquest.net/bp.html#Swinky's Pound-Mile Chart
I learned this in Boy Scouts 25 years ago, and it still works. If you are right handed, if you cannot lift your pack from the ground to over your head with your left hand, it's too heavy. Vice versa for lefties.
I see no reason to carry over 45 lbs ever on the AT. I carry 35-40lbs and I'm offensive tackle-sized. I also see no reason to stress about packweight.
I think the wear and tear on your body is less if total weight is less. So yes if you are 250 + 35 pack and you get down to 215 + 35 pack it will be like leaving on day one with no pack, as far as for wear and tear on you body. Also simple physics, energy required to carry 250lb is same no matter if it is all feathers or lead.
Overweight + Heavy Pack = Unhappy Camper in severe terrain.
I have met some very unhappy campers on the Fungi Footpath. My first trip on the Fungi Footpath I was one of them. From then I decided 230 is my limit, for total weight skin out. If I weight more than that I hike totally naked, with zero food and water.
Don't forget the other benefits of losing body weight.
You'll be able to wear slimmer LIGHTER clothing, have lower baseline dietary requirements, be able to use a slimmer sleeping bag or at least be able to stuff clothing into it without crushing the insulation as much...and all this stuff takes less room in your pack, so you may be able to downsize there as well.
It also costs less money to be thinner.
jnl82381
02-07-2010, 23:49
Go back and read again. I think you will find it says that 25% of your body weight is the MAXIMUM pack weight, not the ideal. If it was an UL book, it likely says that under 10 pounds pack weight is ideal.
ideal pack weight, not ideal base weight. Yes you are correct that base weight will be much lower than 25 pounds as 25 pounds isn't UL, but once you add all the consumables into your pack, i.e. fuel, water, two pounds of food/day, etc. it would be improbably that someone could thru hike the AT with a 10 pound pack weight.
Looking at 5 days of food and 2 liters of water, thats 14 pounds, add a few oz of fuel, bug spray or sun screen to make up the other pound and your 10 pound base weight + consumables just broke into the 25 pound pack weight category...still UL however due to the fact that your base weight is still 10 pounds.