Big Four

[bigcranky]

When I first started hiking, I had the usual big Gregory pack (Shasta, just under 7 pounds), a synthetic 20-F bag, an "ultralight" solo tent in the 5 or 6 pound range, and a 2.5 pound Thermarest. Total "big four" weight was easily pushing 20 pounds. Just for me, solo. Add a ton of clothing and other gear. This would have been mid 90s or so.

My wife and I have spent some time over the last twenty years working on lighter packs, like everybody else. Right now we're planning an April spring break hike in Georgia. I was adding up the "big four" weight and it came to just under ten pounds. Before you say, hey that's still really heavy, realize that it's for two people -- two packs, a shared tent, double pad, and two-person quilt. So between the two of us, our total "big four" weight is less than half what I was carrying solo twenty years ago.

The scary part is that I could get it a few pounds lighter, but we're balancing comfort versus weight, and given how light all this stuff is, we can add back in some extra comfort and not notice it. So the packs have frames, the tent can sleep a platoon, etc. All this stuff is pretty mainstream as far as gear goes, too.

I'm constantly amazed at the quality and variety of modern lightweight hiking gear.

[Engine]

You're right, it's amazing how much lighter options have become. Back in the mid 80's I carried a Gregory Wind River at 8+ pounds, a Thermarest 1" self inflating pad at around 1.5 pounds, a cheap synthetic bag around 2.5 pounds, and depending on how many family members came along, tent options varied from 4 to 9 pounds.

My big 4 back then weighed significantly more than my base weight does now.

[Cheyou]

Yes very amazing. 7 lb pack can now b total base weight for some

thom

[rocketsocks]

Pack 6
bag 4
pad 2
tent 7
19lb.

yup, lost about 9lb in 30 years, I like it!

[Turtle-2013]

I'll "weigh in" on this one. Back in my younger days ... in the late 70s ... when we were hiking in Colorado. I hiked with a Kelty Serac, about 7# with the extension bar on the top since 6500 cu in wasn't enough. Never gave a thought to what we now call "base weight", just tried to keep the total pack to under 45#. Rarely carried water since I was hiking in SW Colorado where there was nearly always water close at hand ... so I generally carried about 43# without a drop of water. NOW, I rarely go much over 20#, WITH water ... Times have changed ... and the change was good!!! : )

[4eyedbuzzard]

Yep. My current 3 season big four is about 6.5 lbs - 1/2 that of 25 years ago, and about 1/3 of what it was in early-mid 1970's. Material science and engineering have been good to hikers!

[Maineiac64]

I am glad to say I am now at just at 5.7 lbs solo big four including pillow and less than 7 if I include hydration and cooking gear.

[Malto]

My big four come in about half of your 7 lbs and there are very few sacrifices in comfort. The main one is the size of my shelter, I purposely built it small to reduce wind loading and keep the footprint small to be able to take advantage of very small spaces. The interesting part about moving into the UL world is seeing how the various components of gear interact together. A good example of this is my pack. Once I shed most of the needless items and went to a small, lightweight shelter and sleep system I soon found that my pack didn't need to be so substantial. So I was able to land on an MLD Burn which is very comfortable for the weight I am carrying but would probably not be ideal as weight gets up above 20 lbs total for an extended period of time. I am on my second Burn and have using the same basic system for about seven years.

[MuddyWaters]

Ive never found myself wanting anything more than I have on the trail. At much lower weights.

Warm, dry , and something cushy to sleep on just about takes care of things.

[Christoph]

I wish I would have weighed each piece of my gear at the start of my thru attempt 2 years ago. Recently I decided I'm going to give it another shot and wondered how much weight I could shave off my current setup. When I started, the entire pack (food, 1 liter of water, and fuel) weighed in at 42 pounds. I don't mind modifying my gear, as long as it doesn't take away it's integrity and usefulness (for my liking and what I require). My bog 4 are currently at 8.125 lbs (130.72 oz). pack is an old Kelty Santa Fe 4000 (stock is 5.5/modified to 2.05lbs), Klymit Static V (1.01lbs), military 30* bag (it's actually very light at 2.02 lbs), and a $40 Ebay dome type tent (3.09lbs). Might still be able to shave a bit off the tent (already went with small diameter fiberglass poles) but this is a great start to my existing gear! Looking to shave that last .05 off my pack as well. Hey, it all adds up right? Haha Anyway, the whole shebang (clothes and everything) minus food, h20, and fuel is at 13.42lbs. Still going!

[poolskaterx]

It is pretty great BigCranky!

My big 4 are now the same weight as the sleeping bag I used to take with me hiking 10 years ago Love the new lighter gear that allows me to shed the heft and allow for more comforts to be brought along,lol!

[hyperhiker]

I think I've owned about 10 packs and 10 tents that I have used and progressed through over the years. I've owned several Dana Packs over the years including a Terraplane. The one I still have but don't use is an Arclightning frpm the late 90's which was Dana's first lightweight pack at a feather weight of 5 pounds. Times are good now with so much better choices and all it takes is money.

[ScareBear]

Looking back to 1974....my first decent pack was this model...no hip belt, but under 4 pounds...my 1975 TNF Cat's Meow was under 4 pounds as well. Where we went wrong was too much spare clothing, too heavy cook gear, no pad, damn heavy tent(7 pounds sounds right...), big arse flashlights, big arse batteries, no dehy food, axes, etc...IIRC 30-36 pounds, dry with food included. Not tragic...

backpack.JPG

[theory]

Most people have a high BIG 4 weight because of their pack. They use a 2lb plus pack which is completely empty. That means you are carrying 2 pounds regardless with nothing inside so you really want a low as you can go pack weight. Mine is around 8.2 oz and that's not even the lightest. Your tent shouldn't be over 3 pounds itself, your sleeping bag shouldn't be much over 1 pound. Sleep pads, I would stay around 10 oz or less. You don't need much for a sleeping pad. The tent, if you're using a tent is the most expensive item. Then either the pack or the sleeping bag. I hope people op to carry such heavy packs. Remember, having 65 liters or more is just too much space that you don't need. 40 liters is a good standard size for people trying not to carry much and go lighter. I wouldn't go above 50 liters for a typical thru-hike/section hike.

[cmoulder]

Photo of me in the Catskills in 1996... about 45 lbs of 'stuff' in my ginormous McHale crm602-2.jpg

Photo of me in Harriman in 2016... total pack weight about 15 lbs JL04.jpg

It's a lot more fun now.

[garlic08]

Very similar story here. My wife and I started hiking together in the early 80s with common mid-range backpacking gear at that time. We hiked the CT just after its completion in the late 80s, with huge packs and a punishing load. I figured my long distance hiking days were over, with chronically sore knees and ankles.

But we started learning about lightweight techniques and gear and new fabrics like silnylon, and by the time we hiked the PCT together in 2004, our combined big four weights were around 12 pounds (that's 13 years ago). That made it possible for our aging bodies to take on that hike. We've lightened up a bit since then with better sleeping bags (why did we wait so long to buy decent sleeping bags?), and went stoveless, which improved our hiking for no cost.

Nice story, thanks, and have a great season. I just spent three days down in the Grand Canyon and two more in the Superstition Wilderness on a punishing off-trail route over the eponymous Crest, thanks completely to the lighter load I carry now.

[illabelle]

Looking back to 1974....my first decent pack was this model...no hip belt, but under 4 pounds...

backpack.JPG

My husband has a pack just like that. Been sitting around a long time. Last time I touched it, the fabric seemed to be rotting, straps were shedding blue fibers/fluff on my hands. Should we toss it? Or keep it around to show the young folks?

[cmoulder]

My husband has a pack just like that. Been sitting around a long time. Last time I touched it, the fabric seemed to be rotting, straps were shedding blue fibers/fluff on my hands. Should we toss it? Or keep it around to show the young folks?

Spray it with several coats of polyurethane varnish so that the material doesn't disintegrate when moving it, then mount it on the wall like those fish replicas that some people have. Good conversation piece for 'back in the bad old days'.

[illabelle]

Spray it with several coats of polyurethane varnish so that the material doesn't disintegrate when moving it, then mount it on the wall like those fish replicas that some people have. Good conversation piece for 'back in the bad old days'.

There's something to be said for preserving history. Can't keep it all, but a few choice pieces would be good. We still have several of those old green or gray plastic canteens, contoured to fit on the hip. Don't think I've seen one of those on the trail in a really long time.