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Thread: Pack Weight

  1. #21
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    Quote Originally Posted by wolfywolfy View Post
    I am curious how much weight everyone else is carrying. For example my backpack total weight has ranged from 15lbs to 30lbs and I find below 20 most comfortable. Just wondering If I am average or not.
    For my first hike I headed out with a 39-ish# pack. Didn't stay out very long at all. Nearly crippled myself. Came home and re-evaluated things and stripped 11-ish# off my total weight with 3 days consumables. My base ends up at ~17#. Plus 6# of food. Plus 4# water. Headed back out for a hike in a couple of days. Hopefully it will go much better for me. Seems that, all things being equal, your gear budget and your final carry weight are directly related, for sure.
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    Mine was 35#. Way too heavy. But it was my first time. Next time my goal is 25#. Learned a lot.

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    I usually carry about 8lbs-10lbs of gear, 2lbs of water upto 10lbs (lquart-1.25gal for dry camp/dry stretches), and 5-25lbs of food (2-10 days). large male 195lbs on avg.
    See ya when I get there.

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    You should ditch that large male

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    Quote Originally Posted by wolfywolfy View Post
    I am curious how much weight everyone else is carrying. For example my backpack total weight has ranged from 15lbs to 30lbs and I find below 20 most comfortable. Just wondering If I am average or not.
    Lighter people are waaayyy over-represented here vs on-trail.

    Your far better than most. Enjoy it.

  6. #26
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    Quote Originally Posted by KasseyB View Post
    Just finished my thru-hike of the AT.
    Didn't research gear, so my stuff was fairly bulky compared to most.
    I'm 5'2'' and weigh 110 lbs, my pack with food and water weighed 35-40 lbs.
    Ideally you want your base weight to be around 10 lbs (tent, sleeping bag, pack)
    But, if your determined to do it, you will no matter whats on your back.
    Lighter pack just makes for easier cruising.
    110lbs with a 35-40lb pack and did a thru? I am friggin impressed. That's roughly 35% of your body weight. You have mettle!
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    Quote Originally Posted by zig-zag man View Post
    110lbs with a 35-40lb pack and did a thru? I am friggin impressed. That's roughly 35% of your body weight. You have mettle!
    If I did 35% of my body weight my pack would weigh 64 pounds

  8. #28
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    Quote Originally Posted by GoLight View Post
    If I did 35% of my body weight my pack would weigh 64 pounds
    54 pounds here @ 35%.
    I was cruising at only 22% in Wyoming!
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  9. #29

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    Hahahaha!! Ditto fo sho

  10. #30
    Registered User Crossup's Avatar
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    I'll go with the "if you can lift it" quote- wanting to get on the trail rather than read about hiking I just used what I had which put me at 40lbs plus water and what was on my body. With only a week of "training" by local hikes, I can confidently say I'm in the worst shape of my life. So the good new is I was able to hike 6-7hrs a day, the bad news: mileage sucked-6.5 to 9.5, I think thats the main downside of being loaded. But we adapt, every day was easier than the previous one, on day 5 I ran across a nice tree of ripe pears and then got comfirmation a mid point water source was dried up and so I needed to carry water for 2 days. So add 6 pears and 64oz of water which surely got me to the 50lbs mark, of course that was my 9.5mi day. Back to the 40lbs range, I finished up with 20min. miles on easy ground. FWIW, I weigh right at 160lbs and I spent lots time taking breaks and going off trail, so I should probably say I wore the pack for 6-7hrs a day but most days I only hiked 4-5 on trail. Morel of the story, if you go heavy, you will likely go slow.

  11. #31
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    Quote Originally Posted by MuddyWaters View Post
    Lighter people are waaayyy over-represented here vs on-trail. Your far better than most. Enjoy it.
    Oh so true

    I actually laugh at some of the quoted figures here. Some people I saw this year, on the trail, that had put up their weights here or on their trail journals had grossly underestimated. I see gear lists that don't have all the little things that add up. 1 guy I saw at the top of Springer, after taking 2 days on the approach trail estimated his weight at 41lbs before the walk, when he checked at the start it was 84lbs. He had crap hanging off a huge pack everywhere. After Neel Gap, most people were in the 28 - 40 range after they drop off all those things that they packed for their fears. Things like the 2nd/3rd sets of clothes just in case, 1st aid kits bigger than I've seen combat medics carry, 6 days of food for a 2-3 day leg etc etc.

    Here is everything I started with this year, except for swapping out a s/s t shirt for a l/s one and what I will start with next year to finish the AT. It is absolutely everything that on my body or in my pack. Keeping a list is about the only way I have found to include everything for an actual weight and to not forget anything. Also it helps to see where you can improve, read lighten, your weight. https://lighterpack.com/r/czb3eu

    Plan ahead and there will be no great shock when you weigh it at the start.
    "He was a wise man who invented beer." Plato

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    Weight is deceptive and misleading if it is not accompanied by a season that the gear will be used. Winter and summer gear are like chalk and cheese

  13. #33

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    Quote Originally Posted by TTT View Post
    Weight is deceptive and misleading if it is not accompanied by a season that the gear will be used. Winter and summer gear are like chalk and cheese
    Which is heavier, a pound of lead or a lb. of feathers?

  14. #34
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    The skin weight used in winter and that used in summer should be vastly different. Supplying the weight with the season puts it into context otherwise it becomes misleading.

  15. #35
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    Quote Originally Posted by jjozgrunt View Post
    Oh so true

    I actually laugh at some of the quoted figures here. Some people I saw this year, on the trail, that had put up their weights here or on their trail journals had grossly underestimated. I see gear lists that don't have all the little things that add up. 1 guy I saw at the top of Springer, after taking 2 days on the approach trail estimated his weight at 41lbs before the walk, when he checked at the start it was 84lbs. He had crap hanging off a huge pack everywhere. After Neel Gap, most people were in the 28 - 40 range after they drop off all those things that they packed for their fears. Things like the 2nd/3rd sets of clothes just in case, 1st aid kits bigger than I've seen combat medics carry, 6 days of food for a 2-3 day leg etc etc.

    Here is everything I started with this year, except for swapping out a s/s t shirt for a l/s one and what I will start with next year to finish the AT. It is absolutely everything that on my body or in my pack. Keeping a list is about the only way I have found to include everything for an actual weight and to not forget anything. Also it helps to see where you can improve, read lighten, your weight. https://lighterpack.com/r/czb3eu

    Plan ahead and there will be no great shock when you weigh it at the start.
    I'm right in line with you (a bit lighter at the moment, but still have to add a few small items, I wager I end up within a couple hundred grams)

    I budget 5 days of food and 2L water for planning purposes, but that varies situationally.

    Wardrobe planning can easily have a 3-4lb impact.

  16. #36

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    I don't do winter hiking, except down south, so my year-round pack weight is pretty consistent. I get cold easily and know what I need to carry to be safe and comfortable. Excess clothes (ie change of clothes) don't happen in my pack...I carry the bare necessities to be safe and comfortable, which usually includes an extra fleece and a good puffy.

  17. #37
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    Counting 8 pounds food, 2 pounds bear can, and 2 L water, Pack weighs 27 pounds, against my 140.
    I'm still refining the little stuff, but the limiter is keeping the pack empty enough to fit the bear can between the bars of the Arc blast so it doesn't poke my back or wear thru the fabric

  18. #38
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mareekie View Post
    Counting 8 pounds food, 2 pounds bear can, and 2 L water, Pack weighs 27 pounds, against my 140.
    I'm still refining the little stuff, but the limiter is keeping the pack empty enough to fit the bear can between the bars of the Arc blast so it doesn't poke my back or wear thru the fabric
    How long do you plan on being out with 8 pounds of food? What food is in the 8 pounds?
    I’m curious for my own planning purposes. Thanks!
    Wayne


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  19. #39
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    Not sure I agree with the ''if you can lift it'' rule.

    I did my first section hike with a 40 lbs pack. I had no problem lifting it but I felt that weight on my back all the way through and wished it wasn't there. Not only did it slow me down, it also made me a lot more tired than I should have been at the end of the day.

    I knew from the get go that some of my gear was too heavy and I am in the process of replacing it as I can afford to do so. I also had wayyyyyyy too much food and promised myself I wouldn't bring anymore than what I absolutely need on my next section. If all goes according to plan, I'll be leaving home with a 30 lbs pack.

  20. #40
    Registered User Suzzz's Avatar
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    I should have specified that that 30 lbs includes 5 days of food.

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