What does your pack weigh?

[TomEske]

I'm packing for a 4 day trip and try as I might I can't get my pack below 50 pounds. Although I can handle this, I'd rather have it lower. The question I pose is: what does your pack weigh for a 3 day, 2 night trip during transitional conditions (as in early spring, with possibility of snow, rain, some ice, etc.)?

 

[Mark_151]

50 sounds about right, especially if you're carrying community gear, such as common food, parts of a tent, fuel, etc, in addition to your personal stuff.

 

[Warren]

I really need to buy a scale so my guesstimate may be off. Right now my pack, packed for a weekend solo in the Catskills (which I may not do as the forecast is looking slushy) is in the 35-40 lb. range. Add a few pounds if I get there and decide to take the snowshoes.

 

[jbrown]

i've jumped into the whole ultralight thing with both feet over the last couple of years. (i picked under 35 pounds, by the way...)

i make alot of my own gear, trying to keep it as light as possible. my headlamp weighs 1 ounce, my stove weighs 2 ounces, cookset 4.5 ounces...you get the idea.

i started to lighten up slowly, spreading out my gear before each hike and going through it piece by piece asking several questions. first, do i really need this? can something else do the job with less weight? can something else do this job as well as other jobs? (multi purpose stuff rocks...my sleeping pad is the framesheet in my gvp gear g-4 pack...)

the only problem with this time of year is i wouldn't like to skimp on gear, and if you don't already have ultralight stuff, you're mostly stuck with what you have.

lighten up man!

 

[Head]

Depends...

For dayhikes, around 25-30 lbs, for 2-3 day backpacking trips 40-50 lbs, and anything over 3 days 60-70 lbs (I like to be comfy when I get to a camp site)

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BirdHead Studios

 

[WalksWithBlackflies]

Since I'm built like a pack mule, my "transitional" pack will weigh 50+... although my winter pack generally weighs less.

 

[ytmountains]

40 to 45#

my 2 cents worth

That’s on a 2-night 3-day non-winter trip. I know I could get a little under that without spending any more $ on gear but, in my eyes and on my hip, what’s a few more #'s to have that thicker sleeping pad and more palatable breakfast and so on. I figure thats one of many reasons why I hike all year round ... to stay fit enough for this stuff.

I try to set up a base camp if I'm doing summits and obviously then hike lighter that day, no tent, stove, sleeping bag or real meals and so forth. If I'm out walking hills or flats for multi days, well, the weight doesn’t bother me too badly at that point.

The more you get out the more you learn from yourself and others. The important thing is to get out there. After a while you'll know what to bring and what not to for necessity versus comfort.

John

 

[brianW]

for a day hike 10-20 (summer) plus an additional 26lBs for shoulder rubs, hair pulls, laughs and moral support. Bringing your kids hiking, priceless

 

[Silverback]

Interesting post. Makes me feel a little better about the fact that I never seem to get my pack below 45 pounds for a trip. I carry a 3-man timberlite tent whether I'm sharing or not (about 7#s), because it's all I own and I like the space and comfort if the weather turns bad. I am thinking about investing in titanium cookware and I am wondering if it is worth the cost. Any input on this?

Thanks

 

[jbrown]

I got the MSR Titan kettle for christmas, and have only used it on my porch at home on the stove I just finished making. It weighs a hair over 4 ounces and holds a hair under a liter.

I have noticed that it is more rigid and seems less susceptible to scratching than my old aluminum cookwear, meaning it's more durable. The lid fits tightly on the top, handles fold out and don't get too hot even with boiling water in it, and the spout on the side makes for easy, spill-free pouring.

For 40 bucks, I'd say it's worth the money. Should be the last one I ever have to buy.

 

[TomEske]

Thanks for all the thoughtful replies. I feel better now knowing that my thinking is not way off, and my pack, although heavier than I'd like is just a little above average. I have to admit that I'm just a tad proud that at 48 I can still handle a pack that heavy. All the kids call me 'the old man'.
Still if I had the cash I could lower the weight with some fancier gear. It kills me to pack my 2.1 POUND rainsuit when I know that for some bigger bucks it could be a third of that weight or less.
I am a bit surprised at the number of "Below 35" votes. Either they enjoy the discomfort, or they have some pretty fancy gear. 35 Pounds for 3 days in rain/snow/ice is somewhat scary to me. I carry 20 on a day hike at this time of year.
Of course for this trip I have a bunch of group gear and food. I don't think my crew would take too kindly to me leaving the fuel bottle at home, although I had a good hiking buddy 30 years ago who 'forgot' the meat for our dinner on one trip. Just last year we all voted to forgive him, someday we might even tell him that.
Thanks again,
Tom

 

[Skiddah]

Hmmm, no option to vote for over 60 Lbs... So, I picked the 50-60 range. I am usually taking one or two kids with me on a three day hike, and though I pack to be under 60 pounds, by the time we hit lunch on the first day I always seem to be over 60. In 2000 I think I hit 80! Ugh.

There is always someone in our group that manages to shave yet another five pounds off of their pack from last year. Either with newer fancier gear, or just not taking something they used to. There are even a few that lighten up by losing blubber, myself included.

But with kids on the trip, I never cut short on the gear. I just can't tell what I may need on the coming trip and don't dare to get caught without it. And kids eat a lot. Better safe than sorry.

Community gear doesn't impact my load much. With two kids the three of us qualify for our own filter and stove, etc... So I carry the stuff I would want the three of us to have anyway. That way, the kids and I can bail or take a shortcut out without impacting the whole group. Though in four years we havn't had to yet. And pretty soon the kids can start carrying my gear for me, right?

I don't know if any of this helps, but what the heck. If I decide to be a lighter hiker, I try to shed pounds from my midrift, since that is the weak link... I still have at least 20 extra pounds there.

 

[Rick]

Can you please define pack?

If you use the ultralight definition, it means the clothes on your back, your socks and boots as well as hiking poles.

Other more liberal definitions pare it down to what is actually packed in or festooned onto your backpack.

 

[jbrown]

Still if I had the cash I could lower the weight with some fancier gear.

You'd be surprised at what a ckeapskate you can be and still lower your pack-weight. Like I said before, I make alot of my own gear. My headlamp weighs 1 ounce, has 3 red LEDs and 2 yellow LEDs, I posted pics in a post a while ago. My stove is a folding leg "Esbit" stove made of perforated aluminum scrounged from a scrap bin at work, plans from thru-hiker.com. My tent is a sil-nylon tarp from campmor that weighs 26 ounces and cost about 30 bucks. I even started making my own dehydrated dinners this year. (Black bean chilli mac is looking really good compared to ramen noodles...)

It has taken me a few years to lighten up to this point. Granted I'm not as comfortable as my brother or cousins that I hike with who carry folding chairs and enamel bakeware mess kits, but my back feels better at the end of the day, my knees aren't shot, I have more energy, and I can go farther on less fuel. I used to be in the 50-60 range, but my physical therapist didn't like that...

 

[TomEske]

Rick,
For the purpose of comparision, I simply asked 'how much does your pack weigh', meaning only the thing you throw on your back as additional weight to what you are wearing.
I know that the ultralight discussion would require a more stringent definition, but when you're talking in the 35-60 pound range, I think the ultralight folks wouoldn't waste their time.

I like the ultralight concept, but I also like my comfort (to a point) and have many other interests that have me bringing cameras, ham gear, etc, with me on a trip. That makes it more fun for me, and I don't begrudge the weight until it goes past 45pounds, then I start trimming.
Yes, I make some gear too. I just dumped my coffee pot in favor of some filters and a perforated cup. Works great, just can't do more than a cup at a time. I can live with that.
Tom

 

[Pete_Hickey]

Bringing your kids hiking, priceless

Hey, when they get older, you can get them back for the extra weight they made you carry.

When JR was 15 or 16, he was telling me he was getting strong. So I fixed him. Before going on a several day trip, I gave him all the heavy things: food, cooking gear, tent, etc. I took sleeping bags and clothes. His pack was 70 pounds, about 60% of his body weight.

I left him in the dust!

I think he got to the campsite 45 minutes after I did. Yep, I was remembering all those days of hauling stuff....I used to backpack with 3 kids under 10... Revenge is sweet.

These days, JR is able to carry a pack of 100 lbs, so if I go with him again, I'll give him EVERYTHING.

 

[jfb]

My pack would weight about 40 lbs. without food and water. It would include crampons, ice axe, winter sleeping bag, 4-season tent, stove, etc. If I brought snowshoes, add another 5 lb. If temperatures were not expected to go below about 15 degrees, I could drop another 10 lbs. by using my three-season gear.

 

[eddie]

As brianW and Pete Hickey have said, this question is relative to how many and how old your kids are. I try to keep to pack in the 40 lb. range, but with my son (and sometimes my wife) the pack must get into to 50+ range. Last year on two occasions I was carrying two packs for protions of the trip. I'm either too nice or too stupid.

Some day in the future as I get older and weaker and my son becomes a strong young man, I envision the "payback".

 

[Mad Townie]

I have weighed my pack only once: when heading into the Hundred Mile Wilderness with my 11 year old. I was carrying 65 pounds, she was carrying 20. That worked out to about 1/3 body weight for each of us (a little over for me).

Otherwise, I just pack what I can carry and carry what I pack. Of course, when hauling a sled, the rules change. How much do a couple bottles of wine weigh?

 

[porky]

For backpacks of a week or less I keep my pack weight down below 30 Lbs. Before food, fuel and water that's under 20 lbs. There is enough commercially-available light- and ultralight gear now that one doesn't have to be a seamstress or married to one to do this. Anyway, with my back, if I had to carry much more than 30 lbs. I could not stand up, much less walk (seriously),

porky