I went for a 10 mile hike around a lake today carrying my son in a baby backpack. The wee man is 11 kilos, making the backpack in total around 15. It was hard work, no serious climbing or descending, but constant undulation - I was shattered after it (not helped by forgetting to bring my sticks).
What’s a heavy load for hikers do you reckon? Interested to hear what people can carry out hiking, or professionally in the military. I’d like to take the wee bairn up a couple of Munros in the summer (Scottish mountains over 3000 feet). We used to do a lot of these pre-bairn. It would be a tall order based on today’s outing, and the way the lad’s eating it won’t get any easier!
1/3 of body weight is the maximum anyone can carry for an extended period of time. When I go backpacking I try to keep the pack in the 40-45 lb (18-20 kilo) range, and lighter if I’m planning to cover more than 15 miles (24 kilometers) a day for more than two days in a row. This would be ~25% of my body weight.
Note that part of what makes a backpack “heavy” is how it distributes load; a well designed heavy hiking pack should put almost all the load into your hips, and the shoulder straps are mostly used to balance the load. I’ll literally loosen the straps enough that the load is hanging back and tighten up the hipbelt, then snug up the shoulder straps to ensure that I’m not taking any significant shoulder load. If your shoulders are sore after hiking (rather than legs, ankles, hips, or lower back), you need to adjust or modify your pack.
Lightweight backpacking is a trend that’s here to stay for a reason: it’s comfortable, easy on the joints, and you can get more miles in.
There’s no set number, but at or under about 34 pounds with everything - including food and water - is considered lightweight. Most lightweight backpackers try for closer to the mid twenties. Then there’s ultralight backpackers.
Aside from poundage, the best definition I’ve read is that some people prefer the camping aspect of hiking, and some prefer the hiking.
A heavy pack is really relative to the weight of the hiker and the task. Mountaineers carry heavy packs because they might die otherwise, but that’s the extreme. For a 200lb man hiking the Appalachian Trail, I’d personally consider over 40 to be heavy, but I realize that people also carry 75lbs - though rarely successfully.
I’ve done lots of backpacking in the Rockies and when equipped for overnights in the outdoors I find my limit is around 45 lbs. if I want to enjoy it.
With that in mind I can usually carry about a week’s worth of food. Considering that limitation I became drawn to sea kayaking which is basically backpacking on water where one can carry months’ worth of food.
That sense of freedom, isolation and independence which backpackers seek is amplified tremendously when sea kayaking hundreds of kilometers along coastal waters or along complex, nation-spanning river systems.
What others have said. 1/3 of body weight is a good rule, though in general anywhere between 35-45 lbs is an average weight. That weight permits the individual to carry their own gear, food, water, and some group supplies.
Fantastic! That is one of my many dreams to Kayak from Ketchikan or Juneau to Vancouver. What an amazig time that would be. I too have done a fair bit of hiking the rockies, mainly Rocky Mountain National and south. 45-50lbs is my limit if I am going to feel comfortable. This is why I don’t do a lot of pack-ins with my wife, as her pack is invariably lighter than mine…exponentially.
20% is by no means the max; in general, that would be considered a lightweight load. 30-35% of health body weight is generally considered a maximum. Less is desirable, but for long duration (>2 weeks) hiking this can be exceeded if a significant amount of the mass is food weight that will be reduced.
Oh yes, I dream of big West Cost trips all the time: From Victoria along the west coast of Van. Island to Prince Rupert, or Prince Rupert to Skagway, or from Skagway along Alaska’s “Lost Coast” to who knows where… But for me the Holy Grail of sea kayaking is Puerto Mott, Chile to Tierra del Fuego. It was first done only a few years ago, apparently. Absolutely epic stuff. Take a look at the island groups along Chile’s south coast and it will blow your mind. If you have Google Earth, turn on “Geographic Web” and look at some of the snapshots along the route. Amazing.
I also dream about epic river trips. I live in central BC only 50 km from the continental divide. From that point it is possible to kayak to the Arctic Ocean, some 4,000 km distance. Or with some intense portaging, to Hudson Bay. I also dream of kayaking the East coast of Baffin Island. The dreaming never ends…
when I was doing serious trekking in tibet, 45 pounds was about the tops. I weighed 155 at the time. More than that and it really wore me out going up and down mountains. 45 pounds was ok though. Sometimes I would start a trek out with maybe 50 pounds knowing I’d drop those first couple right away.
Big difference from a kid. With the right backpack adjusted well with the waist strap, chest strap etc, it doesn’t wear as hard as a kicking toddler.
One third of your body weight is a bit heavy. I lean toward 20% or so. With modern sleeping bags, pocket camp stoves, and freeze-dried food, this is relatively easy to achieve.
What others said about load distribution is key. I found that carrying one of my kids in the baby carrier was harder on me than the equivalent weight in my Gregory pack (around 25-30 lbs; about a weekend hike/camp’s worth).
But if you’re going out for over a week it’s pretty hard to keep things to 20% of your body weight. Humping gear up to camps on a big climbs people often carry 75 lb loads. Heading out for a week long excursion my pack will easily weigh 50 lbs.
I’d love to keep weight down to 20% of bodyweight, but it’s just not feasible on many long trips.
Keep in mind that there’s a big difference between dead weight and a live load. Junior shifting around is going to be a lot harder to carry than a pack.
A couple of people who backpack told me they don’t go above 20% or else they run into problems. I heard the same from people who work at REI and sell backpacks.
If a 200 lb guy wants to carry 70 lbs that is his choice, I don’t have a problem with that. I have no idea why you would need to carry 70 lbs for a 1 week trip but maybe they carry cast iron pots or something.
I don’t know much about winter gear but 70lbs stills seems like a lot for winter. I could see going up to 50lbs in winter since your sleeping bag and clothes will weigh more and you probably take more food. If you are including skis or snowshoes I don’t know what those weigh, they could add the rest of the extra weight.
