Recommended backpack weight for hiking

richardpkennedy1

Hi all. I'm a novice hiker who's planning my first long hike in the coming months. I will hike for half a day, camp out and hike back the next day. Then I will spend 2 more days in the mountains after that doing some shorter hikes. Will be carrying all my own stuff for each hike. Warm climate but gets kinda cold at night at high altitude. What would you say is the maximum weight I should be carrying so that I can still move pretty fast? I'm 33, have good cardio and weigh 143 lbs (65 kg).

scorpio516

I try to keep my solo base weight under 10 lbs. I'm at 5051g right now. That's low, really expensive, and takes a lot of experience to know what you want and need.

rybo

The max weight is going to depend on your individual ability to carry it and still move quickly. None of us can really tell you that. Generally hikers & backpackers try to go as light as possible while having the appropriate supplies. As already stated, lightweight comes at an expense.

rsclause

I always laugh at novice hikers that decide to pack beer for a hike. They always drink it first due to the weight. Anyway you need to figure out your water needs because that adds a lot. Cooking fuel and food is also a heavy item so you may want to check out some freeze dried foods and some things like pasta that is very light before cooking. If you hike a lot over many days you will look at the weight any gear before buying because every ounce adds up. I used to carry about 35 to forty pounds back in my teens but with today's clothing and camping technology I am sure that could be reduced.

Derf_Smeggle

I too am a novice, and did my first 3 day, 2 night hike last year. Very hilly terrain, but not mountains. I borrowed some gear from a friend to help lighten my gear.

I'll admit I'm unsure of my base weight, which = weight - consumables (food, water, fuel). I do know that my total pack weight with 3L of water weighed out at 43 lbs. I was 210 lbs at that time. 1/5th my body weight, which is considered a moderate load on most charts.

36 miles approximately. It wasn't bad for me, and that includes the last 4 miles I had to carry my pack and another pack (70 lbs total) due to an injury.

I'll freely admit I packed too much. There was a lot of stuff I didn't use.

peleroja

I've always heard that novice hikers should never carry more than 25% of their body weight and that under 20% is better if you're not in great shape already.

I am in pretty good cardio shape and I still prefer to keep it under 20% if I can, it's way more comfortable and makes the trip more fun if I'm not struggling every time I need to climb anything steeper than a gentle rise. It looks like you're male and relatively lean from your profile photo, so you might be fine at 25%, since I bet you have more muscle mass than my jellyfish self.

My advice is to pack it and then go run (or even just climb) some stairs to see how you feel. I do that when prepping for a big trip and it's both good conditioning and a good way to see if your bag weight is realistic.

NorthCascades

As much as you need to to be safe and comfortable. Expect cold nights, and for it to feel colder than the thermometer says after your hike.

MeanderingMammal

richardpkennedy1 wrote: »

Hi all. I'm a novice hiker who's planning my first long hike in the coming months. I will hike for half a day, camp out and hike back the next day. Then I will spend 2 more days in the mountains after that doing some shorter hikes. Will be carrying all my own stuff for each hike. Warm climate but gets kinda cold at night at high altitude. What would you say is the maximum weight I should be carrying so that I can still move pretty fast? I'm 33, have good cardio and weigh 143 lbs (65 kg).

What I'd suggest is working out what you need to carry, try it and see how it feels. That then allows you to start making some decisions about your kit. All up weight is less important than being appropriately​ equipped.

Decisions like whether you want a tent, or whether you're comfortable with a basha. Whether you can use a hexe stove, a white gas stove or a meths burner all influence what your load out looks like.

Equally, look to the fit of your bergan. You can carry a greater load with a good fit than one that either doesn't fit well it isn't configured to ease your load carrying experience.

spiriteagle99

If you're only backpacking one night, your pack should be pretty light. You won't be carrying a lot of food: just one breakfast, one dinner and two lunches plus some snacks. Don't overpack those because you won't get as hungry as you think. If you pick your trail well, you won't need to carry a lot of water. You need minimal clothes - something to hike in and something to change in camp into if it rains plus raingear. Biggest issue is the weight of your pack, tent, and sleeping bag, but since it's a short trip, even if those are heavy, your total weight won't be that bad. If you are fit, you can be comfortable with 1/4 of your body weight.

NorthCascades

It sounds like you already have a plan, but I usually tell people to stay within a mile of the car for their first backpacking trip. You learn through experience, some of them bad; when you don't have much to draw on, you're probably going to over-pack, but you might forget something important, too. Staying near the car means you can bring extra blankets and go back to your trunk for them if you don't have enough to stay warm, and you can retreat if things go badly. After a successful night out, you'll have a better idea what you need, and be more confident.

grumpygit1962

I met an amazing customer recently who was I think what you would class an ultra cyclist who had at first appeared not in any impressive. I later went on to find he has cycled UK to Turkey, full length New Zealand., John O'Groats to lands end numerous times, Uk to Spain .. and much more.
He showed me his camping gear and as a wild camper myself I was amazed how lightweight and minimal his gear was, it opened my eyes up.

His attitude was if like most people he thought "take that in case" it never went in the case. His sleeping bag was tiny, he wore what he carried, whatever that was, heat cooking was minimal, and if he could pick something up on the way he would, the guy was amzing.

My advice would be to yourself, "do i really need it", I have seen someone once who took a 2 or 3lb rubber hammer for knocking pegs in fo goodness sake. use your foot or a rock, big stick or log.

Personally I like a few comforts, thats the joy of camping to me, being comfortable in a hostile place, but use your grey matter. I can be quite comfortable with about 15 to 17 KG, that cyclist was about 10KG

richardpkennedy1

Thanks all. Since I currently weigh 64kg (141 lbs), I'm thinking 16kg (35 lbs) is the max I will bring. I'll try to go a bit lower than that though to make it easier.

sgt1372

I've done a lot of day hikes and overnight backpack trip and the weight you can/should carry DEPENDS on a lot of factors, including but not limited to:

Your weight, strength & physical conditioning.

The anticipated weather and terrain.

The design/quality of your gear which can affect the weight of the gear itself and how much wt is carried and how the wt is distributed under load w/that gear.

The duration of your trip (day or overnight) and how much food, water and gear that you need to carry for the anticipated weather, terrain and duration of the trip.

The ability to forage, buy and/or get drops of food/supplies en route or the use a base camp where you return to each night during multiday trips.

Only the person involved in planning and undertaking the trip can assess these factors (and any other relevant factors) to determine how much wt s/he can or should carry on any given trip.

mjbnj0001

rsclause wrote: »

I always laugh at novice hikers that decide to pack beer for a hike. They always drink it first due to the weight. Anyway you need to figure out your water needs because that adds a lot. Cooking fuel and food is also a heavy item so you may want to check out some freeze dried foods and some things like pasta that is very light before cooking. If you hike a lot over many days you will look at the weight any gear before buying because every ounce adds up. I used to carry about 35 to forty pounds back in my teens but with today's clothing and camping technology I am sure that could be reduced.

Water weighs a ton. Or at least, feels that way. Water resupply enroute or at your campsite? Clean? Need filter/treatments? (add that to your pack weight to offset some of the lightening from less water). Make sure the water will be turned on if it comes from a spigot - some places have shut their supply during this lockdown. If you're not too fussy, dehydrated stuff that you find palatable when rehydrated (try it ALL beforehand) without cooking is also a weight saver (no stove/fuel). Most folks in the summer on short hikes can deal without hot meals for a day or two. But a cup of coffee (or tea or choc) in the morning, and hot food or soup makes a world of difference on longer excursions. Factor in your carryouts for weight, too. Have a great time!

As part of my lockdown activity, I happen to be re-reading Bill Bryson's book, "A Walk in the Woods." About his ATC hike about 20 yrs ago that became an OK buddy movie with Redford/Nolte a couple of years back. Very funny, much better than the movie. And very pointed in a number of ways. Anyway, there's a comment in there about prep - something along the line that "ounces become pounds when you're hauling them in a pack for mile after mile."

AlmostRandomUserName

Pack the kit you think you'll need and make a list as you do so. When you get back cross off everything you didn't use other than emergency kit or weather dependent stuff like first aid, waterproof jkt etc.

Next time, don't take anything you crossed off or take a lighter weight version if you absolutely can't face not having something.

djaxon1

Try some heavy loads out now in preparation for the future hike - acclimatise !

SuzySunshine99

I hope the OPs hike from 3 years ago went okay...

djaxon1

Thanks for that reminder to pay more attention !
I read the thread and time of post above my reply - must do better.

mjbnj0001

djaxon1 wrote: »

Thanks for that reminder to pay more attention !
I read the thread and time of post above my reply - must do better.

LOL, zombie threads like this pop up every once in a while. I didn't note the dates, either.

sgt1372

mjbnj0001 wrote: »

djaxon1 wrote: »

Thanks for that reminder to pay more attention !
I read the thread and time of post above my reply - must do better.

LOL, zombie threads like this pop up every once in a while. I didn't note the dates, either.

I think ppl make too much of resurrecting old threads here and on other forums.

Often this is done by new users who find something of interest to them while using the search fx. Often such posts are just ignored bc they are of no interest 2 others, which is why they became zombie threads to begin with.

However, if other ppl respond to a resurrected thread and a new series of responses are posted (as happened here) that indicates (at least to me) that the thread is still relevant and may provide some info of use and interest to others.