Recommended backpack weight for hiking

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.

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.

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.

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.

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."

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

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

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.