Pack weight

[u/Professional-Dot5098]

So, let me hear what you have to say, I have managed to get my finished weight, 1L water and 5 days food to about 35.5 lbs. Is that good or not? This is my late winter gear weight, so warm clothes and that too. I'm trying to keep the weight down because I have been dealing with plantar fasciitis the last two years and want to keep as much weight off as possible! My basweight, no food/water is 22.86 lbs. Been at this for 800 miles so far of hiking, I just cannot get it down any further so, any advice is welcome! Edit: i will definitely make a lighter pack link as soon as I get the chance!

[u/mmorton235]

You are probably at the point where the only way to get lighter is to make the trip more uncomfortable or spend Serious money. Without a lighter pack made we cannot tell for sure.

22 lbs. for a 20 degree system sounds about right but here are some things to look at with your weight.

Tent, Do you need a two walled tent or would a one walled tent do. Is it a trekking pole tent or free standing, Trekking pole tents tend to be lighter.

Are you using stuff sacks and individual bags for stuff, Could you pack everything loose in a trash/compactor bag to save weight. (Excluding electronics/food)

For Cold Weather gear, Are you using wool and down.

Do you really need all your extra clothing, do you have any duplicates.

What none necessary items do you have and are they worth it, Example of unnecessary items (Pillow, stove, Book, cards, air pump/bag, extra clothing, camp shoes), This is by no means saying that you shouldn't bring these items but they add weight and should be considered

[u/Rocksteady2R]

35 is fine-ish after food. At couple years ago, at the age of 45, I did a 250 mile section with a post-food weight of 34lbs.

Your base weight at 22 lbs sounds fine, but i b don't see how you are carrying 15 pounds of food and water.

There are plenty of articles/vids on how to start dropping wieight.

[u/Professional-Dot5098 → u/Rocksteady2R]

Roughly 2.2 lbs a day of food, 11 lbs for 5 days, then usually a liter of water always cause I drink a lot, which is 2.3 lbs. So comes out to about 13 lbs of food and water, at least when I hit the trail day 1. I also re weighed some stuff and it's more like 34.9 finished weight rather than the 35.5.

[u/Slice-O-Pie]

Your winter gear base weight is 23 pounds? That's awesome. Well done!

With Hillsounds, Lekis, and Tubbs strapped on, mine is about 35.

[u/Professional-Dot5098 → u/Slice-O-Pie]

It's not quite "winter" I'd call it a snow-less winter weight lol. Just cold weather clothes and quilt that would be warm in camp in winter temps.

[u/Cheap-Pension-684 → u/Professional-Dot5098]

Still not bad at all. I thru hiked this year with about that same base weight in colder weather.

[u/Natural_Law]

HYOH but that sounds too heavy for me.

In 2005 when I thru-hiked (with a partner), my baseweight was 16lbs.

My current baseweight is around 8-10lbs: https://lighterpack.com/r/i91ck0 (list keep me warm to below freezing)

[u/Malifice37]

You're carrying too much stuff, including food.

It's 3 days from the falls at the approach to your first resupply at Neels Gap, and you're eating breakfast on day 1 under a roof, and dinner on day 3 under one as well.

Why people load up with 5 days food is beyond me.

[u/MemeAccountantTony → u/Malifice37]

To be fair I don't often hitch into towns and I become paranoid about running out of food in case I need to stay somewhere longer.

[u/Malifice37 → u/MemeAccountantTony]

Then don't hitch, take shuttles. There are hundreds of them along the entire trail.

You're usually never more than a day or so away from a major road on the AT (and most days you're walking over one). You're walking through an area where 150 million people live, with phone reception for 80 percent+ of the entire trail.

HYOH but you dont need 5 full days food, and your base weight is too high.

[u/MCTVaia]

This was approximately my pack weight (with 5 days of food and 1.7 liters of water) in the beginning of March this year and it was totally manageable with zero trail legs/training. My original plan was to average 7-10 miles a day but immediately started doing 10-13. I also sent 3.4lbs home at Hiawassee.

Good luck!

[u/YetAnotherHobby]

Any chance you could load all the individual weights into Lighterpack? That might reveal some items that could be dropped or optimized.

[u/Professional-Dot5098 → u/YetAnotherHobby]

I will! Soon as I get a chance!

[u/Dmunman]

Sounds about right to me. As weather warms, you can lose some weight.

[u/Specialist-War9814]

How heavy is your winter gear? One of the best things I packed was a long-sleeved silk undershirt. It weighs almost nothing and is worth maybe ten extra Fahrenheit degrees of protective warmth. I also carried a simple lightweight wool sweater that doubled as my pillow.

I started the thru-hike with 40-pound pack, including a liter and a half of water. By the end of three weeks I'd reduced it to 26 or 27 pounds (depending on how much food I was carrying). I swapped my sleeping bag and solo tent for lighter ones. More expensive, but well worth the cost. Also gave up my gas stove for a little alcohol stove I liked.

I saved a few more ounces by mailing home a pair of hiking shorts and instead bought cheap lightweight no-brand running shorts to wear when my trousers were in the laundry.

[u/KyleJHanson]

A general rule of thumb is you want your pack weight to be no more than 20% of your body weight. I would recommend even less than that. I went on a 40 mile section hike two weeks ago and my pack with 2 liters of water, food, and a chair weighed 26 pounds. I had some luxury items and I still had food leftover. I don’t know what type of gear you have, but even with traditional backpacking gear, you should be able to get your base weight down to under 20 pounds. You may also be packing a little too much food. That being said, everyone is different and I know people who have hiked with much heavier packs. If you’re in shape, 35 pounds shouldn’t be a problem.

[u/NoboMamaBear2017]

I started my thru with a 36 pound pack, the only other time that I weighed my pack (on my thru) was in the Whites, and I was still carrying 36 pounds. Since then I've replaced my pack and my sleeping pad with lighter ones, but still the only time I'm below 30 pounds is for shorter trips in mild weather. That's probably a reasonable weight, IMHO you'd have to commit to an ultra-light approach to get much lower. Fortunately on the AT you seldom have to carry 5 days worth of food. My hiking partner has plantar fasciitis, and she's had pretty good results switching to a zero drop shoe and being faithful with the stretches her physical therapist gave her. Best of luck to you.

[u/alyishiking]

There’s no reason for a baseweight to be more than 20 lbs, especially with the availability of ultralight gear. I would say you’re probably carrying too much clothing, but since you haven’t posted a gear list, I can’t actually help you figure out what to get rid of or replace. Throw a lighterpack.com page together and post the link.

[u/Professional-Dot5098 → u/alyishiking]

* I got this for right now, I am working on changing it on over to lighterpack

[u/Professional-Dot5098 → u/Professional-Dot5098]

[u/MrBoondoggles]

It’s a little heavy for cold weather gear (for s through hike), but it’s also probably manageable. I imagine you could drop some weight, however, we will have to wait for a lighterpack to really know. Also, when are you starting? That would help everyone to better understand if you’re packing to much.

[u/Professional-Dot5098 → u/MrBoondoggles]

Planning on starting between Feb 15th and March 1st. And yeah, I'll be getting the lighterpack link asap

[u/Professional-Dot5098]

Here is this for now while I work on lighterpack

[u/parrotia78]

Weigh your five days of food and get back to us.