Pack Weight

Correction. I think my overnight pack weight is actually about 16 lbs-18 lbs. I did cut it to 14 lbs, but I felt if I found myself without some important things.

I've spent some money over the years on lighter gear and cut a lot of stuff that I found to be less nessesary. I rarely carry a tent, unless I think I might be spending a lot of time in it, due to bugs, rain or snow. I carry less water and fill up more often, unless it is a dry area. The luxuries and comforts we sometimes carry, loose their appeal when busting your knees and back all day with a overly heavy pack. Packing lighter will allow you to travel further with less effort and burn less calories, in turn cutting your food weight. I would leave the gun. I'm a hunter and own guns myself, but I never found them to usefull on the trail. I live in grizzley country, encountered many black bears, found cougar tracks in my own on returning. Bear mace has been proven to be effective, even more so than a gun. Having a good knowlege of the animals behavior and how to react to them is ones best defense. If you want to harvest a couple grouse or a hare for dinner in september than I could see packing the extra weight. In the peak of summer my pack weight for an over nighter is around 14 lbs. If I go a couple extra days I only ad food weight and maybe some whiskey. For a week I think I'm right around 40 lbs.

I love my Osprey backpack, I think it is heavier than other packs that I have had in the past, but it carries the load very comfortably. If I ever need to get another backpack, it will definitely be another Osprey.

Osprey definitely makes an excellent pack for 2-3 day treks. I bought the Atmos 50 three years ago and LOVE it, especially the suspended mesh back! It really curves to my back and makes for good weight distribution. Without any photo gear (just my compact point and shoot), my pack weighs in at about thirty pounds w/food, water, and camping gear. My solo tent weighs only four pounds and my sleeping bag, pad, and chair sleeve weigh about five pounds. But during the colder months, I have to carry additional gear for my dog (sleeping pad and clothing), which can add another four pounds. Fortunately he has a pack and can carry his own food and water. Also, he packs out all our trash. Anyway, investing in ultralight gear pays off. So does experience because over time, your list of "essential items" becomes smaller and smaller.

I would still like to get my weight down further, but I may be close to my limit, which is ok, since I'm comfortable while hiking and once I get to camp. For our PCT trip, I created a spreadsheet of everything I was going to carry and identified items that I didn't need, or gear that could be replaced with lighter stuff. It somewhat worked. I'm glad you found the commenting. I am still testing some of this out, so I haven't 'publicized' it yet (and you may find some errors). It seems like some people may not want people to comment on their photos, so I've played it safe and am only allowing comments for visitors who have given their ok. Anyone can turn the feature on, by going to the account settings page, and then to the preferences section, where there is a checkbox to allow comments. Hopefully over time more people will turn this on, and I will probably have the default option to allow comments for people who create an account from now on.

Well I usually take my pad, pack and tent of course but I need to invest in some better and lighter gear like you said. I do take around 2-3 liters of water and my filter, cooking mess kit and usually one set of cloths. I also take a book or 2 and my heavy 44 mag. with shells. So I always like to see what other people bring I do think if I buy some new gear and a lighter gun to take I could cut maybe another 10lbs or so. I also take those Mountain Home powdered meals (not bad either). My pack is an LLBean 5500 cuin., I've been told Ospreys are the ones to get though. Another question for ya why can I leave photo comments on your photos but not on anyone elses? You do have some cool pics. You've been a lot of places. Thats Awesome!

My pack weight for a weekend trip is probably around 30-35 pounds. Even during our Pacific Crest Trail hike, where we would be out for 4 or 5 days at a time, I don't think our packs were ever more than 45 pounds. I do have an advantage though, since my wife and I can share items, which lightens both of our packs somewhat. Our friend who did the PCT with us, but carried all of his own gear probably had an extra 5-10 pounds). Over the years, we have tried to invest in lighter gear and I think the biggest gains can be made by investing in a light (but comfortable) pack, a light sleeping bag, and a light sleeping pad. I'm not sure how much clothing you take, but I have one set of hiking clothes and a set of sleeping clothes. Even for longer trips, I only take one set of each. I take a fleece, one pair of extra socks (although probably not for a weekend trip) and a set of light rain gear. How much water you carry and the food you take will make a big difference as well. I generally carry around 2 litres of water at a time. What do you carry?