Hiking Pack Weight

DTOM 1776

DTOM 1776

Joined
Feb 7, 2008
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I'm 46 years old, 5'-10" tall and weigh 158 pounds. I routinely (as in 2-4 times a week) GORUCK with a 3.4pound pack containing a 30 pound ruck plate (weight), water, trauma kit, etc. All told I think the pack weighs in around 39 pounds. It can increase to 41-43 pounds depending on extra clothes and water.

Typically we GORUCK on paved roads, but occasionally we (or I alone) hike/ruck off road and even somewhat off trail.

Distance usually ranges from 7 miles to 26 miles.

What pack weight do you find to be your max?
 
DTOM 1776 said:
I'm 46 years old, 5'-10" tall and weigh 158 pounds. I routinely (as in 2-4 times a week) GORUCK with a 3.4pound pack containing a 30 pound ruck plate (weight), water, trauma kit, etc. All told I think the pack weighs in around 39 pounds. It can increase to 41-43 pounds depending on extra clothes and water.

Typically we GORUCK on paved roads, but occasionally we (or I alone) hike/ruck off road and even somewhat off trail.

Distance usually ranges from 7 miles to 26 miles.

What pack weight do you find to be your max?
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Sounds like a ton of weight to me! I can't say what my max would be but my min on any dayhike is about 20 lbs (including tent, pad, stove, enough clothing to survive a night out, water purifier, spare battery for phone, headlamp, TP, etc plus a few "luxuries" like a chair, saw, food). More weight in winter. Too many people go out on dayhikes not even minimally prepared.
 
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You're correct. I see a lot of people out that don't even have proper clothing. I do live in the midwest so a person can usually walk-out to a road within a reasonable amount of time, but I still find people's lack of knowledge (or care) surprising.

When I'm off pavement I have the basic wilderness gear and a head full of experience.
 
Yesterday I rucked about 8 miles in a State Reserve Area. I didn't encounter a single hiker, but I did see quite a few people on ATVs / Side-by-Sides / Motorcycles. The only other person on foot was a guy carrying a muzzleloader and walking his dog. First time I've ever experienced that one.
 
DTOM 1776 said:
Yesterday I rucked about 8 miles in a State Reserve Area. I didn't encounter a single hiker, but I did see quite a few people on ATVs / Side-by-Sides / Motorcycles. The only other person on foot was a guy carrying a muzzleloader and walking his dog. First time I've ever experienced that one.
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I wonder what he was planning to use it for? Wascally wabbits?
 
How much water do you guys carry, obviously depends where you go and for how long etc, just curious. Most of my payload is water.
 
I never "used to" weigh my pack and gear until I hyperextended my knee a few years back doing a week long hike with a bunch of fun nonessentials to keep me amused.
Knee worked itself out and I limped along but it gave me some pause about pack weight.
I was military and an M-60 machine-gunner so I was accustomed to carrying a lot, but that was you know...back when M-60s were popular lol.
So when I got home I weighed the pack, food was gone but I refilled bladders and things, and it was 75 pounds.:eek:
I asked around and my lightweight hiking comrades gave me a lot of pointers, most were overnighters and carried almost nothing but everyone seemed to have something beneficial to add.
Cost me a bit of money but I pared it down into the 40 pound range for the long trips as long as I'm near a decent filter-able water source.
 
Houlahound said:
How much water do you guys carry, obviously depends where you go and for how long etc, just curious. Most of my payload is water.
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Yeah water is heavy, no way around it ;) For typical dayhikes i usually find a quart is enough for me, unless it's hot out.
 
He was wearing a blaze coat and hat so he was clearly hunting. I just said "good morning" and kept on moving (we were traveling in opposite directions). The dog is what threw me off. It was a beagle mix but very obese so clearly not use to mucking around in the wood.

The GORUCK team have a variety of ways to carry water. Nalgene bottles, hydration bladders, and one guy actually carries a thermos (has a strap that goes around his hand so he doesn't have to grasp it the entire time). I carry a 64 ounce Nalgene, but most people carry a 32oz or 3L hydro bladder.

We completed a 26.2 mile GORUCK "Star Course Event" on October 24th, 2020. We finished in 7 hours and the only drink I had was a beer along the way.

Hydrate or die. I know, but a lot of it is conditioning too.
 
Barman1 said:
I never "used to" weigh my pack and gear until I hyperextended my knee a few years back doing a week long hike with a bunch of fun nonessentials to keep me amused.
Knee worked itself out and I limped along but it gave me some pause about pack weight.
I was military and an M-60 machine-gunner so I was accustomed to carrying a lot, but that was you know...back when M-60s were popular lol.
So when I got home I weighed the pack, food was gone but I refilled bladders and things, and it was 75 pounds.:eek:
I asked around and my lightweight hiking comrades gave me a lot of pointers, most were overnighters and carried almost nothing but everyone seemed to have something beneficial to add.
Cost me a bit of money but I pared it down into the 40 pound range for the long trips as long as I'm near a decent filter-able water source.
Click to expand...
Its amazing how much you have to spend if you want lighter gear ;).
 
DTOM 1776 said:
He was wearing a blaze coat and hat so he was clearly hunting. I just said "good morning" and kept on moving (we were traveling in opposite directions). The dog is what threw me off. It was a beagle mix but very obese so clearly not use to mucking around in the wood.

The GORUCK team have a variety of ways to carry water. Nalgene bottles, hydration bladders, and one guy actually carries a thermos (has a strap that goes around his hand so he doesn't have to grasp it the entire time). I carry a 64 ounce Nalgene, but most people carry a 32oz or 3L hydro bladder.

We completed a 26.2 mile GORUCK "Star Course Event" on October 24th, 2020. We finished in 7 hours and the only drink I had was a beer along the way.

Hydrate or die. I know, but a lot of it is conditioning too.
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Sounds pretty hardcore!
 
barleywino said:
Yeah water is heavy, no way around it ;) For typical dayhikes i usually find a quart is enough for me, unless it's hot out.
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Is that a quarter of a gallon?

Water is the biggest limiting factor on my hikes now. Can't frikkin believe I used to guzzle a bunch of water before I left the vehicle and that was it for the day, never felt thirsty. Now I like to collapse if I don't rehydrate every few hours.
 
Barman1 said:
I never "used to" weigh my pack and gear until I hyperextended my knee a few years back doing a week long hike with a bunch of fun nonessentials to keep me amused.
Knee worked itself out and I limped along but it gave me some pause about pack weight.
I was military and an M-60 machine-gunner so I was accustomed to carrying a lot, but that was you know...back when M-60s were popular lol.
So when I got home I weighed the pack, food was gone but I refilled bladders and things, and it was 75 pounds.:eek:
I asked around and my lightweight hiking comrades gave me a lot of pointers, most were overnighters and carried almost nothing but everyone seemed to have something beneficial to add.
Cost me a bit of money but I pared it down into the 40 pound range for the long trips as long as I'm near a decent filter-able water source.
Click to expand...

I have a body-builder relative that ruptured a disc in the Smokey Mountains because he foolishly humped a 77 pound pack without any real ruck training. To be fair, he actually hurt his back helping his wife (who is a professional body builder) after she injured her ankle.

30 of my pounds are a TITAN fitness ruck plate. I have 10, 20 and 30 pound plates but only "train" with the 30. The 20 pound is for GORUCK events and the 10 is for "loaning" to people trying it out for the first time.

I've found 45 pounds to be the maximum comfortable weight without a hip/waist belt. My GORUCK Rucker 26L pack only has shoulder straps (no sternum or waist belt). As such, anything over 40 gets tiring on the shoulders. We have a guy on the team that is a SWAT officer and carries a 45 pound ruck plate in his RUCKER pack (along with water). His pack is sans a sternum or waist belt too. On our last 13 mile ruck (last weekend) he ended up taking his wife's 10 pound plate for about 3 miles putting his weight at 55 plus pack plus water. He was sweating heavily by the end, but powered through.

I have a Kelty MAP3500 and other packs for "non GORUCK" hiking / rucking. The waist belt / sternum strap makes 45 feel like half.
 
Houlahound said:
Is that a quarter of a gallon?

Water is the biggest limiting factor on my hikes now. Can't frikkin believe I used to guzzle a bunch of water before I left the vehicle and that was it for the day, never felt thirsty. Now I like to collapse if I don't rehydrate every few hours.
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Right, roughly 1 liter. If you let yourself get too dehydrated, you can develop kidney stones, which (trust me!) You do not want. Like getting hit in the back with a baseball bat.
 
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Speaking of light weight hiking gear ...

That soft shell (PCU Level 5) I'm wearing is worth its (light)weight in gold. Love the stuff.
 
I often add a 24oz water bottle, Frogg Toggs, fleece coat, shed clothing (sweatshirt gets dumped pretty quickly ... even in sub-freezing weather ... heck one guy wore shorts and a t-shirt on our 13 mile last weekend ... it was 21F when we stepped off. Admittedly, it was suppose to be sunny but it stayed cloudy and he did say his hands were totally numb by the end).
 
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