Author Topic: Now heavy is your pack for one night?  (Read 6646 times)

vghikers

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Re: Now heavy is your pack for one night?
« Reply #30 on: 09:26:56, 29/11/18 »
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You run the risk of injury carrying that much, in my opinion.
Agreed, I read somewhere that the maximum safe load for sustained walking is 1/3 of your bodyweight, that sounds about right to me for hillwalking.

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On my next short summer trip I'm going to ditch the stove and pans altogether, and just have oatcakes, cheese, kabanos, cereal bars etc. The stove comes with me in winter though!
Our regime too, it's winter-only for the stove and just for a hot drink.


Bigfoot_Mike

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Re: Now heavy is your pack for one night?
« Reply #31 on: 10:32:34, 29/11/18 »
I read somewhere that the maximum safe load for sustained walking is 1/3 of your bodyweight, that sounds about right to me for hillwalking.
I can safely carry more than most then.  I certainly wouldn’t want to carry an additional 1/3 of my body weight uphill.


Do we need to subtract the excess we are already carrying from the safe figure? If that is the case, I might need some helium balloons 🎈 🎈 🎈

vghikers

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Re: Now heavy is your pack for one night?
« Reply #32 on: 10:44:34, 29/11/18 »
I can't remember the source of that safety recommendation, but it was talking about quite long distances with significant ascent and descent over hours and often on rough ground, a typical hill backpacking scenario.
I carry our grocery shopping in a tough Lowe Alpine backpack and that is significantly over 1/3 on occasion, but the walk is under a mile and only gently uphill which is fine.

Islandplodder

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Re: Now heavy is your pack for one night?
« Reply #33 on: 11:05:17, 29/11/18 »

I'm not sure I could lift a third of my body weight!
I did once have the satisfaction of realising that over the previous couple of years I had lost the weight of the rucksack I was carrying.  It inspired me to lose another small daysack's worth!

Mel

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Re: Now heavy is your pack for one night?
« Reply #34 on: 12:47:04, 29/11/18 »
I like that idea islandplodder.  Nicked it :-)

jimbob

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Re: Now heavy is your pack for one night?
« Reply #35 on: 13:27:41, 29/11/18 »
I'm not sure I could lift a third of my body weight!
I did once have the satisfaction of realising that over the previous couple of years I had lost the weight of the rucksack I was carrying.  It inspired me to lose another small daysack's worth!
O0
Too little, too late, too bad......

ninthace

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Re: Now heavy is your pack for one night?
« Reply #36 on: 14:52:04, 29/11/18 »
Have you considered hiring native bearers and walking along armed only with a swagger stick?  That way you could carry enough for a truly comfortable night and a slap up feed.
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BuzyG

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Re: Now heavy is your pack for one night?
« Reply #37 on: 20:21:41, 29/11/18 »
Have you considered hiring native bearers and walking along armed only with a swagger stick?  That way you could carry enough for a truly comfortable night and a slap up feed.
Fine idea your hired for my next trip to Exmoor.  What"s the going rate?

Troggy

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Re: Now heavy is your pack for one night?
« Reply #38 on: 21:55:38, 29/11/18 »
Wow! A trifle on the heavy side and congratulations for getting to your camping place. I'd have collapsed just trying to lift your rucksack. It's amazing though, how many bits of gear that get into my rucksack unnoticed by me. I write a list of essentials down, pick the lightest of each item that I've got and think I've done well. That's until I start adding in the "that might come in handy" items. Not so much the weight but the tent looks like I've shoved a load of car boot sale bargains in. No discipline, that's the trouble!

Sleepy

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Re: Now heavy is your pack for one night?
« Reply #39 on: 23:52:09, 29/11/18 »
I got down to around 9kg but it's expensive and not just financially;


I ended up enjoying the night less; my tent was so small (900g) that I had to open the door/roof to get dressed and my rucksack and boots stayed outside in a bin bag to keep them dry


My cooking pot was little more than a large tin (titanium) mug but it was so thin that anything I tried to cook in it burned almost instantly leaving me with no option other than to "cook" only foods that you simply added to boiling water and left to soak.


What I'm getting at is there's always a trade-off between weight and "luxury" and you have to make up your own mind - without compromising the essentials (first aid kit, torch and spare batteries, change of clothes etc).


I'm currently looking into a compromise in a slightly heavier tent but much more space  (but a hefty price tag) and I'll be going back to my older cookware even though it's twice the weight. I will however stick with dry food mostly (noodles, rice etc) to help with the weight.

ninthace

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Re: Now heavy is your pack for one night?
« Reply #40 on: 00:43:31, 30/11/18 »
Fine idea your hired for my next trip to Exmoor.  What"s the going rate?
  You honestly cannot afford me and anyway I am fully booked.
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April

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Re: Now heavy is your pack for one night?
« Reply #41 on: 08:45:57, 30/11/18 »
there's always a trade-off between weight and "luxury" and you have to make up your own mind - without compromising the essentials

Spot on Sleepy  O0

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richardh1905

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Re: Now heavy is your pack for one night?
« Reply #42 on: 08:46:04, 30/11/18 »
I'm currently looking into a compromise in a slightly heavier tent but much more space  (but a hefty price tag)

Take a look at the Naturehike tents - very light and cheap.


Not sure that I would trust them in a winter storm but should be good for 3 season use - they get good reviews.
WildAboutWalking - Join me on my walks through the wilder parts of Britain

alan de enfield

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Re: Now heavy is your pack for one night?
« Reply #43 on: 09:12:00, 30/11/18 »
Take a look at the Naturehike tents - very light and cheap.



Not sure that I would trust them in a winter storm but should be
1) good for 3 season use -
2) they get good reviews.



1) They are.
2) They do.


All tent manufacturers are seemingly 'jumping on the lightweight bandwagon' (to meet the market needs), but be very careful when looking at the various websites / models as the weight figures' can be a little massaged by not including 'everything' (they may for example leave out the weight of pegs, or 'footprint' etc).
With these lightweight tents the material is pretty thin and not particularly 'robust' so a groundsheet (or in modern parlance a 'footprint') is needed below the tent's built in groundsheet.
The weight of all components (and a couple of 'spares' - pegs. guy line etc - should be considered as the true weight).


My weights include :
Tent (inc fitted groundsheet)
Flysheet
Poles
All bags (pole bag, peg bag, overall 'carry' bag)
Footprint
2x spare pegs
1x spare guy-rope


My NatureHike "Cloud 2", 2-Man, 'tunnel tent' (front loader), complete weight is 1643 grams.


My NatureHike "Mongar" 2-Man (equivalent to the MSR Hubba Hubba , side loader) complete weight is 2165 grams


My Gelert 1-Man 'tunnel tent' (front loader) complete weight is 1600 grams




I would recommend the 'Mongar' for build quality and space and at £75 (compared to £375 for the MSR) is a bargain.
A 'proper 2-man' size with more than enough room for a big-1-man' and pack, with comfortable sitting height.



https://www.naturehike.com/mongar-ultralight-two-men-tent/


https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Naturehike-Cloud-Up-2-Ultralight-Tent-Backpacking-Tent-for-2-Person-Hiking-Campi/254005295506?hash=item3b23e53992:g:GpcAAOSwv0dcAOic:rk:1:pf:0

« Last Edit: 09:17:07, 30/11/18 by alan de enfield »

ninthace

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Re: Now heavy is your pack for one night?
« Reply #44 on: 12:39:06, 30/11/18 »
I first started camping in the late 50s with mum and dad.  We went most weekends and I even had my own pup tent - wooden poles and no flysheet but room for me and the dog. In '61 or '62 I went up market and was given a tent with a sewn in groundsheet, a bit of a novelty in those days.  I had a piece of heavy duty clear plastic cut to the shape of the tent to protect the groundsheet from mud, punctures and worms but we didn't have a posh name for it like "footprint", we just called it "the plastic".  The tent itself was not the lightest thing in the world, good metal poles and a decent canvas down to the ground flysheet. My idea of going lightweight was to leave the plastic behind as I needed the rest of it.  I also had a lightweight Camping Gaz cartidge stove that could not be disassembled once the cartridge had been fitted without draining all the gas out.  I didn't have a camping mat then, I don't think they had been invented, but I had a rubber Lilow. I carried the whole lot in a nice blue steel framed rucksack with leather straps that had a bit of felt on the shoulder straps for padding.  I have no idea what it all weighed, basically if you could lift it that was a good enough.
In my teens, apart from weekends, I went on trips to Switzerland, France and Holland with this lot, sometimes on trips organised by the Camping Club and sometimes with a mate but you tell the young people of today that and they don't believe you!
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