“Medium Light”

Malto,

I like that term "weight aware". It implies that our choices of backpacking gear are made with awareness of the balance between trail comfort and overall comfort and efficiency, not faddish choices or choices for an unyielding weight goal.

I don't care what others carry. Not my problem. Do as you please. I'm grateful for what I learn here about how to lighten my own pack.

I am also very grateful for he information gathered here. I used to carry 45-50 lb. pack weight…..when I was a lot younger. But all I can remember about those trails is the trail, I had to watch every step and didn't get to enjoy my surroundings until camp, and that was a bummer. Now I can walk upright and I get to see it all so much more. I'm tired at the end of the day but its a good tired, my feet don't hurt, my knees aren't screaming on the downhills, it's wonderful. My base weight is ten pounds, three season with comfort and I've been outfitting my DH the same and he's really happy with it also. We aren't getting any younger but we are hiking longer and farther than ever before! :-)

It adds so many options to go light …..

I was on an AT section hike a month ago with a good friend. My pack was 21 lbs, his was 40.

He wasn't doing so well,, the years and sitting behind a desk take their toll, after all.

I took his two man tent, strapped it to the top of my pack and carried it the rest of the trip. Gave his extra food away to some thruhikers, cut his water back to 2 liters max, and replanned the trip on the fly, cutting our mileage objective in half.

We ended up having an awesome trip … I was light enough that I really didn't notice a huge difference in load, he, however, noticed a huge difference. And we spent more time camping than originally planned …. Talked to a lot of people on the trail, met quite a few characters, smelled a lot of roses along the way, so to speak.

Options …. And the ability to do many things you wouldn't dream of with a 45 lb load. That why I go light.

My baseweight is 12-15 lbs including fishing gear and gps, depending on how many days my trip is. The longer my trip, the more I pare it down so the first days aren't so much torture. The point is, even with a liter or 2 of water, and 15 lbs of food for a 12-day trip, and a bear canister, I don't want my pack too much over 30 lbs or it's no fun for me.

I got my kit to 10 lbs and have been adding weight ever since.

When the trip is short, I don't mind carrying the weight of a bunch of luxury items. Wine, fresh food, a t-bone steak. Especially when I hike with others. Since my comfortable hiking pace is fairly fast, adding a bit of weight to the pack reins me in a bit, which I need to do to stay with my group. Even so, my pack rarely starts at the trailhead with more than 22 lbs, with 4 days of food and water, fuel, fishing gear, and everything.

If I'm hiking with faster hikers, and we have to cover lots of miles to get to our target area, I'll lighten up as much as I can to keep up.

I guess part of my point is, I agree that the starting weight at the start of the trail is the point. And it's not about status, it's about mobility and comfort. But we do need vocabulary with definitions to communicate. So I'd go for baseweights of 5-10 lbs UL, 10-20 lbs Light or LightWeight, and 20-25 SortaKindaLight. And although the next isn't really defined, and is rather irrelevant, how about 25-35 Trad, 35-45 Heavy, >45 MF Heavy.

I made a much-too inspired and happy post on the thread, "I didn't make UL weight, but I'm still excited". (Sorry don't know how to make it a link yet). Hope y'all go there and enjoy it.

Ahhhhh, now this is something I can wrap my head around! I like my creature comforts, and I tend to bring them on the trail these days. In my 30s and 40s, I did higher mileage, but now I tend to do more leisurely backpacking (10 or 12 miles/day), and I like to have "extras" like a chair — and a HUGE mug for morning coffee! I'm about to head off to the Eastern Sierras, and my packed-full bear barrel alone is 12 pounds (I'll be out 7 days) — but I'm just NOT interested in starving! Add 2 pounds for my new REI chair, and an extra half ounce for the biggest mug…yeah, not very light, but it's going to be a great trip, and I'll be happy to have both "extras" when I'm out there. I'm NOT advocating that everyone do as I do — quite the contrary; I'm thrilled that so many folks are able to be happy with so little. I'm just not "there" at this stage in my life.
Backpacking in the desert, many times I leave home with 7 liters of water (enough for 2 caches and an overnight) — plus all my food and gear. Thank god I don't have to add a bear canister to that!!!! And I don't take much water compared to many…
We all go out there for different reasons and different goals. Sometimes, I'm out there to have an adventure with friends; other times, a relaxing vacation; still other times, it's more "goal oriented". I'm only interested in competing with myself — I'm always happy to stand aside for those who want to go faster… Happy hiking, whatever your reasons for being out!