Real World Backpack Comfortable Max Loads

ULA Catalyst – 35 lbs

I went through a number of packs, my first was an Osprey Aether size large 65 liter pack.  The large was too big for me but otherwise I could put a lot of stuff in it for my first couple outings.  I was using it for over night or two night trips not carrying a huge amount of weight but the large was too big for me.  I then tried a Fjallraven pack, I thought for a while that I wanted a last for ever do anything 65 liter pack, however the pack alone weighed in at 7 pounds.  I took that on a some training hikes and a 4 day trip in the White Mountains.  In training I packed it up into the 35 pound range and for my hike was in the 25 ish range with 4 days of food a book a 2 pound tend, 2 pound sleeping gear and so on.  I could deal with it but I could tell it was not my best decision.  As I trained with heavier weights I could tell there was a weight where it just was not comfortable no matter how I adjusted the pack and hip belt.

I then went to a seek outside flight series pack which has a large max cary weight but I have taken it on several trips and I try to cary probably no more than 20 pounds.  On my big trip with it my son and I each had a bear can in the pack plus our basic gear.  The bear cans were heavy but we were under 20 pounds each with full cans at the beginning of our trip.  That weight worked well for me.  I really don’t want to have to be so picky I know my exact gear weight.  But at the same time I try to keep my gear weight as low as possible under the circumstances.  I don’t want to max out my pack weight but I want a pack that will cary my heaviest load.  So with the flight pack while maybe you can extend it to 50 pounds, I can comfortably carry around 20 with it.  The pack is also light less than 3 pounds.  If I am carrying my tent and not sharing gear I have a 2 pound tent, 3 pounds for pad and bag then the rest of what i need depending on whether.  Like I said food water and everything though I want to keep it no more than 20 at start of a trip.

Gossamer Gear Kumo 18#

ULA Catalyst/Circuit 30#

MLD Prophet 20#

Zpacks Arc Haul Zip 28#

Gossamer Gear Kumo 18#

Kelty Tioga 40#

Gregory Baltoro 75 40#

1970s Lowe Alpine Designs internal frame #25

HMG Windrider 25# or 35# (see below)

Backpack comfort can be quite personal, and vary by time, conditioning, skills, experience, and other factors.

In my personal experience:

– When I was much younger/stronger/lighter/dumber, I expected to suffer some while carrying a backpack, and “only” 40 pounds seemed like heaven in several different external frame packs.

– Over the decades I’ve turned off several people to backpacking, when they borrowed my pack and carried about 20 pounds – far less than I found comfortable. Don’t know why, so I stopped.

– Almost 10 years ago, I played Goldilocks and tried carrying the same weight (about 25 pounds) packed the same way in a few backpacks. Most sucked, despite having a mind-boggling array of adjustments and weeks of fiddling. Then a simple pack surprised me, fitting comfortably almost instantly with only three adjustments: left and right shoulder straps and one waist belt. Not even load lifters!

– I prefer carrying my HMG Windrider (now the Windrider 2400) with 25 pounds or less. But I’m willing to carry up to 35 pounds if I know that I’ll rapidly drink and eat my way to lower weights in the first day or two of a longer trip. And if I start in decent shape.

What’s my all day hiking in comfort weight? Depends on your definition.

— Rex

I have a Zpacks Arc Blast. Same suspension as the Arc Haul, but lighter fabric. I think it’s good for up to about 27 or 28 lbs. That’s the full walkout weight, including the weight of the pack and anything I might have in the shoulder strap pouch.

But don’t fret if your first-day lunch puts it a bit above the 28 lb mark. As long as it’s in the mid-to-upper twenties for most of the trip.

Osprey Exos – 35#

Durston 40 – 30#

Osprey Aether (2005) – 40#

Seek Outside Unaweep – 60#

Hanchor Marl – 38#

Any hip belt less frameless – 15#

“What’s my all day hiking in comfort weight? Depends on your definition.”

Exactly! And really the point this exercise, no? In aggregate, the data should give us a good estimate of a pack’s carry cap.

I’ll also agree that the Arc Haul/Blast/Air can be pushed a bit past 25#…28 is a good number.  But then, I think that true of all packs.  I pick a limit knowing that a 2-3# window around that number is reasonable.

unnamedpeaks, interesting you found the Aether to only carry 5 extra pounds more comfortably than the Exos…seeing as the bag itself is already what 2lbs heavier?

For me,

ULA Ohm 2.0: 28lbs

Framless packs: 18-20lbs

Light frames (vertical stay packs): 25-30lbs

I don’t have to worry about any pack carrying more than about 35 pounds, but that’s the weight at which my knees tell me to put the pack down and stop walking. It didn’t use to be that way…but that’s when I was younger!

Oh man.  I remember when a friend of mine bought a GoLite Jam 70L backpack.  This was like 7 years ago maybe, when GoLite was extremely popular.  GoLite’s weight ratings for those packs was WAY overstated, and her gear was okay, but nowhere UL.    She suffered greatly trying to use that pack because it just wasn’t a good fit for the types of backpacking she was doing.   I think she has an Osprey Exos now, and I suspect that GoLite pack is sitting on a dusty shelf somewhere in her basement.

Good topic, and I agree that many manufacturer specs for max load seem extremely optimistic.

Looks like we are already getting some good corroboration of a few pack’s limits.  If a handful of experienced BPL’ers all say pack X is good up to Y lbs (+/-), that is really good, and to my mind reliable, info.

Let’s remember that the manufacturer’s load rating is a maximum before there’s a risk of damage to the pack. For example, zPacks rates the Arc Blast at 35 lb. That tells me what I could safely carry for a short distance, say to take tools and food up to a base camp for trail maintenance, not what I would want to regularly carry on full trips. The ArcBlast’s “comfort rating” for prolonged carrying seems to be 25–28 lb.

Gossamer Gear Mariposa 60 – Extended carries 27lb, limited distance carries up to 35lb. Ideal target base weight <17lb.

Osprey Kestrel 68 – pack is comfortable on me into the high 30’s, but hiking with more than 30lbs regardless of pack is undesirable. Also the ‘Osprey Squeak’ becomes more prevalent as weight increases

For context I usually am most often doing 5-12 miles/day with 1000-4000ft vertical gain and 1-3 night average duration.

I carry 32 lbs in my Gossamer Gear Mariposa very comfortably.  Where I have 32 lbs, there is little to know weight on my shoulder.  The shoulder straps basically just keep the pack from tipping backward.

I guess I don’t know the max comfortable load though, because I have never gone above 32 lbs.

I usually do about 5-10 miles with 1000-2000 ft elevation gain.  It might be different if i was doing more.

Many packs can be supplemented to carry extra weight on your body if you use a chest pack that connects directly to the main pack body. I modified my DCF bear bag to double as a chest pack. It connects to the front of my hip belt and to the shoulder straps. Only added around less than an ounce in weight.

My weight limit for Zpacks Arc Blast and Arc Haul are around 20lbs, but I can add another 5-10 lbs to that weight if I balance out the load front and rear. I suffer from spinal defects, so I can’t carry as much weight as most people when doing it normally, but with a chest pack, it makes a huge difference. The chest pack can strap to the main body on top if I need to scramble or ford a stream.

ks40/50: 25lbs

Max load is going to be very subjective and dependent on the individual’s fitness, personal comfort level, how they pack their pack which can make a difference in how it carries, and how long you are out. 20lbs for one person could be 25lbs for another. And what seemed fine for the first few days, could lead to some discomfort latter even if the pack weight is now much lower.

Some comments above have frameless packs 15-20lbs, while I have frequently carried 20-25 lbs comfortably in my ULA CDT and MLD Burn frameless packs. I use to have shoulder issues over 20lbs until I finally found a way of packing that worked for me. I think this subjective issue will apply to almost any type of pack.

This is getting to be an interesting and useful thread. It’d be useful if posts included exactly what is meant by the weight stated. Is it the weight of stuff loaded in the pack, the weight of the loaded pack including the pack weight, or is it the full trailhead walkout weight including water bottles filled at the trailhead, items in hip and shoulder pouches, etc., etc?

For numbers I provided, it is the total weight of gear loaded in the pack…does not include the weight of the pack itself.

I agree on both of the above-listed weights for the Granite Gear packs. But I try never to go above 30 anyway.

GG Mariposa 60L  25# comfortable / 30# max (e.g., first day or a longer haul between water sources)

ULA CDT 50L  18# comfortable / 20# max

Golite Galaxy 62L 30# comfortable / 36# max. I know this pack is no longer available but it may be some kind of comparison. Pack itself weighs 3.5#, so it doesn’t carry much more than the Mariposa, but if I’m carrying extra water in the desert, it works a little better.

No doubt about it, for me, anything 30# or more is heavy!

Forget all the data drama. The only relative data that matters is your weight on the scale the moment you hit the trail. Manipulate it all you want, you can’t bypass that fact. Weight on the trail is what counts in the end. Everything else, opinions aside, is BS.

Forget all the data drama. The only relative data that matters is your weight on the scale the moment you hit the trail. Manipulate it all you want, you can’t bypass that fact. Weight on the trail is what counts in the end. Everything else, opinions aside, is BS.

You need to expound/expand on what you’re saying… I’m not following. Your own physical weight? A full packs weight? The two combined?