How much does your pack weigh for a winter tramp and camp ?
- Thread starter Kiwi Tim
- Start date
I suppose mine is something between 10 - 15 kg. Generally, though, I am not a slave to the scales; I reckon that if you've got what you need to keep you safe and relatively comfortable for the time that you're out, it is the weight it is.
I reckon that the only time pack weight matters, other than medical conditions, is when you are flying anywhere and want to avoid being stung that ludicrous amount for excess baggage. Then, I find that you can fill your rucksack with 20kg of stuff all too quickly!
I reckon that the only time pack weight matters, other than medical conditions, is when you are flying anywhere and want to avoid being stung that ludicrous amount for excess baggage. Then, I find that you can fill your rucksack with 20kg of stuff all too quickly!
12 kg did my last overnighter on a snowy mountain top, that was with crampons/ice axe/shovel and -10c gear with 2 days 4000cal food rats and fuel for 20l of melted snow.
My kit for a trip to the snowy Cairngorms last week (winter hammock kit tab)..
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/17ENPWpbL3NwrRfiUYKVUeESOjambOgoux6aZyKGBDm4/edit?usp=sharing
Just shy of 8kg including consumables
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/17ENPWpbL3NwrRfiUYKVUeESOjambOgoux6aZyKGBDm4/edit?usp=sharing
Just shy of 8kg including consumables
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My old Mountain tent was about 25lb, Golite Hex 3... 2lb
Kit has changed a lot these last forty years
I can't hike anymore and I'm not the owner of 'ultra light' kit but if I put a pack together tonight from kit in the shed I'm guessing it would be about 15kg - 20kg.
BigX, the tent you mentioned is still used by BAS field parties.
I went out in May with a pack that was 13kg dry weight, and was cold. These days with a couple of simple purchases (replaced tarp, sleeping bag & pack), my dry weight is under the 10kg mark. That includes a 1.5kg synthetic sleeping bag rated to t-limit of -12°C. I hope to upgrade my bivvi bag in due course, and that should shed another 500g. In a British winter, without going super ultra light weight[1], it shouldn't be too difficult to have a sub 10kg pack. Spend a bit more, and accept a slightly lower level of comfort, then sub 7.5kg shouldn't be impossible...
Julia
[1] choose buzz words of to suit
Julia
[1] choose buzz words of to suit
I actually weighed my day trip pack today, it came in at 5.3kg but that was without a shelter, sleeping bag, food or extra water. I would guess it runs in at about 10kg all in for a winter camp.
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Just before Christmas I was on a 7 Day walk on North Yorkshire Moors and my pack weighed in at 28kg, I had quite a few extras packed due to the weather and I didn't want to get caught out in the open at night! this is the heaviest I have carried in a long time normally my pack would weigh in at around 22kg to 24kg.
These days my winter pack weight for temperatures down to 0F (-18C) is about 15lb (7kg). With crampons, snowshoes, ice axe, etc, it goes up to about 25lb (11kg). Here is a link to my winter gear from last year. I have reduced the weight a bit since then primarily with the use of a lighter white gas stove, lighter snowshoes, and smaller pack (40L): http://woodtrekker.blogspot.com/2013/03/my-winter-backpacking-and-bushcraft-gear.html
I'm lucky if I can get it much below 20Kg, probably around the 17/18 Kg mark - maybe I'm just being cautious but I'd rather be cautious than in trouble.
Well my winter is the same as my summer and I'd say 10kg max depends on the amount of food taken my only difference is i may take extra pair of socks and extra upper layer. I was hoping for a really cold winter to test my gear but I only managed to get out in 3 ish degree weather and I was fine with my blanket I do want to try below freezing.
It's all about having a fire and a good shelter not lean-to shelters unless you get that fire going good all night.
I'm actually in the process of trying to make my kit lighter I'll weigh it in a few weeks
It's all about having a fire and a good shelter not lean-to shelters unless you get that fire going good all night.
I'm actually in the process of trying to make my kit lighter I'll weigh it in a few weeks
I suppose that the weight of your pack can vary a great deal by how many people you are with, and that is an advantage you need to employ in certain circumstances, not only for pack weight, but also pack volume.
I would sleep in a bivvy all the time if only the lack of privacy/ shelter from the elements didn't become so weary.
A tent for 4 people to sit in 2kg
A white gas stove 800g all in
Cooking pots x 2 500g
Maps ?g
Water filter?
Fak?
Saws? Axes?
So I suppose you could reduce 4 kg out of your pack to 1kg just by going as a group.
I would sleep in a bivvy all the time if only the lack of privacy/ shelter from the elements didn't become so weary.
A tent for 4 people to sit in 2kg
A white gas stove 800g all in
Cooking pots x 2 500g
Maps ?g
Water filter?
Fak?
Saws? Axes?
So I suppose you could reduce 4 kg out of your pack to 1kg just by going as a group.
Currently my winter pack weighs in about 1kg heavier than my summer weight. This is primarily as I my winter sleeping bag is 0.5kg heavier. Then factor in the extra warm clothing, that eats up the rest of the 1kg. Still, on my ill fated NDW hike, I was kitted out for temps down to -7°C, and my dry pack weight was 7.5kg.
This was also using my slightly heavier camo tarp as I was planning to wild camp in the lowlands, above the tree line where I am less worried, I can get away with my 200g tarp. Tho, in snowy conditions I may start thinking about a more rugged shelter than a tarp.
I want to replace my BA bivvi bag with something a bit lighter, probably an Alpkit Hunka XL, which should get me another 300g. If I could afford to get a down sleeping bag, I would guess I could shed even more weight.
In all of this tho, the real thing that governs the weight is the food. I tend not to go for expensive freeze dried stuff currently, so end up carrying heavy stuff like the LWWF pouchs. A days food is easily 700-1000g.
J
This was also using my slightly heavier camo tarp as I was planning to wild camp in the lowlands, above the tree line where I am less worried, I can get away with my 200g tarp. Tho, in snowy conditions I may start thinking about a more rugged shelter than a tarp.
I want to replace my BA bivvi bag with something a bit lighter, probably an Alpkit Hunka XL, which should get me another 300g. If I could afford to get a down sleeping bag, I would guess I could shed even more weight.
In all of this tho, the real thing that governs the weight is the food. I tend not to go for expensive freeze dried stuff currently, so end up carrying heavy stuff like the LWWF pouchs. A days food is easily 700-1000g.
J
the weight does not bother me much, but as other posts say above spend a fortune on kit and it will be much lighter...
I hear this a lot. But I'm not so sure it holds as true as it once did.
If you start from a blank slate, with no equipment what so ever, then actually going lightweight can be cheaper.
For example:
Brand new Berghaus Crusader - ~3kg - £177
Brand new Exped Lightning 60 - ~1.1kg - £150.
If you have no pack yet, then buying the lighter one is cheaper...
And with companies like Alpkit and fire maple churning out good quality light weight kit at sensible prices. You can kit yourself out with light kit, without spending much.
Obviously if you've already spent the money on the heavy stuff, to then buy the light stuff is expensive. But if like me you're starting from a relatively blank slate, then it isn't as expensive as you think.
Julia
Camping during the snowy season would almost always include skis and a sled (pulka), in my case. A sled doesn't penalise you for excess luggage as much as having to hump it on the back.
Tent,
Sleeping bag,
2 sets of clothes (base and mid layer),
Parka,
Food,
Cooking gear incl thermos,
Shovel, lines, wind bag,
As for weight....dont rightly know...
EDIT: Taranaki....hmm...It is a place far, far way from my normal habitat so my 2 cents might be worth less than that....
Tent,
Sleeping bag,
2 sets of clothes (base and mid layer),
Parka,
Food,
Cooking gear incl thermos,
Shovel, lines, wind bag,
As for weight....dont rightly know...
EDIT: Taranaki....hmm...It is a place far, far way from my normal habitat so my 2 cents might be worth less than that....
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I''m getting ready to go out for 5 days of roughing it so when I get my gear together I'll weigh it and see what the pack weighs. Only weighed what i carry once when I went on a fast and light 3 day wander in the summer and it came to just under 5kg minus food. Should be interesting.
Free of any injuries around ~15kg is a good weight for me with tent, bag, mat, cook set, spare clothes, couple days worth of food and 2 litres of water and much other sundries. I really struggled with this weight at the start of my 8 week hike last year but a few weeks in was no problem. At the end I was above 22 kg just for the fitness it brought and was doing around 15-20 miles a day. I had about 6 litres of water to make up the weight and was surprised how quickly my fitness improved!
Back home with fitness levels back to normal I'm back to carrying about 15 kg or less.
Back home with fitness levels back to normal I'm back to carrying about 15 kg or less.
