What weight can I carry?

[Minotaur]

Is there a formula about for height to weight carried?

Have a lot of info for what makes lightweight etc, but what is normal, or insane?

Not going hiking, as normal, but will have to walk a short-ish distance to site. Looking at a lot of tents etc, and thinking need an idea of what is to much?

 

[Melonfish]

over short distances you can probebly carry alot more then if you were out walking properly. i've loaded a 66l pack up with kit and been out with it for 3 days before now. it weighed in at about 2 1/2 stone which is around 15kg.
what you can carry is dependant on your own physical attributes/fitness and stubborness.
i would suggest you load up your pack and walk around your block see if you're happy witht he weight, id suggest tho loading lighter then you think you can take just to be sure then slowly add more, don't want to overload it then find you can't get it back once half way out.

 

[Doc]

I don't know of any formula.

However, I vaguely recall that the Royal Mail advise their employees not to lift weights of more than 12.5kg - presumably from fear of back injuries.

For me, 12.5kg is a comfortable weight, and I can live out of a 12.5kg pack for 3-4 days in the summer. In winter it's more difficult of course.

 

[torc]

I carry 12-15kg without realy noticing any thing but if I pile on more weight I start to pay attention to my discomfort.
Happy trails...torc.

 

[TomBartlett]

I wouldn't be comfortable with more than 20% of my body weight, but like melonfish said, it really depends on how you feel with it.

 

[wentworth]

As mentioned, it's recommended to carry no more than 20% of your bodyweight. But the lighter the pack, the more enjoyable my trip. Especially when you have to carry 6+L of water.... awful, but makes you appreciate light gear.

 

[TeeDee]

At the other end of the spectrum - The 'Insane' as mentioned

I once tried a phase of walking on a regular basis a shortish distance 4 miles with a very ,very heavy pack ( 60kg ) , It always took a very long time , didn't get any faster ( although I Did get better accustomed to the load and the 'Pain' would be endured easier ) and my movements in no way shape or form resembled walking or marching.
At this end of the 'can-i-move-it' conundrum , I would think the answer would be yes you can but not for very long without completely changing your Normal Biomechanics , the stress on the ankles , Knees hips and Spine could all easily lead to injury.

The only benefit I did get from this type of training was that when returning to a more moderate load , it would as you expect feel far lighter than previous to this experiment, overcompensation through higher resistance. So in theory you could use this type of training as part of a Periodization Phase to build up for a certain event.

http://www.elitefts.com/documents/periodization1.htm



Well you did ask for input from both ends of the scale.

 

[johnboy]

I wouldn't be comfortable with more than 20% of my body weight,

As mentioned, it's recommended to carry no more than 20% of your bodyweight.

I agree with the 20-25% of body weight as a rule of thumb for maximum comfortable pack weights. But I think this ratio takes into account an adult person and also one who is reasonably fit with an average BMI.

Someone who is 100kg with a low percentage of body fat will likely cope with a 20kg load better than someone 100kg with a high percentage of body fat and a 20 kg load.

The lighter the load the better it feels that for sure... 60kg Teedee that is painful...

 

[TeeDee]

To put it into context , at that time ( not now, wouldn't even entertain the idea..) I was doing lots of volume of heavy Deadlifts and Squats and eating plenty of quality food ( so an over supply of protein , carbs and fats ) available to burn , so obviously my posterior chain of muscles ( those that keep the Hips locked and Spine straight ) were conditioned to standing and maintaining a locked spine with moderate-heavy weight.

Obviously being in my early 20's had nothing to do with it.....

 

[1234]

I don't know of any formula.

However, I vaguely recall that the Royal Mail advise their employees not to lift weights of more than 12.5kg - presumably from fear of back injuries.

from royal mail postman/woman job details

"You will travel 6 to 8 miles each day carrying around 8 heavy mailbags a day (weighing up to 16kg)"

 

[ged]

There's been no mention of the pack itself.

If I wanted to carry a heavy load I would make sure first that the pack fits me perfectly when loaded. It must have a well-fitting padded belt and transfer most of the weight to my hips. Trying to carry a big load a long way on your shoulders and back is a recipe for serious discomfort at best. At worst you'll have permanent injury.

 

[Doc]

Good stuff- thanks for the correction. The postbag weight of 16kg makes a useful yardstick of what might be considered reasonable.

A while ago I had a heavy parcel delivered and it was covered in bright red Royal Mail warning stickers saying it was over a certain weight and caution needed lifting. They are obviously concerned about 'elf and safety with lifting weights.

Then again, I wonder how much weight our soldiers carried in the Falklands? I bet it was a tad over 16kg...

from royal mail postman/woman job details

"You will travel 6 to 8 miles each day carrying around 8 heavy mailbags a day (weighing up to 16kg)"

 

[Shambling Shaman]

One thing to bare in mind is packing - the same weight packed wrong/differently can make a pack feel heaver.

 

[johnboy]

Then again, I wonder how much weight our soldiers carried in the Falklands? I bet it was a tad over 16kg...

From another website...

"The most famous yomp of recent times was during the 1982 Falklands War. After disembarking from ships at San Carlos on East Falkland, on 21 May 1982, Royal Marines and members of the Parachute Regiment yomped (and tabbed) with their equipment across the islands, covering 56 miles (90 km) in three days carrying 80 pounds (36 kg) loads".

 

[Bootstrap Bob]

There's been no mention of the pack itself.

If I wanted to carry a heavy load I would make sure first that the pack fits me perfectly when loaded. It must have a well-fitting padded belt and transfer most of the weight to my hips. Trying to carry a big load a long way on your shoulders and back is a recipe for serious discomfort at best. At worst you'll have permanent injury.

Agreed. I regularly go out for walks with my 19 month old son sat on my back in a MacPac carrier and adjusting the pack makes a huge difference. Last time I used it it had been adjusted for my wife and I couldn't initially understand why my shoulders were aching. I then adjusted it again so that the weight was placed squarely back on my hips - no more discomfort. My son weighs 14kg (big for his age) and the pack and paraphernalia that goes with taking out a small child probably takes it up to nearer 20kg. I could quite easily push this a few more kg but it would then start to take it's toll on the distance, if the weight wasn't carried on my hips I'm sure I couldn't go higher.

 

[1234]

Good stuff- thanks for the correction. The postbag weight of 16kg makes a useful yardstick of what might be considered reasonable.

A while ago I had a heavy parcel delivered and it was covered in bright red Royal Mail warning stickers saying it was over a certain weight and caution needed lifting. They are obviously concerned about 'elf and safety with lifting weights.

Then again, I wonder how much weight our soldiers carried in the Falklands? I bet it was a tad over 16kg...

heath and safety has become ridiculous, as long as you've got the correct lifting teqnuqie, you get used to the weight and can lift heavier stuff without hurting yourself
at 16-17, i was labouring for a family friends building firm and was shifting 25 kg bags of plaster daily, and when we were gutting places 30-35 kg of rubble in those big rubber buckets on my shoulder going back and forth to the skip ( think my max was 40 trips to the skip in a day)

i think the soldiers would be carrying at least double that


oh and a properly packed kit will be easier to carry than a "just chuck it in, in any order" type bag

 

[pango]

I don't know of any formula.

However, I vaguely recall that the Royal Mail advise their employees not to lift weights of more than 12.5kg

from royal mail postman/woman job details... 8 heavy mailbags a day (weighing up to 16kg)"

I'm fairly certain that 12.5 kg is the maximum lift recommended by the offshore industry, which I believed until now to be HSE guidelines. However, looking at the HSE website informs me that there is no HSE advice on maximum lift weight/manual handling.
Liability is the buzz-word, not safety, and it's all done with bloody mirrors!

I've carried some horrendous weights when going out on climbing trips; a full rope, harness and ironmongery all make a mockery of carrying lightweight camping gear; and have come across Squaddies carrying similar loads... at times jogging past me. I have mates who are ex-Paras and Marine Commandos some of whom, in their early 50's, can hardly walk without a stick. The difference here being that I carried such loads voluntarily, occasionally and with a dump and return option, while they carried them regularly and often for days on end.

The load you're carrying relates to your purpose. I'll carry some 15kg if out stravaiging the hills for a week in a region with little hope of a fire, although in the Scottish hills fuel is very often more readily available than is apparent to most people. Bog wood occurs in the most unlikely of places and both peat and deer dropping burn admirably when dry. Cooking predominantly on a fire is a means of lightening your load considerably.

Others have stated the importance of the quality of rucksac you're carrying and the loading of it. This is important for comfort, balance and weight distribution. Modern rucksacs have adjustments enabling you to raise or lower it on your back, transfer loading points and easily shift the point of balance when going up or downhill. If you're tempted to strap stuff outside your rucksac this throws the load backwards and results only in giving yourself a harder time than you need to have.

Lastly, my rucksac is full of "essentials" I can't remember the last time I used. Short of discarding vital equipment, if you don't need it don't carry it!

Cheers.

 

[Everything Mac]

Anything around the 20kg mark is ok for me. - but beyond that and you start to feel it.

I did a trek across Dartmoor with ~15kg which was fine.

our lads carry considerably more weight than that usually these days.

all the best
Andy

 

[Wraith]

The wife and I just finished the coast to coast. It took us 13 days. Some days we would walk for 10 hours covering about 23 miles.

I was carrying 23-25 kg. My wife, who is quite petite ; ) , was carrying 15kg.

In order to get our walking legs on, we split the first official day's walking in half so that we covered about 7 miles a day for the first 2 days. We almost gave up after the second day. We thought that if we could manage the next day, which was about 23 miles, then we could complete the whole walk with the weight.

I found that it was mostly down to mental state. You decide to walk x miles and decide that even if it takes me all day, I will do it. Then, after a couple of days, you know that the distance and weight are reasonable.

 

[Dormouse]

To the original poster - if you have to have a fair bit of kit with you (say family camping or somesuch) you could always try some sort of trolley. It's easier to drag or push weight than carry it.