I might have opened a major can of worm's!!

**wiscoman** · 04-09-2013, 16:38

I took the plunge and ended up buying a digital scale. I got it home and started weighing items from my pack. Now I feel like I need to ditch all kinds of things!haha. My whole setup with 2-3 days food and one liter of water that I normally carry when I hike, came to 21 pounds! I am not sure if this is good or not. Now that I can see the weight of every item I feel the need to trim and skimp to try to get to 20lbs or under. Has this happened to anyone else? What kind of pack weight do other people generally have? Where did people shave weight?

**Red Wing** · 04-09-2013, 16:43

Originally Posted by wiscoman

I took the plunge and ended up buying a digital scale. I got it home and started weighing items from my pack. Now I feel like I need to ditch all kinds of things!haha. My whole setup with 2-3 days food and one liter of water that I normally carry when I hike, came to 21 pounds! I am not sure if this is good or not. Now that I can see the weight of every item I feel the need to trim and skimp to try to get to 20lbs or under. Has this happened to anyone else? What kind of pack weight do other people generally have? Where did people shave weight?

I'm probably between 14-17 on average, depending on what I'm taking or what systems I'm using. That alots me 10lbs of food and water and still be comfy carrying the weight. That being said, I'd rather be around an 11-13lb base-weight but I'm not spending the money on it. What I got works.

**weaver2469** · 04-09-2013, 16:52

Let me add to your worm can.

Go to geargrams.com and start an account. Once you start charting the weight of everything, the obsession can really take off.

**Suede** · 04-09-2013, 16:59

My base weight minus food fuel and water is just under 17 lbs. getting a digital scale was one of the best investments I have made to prep for trips. I have all my gear in a spreadsheet and move in/out items for my upcoming trip. The scale helped me to recognize some of the excesses that got my pack weight down a good 10 pounds, much of which came from reduced weight in my wallet.

**wiscoman** · 04-09-2013, 17:12

Originally Posted by Space4DaPoppa

My base weight minus food fuel and water is just under 17 lbs. getting a digital scale was one of the best investments I have made to prep for trips. I have all my gear in a spreadsheet and move in/out items for my upcoming trip. The scale helped me to recognize some of the excesses that got my pack weight down a good 10 pounds, much of which came from reduced weight in my wallet.

I can say I did cut out a few items as soon as I weighed them. I agree 100% on the scale being a great purchase, it makes it much easier to see how things really add up!

**wiscoman** · 04-09-2013, 17:16

Originally Posted by weaver2469

Let me add to your worm can.

Go to geargrams.com and start an account. Once you start charting the weight of everything, the obsession can really take off.

Geargrams.com Looks Like it would be very handy! Thanks for the suggestion

**mangus7175** · 04-09-2013, 17:20

Having a scale is definitely an eye opener. Here's an example of my current gear list - http://www.geargrams.com/list?id=7137

**grannypat** · 04-09-2013, 17:30

Yes, having a scale makes you reconsider things, but it is fun to weigh everything.

**JollyGreen** · 04-09-2013, 18:03

I'm not sure of your size but... A 15lb pack for a 150lb person is 10% of his/her body weight. On the other hand, a 21lb pack for a 250lb person is only 8.4%. Bigger people have bigger, and heavier everything, packs, clothes and quilts etc. so just because one person has a 15lb base weight and anther's is 21lbs really might not mean that much.