Not op but my backpacking (overnight) kit contains similar.
When people talk about "10 lb base loads" I assume they are talking about overnights? 10 lb base loads for day trips would not be impressive.
Not op but my backpacking (overnight) kit contains similar.
When people talk about "10 lb base loads" I assume they are talking about overnights? 10 lb base loads for day trips would not be impressive.
I assume overnight - so shelter, sleeping system, clothing, and cooking. I do like my comfortable hammock, quilt, underquilt, and cuben tarp. That comes in at about 3.5lbs total. Going tent, that is closer to 4lbs for tent (~2lbs), pad, and quilt. If I go bivy + tarp, shelter comes in around 15oz with cord.
I don't have a fancy pack. My old crown vic is about 2lbs.
I like my hot coffee and meals, so usually bring some sort of cooking and water filtration. 600ml pot, some sort of stove (stick, alcohol, or hexi), spoon, ursack, pot grabber, and befree - and I'm over a pound.
Ounces start to add up fast. 6-7lbs with just the basics does not pack any clothing or food. Both tend to burn the folks I hike with. Always the poor soul who packed in 3lbs of gorp or three sweaters. There is nothing magical about 10lbs. Plenty of people in the ultralight community could look at my pack and say I had an extra 2' of dental floss as well as no business to hike with cards and a kindle. It does set a target where you may not be able to just pull out gear that does not consider weight. Personally, I like to try to target about 8-12lbs + food/water. I don't know how some of the other guys we hike with pull off their 30+ pound packs. I'm not strong enough to do what they are doing.
Definitely overnights, but also long distance. Ultralight only makes sense once you get into long distance trails IMO.
I’ll happily carry 10-15lbs on a casual weekend with some friends, but when I did the PCT my baseweight was down to 6lbs once I passed the Sierra.
Turns out if all you do is hike all day, for months at a time, you really start thinking about pack weight.
To each their own I guess... I carried a 4 lb banjo on the Camino de Santiago and it was hands down the best thing in my pack :-)