[Gocamino] "pack weight" — a rant

[Robert Spenger]

Trip #5 is less than 2 weeks off now, so I am going through my list to  
get everything together for packing. In doing so, I am reminded of  
that ambiguous term “pack weight.” What is it? To me it is much more  
meaningful to count everything that I am carrying or wearing. Some  
pilgrims (an wilderness hikers as well) seem to like to play  
oneupsmanship games with pack weight — at both ends. At the go light  
end, the competitors wear their jackets and stuff their pockets (or  
even fanny pack) with all the small, but heavy items, carry their food  
and water in separate containers, and then brag about keeping the  
weight of their back packs down to 8 to 10 pounds. At other the  
extreme, the macho heavy packer loads it up with everything but shorts  
and sandals. If you give the whole weight, Including not only the back  
pack an its contents, but everything that you wear and carry, in or  
out of the back pack, then there is no ambiguity. After all, your feet  
and knees have to support the total weight, except for shoes and  
socks. The foot gear brings up the other point, that more work is done  
lifting whatever weight is on your feet than if that weight were in  
your pack.

Some time ago on these forums, I brought up the subject of the  
desirability of including clothing in the weight that you are  
carrying. One member responded that he felt that it was unnecessary,  
since he always wore exactly the same thing. If he is able to manage  
that, fine. For myself, I had a jacket that started out in the pack,  
but was worn in the normal fashion on cold mornings, tied around my  
waist when it warmed up, and often just draped over the top of the  
pack, where it would be handy. So is it part of the pack weight or  
not? The same can be said for rain gear. Food and water are another  
question. These are hard to pin down, since the weight of each goes up  
and down as you consume or replenish them. Because of this  
variability, it is probably best to not count those in.  (That’s for  
the camino. For wilderness packing, where one might start the trip  
with two weeks supply of food, it makes more sense to count up the  
total weight at the start of the trip.) I try to have 1.5 liters of  
water on hand at the start of each day on the camino. That’s 3.3  
pounds and the weight of the plastic bottles brings it up to 3.5  
pounds. My food weight on the camino was occasionally as high as 5  
pounds and I tried to have on hand an emergency supply of at least 1  
pound. The water bottles were in side pockets of the pack, but this  
time, for convenience, I intend to have some or most of it in a net  
bottle carrier hung by a strap from my shoulder. For food, some was in  
my pack, but stuff like banana, tomatoes, and yogurt cups would get  
smashed, so I kept that sort of thing in a plastic sack tied to my  
waistband.  I plan to have a second net bag to use for food of this  
sort. Since the water and food will not be in the back pack, does this  
mean that they are not part of pack weight? I also kept books, like  
dictionaries, phrase books, and guides in patch pockets in my pants.  
Again, does this mean that they are not part of pack weight? My feet  
and knees think that they are. There were a few other pocket items,  
but these illustrate the point. Does “pack weight” mean the weight of  
the pack that you wear on your back — or the weight that you are  
packing. There is no way to know, unless the person reporting the  
weight gives some details. To me, the only meaningful report of pack  
weight is a spread sheet, listing all the items that a pilgrim brings,  
with the weight of each item.

Bob S.