Boundary Waters Quetico Forum :: Gear Forum :: Gear weight
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Scout64 |
In the BWCA - I will carry about 40 lbs. I bring a lot more comfort/convenience items like a full sized saw, hatchet, chairs, table, rain tarp, etc. |
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anthonyp007 |
For a 5-7 day jaunt, its probably just over 30 lbs. I pack very light for fishing gear, probably around 5 lbs for fishing gear, 8 lbs for food, 10 lbs for tent and sleeping gear, and the last 7-10 lbs is assorted camping gear like a saw, med kit, rope/fastener bag, bait, and water filter. My food bucket slides right into my Portage pack which is convenient for single portaging, but what’s best is I can pull it out and use it as ballast if I need to shift weight around in the boat. Here’s a pic of my little food pack which holds food and all cookware for solo trips. The gamma seal lid helps keep things air tight and dry and the bucket doubles as a stool. Tony |
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Tomcat |
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MagicPaddler |
anthonyp007: "I prefer to single portage, but I don’t know many other people that share my enthusiasm for it so I only single portage when I’m solo. I’ve got my pack down to about 40 lbs with food. That includes fishing gear, 2 man tent, small tarp, backpacker stove with a lb of fuel and a pot/pan big enough for frying fish and cooking a side dish. There are several other little items I bring but the pack stays around 40 lbs with food for a 5-7 day trip. My solo canoe weighs around 25 lbs, so single portaging is pretty easy and makes for swift travel. Tony What does your pack weigh without food? |
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jfinn |
Most of my trips (not all) are light weight trips. I like to paddle and portage and see some ground. Keep things simple, easy and clean. I sleep well and eat plenty and train fairly rigorously for BWCA season. As stated before, it's my trip!!! My pack weight on a trip with my girls (ages 11 and 12) this summer I was 12# for me and each of theirs were #20-#22, Food went with me at about #15 for 5 days/4 nights so I was at #27 total in pack and single portaged with a MN3. #80 ish carrying weight?? If it is me and one of the girls, for 5 days we can both be at #20 ish including food + Spirit 2 so #60 lbs carry for me. If you are with another adult, I would think a day pack/canoe for one and a gear/food pack for the other keeping carry weight in the high 40's for each very doable. That would be fun. There are plenty of UL guys in this group that can share with you. Search on the site for packing list and ideas. Good luck. John |
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MisterKrabs |
Lighter is faster. Less stuff to misplace, faster to set up and break down, faster to portage, easier to paddle. |
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MagicPaddler |
Does your pack weight include any fishing gear? What do you cook on? |
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anthonyp007 |
Tony |
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Cretbo |
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figboot74 |
MagicPaddler: "Figfoot and TomcatHello MagicPaddler. My backpacking gear includes a 5 1/2 foot telescoping spinning rod and ultralight reel. I use an old Skoal can with some lures, flies and a casting bubble as a tackle box. When I am in the BW(or any float trip) I will bring another 6 foot spinning combo and a plano deep stow away box of tackle. For cooking I use the MSR pocket rocket and a 1 liter pot with lid. The stove, fuel, lighter and potholder all nest inside the pot. I typically only cook one meal per day in the evening. I simply heat a liter of water and separated between my coffee for the next morning and dinner that night. The majority of my meals are cooked in a 1-quart Ziploc bag in an insulated pouch. By the time my hammock and tarp are set up my meal is done. I take a stainless steel 27 oz water bottle and fill it with boiling water add insant coffee and cocoa then shake. Now I have a hot water bottle for drying boots or socks. I really do not mind the cold mocha when I can have it instantly upon waking up. After 6 months on the trail it was more about efficiency than anything. The last thing you wanted to do upon reaching camp was spend any amount of time cooking and cleaning. On float trips I include a 10 inch aluminum fry pan and some oil. While hiking I typically cook fish on a stick over the fire. |
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mgraber |
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ParkerMag |
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TipsyPaddler |
Tomcat: "Depending on the time of year my pack weight is about 35 lbs - 45 lbs. without food." We shoot for similar pack weights as Tomcat. Typically in the 38-42 lb range and one pack per person including the food barrel. It took about a half dozen trips to find our sweet spot on weight vs. creature comforts, trimming down on the gear we didn’t need and stop taking too much clothing and food. I not-so-fondly remember early trips with 70+ lb food pack and 50+ lb gear packs all bursting at the seams. Heavy and a pain to get in and out of the canoes! We use CCS Hybrid Pioneer packs and a 60L food barrel in a CCS Quad Pack on family trips (and Ursacks on solo or two person trips). Even the food barrel is in the 40-42 lbs range on a 4 person, five day trip including a 16 oz plastic flask of scotch and 1-2 ‘bottles’ of boxed wine. Our meals are mostly dehydrated, just-add-water type foods. We like our creature comforts as well. Saw and forest axe for fire wood, Helinox chairs, small folding table for evening/rainy day cards and either a 10 x 12 CCS tarp or 9 x 9 Nemo Bugout for communal shelter. My boys like to take an ENO hammock or two for lounging in camp. I like to take cards, cribbage board and a Kindle e-reader. We often take a couple fishing poles and 2-3 small Plano boxes of tackle as well. Keeping the gear to this weight and bulk makes for an easy double portage and on shorter portages we can often single portage. |
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mutz |
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BobDobbs |
We single portage all but the very longest, and the very shortest portages. Even though I have to help her put on her pack, she has no problems carrying it for a mile, which is longer than most portages. For me, the hardest part is getting the canoe on my shoulders with a full pack, but once it's up there, the walk is easy. |
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bwcasolo |
i know there was for me a mental comfort thing about having all the extra clothing, or food, but i got over that. experience and number of trips will help you scale down your pack load. it's your trip, take what you want and enjoy it. |
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walllee |
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A1t2o |
So the point I'm getting at is that I do not think weight is as important as some people think. Granted, that after I got all the gear I needed my pack has been getting lighter as I upgrade, but I don't spend hundreds just to have my pack slightly lighter. My intent is more about factoring weight in with quality, functionality and price, rather than just looking at weight alone. If you are looking at a specific weight goal though, I have heard that 1/3 of your body weight (for someone in shape) is about as heavy as you want to go. I do carry more than that with the aluminum canoe, but it does get painful after a while. I could carry something closer to the 1/3 of my weight goal far more comfortably and far longer. |
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Guest Wimp |
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carmike |
Keep in mind that backpacking ain't canoeing. You have the weight on your shoulders for a very, very, very small percentage of the time while on a canoe trip. There's no "need" to go ultralight, unless you enjoy the experience. You can single-portage while being very comfortable, as I've done for years, while being far from ultralight. Lots of variables come into play, of course, but it's certainly doable. I think age has something to do with the common advice on this topic. The average age of canoe folks is on the high side, so the limitations that come with age (or maybe it's wisdom? :) might force many to double/triple portage...and if that's the case, why not bring enough to be comfortable? |
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joewildlife |
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bwcadan |
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figboot74 |
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sns |
Base weight for 5-10 days at altitude (nights into the 20's, occasionally) is 15 lbs. Add about a pound per day for food. And 8lbs for the UL archery gear, when appropriate. I will find out this coming season about how that translates to single portaging, as I now own a Northstar Northwind solo. |
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Savage Voyageur |
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andym |
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BuckFlicks |
Your biggest space savers will obviously be your sleeping gear: bag, pad and tent... and food. Get ultralight (freeze dried food) versions of those, and you've gone a long way toward trimming the volume of your gear to something that can be hauled in one trip. At the same time, you'll also make your overall load lighter, even if you make the weight you carry on one trip greater. Does that make sense? You may carry 30 pounds twice on a double portage vs 45 pounds once (not including canoe) once on a single portage? It's an easier load carrying 30 pounds twice. But you might be limited to only being able to fit 45 pounds in each of your packs, so you are forced to carry 2 packs but split the load evenly between them. Getting ultralight gear will allow you to put more stuff in one pack, but you may have to pack that one to its capacity to hold everything. Now you're only making one trip, but your pack is 50% heavier - overall using less time and energy. Just throwing rough numbers out there - not finely calculated. I'm going to stop now. I feel like I'm talking in circles and I'm pretty sure everyone gets the concept. |
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schweady |
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Tomcat |
I only use a stove to heat water and I prefer to use my alcohol stove on solo warm weather trips and my butane stove when my wife goes or in cold weather. |
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straighthairedcurly |
However, our family trips we set up to single portage with a light pack on the canoe carrier and a heavier pack for each of the other 2. We don't specifically pack with weight in mind...more a matter of having enough room for everything. However, we don't pack much extra gear or clothing. No camp chairs or bug shelter. We carry a very lightweight rain tarp. We do carry extra weight in the sleeping department since 2 people like to sleep in hammocks but I only like a tent. |
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Tomcat |
"Naked and Afraid" comes to mind when I think about ultralight tripping. I have tried extreme measures in order to cut weight but found that weight has not been an issue for me. I take anything I want that I feel will add to my trip enjoyment. I seldom share equipment and always single portage. Depending on the time of year my pack weight is about 35 lbs - 45 lbs. without food. |
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OCDave |
figboot74: "What is considered average for gear weight per person? I have backpacked a fair bit and have my gear down to 27 lbs without food. With 2 people and shared gear, it seems easy to single portage. Are there any ultralight paddlers/die hard single portage fans around? " I was a backpacker long before discovering the joys of canoe tripping. While not "Ultra-light" I feel I have weight management figured out for backpacking. For canoeing, I disregard weight and focus on bulk. I carry luxuries in my canoe I would never consider when hiking. However, I do want to keep everything I would portage in one pack per person. Good Luck |
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pamonster |
It's doable and I was relatively comfortable, it's just expensive. But it 100% depends on my trip plan. If I'm basecamping I like chairs, tarps, and the comforts. My pack can hit 40lbs easy. If I'm moving and I'm only in camp to pitch a tent and warm a meal then I'll go light. But I enjoy the process of micromanaging pack weight. It's polarizing for some reason though.....some people really hate the idea of UL..... but it's my deal and my trip and I'll do it how I want :) |
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cyclones30 |
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