RE: [pct-l] Pack Weight

[Ronald Moak <ronm@fallingwater.com>]

Greg writes >> I beg to differ with FallingWater on pack weight.  A small
person who weighs 
only 100 lbs. will have small shoes and small socks and small shirts and 
little gloves and a small sleeping bag (or quilt) and a small tent or tarp 
and wear small shoes and their pack won't have to be so big to hold all of 
this small stuff and they won't eat much so their food won't weigh so much.

So their stuff will only add up to a proportionate amount of weight for
their 
size.  <<

I'm not quite sure which one of my too many comments you're referring to
Greg. If it's with regard to body weight vs pack weight ratios, what I said
was that I don't believe in or use any ratios. I did say that if I used it,
how I probably calculate it. 

As to the smaller members of the hiking society (primarily women), they are
at a disadvantage whether you use the ratio or not. Simply because you don't
get much of a break in pack weight if your small. I seriously doubt a 125 lb
5 foot persons base pack weight would be more than a pound or two lighter
that a 200 lb 6' hikers pack. 

In most cases clothes don't take up a significant percentage of pack weight
(unless you pack a change of clothes for each day). My own extra clothes
(not worn) only weights 2 pounds and I'm 6' 225 lbs. I doubt that clothes
carried by a person a hundred pounds lighter would be more than a few ounces
less.

As to the other gear (stoves, sleeping bags, tents, packs, etc.) it's
probably a wash. A few oz on the sleeping bag, maybe. The same tent styles
don't come in sizes. In general the weight of a pack bears little relation
to it storage capacity. Weight is more a result of features, padding, etc.
Two packs of the same style may differ a few ounces between sizes. But not
enough to make that much of a difference.

Food may make some difference, but I've known some small people that can
really pack it in.

While the fair members of the opposite sex may not be able to match men in
raw strength, its been my experience that they more than make up for it in
endurance and tenacity. 

Ron "Fallingwater" Moak
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