[pct-l] Pack weight to body weight ratio...

[david at dalbey.org (David Dalbey)]

The most miserable looking group we saw on our trip this summer was a
group of about 12 boy scouts carrying absolutely massive packs from
tuolomne toward Cathedral peak.  No smiles, only very pained looks -
even their leaders!  I'd certainly bet some of them were carrying half
their weight.

David
david@dalbey.org

:
:Some have told our Boy Scouts that they pack weight should be 1/4 your
:body weight...now seriously, we have a few 70 pounders in our
:Troop....and NONE have ultra-light gear. Coleman bags, some have
:full-sized packs, Boy Scout mess kits...
:One kid, I found HUGE carabineers in his pack! Along with 2 gallons of
:water....in separate 10 oz. plastic bottles...
:They're lucky to be able to go HALF their weight! And then they still
:want to bring along the "game boys".
:
:
:M i c h a e l   S a e n z
:McLarand Vasquez Emsiek & Partners, Inc.
:A r c h i t e c t u r e    P l a n n i n g    I n t e r i o r s
:w  w  w  .  m  v  e  -  a  r  c  h  i  t  e  c  t  s  .  c  o  m
:
:
:-----Original Message-----
:From: Steve Sergeant [mailto:stevesgt@effable.com]
:Sent: Wednesday, January 05, 2005 4:14 PM
:To: Mike Saenz
:Cc: verber@gmail.com; pct-l@mailman.backcountry.net
:Subject: Re: [pct-l] Pack weight to body weight ratio...
:
:Mike Saenz typed:
:> I'm surprised that no one has mentioned that if your body
:weight isn't
:
:> ummm..."ideal", let's say, then the whole pack weight/ body weight
:> formula falls apart.
:>
:> In other words, if you're 5'-10" tall and weight 300 pounds,
:then a 75
:
:> pound pack is gonna kill you a couple miles into the trail...
:
:Note that the Swiss study I described was specific about pack weight as
:a percentage of "Lean Body Weight".
:
:Lean body weight is the weight of your body, minus fat. Nobody has zero
:percent body fat. A very fit male athlete might have 8% body fat, and a
:similarly fit female might have 14% body fat. Much below that
:percentage
:is considered dangerous by doctors.
:
:You can find out your lean body weight by getting a "body composition
:test."  Here's an article I found in a quick and superficial Google
:search about measuring body composition:
:http://sportsmedicine.about.com/cs/body_comp/a/aa090200a.htm
:
:When I finished my JMT through hike this summer, my lean body
:weight was
:measured at 164 lbs. Since I weighed 182 lbs. at the time, I must have
:had slightly less than 10% body fat. Referring to the Swiss study I
:mentioned earlier, that would mean that the maximum pack weight I could
:carry without degrading my balance significantly would be between 13.1
:and 16.4 pounds.
:
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