a different take on pack weight

[Kiwi-family]

We've been seeing the 10% rule thrown about and equally the you-don't-want-to-carry-more-than-5-or-6-kg rule.
Here's our experience.
Our four eldest children (aged 13-17) have been hiking (including off road, on hilly trails) for the past few months now with packs filled at about 8kg. They are completely comfortable with this and insist they *could* take more. We haven't let them try - there's just no need.
I have been training with 9-10kg and have been entirely comfortable. Yesterday I did a walk with 11.5kg. Despite being not even 10km and completely on pavement, I found the pack was heavy after about 5km. This morning my shoulders are sore. If I had reason to learn to carry more, I am sure I could build up to it, but I don't need to.
However, as I am carrying my daughter's gear as well as my own on the Camino....and as we have not bought ultra-light gear and are adamant about taking hard-covered journals, I know I will be carrying about 9kg each day, and our older kids will also be carrying "more than the ideal 5kg"). But this has turned out to be OK. We can do it at home (and have walked some distances longer than we plan to do in Spain), so we will be fine there.
I think it is important for people to try out walking with different pack weights to discover what works for them.
As for us, if anything kills us it will be the heat! We have been training in winter and are going to the end of summer!

 

[lovingkindness]

Hi there, Kiwi-family, please, please, please continue posting to us when you finally make it to the Camino. I enjoy hearing about your preparations & experiences.
-LK

 

[tyrrek]

A comfortable pack is just as important as the weight, probably. Don't get too bogged down in details.

You'll be fine. If not you'll make the necessary adjustments by leaving some 'stuff' somewhere, or redistributing it between your group. If you only have a couple of changes of clothes each you should all be fine and dandy!

Buen Camino!

 

[KiwiNomad06]

I'm not into the 10% rule either- but both times now on the Camino I have shed some of my 'essentials' as I went along! I am of sturdy, not petite build though, and that makes a difference. Also, I have never tried to take an ultra-light pack- but have had a good harness, which I also believe makes a difference to what you can carry comfortably. The season you walk in is also of importance: walking at altitude can be quite cold in April, and you often need more than just the t-shirts that might be enough in July-August.

One of the advantages of walking with your family will be that some items can be 'shared', eg toiletries, which can be quite heavy.

Having said that though, walking on the Camino itself is different from training at home. Most days the walk on the Camino Frances is not too difficult, but this is when you consider each day separately. But when you are getting up to walk every day for several weeks, you are putting extra stresses on your body. I have seen people get tendonitis or other problems because the load they are carrying is too heavy when worn not just for one day, but over repeated days.
Margaret

 

[Homer-Dog]

I'm no expert but I have heard that with a properly adjusted pack the weight should rest predominately on the hips/waist. The shoulder straps should carry very little weight - their main function is to keep the pack from flopping backwards. If you had sore shoulders the next day it may be that your pack was not adjusted properly.

When I did the Frances last year I never had sore shoulders ... except when I forgot to adjust my waist belt and shoulder straps properly.

 

[JillHives]

I've been going back and forth on this now and I'm still not sure what I'll do. I bought a Gregory Jade 60 litre bag last year before I really researched. Silly, I know. I liked the way it fit and I walked in the stop for a while with 30 pounds in it and it felt okay. Why I thought I would be bringing 30 pounds is beyond me! Last week I did a semi trial pack (just clothes and sleeping bag no toiletries) and there was so much room it was ridiculous. I figured I was carrying 2 extra pounds in just bag weight so I went out and bought the same bag but 24 litres. I did a full trial pack and everything just fits with a tiny room for snacks plus side pockets for water. It weights 6.5 kg or 14.3 lb without water. I trying to determine where I can make cuts but I really don't want to make any to be honest. I like my list of packing.

So do I go with the smaller pack and maybe attach my nylon 'day'' bag to the outside of the 24 litre bag for snacks? My 10% would be 14.5 pounds. Or do I take the bigger bag with the 2 pounds extra weight but with ample room for snacks and extra water (which will be more weight) without making it too tight?

How much water should one have on them? I could fit one 750ml bottle on each side, is that enough? Sun cream, phone/camera charger, european plug, etc were all unexpected weight and/or have made for awkward packing.

 

[mspath]

Jill,

6.5 kg or 14.3 lb without water is a great achievement! Take the smaller, lighter pack. Depending on when you are walking one 750ml water bottle on one side filled at the start of each day and topped up as you progress could work well. Snacks could then go in the other side pocket. Another approach might be a smaller water bottle with some snacks in each side pocket. As you walk you will find the right combination.

Buen Camino,

Margaret

 

[dougfitz]

It does bother me that people think that there is some rule about pack weight.

We've been seeing the 10% rule thrown about and equally the you-don't-want-to-carry-more-than-5-or-6-kg rule.

The 10% of body mass is a magic number, with all the credibilty that one should attach to such things. I have commented here http://www.caminodesantiago.me/board/equipment-questions/topic12663.html#p84416 about this, and offered an alternative view on this topic.

How much water should one have on them?

Depending on the temperature and how fast you are walking, you could need up to 0.75li/hour. If you are carrying 1.5li, that should be enough to get between most villages on CF without risking becoming dehydrated. You might get away with less, but would need to ensure that you re-hydrated properly at every opportunity.

Unfortunately, coffee is a diuretic and doesn't count. In fact, you should drink a similar volume of water for every coffee you drink to stay hydrated.

Regards,

 

[docpam]

Adapting from southern hemisphere - give yourselvesi 2 days of gentle sight seeing and sleeping when desired, before starting to walk.
Pam

 

[Kitsambler]

Absolutely I agree, 14.5 lbs without water is a well-planned pack, and it will be comfortable for you. I suggest two small water bottles (one in each side pocket), and snuggle the snack-sack under the top lid.

I've walked three times now, and each time have managed to get the starting weight reduced, and each trip has been more comfortable. It is definitely worth the struggle.

 

[Kiwi-family]

Adapting from southern hemisphere - give yourselvesi 2 days of gentle sight seeing and sleeping when desired, before starting to walk.
Pam

We have a week in Paris to do exactly that!

 

[newfydog]

Weight should be about maximizing enjoyment. If that special down pillow, fancy camera and mp3, flask of Torres brandy, or all cotton evening clothes bring you more enjoyment at the end of the day than misery carrying them, put them in. No one has a set 10% ratio for their enjoyment of items vs. carrying capacity.

 

[Kiwi-family]

I'm no expert but I have heard that with a properly adjusted pack the weight should rest predominately on the hips/waist. The shoulder straps should carry very little weight - their main function is to keep the pack from flopping backwards. If you had sore shoulders the next day it may be that your pack was not adjusted properly.

When I did the Frances last year I never had sore shoulders ... except when I forgot to adjust my waist belt and shoulder straps properly.

Totally agree with you.

Then there's a big BUT........BUT at some point there is a weight that is too heavy for you to manage. For example, I know I could not comfortably carry 50kg no matter how good the harness was.
Each time I have walked I have used my pack as you suggest (predominantly taking the weight on my hips - but occasionally releasing those straps to carry on the shoulders for perhaps five minutes). WIth 8kg, this is fine for me. With 9kg it is also OK. Even 10kg makes no difference. But when I switched to 11.5kg it was too much - and I noticed it quickly. So obviously for me at this point 10kg is an optimum maximum amount to carry if I want to be comfortable for 20km.
I guess my point was - try different weights and see how you feel.

Hi there, Kiwi-family, please, please, please continue posting to us when you finally make it to the Camino. I enjoy hearing about your preparations & experiences.
-LK

Thanks for your kind words. We will be posting. Grandpa has offered us his "light" (2.5kg!) laptop and hubby has agreed to carry it (primarilly for backing up photos - from the not-so-light-but-important-to-us camera!). The upside is that we'll be able to blog as often as we find an internet connection.

The season you walk in is also of importance: walking at altitude can be quite cold in April, and you often need more than just the t-shirts that might be enough in July-August.

One of the advantages of walking with your family will be that some items can be 'shared', eg toiletries, which can be quite heavy.
Margaret

True true. We tripped around the world for 15 months carrying all sorts of thermal gear that we barely used - mostly because the anticpated snow kept coming a day after we left a place! Bearing in mind this extra weight, we decided to do this trip in warmer weather!
And yes, we are sharing the carrying responsibilities. Little kids are required to only carry their clothing (except for the very smallest who is just taking some water) and the rest of us divvy up their silk liners and towels and journals between us...along with the supply of plasters and washing line and plastic bowls.

I have been wearing an 18 kg pack in Lapland, effectively walking the same daily distances as CF. No problems, but I did sleep well at the end of the day :wink:

Ooooh, you're not walking the Iron Curtain Trail are you? I'll be quizzing you if you are!

 

[Deleted member 3000]

The upside is that we'll be able to blog as often as we find an internet connection.

If there is a connection, there is a computer already!

WiFi is popping up in a lot of bars, but it usually is locked and bartenders are a bit reticent about giving out the password, which is likely the 16-digit one that was originally set up by the tech guy. They don't know that it can be changed to "1234" if they want!

Digging out the computer during the day to take advantage of fifteen minutes of WiFi may be more than you are willing to do during your breaks. Even in the evening, finding a good signal may be more effort than you have energy for. An extra camera chip weighs nothing. Do you really need to back up photos? Will the albergue computer not fulfill your blogging needs? Will keeping the computer secure from theft be a distraction? Are you prepared to risk a virus infection of the computer; hackers are rife along the way?

Think through the complexity of carrying a computer. You may want to change your mind. :mrgreen:

 

[dougfitz]

Adapting from southern hemisphere - give yourselvesi 2 days of gentle sight seeing and sleeping when desired, before starting to walk.
Pam

I have found a more disciplined approach beneficial. You might want to check out the British Airways Jet lag calculator at http://www.britishairways.com/travel/drsleep/public/en_us.

Regards,

 

[Kitsambler]

Ooooh, you're not walking the Iron Curtain Trail are you? I'll be quizzing you if you are!

I think the ICT is being built as a cycling route mostly. More info (and route pictures) here.(http://www2.ironcurtaintrail.eu/uploads/brochure_iron_curtain_trail.pdf)

Let me reinforce Falcon's suggestion to look for alternatives to lugging a 5-pound computer along. That weight will grow with each passing hour; a smartphone, tablet, or even netbook would weigh sooooo much less.

 

[markss]

Let me chirp in here to agree with others who suggest leaving the laptop at home. I think you will be glad that you did. Falcon outlined the reasons well.

 

[Tia Valeria]

We found the 10% guide helpful, also the 15% from the skin out, but it is not a 'rule'. Terry can carry about 1kg more than me in his pack, although we weigh about the same. I can carry more than 6kg 250gms if I put some things in my pockets (sunglasses etc) and my camera round my neck. We both find that there is a 'make or break' element of about 50-100gms which takes our packs overweight for us.
This year in Lugo we sent home a selection of guide books which we had accumulated at various museums etc. Total weight of them was 250gms, which we just did not feel we could carry over the rest of the route. Cost us 9 euros, but we still have them to enjoy. The rest which we didn't feel we wanted to keep we ditched.
Our final practise walks we carried 'hot day' packs. This meant we carried full water supply and food just to check out that 'make or break' weight with extra water to equal our cold day clothes (we were wearing these at the time).
On one day I was very glad we had done this as we had to carry food, water and all our cold weather gear in our packs.

 

[Kiwi-family]

Adapting from southern hemisphere - give yourselvesi 2 days of gentle sight seeing and sleeping when desired, before starting to walk.
Pam

I have found a more disciplined approach beneficial. You might want to check out the British Airways Jet lag calculator at http://www.britishairways.com/travel/drsleep/public/en_us.

Regards,

That's an interesting approach. We tend to just go with the flow on the flight - if sleepy, nod off. Once we arrive at the destination we adapt our actions immediately to local time - eat lunch if it is noon, go to bed if it is late, and if we wake up at 4am we stay lying in bed until at least 6, then do not listen to the urge to take a nap later in the day! We'll be arriving in Paris at 9am, thinking it's midnight - we'll keep busy for the day and let the kids crash early-ish if they need to (who am I kidding? of course they will!) In fact, we have planned nothing for our Parisian evenings, but we keep the days packed with good things.

I think the ICT is being built as a cycling route mostly.

You are right. I have been in contact with a guy who has cycled the central section and he assures me that it would be totally possible to walk it. The part I anticipate being a problem is the first stretch up in Finalnd where you may not pass a village for a few days and would have to carry lots of food and water. But I've got more research to do on that yet.

Digging out the computer during the day to take advantage of fifteen minutes of WiFi may be more than you are willing to do during your breaks. Even in the evening, finding a good signal may be more effort than you have energy for. An extra camera chip weighs nothing. Do you really need to back up photos? Will the albergue computer not fulfill your blogging needs? Will keeping the computer secure from theft be a distraction? Are you prepared to risk a virus infection of the computer; hackers are rife along the way?

Think through the complexity of carrying a computer. You may want to change your mind. :mrgreen:

We certainly don't anticipate blogging through the day...when we travel we tend to live the day and then in the evening download photos, record experiences, upload pics to Flickr and publish a blogpost.
For us, backing up photos is important. Yes, we could buy another smaller device to do that, but don't really want to spend the $$!
Aha...albergue computers.....they probably would fulfill blogging needs....I didn't realise they would be readily available. But hubby still wants a pooter for photo back-up.
Experience shows that keeping the gear safe from theft is no problem - it becomes a habit that we both know where the *important bag* is at all times (it also contains ten passports!!!)
The vius issue belongs to hubby - he's the techno geek! It definitely wasn't an issue when we did our last trip.
I'll show him this thread and see what he says - at the end of the day, it's his call. He has carried a big laptop for 15 months (and knew he'd not be doing that again!) Grandpa offered his lighter smaller one and hubby seems to think that is a good compromise - let's see what he says.

Thanks for your advice.

 

[dougfitz]

We tend to just go with the flow on the flight - if sleepy, nod off. Once we arrive at the destination we adapt our actions immediately to local time

I have a similar approach, but start on the flight itself and set my watch to the destination time at take-off. I then work out whether I want to be eating a full meal at midnight, or watching a movie at 2 am. I know that if I do, my adjustment will take longer.

 

[Kiwi-family]

I have a similar approach, but start on the flight itself and set my watch to the destination time at take-off. I then work out whether I want to be eating a full meal at midnight, or watching a movie at 2 am. I know that if I do, my adjustment will take longer.

We used to do that pre-children.....but for the kids everything is such a novelty and I'm happy to indulge their excitement. The meals are so *exciting* that they don't want to miss any, and if it comes at 2am that makes it all the more fantastical! (of course, if someone is asleep we just take the meal and give it to them when they wake). There are movies (something they watch only rarely at home). And while everyone is preoccupied with their little screens for hours at a stretch I get to knit. Given that I have not managed to learn to sleep in an upright position it's a win-win for everyone and we adjust the clocks on arrival! Small price to pay.