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Search 69,459 Camino Questions

Cut pack weight to 11 lbs.

jo webber

Active Member
Time of past OR future Camino
Sept 9th 2017
And this does not count water. 1.5 liters gets the weight to 15 lbs.
If I toss anymore items I will be walking without clothing.

So that's my goal, to carry 15 lbs for 15 miles. Very glad I have a year to get in shape and I found some good exercises for my back and sciatic nerve issues. Will also go to REI with my loaded pack, get poles and have them show me how to use them.

Thank you all for helping me with ideas to cut the weight.
 
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Twelve pounds without water is very admirable. Congratulations.

Eleven pounds!! Even more so!!
 
Actually, water weighs about l kg per liter or 2.2 pounds.
Stay with 1 liter most days and you can carry 2 pounds of snacks to go with the water...and stay at your 15 pounds.
 
New Original Camino Gear Designed Especially with The Modern Peregrino In Mind!
Actually, water weighs about l kg per liter or 2.2 pounds.
Stay with 1 liter most days and you can carry 2 pounds of snacks to go with the water...and stay at your 15 pounds.
Snacks will be very important. :)

As there are long and short stretches to walk, I hope to be able to get by with one 24oz bottle rather than two.
 
Thank you!!!!
As I weight 108 and am 5 ft tall (62 yrs old with a bad back) the less I carry the better. I will need all the training I can manage. As you can see, I'm pretty determined to carry my own pack.
I utilize my pockets for water. I buy 3 1/2 liter bottles, carry one in each thigh pocket and have one in the pack for emergencies. I refill the bottles in my pockets along the way and discard/replace when I feel they are in danger of becoming sour. They are not expensive and each bottle weighs one pound. I realize that I am still packing the weight, but when distributed around my body, it doesn't seem like it.
 
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Well done Jo. My pack weighed the same as yours when I did the Francés and it was wonderful. I hope it works out just as well for you.

Buen Camino!
 
For us metric challenged Americans..some simple things to write down:

A typical bottle of water = 500 milliliters/1.2 lbs
2 bottles = 1000 ml or 1 liter. /1 kilogram/2.2 lbs

A mile equals 1.62 kilometers (km)
A km equals .62 miles
10 miles equal 16.2 km
10 km equal 6.2 miles

A typical 25 km day is 15 miles. Piece of cake :)

Multiply km by .62 to get the more familiar mile number.
All distances will be given in km and weight in kg. It is good to have a bit of familiarity.

If you use an app like MapMyWalk (or other) to record your training walks ..set it to km to build up some familiarity with km.

These are the only metric measurements that are most often encountered.

It really does help.
 
With a year to go, I presume you do not have a pack. For a bad back, the Aarn backpacks with the front load pouches more evenly distribute the weight and take some of the stress off. They may be hard to find, but it was by far and away the most comfortable pack for my weak lower back.
http://www.aarnpacks.com/
 
Ideal sleeping bag liner whether we want to add a thermal plus to our bag, or if we want to use it alone to sleep in shelters or hostels. Thanks to its mummy shape, it adapts perfectly to our body.

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Don't worry about weight! You are tougher than you think. Wait until you see what the Korean girls carry! My novia swears that if she walks the Camino again she is bringing a hair dryer and a big plush blanket. I leave in two days and still thinking of tossing a clothes iron into my pack.

While a lot of people on this Forum talk about weight, I notice we never hear from those who choose to camp and carry the weight of food, water, cooking pots, and tents. They are also walking the Camino with us and I guarantee that they are not carrying 11 pounds.
 
Worry about weight. You have done the right thing to keep it light. Make sure that you have enough warm clothing however, including a warm sleeping bag for those chilly and drafty hostels. Nothing beats a warm night's sleep.
 
The focus is on reducing the risk of failure through being well prepared. 2nd ed.
Don't skimp on the water; dehydration can kill, or seriously ruin your day. We carry 2 liters each and drink every bit of it on all but the shotest days. Buying a buying an extra pint or quart bottle of water or soda on the Camino and carrying it, empty, until you have a hot or log day, can give you reserve, light weight, capacity.
 
And this does not count water. 1.5 liters gets the weight to 15 lbs.
If I toss anymore items I will be walking without clothing.

So that's my goal, to carry 15 lbs for 15 miles. Very glad I have a year to get in shape and I found some good exercises for my back and sciatic nerve issues. Will also go to REI with my loaded pack, get poles and have them show me how to use them.

Thank you all for helping me with ideas to cut the weight.
Did you, or could you, post your final list of items?
 
Did you, or could you, post your final list of items?
pack & 2 wash cloths for padding 40 oz
clothes packed 32 oz
pants
long sleeve shirt
sports bra
socks (2)
heavy panty hose

warm stuff packed 22 oz
long sleeve shirt
socks
heavy pantie hose
silk scarf
beanie hat
light merino wool sweater
heavy wool sweater
gloves

bathroom kit, full 16 oz
toothpaste
tooth brush
deodorant
soap for everything
nail file/ clippers
towel
dipper pins
cord for clothes line
sewing & tiny sissors

meds + 4 oz

cap 2 oz

rain coat. 10 oz

Shovel, TP 3 oz

sleeping stuff, in dry sack 32 oz
silk bag liner
fleece bag liner
ear plugs
eye mask
caftan, going out, doing all laundry& sleep wear

Shower shoes, can wear in eve 13 oz

Miss stuff
headlight flash light 3 oz
med suplies – compseed, sewing stuff, kleenex 4 oz
 
St James' Way - Self-guided 4-7 day Walking Packages, Reading to Southampton, 110 kms
I used a kitchen scale. Bought 4 pr of shoes, ended up with 2 going. Bought and am not taking quite a few things. It was truly trial and error. What fits, what weighs less, what do I HAVE TO HAVE vs. what do I want.

The pack is an Osprey 34L woman's pack.
 
Don't know when you are walking the CF, but I just finished walking it again from July-August. There were a couple things that I brought and never used and in retrospect would have left them home and saved the weight.
I brought a breathable Columbia rain jacket. Packable and lightweight, but since it never rained on me during this latest walk on the CF, it was useless. In fact I would say to anyone walking the CF during that time period to put wet weather gear on the low end of the priority list. I should have just bought a two-dollar rain poncho and brought that and ditched it as soon as the long term weather forecast said no rain.
Also it was very warm, and the fleece pullover I brought was useless. Sat in the pack the whole time as it never got cold, and was actually quite warm at times (40's-C). The long sleeved tech shirt was all I needed.
What did work quite well was the silk type sleeping bag liner I brought. All that was needed. No way would I have ever used an actual sleeping bag. I would have ditched it early on. The albergues were just too warm. A couple of times I slept on couches in the common area as the sleeping quarters were just too uncomfortable and stuffy.
 
The plan is to walk next year in Sept and Oct. We live in the desert with summer temps of 112F+ and a normal winter day of 70F. We wear a jacket or sweater at 70F.
 
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Thank you!!!!
As I weight 108 and am 5 ft tall (62 yrs old with a bad back) the less I carry the better. I will need all the training I can manage. As you can see, I'm pretty determined to carry my own pack.
My wife is just about your weight and maybe a couple of inches taller. She was 68 when we walked the CF, and had recently been diagnosed with partial blockage of one of her coronary arteries; the blockage was in a location that could not be corrected with a stent. Her cardiologist gave her the go-ahead anyway (and continues to be amazed at her physical condition three years later). We trained for about a year, slowly building up the distance per week and trying various types of footwear and models of backpacks (REI is the greatest thing since sliced bread). By two or three weeks before departure we were walking about 50 miles per week with full backpacks. Her final pack weight was somewhere between 14 and 15 pounds, including water and snacks -- mine was a couple of pounds heavier. She did fine -- no coronary issues at all, and just a little knee pain in the latter stages. We only had our packs transported one day, and that was because my plantar fasciitis was at its worst, not because of her. Train well, and I expect you'll be fine. The first week or so on the Camino is the worst as your body gets used to the daily grind and adapts to carrying your backpack all day as you walk.
 
The plan is to walk next year in Sept and Oct. We live in the desert with summer temps of 112F+ and a normal winter day of 70F. We wear a jacket or sweater at 70F.
Spent my fair share of time in the deserts of CA and AZ when I was in the military, but never busted out the cold weather gear at 70F, ha ha.
Still, Sept and Oct in northern Spain a lightweight jacket will come in handy.
 
My wife is just about your weight and maybe a couple of inches taller. She was 68 when we walked the CF, and had recently been diagnosed with partial blockage of one of her coronary arteries; the blockage was in a location that could not be corrected with a stent. Her cardiologist gave her the go-ahead anyway (and continues to be amazed at her physical condition three years later). We trained for about a year, slowly building up the distance per week and trying various types of footwear and models of backpacks (REI is the greatest thing since sliced bread). By two or three weeks before departure we were walking about 50 miles per week with full backpacks. Her final pack weight was somewhere between 14 and 15 pounds, including water and snacks -- mine was a couple of pounds heavier. She did fine -- no coronary issues at all, and just a little knee pain in the latter stages. We only had our packs transported one day, and that was because my plantar fasciitis was at its worst, not because of her. Train well, and I expect you'll be fine. The first week or so on the Camino is the worst as your body gets used to the daily grind and adapts to carrying your backpack all day as you walk.

Thank you for your encouragement. I will work hard and train to get there.
 
The one from Galicia (the round) and the one from Castilla & Leon. Individually numbered and made by the same people that make the ones you see on your walk.
The first edition came out in 2003 and has become the go-to-guide for many pilgrims over the years. It is shipping with a Pilgrim Passport (Credential) from the cathedral in Santiago de Compostela.
Twelve pounds without water is very admirable. Congratulations.

Eleven pounds!! Even more so!!
Good for you. My ditty bag is 2lbs even - just weighed it, most necessary - glasses, lenses. But is has soap,shampoo which will all be used and wt will diminish.
But does anyone know about the Bus Station in Bilbao and luggage storage. Last year friend in Madrid kept my suitcase. This year starting around Bilbao and want to leave luggage there. Any ideas or beta is great.
Starting Norte on September 15.
 
Instead of keeping it in a storage you have to get back to - what about sending it forward to @ivar in Santiago? Buen Camino, SY
 
Down bag (90/10 duvet) of 700 fills with 180 g (6.34 ounces) of filling. Mummy-shaped structure, ideal when you are looking for lightness with great heating performance.

€149,-

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