Mountain Bothies Association trustee Juls Stodel helps one long-distance walker with her pack weight in TGO’s new advice column, supported by Highlander Outdoor. Every month, one reader who writes to Juls with an Uphill Struggle will win an £100 voucher to spend with Highlander.
Dear Juls,
I love long distance hiking but there is a compromise between ‘lightness’ and comfort that I’m not sure I’m getting right. On my last trail (A Dales High Way) I carried everything including lightweight tent, and with food and water my pack weighed between 17-20kg each day. This ended up being really painful towards the end of the week and I skipped the Howgills section because of back pain. I know I took too much food, but the rest of my kit is pretty lightweight. How can I reduce my pack weight without making it super uncomfortable? I am also plus sized, so that inevitably means my clothing is larger and weighs more than the equivalent for smaller bodied people.Rebecca Dawson, June 2025
Dear Rebecca,
In the battle of comfort versus weight, there are fiercely yapping disciples of both sides. The more I have hiked, the more trails I have done, the longer I stay out; the more I lean on the side of comfort. I eyeroll at those expecting glory for making a choice of austerity; any idiot can suffer.
That being said, there’s not much difference in intentional, idiotic suffering between the person who opts to cut their toothbrush handle off and bring a binbag to sleep in, and someone who carries all the food for an entire trail where the greatest gap between shops is only 20 miles.
Honestly, Rebecca, I do have to award points for sheer stubbornness. We pack our fears. A person who fears the cold may pack too many layers and another who fears getting lost might have every navigational gadget on offer. Someone who fears injury might have a first aid kid that could support a summit of Everest, but by far the most common fear is running out of food.
There is, admittedly, no such excuse for the friend of mine who carries dog toys ‘just in case he sees a dog’, another with his plethora of stuffed toy mascots and, frankly, for myself and my leatherbound journals. Sometimes we bring things just because they’re fun.
Following ultralight guidance, you could just get a bunch of carabiners and clip everything to yourself – any ‘ultralighter’ will tell you after all, that worn weight doesn’t count. Apparently objects magically lose mass as soon as they’re attached to your body rather than in your bag. Sadly, physics disagrees and something has to reign in the fears and the fun or in a few decades none of us comfort lovers will have any real knees or hips left.
The standard guidance is that full pack weight should not be more than 20% of bodyweight. If food has proved to be your main enemy, weigh your base weight to find what you are working with. If what’s left is not sufficient to carry your desired remainder, then you may have to re-evaluate the type (and tastiness) or food or reconsider your resupply plans.
If you don’t want to surrender the snacks, it’s time to look at the rest. Are you actually needing or using everything you pack? What can be removed or replaced? Washbag to electronics – Marie Kondo it ruthlessly. Deodorant IS a luxury.
Lastly, does your pack actually fit? Many of us are not wearing bags that are measured and adjusted to fit us properly and then suffer consequences. Others either refuse to carry hiking poles or don’t modify them as terrain changes. Your joints don’t care if you look cooler without – carry the damn poles.
For the sake of full disclosure though, I am sitting in my tent on a drizzly Scottish beach as I write this with a full cheeseboard in front of me. Take from that what you will.
Every month, one reader who writes to Juls with an Uphill Struggle will win an £100 voucher to spend with Highlander Outdoor.
