Weight Carrying Capacity
The rule of thumb about weight carrying capability is that a person in good shape can carry 20% of their body weight without discomfort or feeling overloaded. This proportion of weight can be carried "forever"; the carrier doesn't even really feel its presence. Let's call this our "Easy-carry-load". Since I weigh about 170 lb., my Easy-carry-load is 34 lb. Helen's Easy-carry-load is 22 lb. At loads of 60 and 40 lb. respectively, we are both overloaded. When we were young, we could tough it out. So we got sore in places, and were tired at the end of the day. So what? So as we got older, the soreness increased, and eventually we decided that it was no longer fun to carry so much.
If you move down in load to your Easy-carry-load, (20% of your body weight, as long as you are not overweight yourself!), you no longer need a backpack capable of carrying 60+ pounds. We gave up our big packs, and moved to smaller internal frame bags, that can double as a suitcase. Our bags still have the usual shoulder straps, and a padded waistband. However, a zippered flap can cover all this up, so on the airplane or in the hotel it looks just like a piece of soft luggage. On ours, a smaller daypack also zips onto the main bag, so you have a still smaller bag to use for day trips.
Topics covered next in the book:
Reducing your load; What we carry; Basics; Clothing; Personal care items; Toilet kit; Hobby items; First aid kit; Add for extrensive treks; Principles of traveling light.