There are three weight numbers in backpacking and confusing them is one of the most common mistakes new hikers make when shopping for gear. A 12 pound pack and a 12 pound pack can mean wildly different things depending on whether the number is base weight, total weight, or just the pack itself. A gear list that brags about a 6 pound number is unreadable until you know which category it falls into. This guide explains exactly what each weight calculation includes, what it leaves out, and how to use each one for trip planning.
Base weight: the gear commitment
Base weight is the total weight of everything in your pack and worn on your pack that is not a consumable. The standard definition includes:
- The pack itself (frame, hipbelt, lid, all straps)
- Shelter (tent, footprint if used, stakes, guylines)
- Sleep system (sleeping bag or quilt, pad, pillow if separate)
- Cook kit (stove, pot, utensil, lighter)
- Water treatment (filter or chemical drops, but not water itself)
- Clothing carried in pack (insulating jacket, rain layer, sleep clothes, spare socks)
- Electronics (phone, headlamp, batteries, charger, satellite communicator)
- First aid and repair kit
- Navigation (map, compass, GPS)
- Sanitation kit (trowel, toilet paper, wag bags)
- Miscellaneous (knife, ditty bag, paracord, etc.)
What is excluded from base weight:
- Food
- Water in any container
- Fuel (it gets burned, it is a consumable)
- Worn clothing (the outfit on your body at the trailhead)
- Worn gear (shoes, watch, sun hat, trekking poles in hand)
The reason base weight gets used as the headline number is that it is the part of pack weight you control before leaving home. Once you commit to a 12 pound base weight kit, that is what is going up the hill regardless of how good your training is. Food and water vary by trip. Base weight is fixed gear.
Standard base weight tiers:
- Super ultralight: under 5 pounds
- Ultralight: 5 to 10 pounds
- Lightweight: 10 to 15 pounds
- Standard: 15 to 25 pounds
- Traditional: 25 to 35 pounds
Most newer backpackers land in the 20 to 25 pound range. Most experienced backpackers settle at 12 to 18 pounds after a few seasons of refinement.
Total weight: what you actually carry on day one
Total weight (sometimes called pack weight or starting weight) is base weight plus consumables on the morning the trip starts. The formula:
Total weight = base weight + food + water + fuel
For a 4 day trip with a 14 pound base weight:
- Base: 14 pounds
- Food: 7 pounds (4 days at 1.75 lb/day)
- Water at the trailhead: 4.4 pounds (2 liters)
- Fuel: 0.25 pounds (one 110g canister)
- Total: 25.65 pounds
Total weight is the number your hip belt and shoulder straps actually carry. It is also the number that drops fastest. After day one you have eaten 1.75 pounds of food. After day three you are 5.25 pounds lighter than the trailhead. Pack design that suits a 26 pound starting weight may feel sloppy at 18 pounds three days in.
This is one reason ultralight packs use minimal frames. A heavy load weight (over 30 pounds) needs a stiff frame to transfer load to the hips. A light load (under 25 pounds) carries fine on a flexible foam back panel. Ultralight design assumes the carried weight will be light, which depends on base weight discipline.
Skin out weight: the philosophy number
Skin out weight is total weight plus everything worn or carried on your body when you step on trail. It includes:
- The outfit (shirt, shorts or pants, underwear, socks, hat)
- Shoes (12 to 24 ounces per pair)
- Watch, GPS watch, smartwatch (1 to 3 ounces)
- Trekking poles (8 to 18 ounces for a pair)
- Sunglasses (1 to 3 ounces)
- Whatever is in your pocket (knife, phone, snacks, lip balm)
Skin out weight is not used much for trip planning because the worn outfit is the same regardless of trip length. It is mostly used in gear philosophy discussions to compare two hikers whose base weights look similar but whose total commitment is different.
A trail runner in a 4 ounce ultralight outfit with 8 ounce shoes carries a different total kit than a hiker in 2 pound hiking pants and 32 ounce leather boots, even if both report a 10 pound base weight.
How LighterPack and similar tools calculate these
LighterPack, GearGrams, and PackWizard separate gear into worn, consumable, and base categories. The interface usually shows:
- Total worn weight (outfit, shoes, poles)
- Total consumable weight (food, water, fuel)
- Total base weight (everything else)
- Total pack weight (base plus consumables)
- Skin out weight (everything combined)
The discipline of using these tools is choosing the right category for each item. A trekking pole stowed in pack pockets all day technically should not count as worn, but conventionally does because it lives outside the main compartment. A bear canister is base weight (it stays full of food, but the canister itself is not consumed). Maps and toilet paper are weird edge cases that arguably belong in consumables (you carry less toilet paper out than in, you might leave map pages behind) but conventionally count as base weight.
What changes between summer and winter weights
Both base and total weights shift substantially by season:
Summer 3 night trip example (mountain, moderate weather):
- Base: 14 pounds (lightweight kit)
- Food: 5.25 pounds (3 days)
- Water: 4.4 pounds
- Fuel: 0.2 pounds
- Total: 23.85 pounds
Same trip in winter:
- Base: 22 pounds (4 season tent adds 1 lb, winter bag adds 1.5 lb, insulated jacket and pants add 2 lb, shovel/probe add 2 lb, traction devices add 1.5 lb)
- Food: 6 pounds (more calories needed in cold)
- Water: 4.4 pounds plus need for melting snow (more fuel)
- Fuel: 1 pound (snow melting consumes 4 to 5x summer fuel)
- Total: 33.4 pounds
Winter weight is roughly 10 pounds heavier in base alone and another 1 pound heavier in fuel. A trip that felt manageable in July can feel brutal in January with the same itinerary.
How weight changes pack choice
Pack manufacturers publish a maximum recommended carrying weight. Common ranges:
- Frameless ultralight packs: 20 to 25 pounds maximum comfortably
- Minimal frame ultralight packs: 25 to 35 pounds maximum
- Standard internal frame packs: 35 to 50 pounds maximum
- Expedition packs: 50 to 80 pounds maximum
If your total weight regularly exceeds 30 pounds (heavy traditional kit plus 4 day food load), a frameless pack will hurt your shoulders by mile 8. Match pack frame stiffness to expected total weight on your heaviest day.
The math is straightforward. Base weight under 12 pounds plus 5 day food load (8 pounds) plus 3 liters water (6.6 pounds) plus fuel is 26.6 pounds. A 25 pound rated frameless pack is at its absolute limit on day one of that trip. A 35 pound rated minimal frame pack handles it comfortably.
Using both numbers honestly
When you compare gear lists with other backpackers, ask what tier they are quoting. If someone says “my pack is 12 pounds,” ask:
- Is that base weight or total weight?
- What is the trip length and food load?
- Does it include the pack itself?
- Does it include worn items?
The right comparison is base weight to base weight, in the same season, with the same shelter and sleep type. A 9 pound base weight in a tarp setup is genuinely lighter than a 11 pound base weight in a single wall tent. A 9 pound base weight that excludes the pack is identical to a 12 pound base weight that includes it. The numbers only mean something when they are calculated the same way.
For more outdoor planning see our ultralight backpacking essentials guide and our backpack sizing by trip length guide. Methodology at /methodology.
Frequently asked questions
Is base weight or total weight more important?+
Base weight tells you how good your gear choices are. Total weight tells you how heavy your pack feels right now. Both matter for different reasons. Base weight is the planning number, the one you control before the trip. Total weight is the experienced number, the one your knees feel on the descent. Optimize base weight to make total weight bearable on long carries between resupply points.
Do I count my trekking poles in base weight?+
Standard practice is no, because trekking poles are worn or carried in hand, not packed. The same applies to your shoes, hiking outfit, sun hat, and watch. The cutoff is whether the item is inside the pack or attached to your body. A trekking pole stowed in pack side pockets is technically packed but conventionally counted as worn. Most gear list tools (LighterPack, GearGrams) put trekking poles in a separate worn category that does not add to base weight.
How much does food and water weigh per day?+
Food: 1.5 to 2 pounds per day for standard backpacking calories (3,000 to 4,000 per day). Higher mileage thru-hikers may carry 2 to 2.5 pounds per day. Water: 2.2 pounds per liter. A typical carry of 2 liters between water sources adds 4.4 pounds. Fuel: roughly 1 ounce per day for hot meals plus morning coffee. A 4 day trip adds 6 to 8 pounds food, 4 to 8 pounds water (varies by source spacing), and 4 ounces fuel.
Why do ultralight gear lists show base weight without the pack itself?+
Most do include the pack. The category is sometimes called 'big three' (pack, shelter, sleep system) plus other gear. A few minimalist lists exclude the pack to make their number look more impressive, which is dishonest. If a gear list shows a 4 pound base weight but excludes the pack, that is misleading. Real base weight always includes pack, shelter, sleep system, cook kit, clothing carried, electronics, first aid, and miscellaneous.
What is skin out weight?+
Skin out weight is total weight plus everything worn or carried on the body. Shoes, hiking clothes, watch, trekking poles, hat, the works. It is the absolute number for what your body is moving up the trail. Most planning uses base weight (gear in pack) and total weight (gear plus consumables). Skin out weight is mostly used for comparing complete kit philosophies across hikers, not for trip planning.
