I swore by a 30 pound pack for years, now I'm down to 14 and I can't tell if I went soft

Nora Barnes · 2026-10-19T09:05:05.054691+00:00

For about six years I carried a big 65 liter pack that sat around 30 pounds even on two night trips, because I figured heavy meant prepared and I liked having options. Last October on a trip near Shenandoah I ran into a guy at a shelter who had a 14 pound base weight and still had a coffee setup and a real pillow, and it kind of messed with my head. So this spring I cut my load way down, swapped the big stove for a little canister one, left the folding chair at home, and now my pack sits at 24 pounds for the same kind of weekend. Part of me loves it because my knees don't hurt on the climb out and I actually walk farther in a day. The other part of me misses having the extra layers and the camp chair when it rains for 12 hours straight and you're stuck in the tent. My wife says I'm just older and pickier, which might be true. So here's what I keep going back and forth on: is going light actually smarter camping, or are we all just talking ourselves into being less comfortable and calling it a skill? I want to hear from people who went light and later went back to heavy, or the other way around, and what made you switch.

🐿️Pinecone Attack

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I swore by a 30 pound pack for years, now I'm down to 14 and I can't tell if I went soft | Camping And Outdoors - Pinecone Attack