Show us your "90 pound" pack

[jp]

Bad discs on either side of L3; no 90 pound packs for me. I could curl it, but not wear it.

To haul 90 pounds of LF gear, I've used my van or an ice fishing sled.

[AuditorOne]

Don't think I could even get it off the ground. Seriously, I can't lift that without back, knees and hip troubles. Thinking of it, I'm not even sure I could put together such a photopack. Sensible that is, you can always add film until you get at that weight.

I don't think anyone is carrying that much weight with just photo gear alone. My heaviest camera is my Century 11x14 which weighs a couple of pounds less then 30 pounds with three loaded film holders. The Gitzo CF tripod and Majestic head are a tad over 10 pounds so the entire package without the minor items is pretty close to 40 pounds. I have only carried that camera on a long hike along the Ruby Crest Trail once. With sleeping bag, food, water and cooking gear I was carrying close to 60 pounds. My old Kelty pack frame was not overloaded but I felt as if I definitely was. That was not my most enjoyable trip across that 40 miles.

I didn't stop to weigh things but don't think I was packing that much when I carried my Elk out down in Ely a few years ago, but anyway I had friends to help with that. When I show them the camera they run the other way.

That was several years ago when I was much younger and lot more foolish. I would not try to carry all that weight again unless it were necessary. I think that now I can probably get better negatives from my little Intrepid MKIV 4x5 and a few sheets of Adox CMS 20 II. I would be packing a whole lot less weight so I sincerely doubt I would try carrying that Century back there again.

Maybe with a helicopter or Vaughn's mule.

[Maris Rusis]

My standard 8x10 pack (camera, lenses, holders, tripod, water, bad weather gear, etc, ....) came to 32Kg (70 pounds) but I devised a strategy to cope with it in Australia's highest mountains near Charlotte Pass.

First tactic was to start early and walk slowly or very slowly to the top of the day's mountain. A cadence of two breaths per step eased the agony. On the way up note subject matter and picture possibilities.
At the top rest generously. The remainder of the day is downhill one predetermined picture at a time. In the end I've shot all the film, drunk all the water, the pack is at its lightest, I'm dead tired at the base of the mountain but I'm also next to the car. Phew!

Doing this got me the pictures I wanted but it also bought me some lower back pain and a worn out knee; a tough but fair bargain I suppose but I can't undo it.

[Vaughn]

Sounds about right, Maris. With just the 8x10 on my back, I tend to wander. The weight gives me an opportunity to rest often and keep an eye on the light. I rarely scout or have a predetermined route or picture in mind, but might have a few general ideas to try out in the particular light I am in.

I have lost 60 pounds of excess fat over the last three years. After losing the weight, I was carrying the 11x14 as if nothing was on my back...pretty cool for awhile. I have kept the weight off, but seem to have lost that advantage a little.

[Joseph Kashi]

Given about 95% of the world’s population uses metric, what’s 90 pounds in kilograms?

Slightly less than 41 KG

[Drew Wiley]

I routinely trained with 95 pound packs, and typically backpacked with 85, clear up to my mid-60's. Then I dropped it to 75 lbs; then the forest fires hit plus covid, right around the time I turned 70, and I started slowing down. I'm trying to build up my carry weight capacity again, and maybe standardize around a 50 lb pack. But I'm currently 74. Meanwhile my younger backpacking apprentice has been carrying up to 115 lbs, and my nephew and his actual expedition companions sometimes carried over a hundred for months on end - but on those occasions they could hire Sherpas instead, they did. No exaggerations here. My knees are better today than in my 40's. Several reasons - real shock-absorbing trekking poles, going downhill slower than I go uphill, and far better custom boots for sake of my deformed feet.

My Sinar view camera gear and film holders were just part of the load, then all kinds of sufficient cold weather camping and climbing gear were needed, plus sufficient food etc - easy to need that kind of weight on a long trek in the mountains. Desert trips can be even heavier due to the need to carry significantly larger quantities of water from point to point. Some of the ways I gradually reduced load weight was the by using Readyload and Quickload film sleeves once those finally became reliable, then after their discontinuance, roll film backs instead. I changed from the Sinar to a little Ebony folder. My beloved Bibler expedition quality tent was exchanged for a light Big Agnes one, forcing me settle for less extreme campsites. Then I started conning my younger backpack pals into carrying some of my reserve food weight - but still I had to carry 75 lbs myself on longer treks. I got in outright blizzards and extreme rain squalls every single year for an entire decade - going 'ultralight" could have been fatal. Way too many close calls to gamble with lesser gear.

Now well into my 70's I have to think a lot more conservatively about my planned destinations and the weather itself. I'll just be out for a tune-up walk with the 8x10 today; haven't weighed the pack, maybe 45 lbs in it at the moment. And I'm cheating by bringing my Feisol CF tripod instead of the big Ries wooden one.

[John Layton]

...note to self - eat more spinach...

[AuditorOne]

I routinely trained with 95 pound packs, and typically backpacked with 85, clear up to my mid-60's. Then I dropped it to 75 lbs; then the forest fires hit plus covid, right around the time I turned 70, and I started slowing down. I'm trying to build up my carry weight capacity again, and maybe standardize around a 50 lb pack. But I'm currently 74. Meanwhile my younger backpacking apprentice has been carrying up to 115 lbs, and my nephew and his actual expedition companions sometimes carried over a hundred for months on end - but on those occasions they could hire Sherpas instead, they did. No exaggerations here. My knees are better today than in my 40's. Several reasons - real shock-absorbing trekking poles, going downhill slower than I go uphill, and far better custom boots for sake of my deformed feet.

My Sinar view camera gear and film holders were just part of the load, then all kinds of sufficient cold weather camping and climbing gear were needed, plus sufficient food etc - easy to need that kind of weight on a long trek in the mountains. Desert trips can be even heavier due to the need to carry significantly larger quantities of water from point to point. Some of the ways I gradually reduced load weight was the by using Readyload and Quickload film sleeves once those finally became reliable, then after their discontinuance, roll film backs instead. I changed from the Sinar to a little Ebony folder. My beloved Bibler expedition quality tent was exchanged for a light Big Agnes one, forcing me settle for less extreme campsites. Then I started conning my younger backpack pals into carrying some of my reserve food weight - but still I had to carry 75 lbs myself on longer treks. I got in outright blizzards and extreme rain squalls every single year for an entire decade - going 'ultralight" could have been fatal. Way too many close calls to gamble with lesser gear.

Now well into my 70's I have to think a lot more conservatively about my planned destinations and the weather itself. I'll just be out for a tune-up walk with the 8x10 today; haven't weighed the pack, maybe 45 lbs in it at the moment. And I'm cheating by bringing my Feisol CF tripod instead of the big Ries wooden one.

Good on you Drew. Keep moving. I love being off the beaten track but I sure can't pack that much anymore. Fortunately I don't have to. That is what grandkids are for.