I know this has been discussed in the past ad nausium, but what is the latest? What is considered a typical UL base weight? And what do most consider as "light" as opposed to Ultra Light?
By the way: My base weight on longer trips has been 13 pounds and 1.5 pounds of food per day and one ounce of fuel/day. (Excludes climbing gear if any)
I'm planning on taking a better sleeping pad and a slightly heavier sleeping bag in the future so I'll be adding one pound or so to that. (switched from Ridgerest CC foam to Thermorest Scout (small).

Base weight (everything but fuel, food, water) varies a lot depending on personal preferences/physical issues and the time of year.

Here's an article originally posted on this forum (except I can't find it here) by one of our former members:
Not So Random Thoughts about Pack Weight. It may not answer all your questions, but it's a fun read!

My own (with fishing gear and camera) is about 12 1/2 lbs. When I add something (like a heavier pad), I try to cut elsewhere. However, I've come to the point that I've pretty well given up on that idea and just take shorter trips.

From what I've read I'd have to say that UL is generally considered 10lbs or less and for lightweight 15lbs is probably close enough not to argue it, though a few more isn't out of range in my view.

I'd say the pad and bag are worth the weight. I never liked CCF pads or being cold so it doesn't matter how light they are if I'm uncomfortable. Hard to go wrong with a Thermorest. I love the one I have. It's better than my bed.

For whatever it's worth, I do not consider myself to be really UL, but in order to keep backpacking, I have had to reduce weight as much as possible.

My regular base weight is 8 1/2 lbs. Sometimes I add a couple of things I feel I'll need (most common additions, a small sheet of yellow ccf pad, crocks, pee bottle).

I could cut that weight by at least half a pound by going to Cuban fibre, but that's more money than I want to spend, and I can carry this.

Food for me is about a pound a day, and I carry around 20 oz. of water. Since my pack will carry comfortably about 20-25 lbs, that means that I can go up to about ten days or so without resupply (where water is available). Works for me.

best, jcp

I may be wrong, but it is my understanding that "base weight" does NOT include what you are wearing and trekking poles. Or does it? I would rather see a discussion of what is "light" as a total of everything, including food and water for some set time period, say 10 days. Some may even argue that if you are overweight, you have to add the weight of your paunch! After all, everything has to be transported one foot in front of the other.

I rant, because obviously, I am neither UL or even "light". Yet I feel I am quite minimalistic. I am eager to lighten my pack weight and welcome new ideas. Yet, like most people, I live within a budget and do not replace old gear until it wears out - as I slowly creep towards less weight as time goes on. I am afraid I will chronically be "behind the curve". Last years greatest gear is now on sale at 40% off when this years "latest and greatest" comes out. Guess which I will buy when I must purchase new gear?

The best "deal" in weight reduction is to decide that you do not really need that item, and at no extra cost, just leave it home.

I'm not sure that just telling you a number and saying it is 'the latest typical UL base weight' would tell you anything worth knowing. (Of course, if that's all you want, I could always pull a number out of a hat! )

It sounds to me like what you really want to know about are the latest UL refinements that might assist you in lowering your current base weight, so you can consider if they would apply to your situation or are worth the money or effort involved. A good way to find out might be to post a list of what's currently in your 13 pound base, then some of us could suggest alternatives to specific items or systems you're already using.

The only reasonable thing about "base weight" is that it offers a basis for comparison with others' lists without regard to length of trip. This makes it a good exercise if you're comparing various lists to see if there's something you can pare down. After spending about 7 years doing this sort of thing, I have pretty much given up. Yes, there are things I could change, but either I don't want to for reasons of comfort (increasingly important in old age) or of budget.

W_D, what you're looking at is "skin out weight" which is everything you have to carry on your feet. Since it's the total weight that your body has to support, it makes a lot more sense. A lot of my lightening up, except for $$$ for a lighter shelter (I still haven't decided whether that was a good idea, so still have two shelters because I'm not yet ready to sell either one) and an abortive attempt at a lighter sleeping pad, involved changing from boots to trail runners (part "clothing worn," not base weight) and getting a much lighter pair of carbon fiber trekking poles (not part of base weight) Maybe for true comparison, leaving out only items that vary by length of trip, we should have a "base skin out weight"?

Once you've eliminated duplicate items and unnecessary items, and have gone over everything several times, it's time to stop obsessing about weight. At this point, about all I can do to lighten up without being uncomfortable is to take shorter trips so my food weight is less. Or, for trips with my grandson, load him up (as a teenager, he now gets to carry his own food!).

EDIT, LATER: I forgot to mention that I found a few interesting items after a thorough study of "UL" gear lists: One favorite way of cutting "base weight" seems to be to exclude items carried in clothing pockets. I also have never seen a camera included in any of those gear lists, even in articles where the trip is amply illustrated with photos! If I ignore camera, fishing gear, and the pocket items, I'm right at that magic "UL" number of 10 lbs.! Of course the only one I'd be cheating by such machinations is myself!

Yup, have heard it referred to as FSO--from skin out--for everything carried and base weight implicitly what's in the pack, not including perishables.

At this point I don't fixate as much on the total pack weight because 1. I seldom have everything inside before I get to the trailhead and 2. it's always "too dang much." [accompanied with grunting noises]

Cheers,

One important (often forgotten) item is that you need to list both "clothing carried" and "clothing worn" (the latter not part of base weight) together so that you are sure you have sufficient layers for possible adverse conditions yet eliminate duplicate/unneeded items. You can't do this without combining the two categories! Taking unnecessary items (such as extra clothing changes) is one of the best ways to achieve an unnecessarily heavy pack!

I edited my first post down a lot because I sort of ranted on, but what the hell, I have a few points I think are worth adding...

OM points out that those numbers are good for comparing a standard subset of gear we all pretty much have to carry. That's handy for discussion but we all know that number doesn't really relate at all to total pack weight or total weight carried.

And total pack weight, or total weight carried, really isn't relative unless you're comparing that measurement to someone hiking the same trip as you at the same time, and even then those numbers are really only relevant to discussing it.

The main thing is what you can learn from discussing it. That has the potential for making a real world difference, so those numbers can be useful. That's really the point of having them.

For me, and I suppose like most of us, my base weight is pretty much set. I can swap a few things around but they don't make much difference in base weight.

For me, the difference in my total pack weight between a low of 40º and a low of 10º or less is a lot. The coldest part of the morning is just before the sun rises and you can't waste those winter daylight hours lying in the tent so I have to bring clothes for those cold temps sometimes. December 18-26 are the shortest days of the year here with only 9h 39m of daylight.

On most days I'll peel down clothes twice while hiking because I'm starting to sweat. Then I start layering back up after stopping to set up camp. By the time it's dark I've only been awake for 10 hours and there's no way I can crawl into my bag and just lay there. It might not get below 40º until after 9:00pm, so I don't need much to stay warm, but at 5:00 am it can be anywhere from 30º to 0º and man it sucks to have to wait that out being cold in your bag, and then still be cold when you get out. I did that probably the first dozen trips I did here in the cool season and I got over toughing it out. I learned how to gear up for it.

So, even if my base weight is under 10 lbs, and it probably is, it's only good down to 30º and that's only if I'm inside my bag in my tent.

The difference in my pack weight between a low of 40º and anything higher wouldn't be near so much. In that case base weight may be a bit more relevant to the discussion of total pack weight, but, like Wondering_Daisy said, the duration of your trip is probably more so.

From there, it really goes to what kind of trip you want to take. Sometimes I want to carry a steak and a potato with me for the 1st night's dinner. Most times I want to carry a pint can of good beer for each night I'm out. There's nothing UL about that, but I don't care. I really don't have a bag that's good for below 30º, but I don't care, I can make do with more clothes.

All that said, I still have never taken a true UL trip, though I could now. I really couldn't when I first joined this forum. It would be fun to do a minimalist trip, even if it's just an overnighter. Can I still take my sleeping pad?

If anything would be a deal breaker, that'd be it