I have just weighed all my gear minus food and water. I weighed in at 21 pounds. For a weekend backpacker, how does this compare?

You have made a good start, but it's still more than I would want to carry.

Go to the home page of this site, look in the left column. There are lots of articles about lightening up. Especially look at the 27 lb., 7-day gear list. That one assumes a base weight (weight of pack without food, fuel, water) of 15 lbs. A lot of folk go below that, but the 14-15 lb. range is the base weight with which I'm quite comfortable in 3-season conditions in the mountains (including the Rockies as well as my "home ground" in the Cascades).

You might want to set up a spreadsheet similar to those lists, get a good postage or kitchen scale, and weigh each item of your gear. Comparing that to other gear lists, such as the one I mentioned, can be a big eye-opener. It was for me! If it weren't for that one article, I would not be able to backpack any more!

My spreadsheet also doubles as a checklist when packing for a backpack trip. At least at my age, that's vital to make sure I don't forget what I do need to take!

I am going to agree with Oregonmouse. We usually start with a base weight of fifteen pounds--and that includes a Bearvault. The big three weight concerns are the pack, the sleeping bag, and the tent. If you can keep each one to about 3 pounds, then you can easily make the fifteen pound goal--and that is a really good idea. If you want to spend a ton of money, you can add a ultralight pack, an ultralight sleeping bag, and a tarp--and the should you below ten pounds.

But don't let a heavy tent keep you from backpacking. If you are only going a few miles, and only for a weekend, the most important thing is to get out there and have fun. Once you do that, you'll have a better idea of what works--and a better reason to get better stuff!

THere's a section on our website on gear--and it includes a full list of what we take and what it weighs.

While one can go lighter....if you like the gear and it is paid for what you might consider is looking at everything you take. Very carefully. And see if there are things you don't actually need, but are 'luxury' items.

What I do is run a spread sheet of everything I might possibly take with its measured weight.

Then I know exactly what my pack will weigh!

Adding water could bump you up 6 lbs or more...and food? 2 to 6 lbs. So you can see hitting 30 lbs won't be much work.

I agree with Sarbar - if you like it, and it works, there's no reason to change. You will end up carrying 25-30 pounds, depending on how big an eater you are, the type of cooking you do, and how much water you have to carry at any one time.

You can go lighter; for three-season weekends in the east, I usually carry 19-21 pounds, including food and a quart of water; in colder weather (lows around freezing), that rises by about 3 pounds for clothing and some extra food. However, reducing your weight may require you to change how you do things: replacing a spacious 2-person tent with much tighter solo tent, using freeze-dried meals instead of some fresh ingredients, or not changing clothes all weekend. Only you can decide what kind of compromises you're willing to make for a lighter load.

tbox
with respect to my colleagues;
You can't compare. We don't know where you are going, what the conditions are, what the chances are of the mud hitting the fan, or your level of experience. Most of the people responding have a great deal of experience and are comfortable having expertise stand in for equipment.

If you are at 21 pounds that's good enough. Go use your gear and determine what you can leave out, and what you left out. After using that pack and gear a bunch of times you will have a better idea how much volume you need in your pack and then you might find a lighter smaller or larger pack as suits your needs. Don't let a number cloud your judgment, 21 pounds isn't a lot and would be considered lightweight few years a go. I generally carry 21 to 28 pounds all year round, 21 summer, 28 winter, in between for the in between. What ever you do, do not leave out warm clothes and insulation in the interest of weight unless its 80 degrees at night where you go. Repeat - never leave out what you think you will need in the interest of having a pack as light as someone elses. And do use a spread sheet.
Jim

I can't really add anything. Jim hit it all perfectly. Don't worry about if you are lighter. Take what you think you need and adjust when you can. You won't know what you can adjust until you use what you have.

It must be christmas I actually agree with jim

Bigb
Nah you're probaly just hitting the eggnog.
Jim