Well my first backpacks were in the late 60's....I carried a Kelty framed pack that was 4 lbs I think. A lightweight goose down bag I got at the army surplus store, but it was not army surplus but a ripstop nylon bag that was super light. I carried an ensolite pad, a tube tent, cooked in a coffee can ...probably die early from that...oh wait, I'm already 61 so maybe not!:) Anyway, my pack weight was only 25 lbs for 5 days including food and water. Later on when I got to leave the kids in the late 80s and go solo, my pack was 40lbs! On that trip I remember thinking about those early trips and how light my pack was...and decided that I was going to get my pack back down to that weight again. I hadn't heard of Ray Jardine...and didn't have money for expensive gear...but somehow little by little I have managed to get my pack weight down to those old high school pack weights again. I'm a happier hiker.:)