Backpack Weight Impacts

Completed · Not applicable

Conditions studied: Exertion; Excess

In brief

Backpacking is an increasingly popular outdoor recreational activity. The base pack weight (BPW) includes gear that is not consumed or worn on the body: shelter, sleep system, weather-proofing layers and personal gear to ensure a degree of comfort and safety. As such, reducing BPW is one of the most important tasks a backpacker manages when preparing for a trip. Available recommendations for ideal BPW are currently inconsistent, lack clear parameters, and rely on anecdotal evidence. The study aims to collect field data on perceived exertion and heart rate (HR) in relation to BPW during a day-long interval of hiking. Such findings can have implications on the cost and safety profiles extending from recreational backpacking to military and wilderness rescue operations.

Key facts

Study ID

NCT04249986

Run by

University of California, San Francisco

People needed

20

Starts

2020-02-21

Expected to finish

2024-07-01

Last updated by the study team

2024-08-05

Who can join

Age: 18 and older, up to 65. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: accepted.

You may qualify if…

• Only adult (age 18-65)
• Have gone on at least two overnight backpacking trips in the past 5 years
• Have hiked at least 8 miles in a day on one of those trips

You may not qualify if…

• Lower extremity injuries or surgeries in the past 6-months
• Daily Smokers
• Chronic medical problems:
• Hypertension
• High cholesterol
• Diabetes
• Heart attack
• Heart surgery, cardiac catheterization, or coronary angioplasty
• Pacemaker/implantable cardiac defibrillator/rhythm disturbance
• Heart valve disease
• Heart failure
• Heart transplantation
• Congenital heart disease
• Kidney disease
• Back pain

Where it is running

• UCSF Fresno — Fresno, California, United States

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

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