New Research Just Found the Exact Weight Where Your Trekking Pack Starts Hurting Your Feet

Gear & Tech A plantar-pressure study found the damage begins at 10 percent of body weight, half the usual multi-day backpacking limit, here's what that means for… By Laxman Rawal · Sep 27, 2026 Read the full story

Key facts Static forefoot pressure rose 5.41% at a 10% body-weight load, and 8.73% at 20%, compared with carrying no pack Researchers measured this with a pressure-plate system (Podoprint&reg;) on hikers who had already walked at least 20km in the previous 24… Travel Himalaya Nepal · News Read the full story

What the Study Actually Found

Researchers at Miguel Hern&aacute;ndez University in Spain put long-distance hikers on a pressure-sensing platform under four conditions: barefoot with no pack, wearing their own habitual pack, and wearing a pack deliberately loaded to 10% and then 20% of… Travel Himalaya Nepal · News Read the full story

Why Ten Percent Is the Number That Matters

Ten percent matters because it sits well inside what the outdoor industry already calls normal. REI's own packing guidance recommends keeping a daypack near 10% of body weight and allows a full multi-day backpacking load up to about 20% — meaning a lot of… Travel Himalaya Nepal · News Read the full story

What This Means for a Nepal Trek Daypack

On a teahouse trek, your porter or a shared yak carries the duffel; what you carry yourself is a daypack, and this is exactly the load the study is talking about. We routinely see trekkers on Everest Base Camp and Annapurna carrying far more than they need in… Travel Himalaya Nepal · News Read the full story

What This Means for Your Trek

What this means for you Weigh your daypack the morning you start, not the night before you fly out. If it's over roughly 10% of your body weight, take something out — the extra jacket, the second lens, the paperback — before you take out a painkiller. Your… Travel Himalaya Nepal · News Read the full story

How heavy should my daypack be on Everest Base Camp?

Aim for roughly 10% of your body weight including water — for most trekkers that's 5—7kg. Your duffel, carried by a porter or yak, holds everything else. Travel Himalaya Nepal · News Read the full story

Does a better hip belt or backpack fix this?

The study measured pressure through the foot, not the pack itself, so gear upgrades help comfort but don't remove the load. The only thing that reliably lowers foot pressure is carrying less weight. Travel Himalaya Nepal · News Read the full story

Is 20% of body weight actually unsafe for multi-day trekking?

The study doesn't call it unsafe, only that measurable changes in foot pressure start well before that point, at around 10%. Treat 20% as a hard ceiling, not a target. If you're packing for Everest Base Camp, Annapurna or any multi-day trek with us, our… Travel Himalaya Nepal · News Read the full story

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