NCT04249986

Backpack Weight Impacts

Backpack Weight Impacts on Perceived Exertion and Heart Rate Variability

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 20 (actual)
• Sponsor: University of California, San Francisco · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years – 65 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

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.

Conditions

• Exertion; Excess

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
BEHAVIORAL	The Borg Rating of Perceived Exertion	Participants who satisfy the exclusion criteria and health assessment instrument are categorized in the lowest risk group for cardiac events and does not require medical screening for mild to moderate exercise per ACSM guidelines.

Timeline

• Start date: 2020-02-21
• Primary completion: 2024-07-01
• Completion: 2024-07-01
• First posted: 2020-01-31
• Last updated: 2024-08-05

Locations

1 site across 1 country: United States