Weight of arms and armor

[Matthew Amt]

Matt, which stuff?

Segmentata at about 18lbs
Scutum at about 16
Pilum weigh in at 2 - 2.25, each

Frankly, I think the segmentata and scutum both weighed LESS than 15 pounds each. But even at your weights, that's only about 38 pounds. Add 3 or 4 for the helmet (based on those originals that I've seen weights for), and call it 2 pounds each for gladius w/ scabbard and belt w/ pugio, and it's still 46 pounds, not the 55 that you said.

Lunch/snack bag on the belt.. 6-8 ounces

Just curious if there are any descriptions or depictions of Romans carrying anything on their military belt besides sword or dagger?

Net bag on the sarcina with apples, loaf of bread, chunk of cheese and a string of sausages.. about 5 pounds

Fine, that's just part of your food. The sources say they're supposed to carry about 3 days worth of rations, in general, and calculations by folks like Davies (and comparisons to rations of later eras) says around 2 to 3 pounds of food per day, at most. Doesn't matter if it's all hardtack or a nice mix of sausage, bread, fruit, beans, oil, salt, seasonings, parsley, and dried ice cream, or just 9 pounds of rock. You have a tendency to throw out details like "string of sausages" as if they are a documentable part of Roman military rations--been a while since I read up on this topic but I thought I remembered things like salt beef? Again, just curious. Naturally I have no objection to "equivalent" foods being eaten on marches and camping trips, particularly if the weight is about the same (IF one of the goals is to carry authentic weight). But if the initial question was just about the weight, I figure it's best to stick to the known facts and avoid embellishment.

Not ranting or meaning to nit-pick, here.

Matthew