You're not quite telling the whole story. That PRC25 or PRC77 radio was another 15 pounds, plus the handset and antenna. Plus your water, and Crations or LRRPS for lunch. And supper. or breakfast.
a 250-round can of linked 7,62 mg ammo is 18 pounds, one reason they cut them back to 200 rounds in canvas bandoleers and cardboard boxes. So adding in 8 pounds of M16A1, you were humping at least 50, 60 pounds, water weighing in at around 7 pounds/gallon. Oh, and your helmet and flak jacket, mustn't forget those....
That’s why they call us “Grunts”!
IIRC...
PRC-25, incl spare battery, handset & whip antenna - 25 lb
Helmet - 3 lb
Flak Jacket - 10 lb?
Case of C-rats (12 meals - one week) - 25 lb
(4) canteens - 0ne gallon water - 8.35 lb + canteen weight
Packboard & canvas “bookbag” ??
K-Bar, shaving gear, spare socks, letter writing gear, needle nose pliers, assorted junk...
Plus my M-16 & ammo. Most ops I carried 75-90#. Up in the mountains we’d only carry one meal per day for a week long patrol, so we dropped to about 65 lbs.
Years later, after commissioning, I was a Forward Air Controller for a year. One training exercise in Korea with cold weather gear and the air comm gear, spare batteries, etc. the little guy on my team carried 105#, the other two carried 110# and I had 115# - in the mountains.
(but I was bit younger then...)
:-)
Of course, the guys fighting in the “sandbox” are probably carrying more.