Pawns should carry by weight, not count.

[CucumberedPickle]

A normal healthy human can carry 75 things (usually) when not in a caravan. 75 of ANYTHING. 75 stone blocks, 75 logs, 75 hunks of steel, 75 meat, 75 potatoes, 75 pieces leather and so on. Why is it that when in the colony, colonist carry a number of things regardless of how much they weigh, when in a caravan they can only carry so much kg? Shouldn't colonists be able to carry more leather than steel for instance? Maybe for large objects, like thrumbo corpses and mega screen TVs, maybe more than one colonist will have to carry it. I mean, who can just casually lift a big bulky CRT TV? Or an elephant body. Or a giant boulder. Basically, colonists should carry less heavy stuff and might need assistance.

[Planetfall]

I think you'd like the Mod Pick up and Haul https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1279012058

It's great

[AileTheAlien]

Too bad this mod isn't in the base game. ^^;

[b0rsuk]

First, I agree that consistency would be nice. However there are a few caveats.

1. With 75, it's very easy to see how many colonist trips the items will take. If it was weights, you'd have to instead display total weights all over the place. Not impossible, but something that would need to be done diligently. In practice you would need to display two numbers over each pile - count and total weight.

2. Missing fingers reduce the Manipulation stat, which in turn reduces carrying capacity. I don't think it represents a reduction in strength. Rather, it's about volume. Pawn has less body to grasp items with.

3. If pawns should carry by weight, pigs suddenly become super haulers even though they have no hands or even especially strong jaw strength. No two ways about it. Pigs are pretty strong. The same point more generally about animals. Mufallos are STRONG, so they should be good haulers, right? I mean on their own. Elephants at least have trunks.

[Jorlem]

3. If pawns should carry by weight, pigs suddenly become super haulers even though they have no hands or even especially strong jaw strength. No two ways about it. Pigs are pretty strong. The same point more generally about animals. Mufallos are STRONG, so they should be good haulers, right? I mean on their own. Elephants at least have trunks.

I wouldn't mind needing to make carts and wheelbarrows (or dog pulled sleds for certain biomes or times of year). It would also be another good reason to pave pathways in and around the base. 

Or have stretchers to carry wounded people on, instead of just picking them up, or making them walk by themselves if they aren't downed.  Heck, maybe a stretcher could be carried by either one or two people, and if the latter, it could pause bleeding or allow for treatment while still being moved.

[Planetfall]

First, I agree that consistency would be nice. However there are a few caveats.

1. With 75, it's very easy to see how many colonist trips the items will take. If it was weights, you'd have to instead display total weights all over the place. Not impossible, but something that would need to be done diligently. In practice you would need to display two numbers over each pile - count and total weight.

2. Missing fingers reduce the Manipulation stat, which in turn reduces carrying capacity. I don't think it represents a reduction in strength. Rather, it's about volume. Pawn has less body to grasp items with.

3. If pawns should carry by weight, pigs suddenly become super haulers even though they have no hands or even especially strong jaw strength. No two ways about it. Pigs are pretty strong. The same point more generally about animals. Mufallos are STRONG, so they should be good haulers, right? I mean on their own. Elephants at least have trunks.

Good point. I think Combat Extended's inventory system does a good job fixing the super pig issue. It uses two stats, weight and bulk. Though I don't know a lot about combat extended as I don't play with it much.
Anyone use CE's inventory system a lot, Could it's bulk system be integrated into Pick up and haul? Are the two mods even compatible? 

[AileTheAlien]

3. If pawns should carry by weight, pigs

Do animals count as pawns? I thought that was only used to refer to human colonists. Either way, animals are already unrealistic, because how does a dog pick up a stack of corn cobs?

[Planetfall]

They swallow them and then regurgitate them at the proper stockpile.