[at-l] is 4300 cu. in. big enough?

[thornel@attglobal.net (W F Thorneloe)]

Well, I don't know the specific bag you are looking at. There are a few 
ways to look at packs, size and weight. In general, I'd take all of your 
gear and 6 quarts of water down to your local outfitters. The 6 quarts will 
be about 12 pounds or a little over the usual 5 day supply of food. Stuff 
those quarts in your food bag. Start stuffing your gear into the bag and 
find out what fits.

The danger of too large a bag is that people tend to fill them up. The 
danger of too small a bag is that folks might cut corners on some safety 
gear/extra clothing - particularly with cold weather camping.

If your plan is for 5 days of food at 35 pounds or less, you are talking 
about 23-25 pounds for backpack, clothing, shelter and sleeping system. Not 
all that long ago, that would look ultra light. Let's see 8 pound back 
pack, 6 pound tent, 5 pound synthetic sleeping bag, 2 pound mattress pad, 1 
pound water pump, 1 pound of cooking gear. I think that is something like 
23 pounds without any rain gear or extra layers.

OrangeBug

At 04:33 PM 4/17/2002 -0400, Clair Von Handorf wrote:
>I want to keep my pack weight under 35 lbs, but could carry 40.
>I'm planning on carrying about 5 days worth of food at a time. (roughly)
>I'm looking to buy a pack for the AT next year and want time to test it 
>out but am I being unrealistic?