[at-l] In need of Backpack advice....

[icw@xxxxxxxxxxx (Clark Wright)]

I replied to Bradley privately, but I think there is one item to add to
Jim's most excellent list of four criteria that is often overlooked.
Namely, ask yourself whether you are buying a pack [and thereby applying
the four criteria] for the sole purpose of a thru-hike, versus for
multi-purpose use over a 10+ year time period?  5,500 cubic inches is
way too much for a specialized, long distance thru-hike only pack
purchase; however, if you think you can only afford to buy one pack over
the next several years, and you think [or know] that you also will be
doing some heavy duty, shorter distance winter hikes, or some
mountaineering treks [like climbing Mt. Rainier, which I did this past
summer], then the pack Bradley mentioned might be a right good choice,
which he could then "lighten" a bit for the AT by removing the top,
forcing himself to not fill it up, etc.  Anyhow, I just wanted to
emphasize that an important "fifth" criteria is what your overall
use/needs are longer term, and whether you will be buying more than one
pack to fill those needs . . .

thru-thinker

Jim and/or Ginny Owen wrote:

>
> Bradley (Pip) wrote:
>
>>    i have been following th e-mails, and picking up much needed info.  I
>> am starting my thru-hike in march and i have all of my gear except for my
>> pack!  It's terrible but i cannot decide.  I was set on the Gregory
>> Whitney, but i thought that it may be too heavy, so i chaned my mind
>> to the
>> Osprey Aether 90 back, because it is substantially lighter, however i am
>> not sure if it will be rugged enough to hold up for the entire trail.
>> Do I
>> really need 5500 cubic cm's to fit all my gear and food?  If anyone
>> has any
>> suggestions about packs they think will suit me well for a thru-hike,
>> please drop a note, also it would help if i could go try these packs
>> on at
>> either a Galyans, or another big outdoor equipment store.  Thanks for
>> your
>> time.
>
>
>
> Pip -
> Nobody here can tell you which pack you should use.  Only you can decide
> that because only you can know how comfortable (or uncomfortable) any
> particular pack is for you. Ginny tried on a Dana Bridger prior to our PCT
> thruhike because it was the right size - and because a good friend loved
> it.
>  We even had to special order the thing.  And when she got it, she hated
> it.  It hit her the wrong way in all the wrong places.  You'll have to
> figure out for yourself what the lesson is in that story.  There is one.
>
> But we can tell you what packs we've used.  First though, straight from the
> gear discussion in the Thruhiking Papers at
> http://trailwise.circumtech.com/thruhikingpapers/part2 -
>
>> No matter what kind of pack you buy, there are only 4 considerations -
>>
>> will it hold your gear? will it last 2000 miles? how much does the pack
>> weigh? is it comfortable?
>
>
> Those are the pack selection criteria that I wrote 7 years ago.  They're
> still valid.  Check out the website for the complete discussion.
>
> Personally - I used a Camp Trails external frame pack for the AT.  Then I
> used a 4000 ci, 5# Gregory Reality for both the CDT and the PCT.  Now I'm
> using a 4000 ci, 40 oz ULA P2. There are those who thruhike with a 20 oz
> (?)
> GV4.  Any of those (or any of a dozen other lightweight packs) would work
> very nicely for the AT.  I seriously doubt that you need a 5500 ci pack
> - or
> something that weighs in at 7 or 8 #.  Nearly any brand-name or
> custom-built
> pack will survive a thruhike if it's given reasonable care (don't throw it
> off cliffs - at least not fully loaded).
>
> Lighter is faster, better and easier - but not necessarily cheaper.  <g>
>
> Walk softly,
> Jim
>
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