[at-l] RE: Backpack? Gregory Whitney?

[o123david at yahoo.com (O David)]

>... considering thru-hiking the trail northbound in March 04.
>I checked out the Gregory Whitney which I liked a lot. What concerns me,
>other than its exorbitant cost, is the fact that it is almost eight pounds
>and 6000 cubic inches.

David,
Needs vary, but there's a good chance that you can bring the total weight
INCLUDING pack but not including food, fuel, water, and extra warm clothes
that you need during the beginning of your hike down to less than 15 lb and
possibly less than 10 lb.
If you do this then you are much more likely to avoid injury and you will
have a much more enjoyable hike, regardless of how fast you choose to hike.

With a total load that almost never goes above the low 30's and is usually
less than 20 lb you will probably be comfortable with a pack that uses your
sleeping pad as the frame. You place the pad in the pack rolled up so that it
fits along the outside of the pack's interior. It is essential that your pack
fits you well. Almost everybody ends up choosing to use a hip belt.

A good pack of this sort weighs a little over a pound. The P-1 from
ULA-equipment is popular. The pack from KiskilOutdoors is probably excellent.
A lightweight pack from McHalePacks is excellent but very expensive. The pack
that I used for my last three thruhikes, the Serratus Genie from MEC.ca, is
very inexpensive, under a pound, has no padding (not good for women or
overweight men), is well-made, fits me perfectly, and at 2000 cubic inches is
probably too small for most hikers.

Good sources of information are Yahoo's BackpackingLight mail list, the
reviews at BackpackGearTest.org, and BackpackingLight.com. --David

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