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Re: Greetings, List.
I'd like throw in my $.02 on the internal/external thingy.
I started my thru hike with an REI Wonderland External frame backpack. I
customized it by adding two waterbottle cages to the frame just above each
shoulder with radiator hose clamps. It worked really well, but I had to
answer, "hey that's a great idea, how'd you do that?" a million times between
GA and VT. In fact, my hiking friends knew how irritated I was about the
question and would tell folks they met ahead of me to ask about it!
In VT my Wonderland was in bad shape. The fabric around the pins was starting
to tear away and the frame was bent (from me sitting on it during rest
breaks, and numerous falls). So I made the switch and bought a Dana Alpine
internal frame pack. I really wished I had had the Dana for the entire trip
as it offered me better balance (which was great for fordings and tight wire
acts going over bog bridges), a more comfortable fit and it's narrower body
didn't catch bushed and trees like the Wonderland. The difference was quite
remarkable and for me it worked out really well. The only thing I wonder
about the internal would have been its use during the heat of the summer.
With the pack sitting directly on my back I'm sure I would have sweated even
more.
Stephen
aka Troubadour
GA->ME
'94
____________
If you want to be merciless, be merciless against the temptation to blame.
Question the usefulness of blaming at every opportunity. Ask yourself, "If I
had committed a crime, would I respond better to condemnation or caring?"
--D. Patrick Miller
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