Looking for a backpack that's right for me.

[rocketsocks]

Back packs are like shoes, pick the one that feels good when ya wear it. Keltys are bomb proof but heavy, Osprey's are well made and somewhat ergonomic (fer me) but can be expensive, buy one on sale or lightly used even, depending on model they seem to hold somewhat of a resale value around these boards.

[Venchka]

Welcome to the Illegitimate Backpacker Forum.
For your reading pleasure:
http://bucktrack.com/Appalachian_Trail_Gear.html

Wayne


Sent from somewhere around here.

[Venchka]

By the way, Buff Mountain Outfitters in Hot Springs, NC is a top notch, no nonsense lightweight backpacking shop.
Practice hikes: every hiker needs a day pack. Sturdy. Cheap. Walmart will do. Load it with the 10 Essentials. Food for the day. Drinking water. 2 2 liter coke bottles filled with tap water. Go hiking. Increase your distance beyond your stated 10 miles as your conditioning and time permit. Have fun.
GOOGLE knows what the 10 Essentials are.

Wayne


Sent from somewhere around here.

[glenlawson]

I have an REI Crestrail that I love. Some call it heavy, but it is lighter than my Lowe or Wilderness Experience was. It is solid and it fits and rides well.

[Old Hiker]

Straightforward: I have an Osprey Volt 75. I liked it so much I bought a second one for a back-up.

I used to consider myself a "kitchen sink camper". I packed my fears. Too much, way too much.

I made it 500 miles in 2012 with a JanSport Klamath 75. I have learned to control my fears somewhat and cut at least 25 pounds off my back. I lurked, asked a few questions and bought lighter, better gear.

You have stated "it doesn't weight much" or words to that effect a few times. Nothing INDIVIDUALLY weighed much in my JanSport. COLLECTIVELY, I was carrying at least 45 pounds, up to about 52 or so.

Please listen to the experienced hikers: get your gear together, cut, slash, remove unneeded weight and then see what pack you need.

[Mikenet7482]

It'll all be good, I have a 35 pound limit I'm thinking, I really dont want to go over 40. (perhaps a bit heavy but not ridiculous) As I buy stuff I'll check the weight, and check the weight of everything combined as I go. Also, I'm going to practice carrying the weight on long hikes early to see what's comfortable at long distances, being one reason I wanted to get the backpack early, I'm waiting on that for now though based on recommendations here, although I'm going to get it as soon as I get the bigger stuff bought, I'm not going to wait too long. I've decided I'm going to bring the bigger items to the sporting goods store and see if they'll let me put my stuff in them as a test to see what room I'll have left, then determine the best size and fit.

I think the tent I got weighs 3 pounds from what I read, and the medkit I bought with extra stuff added I thought originally was 3 pounds, that didn't sound right though, it feels lighter. My scale is terrible, its the cheapest one I could find at walmart way back so I'm going to need a decent scale. My guess is that the medkit weighs a couple pounds. I added some essentials to it that it didn't have such as moleskin, tripple antibiotc ointment, and bug spray (bug spray is outside the kit BTW) it's for my legs to repel ticks (small bottle) I have a lot of good stuff medkit wise that I'll want to bring along, I just don't need as much stuff (quantity wise) that my kit has. By sizing down the medkit I'm thinking it will be more like a pound, two at the most, so I'm up to about 5 pounds at this point. Little stuff that weighs ounces I'll add up too, like a compass and knife. I'll make sure the knife is made out of a lightweight metal and isn't overkill on size, maybe a titainium one perhaps. So I'm taking in the info here, I'll be bringing a little more than some of the long time thru hikers, being my first time I do want to be safe, call it fears, but on my first long journey I want to be prepared. I can always ditch certain items in towns or give it to another hiker to have if it comes down to that, but I think I'll be okay. Also I'm strongly considering not bringing a propane tank, or portable stove. I wont be bringing cookable foods so I probably wont need it, that'll save me pounds and make room for other things I want.

Wanna hear a story? I kinda learned a bit about the weight and proper gear already, not with mountain hiking as much, so I have a lot to learn still but I'm not completly inexperienced, I hike a lot. Anyway, I took a 10 - 15 mile hike down the beach to get to a secluded section without people. I wanted it to be just me and the ocean, I had to walk further than I thought to reach my goal though. The backpack I had I got from Goodwill and was a piece of crap, I loaded it with stuff in case I decided to stay a night. This backpack was terrible, it was too small and didn't distribute weight properly. Also my beach shoes I had gotten at the tourist shop didn't come up near far enough on my legs, I had a bad feeling about those shoes prior to leaving but decided to go, it was a last minute decision and I had to leave before it got too late, we were leaving the next day. I also power walked to reach my destination before it got too late, all decisions that hurt me in the long run. The backpack really hurt my shoulders because it was way too tight, and just as I had feared the shoes started getting sand in them. It was fun and okay going out, but getting back was one of the hardest hikes I've ever done. I had to shake the sand out of my shoes often and my pace slowed considerably, just based on my condition, eventually I ditched the shoes, they were hurting more than helping. By the end of it I was limping because the sand had rubbed my feet raw, it even tore skin off of one of my toes. That's one of the reasons I'm concerned about feet so much, even on this mountain hike with proper shoes. A hikers feet are one of the most important things to keep healthy, I did research on it before getting medkit stuff, being the reason I got moleskin and a couple other things. I'm also getting wool socks, and will change them if my feet get too wet for any extended period. So believe me I am hearing what you guys are saying, I'm going to try to pull off a mix between saftey and weight and meet somewhere in the middle.

Thanks for the info on the backpack, I'm hearing a lot about Osprey, it may be the way I want to go.

[Abatis1948]

There is one thing I had to learn about WB and that is if you are not thick skinned don’t post. There are a lot of different type of hikers who use this service. They range to heavy packers (80 pound +) to ultra-light folks. My suggestion to you is to do a few overnighters and meet other hikers. Carry what you want and learn from your experience. I have evolved from a 34 pound pack with food and water for 3 days to a 28 pound pack with food and water for 3 days. Six pounds has made a difference. I am still looking to cut my weight down as much as possible and still be comfortable. If you take advice from others or not, you will learn very fast when you hit the trail.

[ccartertn]

My first pack was a 50l Outdoor Research from wallyworld. It was under 3lbs and only $30. It served me well for a couple of overnighters while I figured out if I wanted to dive further into hiking.
I have since moved to an Osprey Exos 48 which suits me perfect for the type hiking/camping I do - 2 nights / 3 days.
I agree what someone said, it's a lot like shoes. You have to find what fits good and has the "style" you like.


ccartertn

[Mikenet7482]

There is one thing I had to learn about WB and that is if you are not thick skinned don’t post. There are a lot of different type of hikers who use this service. They range to heavy packers (80 pound +) to ultra-light folks. My suggestion to you is to do a few overnighters and meet other hikers. Carry what you want and learn from your experience. I have evolved from a 34 pound pack with food and water for 3 days to a 28 pound pack with food and water for 3 days. Six pounds has made a difference. I am still looking to cut my weight down as much as possible and still be comfortable. If you take advice from others or not, you will learn very fast when you hit the trail.

I think your right that hikers have different weight loads they'll bring from what I'm hearing. You have ultra lights, medium weights, and heavy weights so it seems. I'm going to find a reasonable balance to the best of my ability.

this you said....

"There is one thing I had to learn about WB and that is if you are not thick skinned don’t post."

That's anywhere online man, while there's a range of personalities (respectful, sarcastic, rude, or helpful) Almost anywhere online seems to be a bit different from real life from my experience, especially in unregulated forums. This one's regulated but some forums are downright ridiculous. People tend to click with some more than others, but when they dont click they often say things they wouldn't say to someones face, I've seen comparisons with people I know and notice a huge difference in general. As for this particular forum I did requesting info on backpacks, mostly I got useful information and stuff I needed to know. However when someone comes in and says "I think you guys are being trolled" which is one of the most overused terms when people disagree, then I respond to it. That wasn't insulting so much as aggravating, someone like that was actually hindering my attempt to get usefull information. It's the internet more than anything, I've thought of writing a book on it. That's the nature of online forums, I haven't heard anything nasty here yet, but it's online more than it should be. The internet creates a distance between people giving them more comfort when they want to insult someone, on the other hand I've also seen people open up in some amazing ways as well, it's that distance, and the difference between talking to someone and looking at a computer monitor.

I have no problem with WB, I'll tell you one thing I know about hikers I've met and read about though, they're generally easy going and extremely kind. That's because they're out there doing something they have a passion for, something that brings out the best in them.

I'll be doing overnights soon by the way I'm waiting on my tent, and I need to get a cheaper backpack for practice until I buy my long expedition one. In the meantime I'm doing hikes I've learned about on meetup.com Volenteers are doing hikes in the surrounding area that range from 3 miles to over 10. I have one comming up this Wednesday.

[egilbe]

My pack weight with food and water for a 5 day trip is around 25 pounds. Its much easier carrying 25 pounds, then 35 pounds and you will find every pound will matter. Listen to what these people are telling you. Accept that you are ignorant, for now, and open your mind to be willing to learn from someone else's experience and mistakes. If they are telling you MRE's are a poor choice, there is a very good reason for it. If you are getting advice to purchase your pack, last, there is a good reason for it it. I have five packs, now. Three I bought and don't use because they don't fit my style of backpacking. One of them is a Flash 45, if that tells you anything. My favorite, go to pack is an Unaweep. My day pack is a LLbean 25 liter pack that weighs as much as the Unaweep. Those are the only two packs I use. I let my kids use the other three packs when they go with me.

When you have to carry everything on your back, you find that weight does matter. Smaller and lighter is better.

[Mikenet7482]

My pack weight with food and water for a 5 day trip is around 25 pounds. Its much easier carrying 25 pounds, then 35 pounds and you will find every pound will matter. Listen to what these people are telling you. Accept that you are ignorant, for now, and open your mind to be willing to learn from someone else's experience and mistakes. If they are telling you MRE's are a poor choice, there is a very good reason for it. If you are getting advice to purchase your pack, last, there is a good reason for it it. I have five packs, now. Three I bought and don't use because they don't fit my style of backpacking. One of them is a Flash 45, if that tells you anything. My favorite, go to pack is an Unaweep. My day pack is a LLbean 25 liter pack that weighs as much as the Unaweep. Those are the only two packs I use. I let my kids use the other three packs when they go with me.

When you have to carry everything on your back, you find that weight does matter. Smaller and lighter is better.

Not ignorant, learning yes I came in with hiking knowledge, and a little backpacking knowladge, I'm still taking on info on the latter. I know some of what doesn't work based on some experience, and did you know I bought my tent based on a recomendation here? Getting the proper gear is important and keeping a balanced weight are also things that are important to me. The MRE's I'm considering, I know a backpacker that uses them so I'm going to find out more about them. I have a very long time to do more research, and hear a range of ideas. Early indicators are that many people bring different foods. If I don't bring the MRE's then I'll need to find other foods that don't need to be cooked, will stay fresh, and have the varity I'm wanting. Id get rid of the extra packaging on MRE's and other trash at proper locations if that's what your worried about, I read almost everything at appalachiantrail.org weeks before I made a post here. One thing that some hikers do that I don't want to do is to eat rice all the time, my thinking right now is that I'm not going to bring propane or a stove to save on weight and cut out something I might not need. I'm going to pick an option that's right for me while following recomindations as well, like every backpacker here seems to be doing, by the time I go I'll be bringing appropriate equipment. I'm learning those things one at a time so I'll make a forum on the food, I plan to make a forum on everything before I buy stuff.

Thanks for the info on the backpacks

[Back on the trail]

Based on what I'm reading here and on other forums these are some good ideas for my larger backpack...

ULA Circuit
ULA Catalyst
Flash 45 (50 liter in large size)
An external from Kelty or Jansport


I own a Circuit based on the list of stuff you want to bring, this is not the pack for you based on WAY to many items. I grew up a Boy Scout have something, be ready for any situation. In hiking be ready for the situation but don't pack for "the what if," you just don't need to carry all that. Three flash lights, two phones, batteries out the ying yang. This is hiking not car camping. Not being mean just blunt truth. If you knew one battery in a head lamp would last you a week would be bring four just because? Get a life proof case for your phone - unless you plan on dropping it all time, you'll be fine with one. Don't pack your fears - pack what you need. Other people arr pointing you away from MRE's. whats the weight calculation of the MRE's you want to bring vs other food - Then subtract from your MRE's the stove, wind screen, fuel and cooking system that you aren't bringing that counter acts that extra weight of your food and you may not be that far off. There are so many different ways to go about it. Any website that you go to find a thru hikers pack list and print it. Then compare it to yours. Weight your stuff or find it online and make a weight list, it adds up so fast it hurts.

I have a Kelty external frame. This pack is a beast. You could go hunting in Alaska in the dead of winter shoot your Elk chop it up put it and your gear on your back and it would ask for more. It has a great top pouch that can become a small day summit bag. It could be for sale if the price was right and if its your practice pack the one you get will be less heavy. Good luck.

[Mikenet7482]

Based on what I'm reading here and on other forums these are some good ideas for my larger backpack...

ULA Circuit
ULA Catalyst
Flash 45 (50 liter in large size)
An external from Kelty or Jansport


I own a Circuit based on the list of stuff you want to bring, this is not the pack for you based on WAY to many items. I grew up a Boy Scout have something, be ready for any situation. In hiking be ready for the situation but don't pack for "the what if," you just don't need to carry all that. Three flash lights, two phones, batteries out the ying yang. This is hiking not car camping. Not being mean just blunt truth. If you knew one battery in a head lamp would last you a week would be bring four just because? Get a life proof case for your phone - unless you plan on dropping it all time, you'll be fine with one. Don't pack your fears - pack what you need. Other people arr pointing you away from MRE's. whats the weight calculation of the MRE's you want to bring vs other food - Then subtract from your MRE's the stove, wind screen, fuel and cooking system that you aren't bringing that counter acts that extra weight of your food and you may not be that far off. There are so many different ways to go about it. Any website that you go to find a thru hikers pack list and print it. Then compare it to yours. Weight your stuff or find it online and make a weight list, it adds up so fast it hurts.

I have a Kelty external frame. This pack is a beast. You could go hunting in Alaska in the dead of winter shoot your Elk chop it up put it and your gear on your back and it would ask for more. It has a great top pouch that can become a small day summit bag. It could be for sale if the price was right and if its your practice pack the one you get will be less heavy. Good luck.

I understand, and don't take offense to your tips there. Prior to my first post I didn't know what the range for weight was exactly. Common sense, my bad beach trip, and wearing workout weights taught me that weight was important though, and appalachiantrail.org confirmed it. So the exact range of weight is what I didnt know, so I appreciate the tips on that. ATC recommends more than one flashlight, well they say one flashlight and an extra bulb and batteries so I'll probably do that, no need for an extra flashlight tube I suppose. Having two phones and a compass I'm not going to fold on although I'm going to cut down the amount of batteries I said I would originally bring some. One phone is very small, its for backup, call it fears if you want but I do want a backup. Staying in contact is important to me and my family, and it's also smart if one breaks for whatever reason, the other phone I'm bringing is my Iphone which will be multipurpose, taking pictures so I don't need to bring a camera, it also has apps that will be useful, I have one that's a flashlight app, so I'll take out the idea of a wind up charged flashlight, I can do that to save some weight . Compass and map are recomended by ATC so I've heard mixed opinions on some stuff here. Some of the info here are opinions for what's right for them, although most of it I'm taking in and confirming it on hiking and backpacking websites, I'm very thourough and tend to crossreference things. I did the same when I was debating politics and religion. In those cases nobody agreed, lol. The info here is more consistant thankfully but I'm still going to do Some things I know are right for me. One other thing, when I say my want my weight to be no more than 35-40 pounds, that right now is an estimate. I'm hoping for less but I'm going to practice bringing different weight amonts on hiking and backpacking trips. I planned on that early on so I know yall are right when it comes to getting out there and practicing without a doubt.

Thanks for the backpack info, when I'm ready to buy I'm going to check this forum out a lot. Other opinions on backpacks are welcome, I like to have a range of options to choose from.

[Walkintom]

Bulbs for your flashlight?

Where are you buying it - 1980?

LEDs pretty much eliminate the concern of bulbs burning out.

A compass is useless unless you also have some landnav skills. I can navigate pretty fair and consider it wasted weight and space for the area you'll be traversing.

I advise getting your pack weight down to 30 pounds or less if possible. 30 was a magic number for me. Too much above 30 and my comfort begins to go downhill and so does my enjoyment. Maybe play around with different pack weights and find out what works best for you weight-wise and then figure out how to get there.

[egilbe]

MRE's are heavy and bulky. There are lighter, smaller options out there. Even MRE's are better heated and you will rapidly get sick of them. The variety is not so great after a few weeks. Dehydrated foods are popular for a reason. The heaviest single item you will carry is water. Its kinda silly carrying water in food when you are walking past it all day.

[Deacon]

Not sure why the ATC recommends a compass and maps, but the compass is useless, as long as you stay on the trail. The Nobo trail often heads south, so how would you know what your compass reading should be? The trail is blazed well enough. Maps are ok if you enjoy using them but again, not needed on the AT.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Coffee]

Not sure why the ATC recommends a compass and maps, but the compass is useless, as long as you stay on the trail. The Nobo trail often heads south, so how would you know what your compass reading should be? The trail is blazed well enough. Maps are ok if you enjoy using them but again, not needed on the AT.

I think that a compass is of limited utility but for a different reason. So much of the AT is under tree cover that it is hard to spot known landmarks. That makes it difficult to navigate by compass using triangulation. I think that maps are useful not necessarily for use with compass but to identify landmarks in open areas if that's a personal interest, or more importantly identifying side trails and knowing where they lead if a bailout becomes necessary. I always have maps and out of habit my compass is always in my pack. It only weighs one ounce.

[RangerZ]

MREs typically weigh 18 to 26 ounces and have 1200-1400 calories if you eat them all. So without delving into individual packets and the calories per ounce you're getting there, on a whole you're looking at 40-70 calories per ounce as a range of likely possibilities. I'm going off info from here: http://hprc-online.org/comrad/

Without cherry picking for caloric value I grabbed a couple of freeze dried meals and looked at the labels, something I can't do with the MREs since I don't have any of those around. A Mountain House Breakfast Skillet pack weighs 5 ounces. It has 800 calories in it. That's 160 calories per ounce. Your nutrition density is much higher than an MRE. If you carried 2 of those you'd get more calories than any MRE offers and save 8 ounces off the lightest MRE - that's 45-60% weight savings and more calories.

An Alpine Aire Pepper Beef with Rice has 620 calories and weighs 6 ounces so it's not as nutrient dense as the breakfast. It's only 103 calories per ounce. Just 50% more efficient than an MRE - that's all.

Many of us carry items that aren't the most efficient. Bothing wrong with carrying something just because you want to. You seem to really want to carry the MREs, which is fine if that's just a decision you've made and want to stick to. Just don't do it on the basis that they're the best option for calorie density. You can eat better and simultaneously hike lighter.

Both of the things I mentioned do require a stove and if you're planning on going stoveless your food is just going to be heavier. You can rehydrate without hot water but it won't taste as good as hot.

I may carry one MRE entree but only because I have them and they're getting old. I certainly eat it the first day out. I've moved from the Knorr's pasta sides to dehydrating my own food.

My first thought was that this was posted in the hiking humor subforum.

[Mikenet7482]

Bulbs for your flashlight?

Where are you buying it - 1980?

LEDs pretty much eliminate the concern of bulbs burning out.

A compass is useless unless you also have some landnav skills. I can navigate pretty fair and consider it wasted weight and space for the area you'll be traversing.

I advise getting your pack weight down to 30 pounds or less if possible. 30 was a magic number for me. Too much above 30 and my comfort begins to go downhill and so does my enjoyment. Maybe play around with different pack weights and find out what works best for you weight-wise and then figure out how to get there.

As many people who can read this please do, I'm hoping we can start over and redirect a little bit, I know the post is long.

To those who have helped, I like the website, and have clicked with certain people already, I've even got a couple private messages where members have given me information I'm using and taking seriously. Actually most of it is good information by people who I'm already liking. Backpacking to me is about having fun, it's about clearing my mind and getting away for a little while, it's a healthy activity that can have a huge impact on a lot of people.

Walking Tom, I've heard about the weight, and I know about weight being important based on many suggestions, information, and some prior knowledge. Like I said before the thing I didn't know was the exact weight range for longer trips. This post isn't to make you feel bad but so much information is being given here, useful information, by individuals who know how to communicate. Posters like you could help someone if they knew how to approach things, I believe you have knowladge that could help, so you have potential.

You said this initially.....

"Bulbs for your flashlight?

Where are you buying it - 1980?"

So first off I think you meant when are you buying it, even your sarcastic comment didn't make sense this time. 1980 is a time and not a location right?

I'm not buying my flashlight from 1980, and I'm not bushwhacking as you asked before, I'm also aware that LED's last longer, since you seem to want to talk about other stuff. It's a technology I find interesting actually, it stands for Light Emitting Diode and It's everywhere now, they put this technology in TVs, lightbulbs, flashlights, computer monitors, christmas lights, the list goes on. They dont last forever, and I've had LED house lightbulbs burn out fairly quickly come to think of it, and I've had one LED flashlight stop working. I haven't had that problem with my LED TV yet but I've heard reviews of many of them getting what they call dead pixels, and some that stop working (however in that case it could be an electrical problem) but LEDs do not last forever and CAN go bad prematurely. The appalachiantrail.org website wasn't written in 1980, it's written by professionals and they're saying these things for a reason. If that website says extra bulb and batteries, this means one of two things. It means you either find a compatible replacement bulb or LED, or bring an extra flashlight, point being that they're recomending you have a backup. This to me is for obvious reasons, having light in the dark makes sense, I'm going to pitch my tent while it's still light, but if I have to get out for any reason I want some light, say going to the bathroom for example. It will also be useful for inside the tent, say if I want to do something, anything, mostly I'll be sleeping in it but I'm bringing a small journal which is also common (I can give you a link again). If someone needs help light could be useful, in a thunderstorm my tent could potentially start leaking or tear, I have a good tent now, but having light is multipurpose. It takes me a couple hours to fall asleep so I want to be able to see if I need to. Call those reasons stupid, whatever, there's people doing it, so this is your opinion. I don't consider two sources of light as packing fears, I consider that one common sense personally.

"On longer hikes, especially in remote or rugged terrain, add:

• A flashlight with extra batteries and bulb"

http://www.appalachiantrail.org/hiki.../clothing-gear

It also says what I mentioned to you before, "bring a compass and map and learn to use them first", on the trail I wont need it too much, I plan to hike some on the AT first before I take the long trip next year, but when I get to new sections of the trail, I'm going to check it occasionally. I have some navigation skills but I disagree that it's useless for those with little navigation skills. If they at least know how to use a compass and map it can even become very important. The most common reason for me leaving the trail will be for me to do my buisness if you know what I mean. This is also recomended by the AT website, and respects the guidlines of the ATC and (Leave No Trace). If I get out of sight of the trail (again I'm not going a half mile into the woods) but if I even get out of sight of the trail I don't want to get disoriented (as I said before). I'm going to bring one regardless, it's something I've known from childhood that's important to bring. This is going to weigh less than an ounce, it'll be a small fraction of an ounce, and I'll get a smaller one It'll probably weigh a few grams. To let you know, not all my weight is going in my backpack either, this will further help with weight distribution, I'm going to find long distance hiking clothes that have pokets with zippers on them if I can. (Not death cloths made from cotton) before you freak out.

Id really take you more seriously if not for the silly questions, I read some followup replies to your comment that were made without remarks like that, not everyone uses a compass apparently, but some choose to. The compass is a preference for many, and that's my preference. Dont give opinions as if they're cold hard facts, on much of the stuff your recomending, your giving an opinion, derailing the topic, and using sarcasm to do it which I don't take seriously. Most of the other members I am taking seriously, I'm cutting back the weight on things I can.

__________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________

To those who are explaining other things, in the future I'm going to ask more simple questions to get more direct responses. Every topic I make from here on will be fairly short and just ask a question so I can learn more about the primary topic of the forum. The forum I made about what kind of tent to get went a lot smoother, and I learned what I needed to much faster. Everything in the opening post that concerns members here are things I'm going to ask about seperately. I'm going to ask the question, gather a range of ideas, then double and tripple check it. Everybody has a preference and a style that is unique to them, I heard a range of ideas about what kind of tent to bring so I looked into the suggestions made and did research on them. I'm very thorough when I decide to do something new, for example I built a computer, it's lasted 8 years so far because I did the research and put the best of everything in it. I'll probably do a forum on food specifically but for now on here I'm primarily wanting info on backpacks with a 45 liter capacity, give or take 10 liters. I'm going to be bringing about 35 pounds of equipment give or take a few pounds, I'm going to try to do less if possible, but I'm wanting a backpack with a little room to spare.

It was recommended that I don't buy the backpack anytime soon, the reason I wanted it was to practice over the next year with weight on my back. This is what I did, I went and bought a cheap backpack so I can practice with weight like I wanted to. I'm going to wait a few months before buying the backpack I need for my trip next year, but I can't buy it after I buy everythiing. I need to practice with it for a while before my hike and also so I can return it before the warranty runs out if I decide it's not for me. I'm meeting yall halfway on that, thanks for the tips. Before buying the larger backpack I'm going to buy more of the bulky things I need first before I make a purchase. At that point I'll go to a good sporting goods store to buy the better one and see if they let me put my things in it to see how much room it has left. I'm aprehensive about buying one online because I dont want to have to send it back if it's not a good fit, trying several on is going to be the way to go for me. I think that's a reasonable plan, If anyone has anymore info on backpacks id love to hear them, what do you guys prefer and why?

__________________________

The above was written earlier today, but guess what happened, what I did, and what I heard? I filled the practice backpack I got with a reasonable 10 pounds to start with and did a very fast hike with the hiking group I'm with. We went over 7 miles with hills in under two hours, it was strenuous power walking. I have long legs but a couple people had to mix in jogging to keep up. Although I wont be going that fast on my trip, I feel good that I was able to do that, and still feel great afterwards, but that's not all. Gods honest truth here, I started a conversation with a fellow hiker, told her I was doing a large section of the AT next year and guess what topic came up? MRE's, without me saying a word about them she said her and her husband used them on the AT, oddly enough her husbands name is Michael and was also born on the 4th of July like me. I'll be completly honest by saying they didn't do a thru hike, they were on the AT for a couple weeks, but that's what they used. I've now heard about MRE's from 2 AT hikers within a 3 week period, the other person I had mentioned before. He did larger sections of the trail he says, and was the one who gave me the idea. I suppose since he was in the military he used them because he was familiar with them.

At this point I'm suprised others here have not heard of them being used, I'm not saying I'm bringing them for certain yet, but unlike most, I actually like the way they taste. I also know they'll stay fresh. Point of this whole lenghty post is that I'm hearing so many different things from different people, as for food I'm going to do a post on that down the road and pour myself into recearch on it. Another thing I want everyone here to know is that I'm hearing your concerns, and taking in advise. My original list may look dramatically different when I'm ready to go, based on some info being posted on this website, and other sources. When I go on this trip I will be ready without a doubt, I'm determined to make this work, it's on my bucket list and walking a very long distance that exceeds what most will do has been on my mind since I was a teenager, learning about the AT has given me a way to achieve this goal, and enjoy nature at the same time, so I'm hoping to get along with most of you, the majority of you have similar dreams and ambitions.

[Traveler]

Looks like you have it all worked out.

Good luck!