Which pack

[taildragger]

Hi, I'm a somewhat beginner hiker, I've done a few 6 day trips in Oklahoma and The Leuopold Wilderness, but I have outgrown my old external frame. The only newer pack that I have any experience with is the Mars by REI. As I am trying to get back into hiking, I want to know what some good packs to look at are.

As of now I have been suggested and the Mars and the Baltoro, but I have read about the plastic insert on the Baltoro breaking. The pack will be primarily used for 3 day excursions with the occasional 5+ day outing. I typically avoid hiking in winter.

BTW, I am looking exclusively at internal framed packs, after my last experience with my external I decided it that it was not the right design for me to be using.

Any and all help appreciated.

[Just a Hiker]

Hey there Taildragger!
You are going to get some great suggestions on packs, but for my money, the Osprey Aether-60 is a great pack. I can destroy any piece of gear made, but my Osprey is still going strong! Happy Hiking!

Just Jim

[Rainman]

I carry a Golite Perspective and I love it. Unfortunately, Golite completely reworked its line this year and the Perspective is gone. If I were buying now, I would look at the Gregory Z55, the Granite Gear Nimbus Meridian, and the Golite Quest.

[PJ 2005]

I love me some Granite Gear Vapor Trail... omni-use

[rswanson]

Taildragger,

Check out ULA packs. If you carry under 30 lbs, check out the Circuit, over 30 lbs check out the Catalyst. ULA's emphasis is on packs designed for performance and usability on the trail at the lightest weight possible without sacrificing durability. ULA has an excellent rep with the long distance hiking community, and their packs provide all the features and durability backpackers need, priced competitively with most major brands. The owner is a great guy and will take time to personally make sure you get just what you need, nothing more, nothing less. Also, ULA's products are made in the USA with local labor.

[Quoddy]

Russ beat me to it, but I'll second the ULA recommendation. I have the ULA Conduit which is a frameless pack good for weights into the low 20's, plenty for me and 5 to 7 day's gear. All the ULA packs are of excellent quality, feature laden, and light. The Circuit and Catalyst are framed, but remain lightweight. The newly announced Ohm looks like it will be another winner. BTW, I also own Granite Gear and Osprey packs, but have placed them on the shelf for now.

[bigcranky]

Taildragger,

Welcome to Whiteblaze.

You've named some fairly traditional internal-frame packs. These tend to be built like tanks, and weigh about the same, too. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but....

Your pack is part of your overall hiking equipment. That sounds like an obvious truism, but bear with me. If you have traditional hiking equipment, such as a double wall tent, a synthetic 20-degree sleeping bag, a white gas stove and a cookset with several pots, a full-length inflatable mattress, and all the little camp comfort items, then you'll want a traditional pack to carry it all.

If, however, you are carrying light or ultralight equipment, then you can use a smaller and lighter pack to carry it. Such gear might include a silnylon tarp or Tarptent, a 25-ounce down sleeping bag, an alcohol stove and a tiny titanium mug, and a torso-length foam sleeping pad. You carry minimal clothing and very little in the way of gadgets. For this sort of lightweight gear, a sub-2 pound pack is appropriate.

The usual advice is to buy the pack last. That is, assemble all the other gear you want, then take it all down to the outfitter and see which packs will carry it. It sounds like you are near an REI store, which is a good place to see a variety of packs, mostly traditional, but some lighter alternatives. As to why you might want to pay attention to the weight of all your stuff, you might read Teblum's trip report from last week:

http://tinyurl.com/32q7sx

The suggestions you've received are mostly for light weight packs. These are all good packs, but you need to match the pack to the gear for best results.

Hope this helps.

[Frosty]

The usual advice is to buy the pack last. That is, assemble all the other gear you want, then take it all down to the outfitter and see which packs will carry it.

Tremendously sane advice, as was the rest of your post.

[greentick]

I'll throw in another ULA recommendation. I have the Circuit. My former light pack was a Gregory Gpack but I had some durability issues with it (otherwise the Gpack was very comfortable). The Circuit also replaced my other pack a Gregory Keeler. Which fell victim to me lightening my load and my son being able to haul more of his own stuff.

Love ULA for the aforementioned reasons in post 5.

[Egads]

Taildragger,

I have the Gregory Baltoro along with the G pack, and I have the Gossamer Gear G5 & Mariposa.

The Baltoro is indestructable but heavy.

The Gossamer Gear G5 is my most used pack.

Go to several shops & try them on weighted w/ the appropriate load. It's the only way to know what works for you.

Good luck with your decision,

Egads

[taildragger]

alright, so I should have specified this in my first post.

I don't always pack light, depends on where I am going and what I might be in store for. Case in point, 2 years ago I went to the Leopold Wilderness and my pack probably toted in at 60-65lbs to start.

Reasons for such a heavy pack, weather was unpredictable, enough food was brought for 8 days (planned on a 6-day trek, but thought that we might feel up for the extra challenge). I'd say that almost all the gear that I brought was used, and we almost axed some of it off. The start of the trip began with 8" of snow before we started going up into the mountains, the weather report from the day before said highs of 70F all week... The result was getting wet and not being able to dry out during the night. I actually had to lone some of my things to my friend to keep him warm (he was real sure that we wouldn't get that cold).

So, I guess I'm the kind of hiker that is prepared for the worst, but at the same time I try to keep it lean. I don't have the money right now for real expensive gear, so I can only afford to have one pack, and will probably wait a while on the lower weight supplies. My goal pack weight is a max of 50lbs, I don't really foresee going over that.

[jesse]

I am not a long distance hiker. I go out for weekends. When my son and I started backpacking 3 years ago, I was carrying 40-50 lbs, and it damn near killed me. I was so misriable I started looking for various ultra-light gear. I settled on making my own ray-way gear. I have made backpacks, quilts and tarps for both my son and myself. I can now go out for a weekend carrying about 15 lbs, and am a happier hiker. Anyway that is my .02 worth.

http://www.ray-way.com

BTW, how did you get your trail name? Are you a pilot?

[taildragger]

Taildragger is another name for the Jeep Scramblers of the 80's, I got the nick name the first time that I fourwheeled one

[jesse]

ok. Its also what they call airplanes that have a tailwheel.

[maxNcathy]

alright, so I should have specified this in my first post.

I don't always pack light, depends on where I am going and what I might be in store for. Case in point, 2 years ago I went to the Leopold Wilderness and my pack probably toted in at 60-65lbs to start.

Reasons for such a heavy pack, weather was unpredictable, enough food was brought for 8 days (planned on a 6-day trek, but thought that we might feel up for the extra challenge). I'd say that almost all the gear that I brought was used, and we almost axed some of it off. The start of the trip began with 8" of snow before we started going up into the mountains, the weather report from the day before said highs of 70F all week... The result was getting wet and not being able to dry out during the night. I actually had to lone some of my things to my friend to keep him warm (he was real sure that we wouldn't get that cold).

So, I guess I'm the kind of hiker that is prepared for the worst, but at the same time I try to keep it lean. I don't have the money right now for real expensive gear, so I can only afford to have one pack, and will probably wait a while on the lower weight supplies. My goal pack weight is a max of 50lbs, I don't really foresee going over that.

Go with Osprey Aether 70.

[rswanson]

Taildragger,

If your pack weight is going to end up in that 50lb. range, some of the options mentioned here are not going to cut it for you. Gregory makes very durable packs. I wouldn't worry about the pack failing under casual use. If you don't have a lot of money to spend, I'd suggest trying out something made by Kelty. In my experience, they produce the best quality low-priced packs. Their Redcloud model (various sizes) comes to mind, although its heavy. But, any pack intended to carry 50+lbs. is going to be heavy.

[rswanson]

Go with Osprey Aether 70.

That is a great suggestion as well.

[socalhiker]

I will be taking a somewhat longer trip this summer and combined with the bear can requirement don’t believe my 3000 ci Jam2 will be big enough. On the other hand my other lightweight pack, a GoLight Trek, will be too big so I am thinking about the ULA Conduit. Do any of you have experience with both packs (Jam and Conduit) to opine whether or not I am on the right track here with the Conduit or should I be thinking along another option? Thanks for your input. SoCalHiker.

[rswanson]

I will be taking a somewhat longer trip this summer and combined with the bear can requirement don’t believe my 3000 ci Jam2 will be big enough. On the other hand my other lightweight pack, a GoLight Trek, will be too big so I am thinking about the ULA Conduit. Do any of you have experience with both packs (Jam and Conduit) to opine whether or not I am on the right track here with the Conduit or should I be thinking along another option? Thanks for your input. SoCalHiker.

Well, what else are you carrying and how big of a bear can? I should preface my comment by saying that I don't own a bear can but I do own a ULA Conduit. I'm sure it would fit in the pack body but it would really cut down on available space. You could probably pull it off provided that the rest of your gear is fairly compact. The Conduit doesn't provide much more space than the Jam2. In fact, I believe the Conduit's main packbag is even smaller than the Jam's. You should probably be looking at the ULA Circuit, which ULA says will hold a bear can.

A few other options in the same vein: ULA Catalyst, Golite Pinnacle, Gossamer Gear Mariposa(s), Six Moon Designs Essence and Starlite.

[socalhiker]

I meant to say Circuit and not Conduit. However I have also thought about the Mariposa. I have heard that the ULA packs, while excellent quality, are somewhat short in the torso? Thanks for your guidance.