MSR hubba hubba NX + osprey or gregory?

[TNfire]

Just picked up the hubba hubba nx, at a local outfitter, on sale of course, I picked it up for $280, I wanted the 2 person because I like to have a lot of space when using a tent. I bought it to replace my hammock for my thru hike, just feel like although heavier, tents are a better option for this trail due to weather changes and what not. I mean I love my hammock, but I know from doing some weekend hikes back in Oklahoma, that no matter how good you are at tying your tarp down they can still take flight (found out the hard way in a crazy tornado producing storm)

While I was at the store I was also looking at the osprey packs, when one guy that was working there stocking the new wall display said something along the lines of " You don't want one of those, you want one of these, this thing is like the Cadillac of backpacks" he pulled out a new gregory baltoro 75, (which I feel is a little large?) I kniw they come in a smaller size like a 65 (?).He of course showed me some of the features, which I must say were nice, I just haven't been able to find any long term reviews on these packs, if anyone has used them id love some feedback, would they be good for a thru hike?


I also like the osprey packs, more specifically the atmos or aether, but he threw me a curveball by showing me that baltoro.

I love this site, so many knowledgeable people willing to help out and great threads to look through for advice about gear and what to expect on the AT, Thanks WB!!!

[TNhiker]

nice price on the hubba hubba nx.............that thing was expensive (not that i bought it) at REI when i saw it last year or so...

i own a "regular" hubba hubba---bought it in '09 and still going strong with it...........

i love the tent to be honest...........so much room in it, especially for a solo hiker (I had a hubba but sold it cause it felt like being in a coffin)........

i also own a gregory baltoro 75----bought it about 4 years ago so guessing they have upgraded it since....

great pack except for it is heavy.........i think it weighs 6 pounds or so.........

and to me---not that ive gone to a store to check em out---but the ospreys are lighter..............if i had the money, i would upgrade to something lighter like an oprey or ULA or something along those lines...

dont get me wrong---my baltoro has held strong on many a trip, and i dig the hip belt----but its heavy........

thats my only beef with that pack...

oh, and the side pockets on the hip belt are too small to be really useful for much.........so i dont use em....

[meat803]

I absolutely love my Osprey Exos. Not one of the packs you listed, but an endorsement for Osprey.

[Tianto]

I have an Osprey Aether that I used for several years and loved it. It fit and carried a load well. The only reason I retired the Aether is due to the fact that I am now using a Circuit, which is considerably lighter.

As far as your Hubba, you can reduce some weight by buying carbon fiber replacement poles for it.

[TNfire]

You got my attention with the idea of lighter poles, I'll Definitely be looking into those. I just picked up a therm a rest xtherm for $130, man I love finding stuff on sale haha

[OverTheHills]

I have an Osprey Aether 70. I absolutely love it. Its served me well on all the trips I've taken it on.

[TNfire]

I just think the 70 would be a bit large for a thru hike of the AT, I've been eyeballing the atmos 50. I've heard nothing but good things about osprey packs.

[Nooga]

IMO it's hard to find a pack more comfortable than a Gregory and also hard to find one that is heavier. I've have an Osprey Exos 58, which I like very much!

[TNfire]

Yeah, i tried on the baltoro and it was comfortable, but a few people mentioned that the suspension squeaks and that would drive me crazy on the AT haha

[Sarcasm the elf]

I have a Baltoro 70 that I use for full on winter trips since it can haul 50lbs+ like a champ, but it's not the right piece of gear for a thru hike. It weights six pounds, has a ton extra zippers and convenience features that are nice for a short trip, but aren't really appropriate if you are going lightweight in a long distance hike. Assuming that you are trying to keep your total pack-weight under 30lbs, then there are a lot of much lighter packs that will do the job just as well.

My usual hiking buddy has been using an Osprey Atmos65 for five years now and loves the pack. I switched over to a ULA Circuit which is an amazing pack and weights about 2.5lbs.

http://www.ula-equipment.com/product_p/circuit.htm

[July]

Some much lighter weight packs might include ULA, ZPacks, MLD, Gossamer... Just for comparison

[TNfire]

Yeah, i see a lot of people on here use the ula packs, I may have to check them out , my local outfitter only carries osprey, gregory and dueter (sorry if I misspelled that last one) I'm definitely not needing a pack that carries 50 pounds, I'm aiming for 30-35 pounds, so I don't think I would need anything bigger than a 50 or 65?

[TNfire]

Just ordered a set of carbon fiber poles for my NX, cuts the weight of the poles in half! Thanks for the suggestion Tianto!