How do you guys pack a backpack?

[Brian321]

I am leaving for a thru hike in two day(18th) and I have most of my gear packed but am confused on the best way to pack it. I keep emptying and repacking.

How do you guys pack your gear?

How do you keep your rain gear/clothes away from your stove/cooking supplies so that they do not get ripped?

I dont have very many pockets, only a few small ones at the very top of my pack(Deuter 65+10)

Thanks,
Brian

[Fats]

I just watched this video posted in another thread, it covers what's in a pack, but he unpacks it giving a good point of view on how it's all put in.

Each pack is different. And be sure to pack for your needs.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yEpfEK6FkAk

Brad

[Rick500]

There's a good article about it here: http://www.ospreypacks.com/PackTech/HowtoPackYourPack

Beyond that, I keep a few small things in the zipped lid section of my pack: first aid stuff in a ziploc, lighter, headlamp, anything I'm likely to want to grab quickly that's small.

I keep my rain/wind jacket on top of most everything else so I can get at it quickly, at the top of the main compartment of my pack.

Water bottle and a snack or two in the two outer side pockets, and camp shoes and fuel bottle in the back pocket.

If I have anything wet I'm trying to dry out (socks, bandanna, whatever), I safety-pin it to the back of my pack.

Everything else, I pretty much follow that article I linked.

[Raul Perez]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNsKBqCHKeo

This is how I pack my gear out. I do it a little different now due to a smaller pack (from a ULA Circuit to a ULA OHM) but my principal is basically the same.

[Papa D]

I put my tyvek ground sheet on the very bottom of my pack under my sleeping bag stuff sack (in case water wicks through) next comes the sleeping bag in it's granite gear sack, then tent and thermorest - I really shove all this stuff low - next comes cook stuff and any random gear, and spare clothing shoved in basically next to each other - mid pack - along with fuel - the food bag which comes in and out goes in next - fairly high - I have two big side pockets - one side has rain gear, the other has either my water pump (if I'm carrying one) and a big ziplock of journal, map, and first aid stuff - in the brain, I keep a stocking cap, headlamp, gloves, and maybe one candy bar and my i-pod mini. I have a shove down pocket on the very back of my pack where I keep my crocs and anything wet or gross. Water bottles are on each side. Camera and pack towel goes in zippers on hip belt - nothing really strapped to the outside - i don't really like things flapping around. You might notice I keep the food toward the top which is heavy and unconventional, but it sort of ends up being mid-back and it's convenient for me. Keep everything in the same place always - so you can find it. If you are thru hiking in the spring and can't get everything pretty much inside a 50 liter pack - you probably have too much stuff, but of course HYOH.

[Spirit Walker]

Try to keep anything you'll need during the day on top (i.e. food bag or lunch/snack bag, first aid kit, rain jacket, etc.) You don't want to have to dump the whole pack on the ground every time you need something. On a rainy day you'll want your tent and ground cloth if you use one on top as well. For me, I keep the sleeping bag at the bottom, then my clothes bag, then food, then jackets. My filter and first aid kit, tp and rope, are in the outer front pocket. Water bottles in side pockets along with pack cover. My husband carries the stove and fuel in his middle layer, above the sleeping bag and clothes, below the tent. We each wear a small fanny pack - he carries the camera in his, I carry a journal and guidebook/map in mine.

[Blissful]

Separate your clothes and stove into stuff sacks, then no issue. I don't know what stove you use but I put my pocket rocket (which is sharp) inside my cooking pot, inside the pot cozy, inside a sil nylon stuff sack.

[NCarolinaHiker]

Sleeping bag on the bottom, extra clothes on top of that, then tent and cook wear with a couple stuff sacks of first aid and sundries, food and rain gear on top of that, and insulation at the very top. Water in the bladder. Nothing strapped outside.

[Jack Tarlin]

All good advice. Like others said, put most of the heavier, bulkier things down low, you want your hips to do most of the work, not your back and shoulders. And bury the stuff you won't need til day's end, i.e. sleeping bag, extra clothes, food sack, pots, stove, etc. Utilize the top section of your pack or side zipper bags; make sure you keep handy everything you might need during the day, such as snacks, first aid, camera, etc. Try to keep these items in the same place each day, it'll make 'em much easier to find when you have need of them. Also, things like your map/trailguidebook; camera; journal; headlamp; and spare batteries should be where you can easily get at them, also your filter or water purification system. It's a real pain to have to explode your entire pack because what you need is buried at the far bottom; try to avoid this if you can. Lastly, cold weather gear (hat and gloves) and raingear should be easily accessible. If possible, avoid putting too much stuff OUTSIDE your pack unless you must, and make sure anything you have hanging off the back or stuffed in an outer pocket is well secured; it's a real drag to arrive in camp at day's end and discover your fleece or tent stakes have taken off on their own journey.

[crazystick]

The most important thing to remember is that your heaviest items go closest to your back to keep your center of gravity. I like to put my sleeping bag in first. Any item you may need quickly goes at the top of yourbag (rain gear, first aid, etc.) if you use a camelback that of course goes closest to ur back, since water is heavey. Your food bag is also heavy, that should be close to your back too.

[NCarolinaHiker]

Yes, when I said food with my rain gear I meant food for that day. The rest of my food ends up midback with my tent or my extra clothes.

[Brian321]

Thanks for all the help, I think I have most of it figured out, But I cant figure out the best place to put my sleeping pad (Thermarest Z-lite).

Should I just strap it to the top or bottom of my pack? Any suggestions on how to do this? I dont think my bag has a place for one.

[Pony]

Stop and see the good folks at Neels Gap. I learned more there in an hour than I did in months of searching this site. Not saying that there isn't good advice here, just I learn better hands on.

[Fats]

Thanks for all the help, I think I have most of it figured out, But I cant figure out the best place to put my sleeping pad (Thermarest Z-lite).

Should I just strap it to the top or bottom of my pack? Any suggestions on how to do this? I dont think my bag has a place for one.

I have my sleeping pad on the outside of my pack, it is fine there, but may have issues getting caught on things there.

Brad

[LoneRidgeRunner]

All good advice. Lastly, cold weather gear (hat and gloves) and raingear should be easily accessible. If possible, avoid putting too much stuff OUTSIDE your pack unless you must, and make sure anything you have hanging off the back or stuffed in an outer pocket is well secured; it's a real drag to arrive in camp at day's end and discover your fleece or tent stakes have taken off on their own journey.

I once lost the entire sack of tent poles, stakes from the back of my pack. Fortunately it happened on my way out of the woods at the end of my trip and not 5 days into the wilderness somewhere in the Winter so it wasn't disastrous except that after going back and looking for them and not finding them it cost me over a hundred bucks to replace them. I was bushwacking and so had no trail and may not have retraced my course exactly. Ever since then everything strapped outside is secured with a string or small carabiner to one of the pack straps or a D ring.

[Turtle Feet]

I'm not completely familiar with your pack style Brian, but I'm sure you must have compression straps along both sides (usually one top & one bottom on each side). See if your pad will fit in there - if it's too wide (which it could very well be), I've seen most people strap them to the bottom.

Trouble with putting too much on top is what you already recognize, constantly having to remove things just to get to lunch.

Thanks for all the help, I think I have most of it figured out, But I cant figure out the best place to put my sleeping pad (Thermarest Z-lite).

Should I just strap it to the top or bottom of my pack? Any suggestions on how to do this? I dont think my bag has a place for one.

[crazystick]

I usually put my pad horizontally between my lid and top of pack, I basically close my lid down on top of the pad.

[Spokes]

I carry my tent in a rear outside kangaroo pouch with the clip threaded through the stuff sack cord as security against drop/loss like Jack mentioned. The tent's much easier to access for setting up in the rain. Plus it doesn't get packed up wet inside with all my other gear.

[rmtjr]

That was my problem. What I wanted was always on the bottom of the things I didn't want. I made a radical change in my packing system. I purchasaed what was knon in those days as a neo trekk. Look under the
luxuarylite website http://luxurylite.com/. It was one of the best things that I did for my hiking endeavors. Yeah, you gotta get used to the front pack if you use it, but I loved having my beverages right there in front of me. I bought thee large cylinders so that I would not have to push and shove in the contents. Takes a lot of tension off the morning's packing, just knowing there will be plenty of room without have to crame and worry. It worked great for me. I rigged my tent to ride on top of the first cylinder and all was well with the world. Simple pack to adjust. Comfortable to wear. Bob