Packing Ideas?

[PoppaZ]

Hey I recently loaded my Granite Gear Vapor Trail up for a weekend away. This was my first serious weekend away with it. I loaded it as I've always loaded my heavier packs, but it didn't seem to hold the weight as well as I would have liked. How have you guys changed your packing methods with ultralight gear? I had to borrow some slightly heavier gear from friends as I'm away from home for the moment, but I'm still sure I could have done better.

Thanks
Z

[soulrebel]

I went to color-coded bags all sil-net--focusing on creating a group of similarly sized cylinders (like luxury-lite) to help support eachother in my virga/vaportrail.


I have 2 med.bags
(themarest medium fleece-lined/clothing/can be inside-out for pillow) 1.7oz,
granitegear #4 which is slighlty smaller than thermarest bag might go up to #5 so the cylinders are the same size (6.5x15?)

----4 small bags yellow, black, gray, green---
JUNK DRAWER yellow-junk,emergency,journal,survival,misc--(HI-vis so it can be grabbed quickly)
BATHROOM-gray-toiletries
KITCHEN-black-stove (which happens to be perfectly sized jetboil cylinder) w, oil, some foil, etc...
SHELTER-green-tarp w/groundsheet andor nest 2 bugtent...

There is one more thing--the water filter--but my wife carries that one in her black "kitchen" bag since I have the stove...

IN the end the 2 can go on the bottom flat or upright in columns. Then log cabin 2x2 the little bags or also put them upright in columns for easy access.

On top of all this goes my Large sil-net food bag w/ OP sak inside/w bear rope...then my water bladder...

For WP---the clothes bag and sleeping bag are in a heavy duty black trash bag--and if it's gonna be a monsoon--I'll occasionally put the 4 lil sil-net cylinder bags in a secondary trashbag also...


GL

[Whistler]

Maybe you could give us an idea of what you're packing and where? My general theory is to keep soft, light things that I use less in the bottom, and heavier, denser things that I use more often up top. I use a 2/3-length closed cell sleeping pad unrolled to make a barrel shape inside my pack. Then I load, in this general order:

Silnylon pack liner
Sleeping bag
Main clothing bag
Food bag
Tarp and kitchen

In the very top, I keep the small stuffsacks for First Aid/ Hygiene/Raingear/ Clothing I may need [if it's brisk, I'll keep the gloves handy, etc.]

In my outside pockets, I keep a water bottle, all my day's food except dinner, my camera, a windshirt, and maps/info.

-Mark

[Kerosene]

I have the Granite Gear Nimbus Ozone, the slightly larger sibling of the Vapor Trail. I carry 22-28 pounds with supplies. Here's how I pack:

The Lid: Camera, wallet, snacks, travel ditty bag
Pockets: 1L water bottles, pack cover, foot care ditty bag
Main Compartment from top down:
Fleece jacket
Food/Kitchen bag
Frogg Toggs (move to top if rain in forecast)
First aid kit/Bath Kit/Clothes stuff sacks
Sleeping bag
Sleeping pad
Outside: Crocs

[Seeker]

i have the golite gust.

my liner is a black garbage bag.
first in is my sleeping pad, a cut down 24x60 blue foam pad. it forms a tube that supports the pack.
next in is my sleeping bag, in a silnylon stuff sack (with fleece patch sewn in for use as a pillow), inside a white, smaller garbage bag.
next is my extra clothing (usually just long underwear top and bottom), rain jacket and pants if it looks dry (closer to top if it looks like rain).
next is my hammock, with the tarp in it's own sack. sometimes the tarp goes to the very top, if it's raining.
on top of that goes my cooking gear, foodbag, and fuel alcohol bottle.
at this point, if it's a nice day, i twist the black liner shut and add the remaining items. if it's raining, they go inside the trashbag to stay dry.
on top of that is an extra pair of socks, the day's lunch, and "the hobbit" in a ziplock bag.
stuffed down the side is a platypus water bladder. when i fill it, it goes on top of the garbage bag, so my stuff doesn't get wet if it leaks.

in the two outside mesh pockets i added to the pack are my water bottles (just two cheap 20oz aqua fina bottles). when it's cooler and i'm only carrying one, i counterbalance it with my alcohol fuel bottle or my lunch.

in the outside pocket that came on the pack is the 'junk drawer' where i keep the rest of my stuff:
-small (4x6?) silnylon sack w/ first aid/repair kit.
-no-seeum mesh bag containing pocketknife, compass, spare lighter, photon light, travel toothbrush, toothpaste tube (1oz) and aquamira water purification drops.
-food bag line
-toilet paper in a ziplock bag
-headlamp
-mosquito headnet (sometimes)

guess that's it. i don't think i'm missing anything.

[PoppaZ]

Some food for thought. Also how do you manage to secure the garbage bag? Do you put everything in it then put it in the bag?

[Seeker]

the pad goes in first, then the trash bag... sorry i didn't make that clear... the other stuff goes in after it's in the pack... otherwise, the bag is too big around to fit inside easily, and stuff isn't where i put it, it's wherever it 'ends up' based on being smushed into the pack. and i don't like that... i'm pretty gentle with my stuff, even if it can 'take it'... keeps my food from getting crushed too... i hate ramen crumbs and smashed cheesy crackers... i generally don't really secure it... i was in the army for a number of years, and we had these waterproof bags you could tie shut... i did it religiously for years before i realized that in most cases, if i was just carrying my pack, or had it sitting out in the rain, my stuff wasn't going to get wet as long as the top of the liner bag was folded over to the side... it was only when it was completely immersed that i would have trouble... since that seldom happened, and i usually could tell when it was emminent, i made my life a lot easier by just folding the leftover bag off to the side. with the garbage bag, i have even more material left over at the 'neck', so i just twist it a couple times, and tuck it off to one side... make sense? if you're a little uneasy about it, just get a big fat rubber band, twist the neck a couple times, fold it in half, and secure the resulting loop with the rubber band... (way easier than tying that stupid rubber bag shut!)i'm going to try to pm you a packing list spreadsheet...

[Footslogger]

[quote=PoppaZ]Hey I recently loaded my Granite Gear Vapor Trail up for a weekend away. This was my first serious weekend away with it. I loaded it as I've always loaded my heavier packs, but it didn't seem to hold the weight as well as I would have liked. How have you guys changed your packing methods with ultralight gear? I had to borrow some slightly heavier gear from friends as I'm away from home for the moment, but I'm still sure I could have done better
=============================================
I've got the same pack and here's how I load it. I start with 3 - 6"x15" silnylon stuff sacks (different colors for easy identification). I load my sleeping bag into one, my clothing in to another and my food into a third. First into the pack (horzontally) is the sleeping bag, followed by my clothes and then my food (all placed horizontally). On top of all that I set my tent, cookpot and a few smaller ditty bags. If I am carrying a jacket of some sort I generally lay that across the top and then sinch up the pack. Last but not least, I take my 1.8 Liter Platy and wrap it up (again horizontally) in the storm collar and then fasten the front-to-back/side-to-side straps and drape the drinking hose over my shoulder. Recently I added the "Lid" to my Vapor Trail so that after securing my water bag I fasten it down and then insert maps, snacks etc into the Lid pouch. Smaller fast-access items go in the outer stretch pouches on either side of the pack. I secure my Tyvek ground cloth and Z-rest in the center outside of the pack using the compression straps.

My total pack weight is typically in the 24 - 26 lbs range and it carries well when packed as described above. I'm sure there are other methods but this one works well for me ...and took me all the way to Katahdin in 2003.

Oh yeah ...and I use a plastic trash compactor bag as a liner which goes into the pack first.

'Slogger

[PartnerShip]

I am glad to hear this as I just bought the Granite Gear Nimbus Latitude to start the trip, normally $230 and I paid $100 at a local saleI love the way it zips and you can get to everything and then on ebay I just got the Granite Gear Vapor for $50 from Harpers Ferry Outfitters, new 2005 model and look forward to getting it in the mail so I can try it out. I thought of switching to it in the summer with lighter gear but believe I can make it work the whole way as I am studying up on ultra-light backpacking. Being my first long hike I want to go as lite as possible but still be prepared.
I am frugal but dont want to sacrifiice at the same time. This site is so informative and is very helpful to a beginner.

[Footslogger]

[quote=PartnerShip] I just got the Granite Gear Vapor for $50 from Harpers Ferry Outfitters, new 2005 model and look forward to getting it in the mail so I can try it out.
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I'm jealous ...that's a great price !!

'Slogger

[Kerosene]

That's a great price. My 15-year old daughter has agreed (after much cajoling) to hike with me for a week from Atkins to Damascus next June. She has a long torso, so I'm hoping that I can get her a VT that I can try out for myself on future hikes.