View Full Version : What do you strap to the outside of your pack?
This poll asks what other hikers might see strapped to the OUTSIDE of your pack on a fairly regular basis.
Check all that apply.
Footslogger
12-13-2005, 11:43
Small section of Zrest (that I use as a seat), Tyvek groundcloth, campshoes(Waldies) and a 2 Liter Platy (folded under the Zrest) ...and sometimes my ballcap if it's warm/shady and I don't need it.
'Slogger
Kerosene
12-13-2005, 11:44
No poll with any selections is visible.
My responses:
Camp Shoes (flip flops or Crocs)
Wet Socks
Fleece Jacket
max patch
12-13-2005, 12:01
I bought a pack big enough to hold all my stuff.
MisterSweetie
12-13-2005, 12:13
My sleeping bag is so volumnous that I have to keep it on the outside. Along with crocs, tent poles (which slip into the water pocket and under the compression straps on the side of the bag). Water bottles (usually two)... other stuff sometimes.
I did clip a stuffed animal to my chest strap once. Hiker buddy, that's all. :)
I am a big believer in using outside straps. I always carried my platypus and snacks on one side and my tent and sometimes pad on the other. Anything I might need quickly went there as well. In the Smokys I added a side cargo pouch to make extra room for winter clothing and overflow things always went outside. And the outside was the perfect "Clothes line" for wet things.
That allowed me to use a smaller pack than if I had room for everything inside, saving pack weight.
I suppose it might be different going cross-country through pack-snagging brush, but that was never a serious problem on the AT.
Gray Blazer
12-13-2005, 12:48
I am old school. I use an old jansport from the 70's (funny, they used to be high tech. Now they only make school backpacks) that I bought off the wall at Walasi-yi, Neels Gap (Remember the old green one that was on display 3 years ago?). I combined it with parts from an old jansport that my sister got in the 70's when she and her family walked from Gainesville, FL to Portland, Oregon (remember the Walkin' Warriners?) and I use it to honor them. You can view it in my pics, in the shot on Wesser Bald. To answer your question, strapped to it is my cheap tent (I am looking to upgrade) and my self-inflating Everest air mattress (Sleep is important to me, my coleman backpacking pillow is inside my pack). Also, you may see on the outside, my cup for cooking my ramen noodles and/or coffee, and, my camera case attached to my bellyband where I can grab it in a hurry.
Pennsylvania Rose
12-13-2005, 12:52
Depends on which pack I'm using.
My external frame gets the tent, sleeping pad, and sometimes sleeping bag on the outside.
My internal frame doesn't get anything on the outside. Maybe camp shoes occasionally.
Other....when my kids were small, I'd hang their rinsed cloth diapers on my pack to dry.
fiddlehead
12-13-2005, 13:38
Nothing is only there (in the poll) as a rare occurance.
Nothing should be strapped to a pack unless you are either carrying too much or your pack is too small. Straps are extra weight you don't need to carry
Cookerhiker
12-13-2005, 14:40
Camp shoes (in my case, Keen sandals)
Sleeping pad with ground cloth wrapped over it
Occasionally rain jacket
Just Jeff
12-13-2005, 14:43
I have mesh pockets for snacks, wet tarps, rain gear...but those are inside the outer pockets, rather than "strapped" to the outside, hanging off the pack.
I'll strap my hat and dirty socks to the outside. Very rarely, if I carry a pad and don't have room inside the pack, I'll strap it on. I think that's happened once in the past two years or so.
In addition to many of the above, definitely a ballcap or rainhat, and a totem; a small hiking toy I got from a SOBO hiker the first time I hiked the AT (Approach Trail to Springer). It is my good luck charm on the AT! :)
Sue
depends on the definition of "inside" vs "outside" when talking about a Gearskin - a fair about of stuff is tucked under the straps - is this "in" the pack or not
Tarp-tent and snack bag using the bungie-cord straps on a Mountainsmith Auspex. Tarp-tent pole, Nalgene in one pocket; Camelback, pack cover in other pocket.
I find having the tent and pole outside the pack helps a lot when I have to set up in the rain. It eliminates the need to go into the pack to get the tent out, thus getting everything else in the pack wet.
I keep my crocs, ball cap, coffee cup, and anything that needs to dry on the back. My tent and pad go in the side mesh pockets, is that still outside the pack? I like keeping them out of the pack for the same reason Skyline mentioned. I hang water bottles from my sholder straps.
I strap myself to the pack and thats about all. :D
Mother Nature
12-13-2005, 20:25
I like the simplicity of an internal frame pack but having tried one for a while it reminded me of carrying a garbage can with everything dumped inside. I tried various colored stuff sacks etc. Some of the newer models do have mesh outside pockets which are practical. But I grew up with externals and love them. :p Everything in its place. When I need something I know right where it is and don't have to play games to locate it. I have my sleeping bag double bagged and strapped at the bottom. My Z-rest is tucked under the top flap and rests on the top of my sleeping bag at the bottom; held in place with a strap. I wear a small silnylon bag on my waist belt with my day's snacks and my camera. I hang clothing to dry when necessary.
Mother Nature
I like the simplicity of an internal frame pack but having tried one for a while it reminded me of carrying a garbage can with everything dumped inside. I tried various colored stuff sacks etc. Some of the newer models do have mesh outside pockets which are practical. But I grew up with externals and love them. :p Everything in its place. When I need something I know right where it is and don't have to play games to locate it. I have my sleeping bag double bagged and strapped at the bottom. My Z-rest is tucked under the top flap and rests on the top of my sleeping bag at the bottom; held in place with a strap. I wear a small silnylon bag on my waist belt with my day's snacks and my camera. I hang clothing to dry when necessary.
Mother Nature
I started backpacking with an external, and also liked the many pockets...a place for everything and everything in its place.
When I switched to an internal, I liked the way it carried a lot better but missed the ability to be as organized. Eventually it became just as second nature to pack the internal, with multiple stuff sacks instead of multiple pockets. I always put the sacks in the pack in exactly the same order and position within the pack--and I know exactly where any given item is should I need it. Best of both worlds!
Fortunately, my internal has a top compartment--what some I've heard call a "brain"--and so certain things that I want quick access to can go there. Other items that go on the outside are noted above.
orangebug
12-14-2005, 11:24
I strap my Tyvek ground sheet and pad, at least in winter conditions. I tie a fleece or rain jacket to the top of the pack to make it easily available to put on or remove. Rarely, I'll let a wet tarp or tent ride outside to try to keep the interior relatively dry.
Uncle Silly
12-14-2005, 11:42
My pack is a little small (ostensibly to keep me from packing too much) so some things had to get strapped on outside. At some points I looked like a tinker, so much crud hung off my pack. My Z-rest, since it really wouldn't fit inside; a mandolin; my camp waterbag (1gal platy); at times a stuffed animal (dog toy); a supersoaker picked up at Trail Days; the current mapdana; a camp skillet; water bottle or two; sunglasses when not in use; and wet clothing (usually socks).
This poll asks what other hikers might see strapped to the OUTSIDE of your pack on a fairly regular basis.Check all that apply.
i've hiked with "WET CLOTHING" (CoolMax shirt or wet socks) strapped onto my backpack for drying.
but, most times...its just my "squeeky" titanium coffee mug!:D
SGT Rock
12-14-2005, 12:44
A water bottle hanging off a Gearskin strap.
smokymtnsteve
12-15-2005, 01:24
A water bottle hanging off a Gearskin strap.
ewww..that kinda sounds like it could hurt :D
justusryans
12-15-2005, 09:00
A bottle of Jose' Cuervo Especial 1800 for those extra cold nites!! :D
UCONNMike
12-15-2005, 10:27
The only thing I had strapped to my Vapor Trail was a Wiffle Ball, Myself and the JHP would play some intense wiffle games while on the trail...but other than that I tryed to keep my pack as super stream as possible