How do you fit everything inside your backpack?

[The Wisconsinite]

So, as I mentioned in another thread, I am the brand new owner of the REI UL 45 pack, which, seeing as my last pack was from the early 90's, I'm now happy as a clam. I just took it for a weekend up in Taconic State park in NY, and I came to the conclusion that I can't fit everything I need in my pack. So how do the rest of you do it? My bag was packed to the brim with just the stuff for the weekend, so I had absolutly no room for food or other odds and ends I'm sure I would need on a longer hike. My sleeping bag isn;t exactly tiny, but its not that big, and i have a thermarest pro-lite pad thats pretty small. But they took uo about half the space in my bag. I just picked up a compression sack, but I'm still a little worried. Does everyone fit everything inside? Does your pad and sleeping bag always go outside on top? Where does the food go? Do you have packs bigger than 45 liters (2,746 cu. in)? This is driving me crazy :) (Along with a slowly leaking thermarest, detailed in another thread).

[Midway Sam]

I personally would have a tough time with a 2,764ci pack. I just "downsized" to a 3,900ci pack. There are thru-hikers that carry smaller packs, but they pass on some of the "luxuries" I carry like a tent, water filter, and food other than ramen and pop-tarts.

If you're planning on being out multiple nights, you're gonna have to ditch the new "4.5 lb tent" for a simple tarp as well as the large sleeping bag.

[Appalachian Tater]

There are people who use small packs but you really have to go ultralight like Sam says.

[John Klein]

So, as I mentioned in another thread, I am the brand new owner of the REI UL 45 pack, which, seeing as my last pack was from the early 90's, I'm now happy as a clam. I just took it for a weekend up in Taconic State park in NY, and I came to the conclusion that I can't fit everything I need in my pack. So how do the rest of you do it?
If you're just starting backpacking you should get a pack with more than 2700 cubes. REI is supposed to have a liberal return policy. Where exactly is Taconic State Park in NY? I used to live up there. I know about the Taconic State Parkway and Fahnestock State Park but not Taconic State Park. Just curious.

[Tobit]

Where exactly is Taconic State Park in NY?
Taconic SP is in the Copake Falls Area

http://nysparks.state.ny.us/parks/info.asp?parkID=137

- T

[Frolicking Dinosaurs]

I have the pack, but couldn't use a pack this small if I were hiking alone. The he-dino and I share equipment and I have some serious weight limitations due to an accident several years ago.

I agree with others who have noted starting out with a larger pack might be a good idea.

[Suzzz]

How many litres is 2700 ci? All the packs I've seen for sale seem to be advertized in litres.

[Midway Sam]

Consider the above advice regarding the return and take a good look at the UL 60. That's the pack I have (size L) and if works just fine. I could carry up to a full week's worth of food along with all my gear in the UL 60.

I also carry a small sleeping bag (either down or a "bike bag" depending on weather) and a small single-wall tent. (Forerly a Go-Lite Lair 1 tarp, soon toe be a Henry Shires Double Rainbow).

[Midway Sam]

How many litres is 2700 ci? All the packs I've seen for sale seem to be advertized in litres.


Do you have packs bigger than 45 liters (2,746 cu. in)?

I thought the litre thing was relatively new. Kelty always named their packs based on the size in cu. in.

[The Wisconsinite]

Well, I thought it was a rather large pack when I got it, but possibly it just fits everything better than my old pack. I'm not exacly a novice backpacker, having done it since I was a kid. I'm just a novice when it comes to nice and new equipment, since I've never had money before to buy stuff, so all my stuff is the exact same stuff I had as a 15 year old (27 now). I just remember carrying way too much stuff and being uncomfortable, so I decided to go lightweight this time and this seemed like a good pack to me that was cheap and sort of did its job well.

That being said, maybe I should have gone lightweight with other things first, since trying to fit regular equipment into a lightweigt bag may not have been the best course of action.

Anyways, hopefully my other equipment will catch up soon I guess. I'm not sure I could ever go without a tent, I'd never heard about it before I came to this website. I camp in Wisconsin when I got home, and lets just say I'm afraid the mosquitos would carry me off. How does one sleep in a hammock or with a tarp and not get bothered by them whining right by your face?

In other news, Taconic State park is just off the Taconic State park way, near the border with Massachusetts. Its off Route 22 near the town of Copake and borders on a park in MA that includes Bish Bash falls. I believe a Mt. Washington or something along those lines may have been nearby, but the park map wasn't exactly great. Half the places it suggested to hike it gave you directions that took you off the map to get there.

[Appalachian Tater]

How many litres is 2700 ci? All the packs I've seen for sale seem to be advertized in litres.

1 liter = 61.0237441 cubic inches

so 2700 ci = 44.25 l

[Appalachian Tater]

I'm not sure I could ever go without a tent, I'd never heard about it before I came to this website. I camp in Wisconsin when I got home, and lets just say I'm afraid the mosquitos would carry me off.

http://www.tarptent.com/productsheets/RAINBOW.pdf

[Midway Sam]

That being said, maybe I should have gone lightweight with other things first, since trying to fit regular equipment into a lightweigt bag may not have been the best course of action.

Overloading a "UL" pack is both potentially uncomfortable to the wearer and potentially damaging to the pack itself.


I'm not sure I could ever go without a tent, I'd never heard about it before I came to this website

I am not suggesting going without a worthy shelter, I am suggesting going without a 4.5 pound tent.

Also, another quote from the REI page on this pack: "This overnight / weekend pack provides a balanced mix of light weight, organization and durability while letting you hike in comfort." That, to me, would indicate a pack with the capacity for up to 3 days worth of food and gear for the frugal packer.

[Suzzz]

Here in Canada, packs are sold in litres as we are on the metric system. Thanks for the info!

[The Wisconsinite]

I was kind of proud of my 4.5 lb tent, I thought it was considered a lightweight tent. But I see what you mean about the tarp thing though, it would be much lighter. My tent ended up being smaller than I thought it would be, but I used it this weekend and I liked it. Kind of cozy. I bought it for two people though, because I usually like to hike with someone, maybe a nice young lady eventually :) So hopefully I wouldn't be carrying everything myself, but I wanted to be able to if need be.

[Tabasco]

1st tent= The North Face Talus = 7 1/2 lbs

2nd tent = MSR Hubba Hubba = 4 lbs

3rd tent = Henry Shires Contrail = 1 1/2 lbs

[Midway Sam]

I sometimes have 3 in my tent. (Me and my two sons, ages 11 and 9)

1st tent= Sierra Designs Nova = 7 lbs 2 oz

2nd tent = Swiss Gear Hiker Tent = 3 lbs 8 oz

3rd tent = Henry Shires Double Rainbow = 2 1/2 lbs

[Two Speed]

Actually I'm finding 2,500 to 3,000 cubic inches to work pretty well for me.

Wisconsinite, maybe I can make a suggestion that might help. The next time you go hiking, just take your old pack and your new gear, tent, stove, etc and load like you ordinarily would, but make a thorough inventory of your gear. While you're out on your trip make a note of what you use and what never gets used. The "never used" stuff is obviously a candidate for elimination. Do that a couple of times and that UL 45 might work for you.

FWIW the only things that get a "free ride" in my pack are:

first aid kit
one or two spare pairs of socks, maybe some other warm clothing if I'm hiking during winter
one day's additional rations
Everything else gets used regularly or it doesn't make the cut. I do put my 1 litre water bottles in the mesh pockets, and my SMD Lunar and sleeping pad gets lashed to the bottom of the pack, but I'm pretty sure I can make a 2,000 cubic inch pack work for short trips in mild weather. Still working on that one, though.

BTW, :welcome to WhiteBlaze.

[Egads]

I think that you have already figured it out. You are putting too much in the pack.

As several others stated, changing from a conventional 2 wall tent to a hammock, Shires or Six Moon Designs single wall tent will save lots of room. This will set you back ~$200-300

Drop the filter. Carry Aquamira or similar treatment. ~$12

Check out your cook set. Can you replace it with an alcohol stove & Heini pot. My setup weighs 8.8 oz with pot, stove, fuel, lighter, pot holder, windscreen, and nests together; size of the Heinican can. ~$25 Buy a set from Zelph on WB.

Change your old bag out for a down bag / quilt. Investment of ~$150-$400

Eliminate anything that you never/rarely use (except for 1st aid) $0

Phase out fleece w/ down. Fleece does not compress. I layer a combo of micro / midweight wool & down. ~$100-$400

Down size your pad from full length to 2/3 length. ~$20-75 I actually use both a ridgerest & thermorest 4 air matteress when sleeping on the ground, but only the ridgerest in a hammock.

Leave the pillow behind. Use your spare clothing in a stuff sack. $0

I fit 3 nights food, water, clothes, & gear into about 2300 CI in summertime. My pack, gear, food, & water weighed ~14.5 lbs last hike. I had a comfortable, dry bed (hammock), but left my stove behind and ate cold foods.


Good luck working it down.

Egads

[SteveJ]

<clip>Anyways, hopefully my other equipment will catch up soon I guess. I'm not sure I could ever go without a tent, I'd never heard about it before I came to this website. I camp in Wisconsin when I got home, and lets just say I'm afraid the mosquitos would carry me off. How does one sleep in a hammock or with a tarp and not get bothered by them whining right by your face?<clip>


If I'm planning to camp in a high mosquito area, I treat my bug netting and tarp with permethrin - but I admittedly haven't hammocked in as high a mosquito area as Wisconsin since starting to hammock....

[aufgahoban]

My daughter had one of those REI packs. It didn't last her first 5 day trip. The seams started coming apart where the pack attaches to the straps and the pack started digging into her side by day 2. Her stuff was a little on the heavy side with the 5 days worth of food and lots of extra water and the pack just couldn't handle it. The only thing she had strapped to the outside was her z-rest (she just tucks it under that top flap and cinches it down). Everything else fit inside. So other than it coming apart, she liked the pack well enough. Too bad it didn't work out. REI happily refunded her money in full. They seemed a little shocked that it had come apart like that and it wasn't even dirty yet. Now she's looking at new packs all over again..

[superman]

I've almost come full circle now. When I started the AT I had an external frame pack with so much stuff lashed to it I looked like "Omar the Junk Man." I kept changing stuff including to an internal frame pack. I had to cram and jam to get all the stuff I had to have into the pack. After the AT I kept trying different, lighter, smaller pieces of gear. My same pack kept getting looser and harder to fill out. Now I can put all my stuff inside my old, light external frame pack. It's all about choices (like life).:)

[gearfreak]

I have the same pack in a large size, which is 50L (3050ci). You're going to have to be creative with your packing and perhaps change some gear as others have suggested. There's a surprising amount of space in the inside lid pocket, so take advantage of that. I carry a 2.4L platypus bladder in the hydration sleeve but feel that it takes up too much valuable space. I may switch to two bottles stashed in the mesh pockets for my water. The pack size forces me to not get carried away with packing things I can do without. With the platypus full and three days worth of food the pack is not crammed full and checks in right at 25lbs. I can send you my gear list if you like. :cool:

[RadioFreq]

Consider the above advice regarding the return and take a good look at the UL 60. That's the pack I have (size L) and if works just fine. I could carry up to a full week's worth of food along with all my gear in the UL 60.

Ditto that.....step up to the 60. You'll be glad you did.

[The Wisconsinite]

Thanks guys and gals for all the input. I might try and see about the 60, although I'm not sure they'll let me use my coupon again, which would make me decide against it. I don't think I have too much of a problem with weight, because it seems comfortable, but more with space. I'm going to see how well my compression sack that is on the way will work. Right now my tent takes up half the space of my sleeping bag. So if I can compress my bag and the soft parts of my tent and plac them on top of my bag, I'll have opened up around 3/4 of the space to carry the stuff I need. I'll let you all know how it works, and when I can find a scale I'll let you know how much it all weighs. What weight should I try and stay between for the pack? 25 - 30 lbs?

[T-Dubs]

I think that you have already figured it out. You are putting too much in the pack.

As several others stated, changing from a conventional 2 wall tent to a hammock, Shires or Six Moon Designs single wall tent will save lots of room. This will set you back ~$200-300

Drop the filter. Carry Aquamira or similar treatment. ~$12

Check out your cook set. Can you replace it with an alcohol stove & Heini pot. My setup weighs 8.8 oz with pot, stove, fuel, lighter, pot holder, windscreen, and nests together; size of the Heinican can. ~$25 Buy a set from Zelph on WB.

Change your old bag out for a down bag / quilt. Investment of ~$150-$400

Eliminate anything that you never/rarely use (except for 1st aid) $0

Phase out fleece w/ down. Fleece does not compress. I layer a combo of micro / midweight wool & down. ~$100-$400

Down size your pad from full length to 2/3 length. ~$20-75 I actually use both a ridgerest & thermorest 4 air matteress when sleeping on the ground, but only the ridgerest in a hammock.

Leave the pillow behind. Use your spare clothing in a stuff sack. $0

I fit 3 nights food, water, clothes, & gear into about 2300 CI in summertime. My pack, gear, food, & water weighed ~14.5 lbs last hike. I had a comfortable, dry bed (hammock), but left my stove behind and ate cold foods.


Good luck working it down.

Egads

Or get a bigger pack. :)

Tom

[Miner]

So, as I mentioned in another thread, I am the brand new owner of the REI UL 45 pack, which, seeing as my last pack was from the early 90's, I'm now happy as a clam. I just took it for a weekend up in Taconic State park in NY, and I came to the conclusion that I can't fit everything I need in my pack. So how do the rest of you do it? Simple, you buy a pack that will fit your current gear. I can live with such a small pack like that because I have downsized my gear enough that it will fit, but I did so before moving down into a smaller pack. I use a torso pad not a full length pad, a small tarp instead of a tent, a down sleeping bag that compresses small, etc. Food for a multi-day trip ends up taking the most room out of everything.

[Appalachian Tater]

The lighter your pack is, the happier you'll be. Stick with the small pack and it will give you the incentive to carry less. Get a big pack and you'll keep it full.

However, it is a small pack. It is nice to be able to carry a week's worth of food and enough water to get through a dry section on a hot day.

And, the third way: there is no reason not to have two packs for different purposes.

[whitefoot_hp]

How does one sleep in a hammock or with a tarp and not get bothered by them whining right by your face?


Many Hammocks have built in or attachable bugnets these days...

also, for tarp users, some folks have bug bivys that fit over their torso, or some have bugnets that fit over their sleeping bags, if you can deal with a bugnet in your face all night. (might be more obnoxious than a mosquito)

If you have around 150-200$ to spend simply on a shelter, get an eagles nest hammock or a Hennessey Hammock, i have both, am a big dude, and sleep in them comfortably. worlds of difference. worth every penny.

check out hammockforums.net if you are interested.

[superman]

Food and water is heavy. You can re-supply almost every three days on the AT. I even did that through the whites. Camel up and hike for the next water source. Unless it's a dry year there is plenty of water. Consider that emergency sleeping bag they sell at EMS (not the space blanket). Even with a liner it's lighter than any of the bags or blankets. Tarp or hammock. Garbage bag rain gear. When you get your pack weight and bulk low enough and small enough you can carry it in what ever small pack is light. Folks that make their own gear get the added pride in creating it. It's not about money. Many of the outfitters get a kick out of selling you 100 pounds of light weight gear. There are so many ways to get to the same place. When I started the AT I found it annoying when the ultra light hikers would pass me. They would be all smiley and just about dancing along the trail. I would have tripped them if I could have kept up (humor). I'm more obtuse than most so it took a long time for the concept to get through to my brain. You don't have to go light but your body will thank you in the long haul.

[Dirtygaiters]

So, as I mentioned in another thread, I am the brand new owner of the REI UL 45 pack, which, seeing as my last pack was from the early 90's, I'm now happy as a clam. I just took it for a weekend up in Taconic State park in NY, and I came to the conclusion that I can't fit everything I need in my pack. So how do the rest of you do it? My bag was packed to the brim with just the stuff for the weekend, so I had absolutly no room for food or other odds and ends I'm sure I would need on a longer hike. My sleeping bag isn;t exactly tiny, but its not that big, and i have a thermarest pro-lite pad thats pretty small. But they took uo about half the space in my bag. I just picked up a compression sack, but I'm still a little worried. Does everyone fit everything inside? Does your pad and sleeping bag always go outside on top? Where does the food go? Do you have packs bigger than 45 liters (2,746 cu. in)? This is driving me crazy :) (Along with a slowly leaking thermarest, detailed in another thread).

I generally use a Granite Gear Vapor Trail, which is a 60 liter pack. It weighs about 2 lbs, which is as light as I care to get a pack to be, and can easily fit all my gear + enough food for 4-5 days on the trail. I, however, don't have very bulky gear. I have a down sleeping bag that compresses tiny, and use a tarp + bivy which doesn't take up a lot of space either. However, I've used this pack with bulkier gear just fine. I'd agree that you should just get a bigger pack, though it sounds like you could benefit from lighter/less bulky gear as well. Probably, however, you don't have to spend a lot more money if you teach yourself how to pack less. I've fit an overnight load into a 35 liter pack, and that included a synthetic 20 degree bag, an air pad, and an MSR Hubba tent

Also- strap the Thermarest to the outside of your pack. It's not heavy enough to cause an uncomfortable shift in load carrying, and those foam pads are too bulky in everything but 60+ liter packs--and even in those. Down sleeping bags are at least 200% more compressible than synthetic ones, just speaking in general terms, and if you're carrying a tent, you can compress the fly and the fabric tent body and stick the poles inside your pack as well. Even though this is all going on the inside of your pack, the packing method shaves lots and lots of bulk and by getting the weight closer to your back, helps you carry the load better.

Like others have said, big, heavy and bulky tents are just that: big, heavy and bulky. You could invest in a 3 lb solo tent, MSR has a few nice ones in that range, or a 1.5-2 lb tarptent and shave bulk and weight easily from your pack.

Post a gear list. There are lots of people here who are more than willing to look at what you're packing and suggest ways to get everything to fit.

[Michael J]

Wisconsinite,
I have a Deuter 55+10 pack and always seem to have too much stuff to put in it. But, after several packings and unpackings in the living room, I seem to get everything in it I need or want. My sons and I go for days at a time in the Michigan forests and we like to camp comfortably. If I told you how much our packs weighted, I'd be banned from posting here. Let's just say it's under the US Army's limits.

Anyhoo, I guess what you take with you depends on what type of outdoor activity you are doing. I've never hiked the AT and probably never will. However, I understand the necessity for the pack being light weight. If, on the other hand, you trek into the forests for a few days of being Survirorman, you might want to load that pack with everything you think you'll need. I like my North Face solo tent, my full size Thermarest pad, my GSI cookset, my Gerber Sport Axe, a first aid kit that could service a company of soldiers, and a bunch of other "sacks" filled with items that "I just gotta have with me." Just keep playing with the loading and the changing of items. Soon, you'll be a pro at it.

Happy trails!
Michael

[JAK]

On strategy is to keep a wear wool sweater and hiking shorts/pants all the time, appropriate for the season, then use the other layers when extra warmth, wind proofing, or rain proofing is needed. These other layers can be very packable, and don't absorb much water. I'm talking rain poncho/tarp, wind pants, wind jacket, skin layer pants, skin layer top, fleece hat and gloves. Fleece boxers too maybe. When worn continuosly, the wool sweater never has to be packed, never becomes a deadweight, and acts as a sort of thermal flywheel. It might be 8oz in summer, 16-24 oz in Spring/Fall, even 24-48oz or more in winter. Seems crazy I know. 48 oz sweater. But its a cold wet winter here and a big heavy wool sweater makes you like a bear, and then the other stuff can be light and cheap. Bears don't have a lot of money.

[middle to middle]

I recall leaving little piles of stuff in the middle of the trail for days in first week for anyone who came along and wanted it. Amazing the junk you think you need. It is a joy to become trail hard and light.

[superman]

I recall leaving little piles of stuff in the middle of the trail for days in first week for anyone who came along and wanted it. Amazing the junk you think you need. It is a joy to become trail hard and light.

So true...your stuff and you will adapt, adjust, be left behind or go home. What you start with is only what you start with. It would be swell if we all went out to the trail with only the right stuff to hike with. The reality is that even if a piece of gear is right for this hike it won't be for later in the hike or the next hike. Your gear has to deal with the situation you are in now not some other time or place. The AT usually teaches hikers to adjust to their situation as needed...that includes changing their gear as needed. Don't fall in love with any piece of gear. Try thinking of your pack as a perpetual work in progress. Try some of this and some of that until it makes you smile. Then you'll find something else to try. It's all good.

[Username75]

[quote=. My sleeping bag isn;t exactly tiny, but its not that big, and i have a thermarest pro-lite pad thats pretty small. But they took uo about half the space in my bag. I just picked up a compression sack, but I'm still a little worried. Does everyone fit everything inside? ).[/quote]
thats your main problem
If you can attach your tent above Your pack, and the therma rest & sleeping bag below that outside of your pack.
Then fill your bag lightest stuff down.
Take a reasonable assesment of what your really need for your hike
then ONLY those items take
Sam:-?