Light Backpack choice... Need your advice [Archive]

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urbanhiker

11-26-2007, 12:55

Greetings colleagues,

this is my first post; thus, please forgive me if I make any faux pas in advance.

I wish to convert my heavier pack to one of the following two light packs:

Gossamer (Mariposa Plus): http://www.gossamergear.com/cgi-bin/gossamergear/Mariposa-Plus.html

or the GoLite Odyssey.

I drink tons of water and I expect to be carrying up to 30lbs including food and water.

You <b>advice</b> is superbly appreciated in advance.

I primarily hike in <st1:State w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Indiana</st1:place></st1:State>; however, I aspire to start doing the AT either sections or whole if I ever dare to drop my corporate job lol.

Samer
:confused:

Just a Hiker

11-26-2007, 13:19

Hey there. I am sure you will get a ton of great advice, but here is my two cents worth. It seems to me that those "Go-lite" packs dont have the suspension systems for alot of weight, and 30lbs of food and water may be stetching their capabilities. However, there are some real gear experts on here so I am sure you'll get fixed up with the right pack for your needs. Good luck.

Just Jim

JAK

11-26-2007, 13:56

I have found that wrapping your blue foam pad inside an ultralight pack like my JAM2 or the ones you descrbe can make it easier to carry bulk weight comfortably, as long as there is enough room left for your food and sleeping bag and other stuff to go down the middle. Also wearing your wool sweater and packing your other layers when not needed saves pack volume and adds comfort, I think. Also it is easier to preserver heat and keep the wool sweater from gaining weight in wet weather if you keep it on, and use the other layers for regulation.

I think 30 pounds is a good design limit for an ultralight pack, but even 20 pounds will be uncomfortable and bust a seam if you pack stuff like cans of spam and try and compress it. Try to get one big enough to include your blue foam pad inside, and strong enough for 30#, at least most of the time if not all of the time. The tricky bit might be loading 30# without the blue foam pad to smooth and spread things out. Then you could use you sleeping bag and stuff to smooth things out, but that can get messy. Smooth bulk food like oatmeal can help alot, depending on how you pack it.

take-a-knee

11-26-2007, 14:28

Granite Gear Vapor Trail, good for 35# (for me, some say only 30#)

halftime

11-26-2007, 16:57

I wish to convert my heavier pack to one of the following two light packs:

Gossamer (Mariposa Plus): http://www.gossamergear.com/cgi-bin/gossamergear/Mariposa-Plus.html

or the GoLite Odyssey.

You might check out these reviews. Both are listed. Good luck with which ever you choose.
http://www.backpackgeartest.org/reviews/Packs/Internal%20and%20External%20Framed%20Backpacks/

whitefoot_hp

11-26-2007, 17:11

if you are planning on carrying 30 lbs, you arent exactly in the 'ultralight' ballpark. you basically have this option:

save another pound or two or three by getting a 1 lb or less frameless pack that will not carry the load as well as a frame pack or quasi frame pack like the vapor trial.

go ahead and get a good light weight frame pack that weighs two or three and can actually carry thrity pounds efficiently.

ono

11-27-2007, 01:21

granite vapor trail= good light bag.

go lite- great, but not for your weight requirements. drop some stuff, or find something else

Mocs123

11-27-2007, 10:05

Just for comparison what pack are you using now? If you go to a frameless pack you will have a lot more weight on your shoulders, but some people handle that better than others.

The Vapor Trail would probably be good to 30 pounds but even though I only carry 22-28 pounds, I prefer a pack with a frame. I use a Mountansmith Phantom which is no longer made, but you might look at the Gregory Z55, Osprey Atmos 50, or one of the ULA packs.

Packs are such a personal thing that what works for me might not work for you. I would recomend taking all of your gear to your local outfitter, packing different bags up and walking around the store for 15-30 minutes and pick what feels the best.

urbanhiker

11-27-2007, 19:44

Greetings,

I am torn as I truly love my Mountainsmith Firestone (III) I think that is its name. Its comfortable and I am trying my best to reduce the weigh of everything I have. However, I know going from 5lbs to 1 to 2 lbs backpack is the right thing to do.

cheers,

samer

P.S: I am on an ever ending journey to find balance between comfort and weightlessness

JAK

11-28-2007, 09:24

It was easier for me. My pack weighed 6 or 7 pounds and I truly hated it. :)
I think there is a good selection in 1-2 pound range, for weights up to 30#.

My baseweight is kept fairly low as I keep my sweater on and use a ponchotarp, but it's nice to be able to carry lots of food or stuff for hiking with my daughter. So I think it is useful to have a capacity of 30#. The volume is something I am unsure of yet. My new pack holds 3100ci, and I think I can make it work even though I like to carry my blue foam pad inside it.

rafe

11-28-2007, 10:06

Even with modern high-tech materials, there's still some correlation between pack weight itself and the load it can carry. IMO, the Gossamer Gear Mariposa is an ultraligher's pack, but your suggested load (30#) is well beyond that.

If your total load is 10-15#, you don't need much of a suspension in a pack. But once you're into the 20-25# range, you'll want it. At 30# and above, there's no doubt, you need it.

To summarize I'd put packs into (at least) three categories:

ultralight, frameless: 15-20# load limit (eg Mariposa, Fanatic Fringe)
light, soft framesheet: 25-30# load limit (eg Vapor Trail)
midweight, stiffer frame: 35-40# load limit (eg Nimbus Ozone)

urbanhiker

11-28-2007, 18:10

Froggy

11-28-2007, 22:33

While it's not a pack, perhaps you can save a bit of weight by going to an alcohol stove. I got one from www.antigravitygear.com (http://www.antigravitygear.com) and like it a lot. Much lighter than the stoves it replaced.

It's an inexpensive starting point.

Tinker

11-29-2007, 01:57

Thanks so much for everyone's tremendous advice.

I think I am going to hold on my money for a short term and continue hiking with my mountainsmith. In addition, continue to see how I can save ounces. Once I have more miles under me I will make the change to the pack.

Cheers,

samer

I think you're on the right track. Once you lose some weight on the inside of the pack, you can think about getting a lighter pack. That's what most of us older hikers did. (Now I just have to lose some weight in front of the pack).:o

1azarus

11-29-2007, 09:56

rafe

11-29-2007, 21:19

i wouldn't be surprised if you could cut between 1 and 2 pounds off your pack -- and still have the basic comfort of the pack you like. take a critical look at your pack...

I would be surprised. I took my Camp Trails (external frame) apart and weighed the fabric; it was about ten ounces or so. That's an acient old pack and I was sure I could weight-reduce it by using lighter fabric. I might have taken another half-pound or so off it by hacking away at the frame. Not worth the bother.

In the end I bought two Granite Gear packs (Vapor Trail and Nimbus Ozone) and used one of these on this year's extended section. I can't imagine there's more than an ounce or two of "fat" on either of these packs.

dessertrat

11-29-2007, 21:23

... i know you like your pack, but you may like it a lot more if you start cutting things off it. ruthlessly. lots of straps and labels and liners and inner bags and pads aren't used in most packs. i wouldn't be surprised if you could cut between 1 and 2 pounds off your pack -- and still have the basic comfort of the pack you like. take a critical look at your pack...

I just cut up an old Marlboro adventure gear internal frame pack to see if I could lighten it up. I think I took half the weight off of it. I cut off the lid, the side pockets, took out a plasticky inner liner, etc. What I ended up with was an internal frame pack with a solid frame and a plain packcloth bag with a drawstring closure appended to it. I think it will work just fine.

I need to get myself a scale, so I can weigh things like this.

capoken

11-29-2007, 21:58

Hi Guys,

I had to chime in, because I am considering the Odyssey for a WINTER pack. I think some of you are confusing the Odyssey with a frameless go-lite pack. But the Odyssey has a full active adjustable frame and load lifters. Most reviewers say it handles 35 lbs wonderfully, but get uncomfy with 40 lbs. That should handle most of my winter overnight adventures, and surely would do for this guy on his thru...

astrogirl

11-30-2007, 23:28

I have the G5 Hyperlight. I added a sternum strap because I find it's not optional for me. I could go with out the hipbelt, but not the sternum strap. I had to move the strap because it cut across my boobs, but you might not have that problem. :D

I think frames are overrated. I use a 3/4 Z Rest in the pad pocket, and it's fine. You do need to pack it right, but it's quite nice to carry once you get your packing system down. Experiment with where you put the bulk of the weight (usually your food bag). It needs to work with your own center of gravity.

30# is a lot for a frameless pack though. I'm usually at about 21# with 2L of water and my max food load. If you can't get the weight down, you might not want to go frameless. I used to use the old 11oz. GoLite Breeze, and that thing carried for crap no matter what I did. If I put the sleeping pad inside, I couldn't fit much else in there.

The fabric is delicate. You really need to watch around rocks. If you overload it, it will stress the seams. I suspect it would need to be replaced halfway through a thruhike unless you really babied it. Even the mesh is pretty delicate.

oso loco

12-01-2007, 01:17

buckowens

12-01-2007, 09:21

Have you looked at the ULA packs? I have used a Catalyst for the past two years, carrying a lot of weight (11 days food was the worst, or 6 days food and a gallon of water) and while I feel the weight, it carries comfortably. He also has smaller packs if you aren't carrying that kind of load.

Pack are really personal for sure. I bought a ULA Catalyst to replace a Gregory Whitney and really love it. It is pretty light, durable and comfortable for me. ULA is opening back up again December 1st, but they also sell them at Neels Gap.