View Full Version : Pack Help
ibigler5
11-21-2008, 02:13
I was looking for a new backpack. I'm planning to thru hike the AT in April. I was choosing between the Gregory Baltoro or the Gregory Z65. Can anyone help me with these options or recommend a better back. Thanks
baltoro is way overkill for starting in april.
Why buy a 6 lb pack when a 2 lb pack will do the job? You might as well carry a brick to Maine
Look at ULA Catalyst & Granite Gear Vapor Trail / Nimbus
garlic08
11-21-2008, 10:06
Are you comfortable with the rest of your gear? How much does it all weigh? Get the pack last and get the lightest one that will carry your stuff comfortably. Don't get the biggest pack you can find and just fill it up. You don't need a six-pound pack to carry 15 pounds of gear. Both of Egads' suggestions are excellent.
Strategic
11-21-2008, 10:26
I'll second the suggestions above from Egads and Garlic. Especially take a look at the ULA packs; very well designed and built by a small, hiker-owned company right here in the U.S. They're great folks to deal with too, very friendly and helpful. They sent me a refit for my ULA Amigo gravity filter when the old style cartridges became unavailable, no hassle at all.
You'll find that a light pack with a good suspension (like the ULA's and Granite Gear's) will carry a load better and more comfortably than big old-fashioned monsters like the Gregory packs. You're young and can probably take a good deal of weight, but you'll be surprised at how good it feels not to. Go as light as you can to carry what you need.
Good luck and good hiking.
I'll second the suggestions above from Egads and Garlic. Especially take a look at the ULA packs; very well designed and built by a small, hiker-owned company right here in the U.S. They're great folks to deal with too, very friendly and helpful. They sent me a refit for my ULA Amigo gravity filter when the old style cartridges became unavailable, no hassle at all.
You'll find that a light pack with a good suspension (like the ULA's and Granite Gear's) will carry a load better and more comfortably than big old-fashioned monsters like the Gregory packs. You're young and can probably take a good deal of weight, but you'll be surprised at how good it feels not to. Go as light as you can to carry what you need.
Good luck and good hiking.
strategic, have you taken a look at gregory's packs lately? suspension on the new ones is just fine.
but also what garlic said is dead on. get your gear together and then find a pack that matches your load, not the other way around.
Bare Bear
11-21-2008, 18:07
I used a heavier external frame pack for most of my section hiking and never bothered going lighter. For my thru in 06 I started with a Gregory 6.5 lbs. At Harpers Ferry I had my GoLite Jam 30 sent and switched to that 1 lb pack and SO MUCH MORE was able to go everyday. I would not have made it if I had kept that too heavy pack. There are lots of good light packes these days. Try some from friends or a hiking club. Actually use them for a three day hike and see how it feels after eight hours. Less is more when you hike long distances. I have never seen a 55 pound pack person make it, I am sure it has happenned but most are 3 lb packs or less......
Osprey Packs are another choice that most outfitters carry. The Exos model comes out in JAN and is their new ultralite pack
twoshoes06
11-21-2008, 21:39
Hey ibigler5,
Have you ever hiked a long-distance hike before? I recommend not going over 3000 cu in, but everyone is different. I definitely do not recommend getting all of your gear then buy a backpack that fits your gear.
There are numerous reasons for this, with the best one being that you are going to overpack if you are new and you are going to want to fill in every little space in the pack, making you carry more than you need.
I used a Gregory G-pack on my thru-hike in 2006, which is 2700 cu in and had plenty of space. I would recommend the Gregory z55 or Osprey Talon 44.
A friend once told me when I was getting ready to travel abroad: "Take everything you are planning to take and all of your money and lay it on a bed. Now split the stuff in half and double the money. That is what you need to take."
I would recommend the same for you. It is easier to get stuff than to lose stuff on the AT.
Good luck. Let me know if you need anything.
Blissful
11-22-2008, 11:38
Get all your gear assembled then buy the pack last.
Bare Bear
11-25-2008, 21:45
Yeah what Blissful said. In addition I felt the one thing that helped me the most was a suggestion that I buy a good restaurant scale that reads in oz up to five pounds ($50). I then weighed every single item or group (eg. Personal: toothbrush, paste, eyeglasses, head lamp, etc.) Once you look at the weights you can eliminate a lot of stuff until the weight looks better. Then you mail stuff home for the first month until it gets really light. A few weeks on the Trail really make you appreciate the WEIGHT IS EVERYTHING concept.
what Egads said,and then buy the other stuff,not to pass 30Lb with food and water,unless you can take a lot of foot,shoulders,neck and knee pain;)
BookBurner
11-25-2008, 23:11
Ibigler5 - I admire your willingness to tackle such a great adventure at 19 years of age! Check out Go-Lite's Jam 2, Henry Shires Tarptents, Frogg Toggs, alcohol stoves, Tvyek groundsheets, Heineken cook pots, Walmart grease pots, etc. I've seen some of your other questions (very good inquiries, mind you) and you seem to be leaning towards heavy and expensive gear. It's a natural inclination (guilty myself), but unnecessary. Save some bucks, save some weight, and save your knees. Think lighter from the outset and spare yourself the agony of the inevitable learning curve. Having been there and done that, there's a lot better ways to get to Maine than hauling around a ton of gear like some broken-down Grand Canyon mule (again, guilty as charged). Good luck!
skinewmexico
11-25-2008, 23:31
Great review on the new Exos packs at Backpackinglight.
tucker0104
11-27-2008, 20:54
I have an Atmos 65 that is probably to big but I never stuff it full.
Bare Bear
11-28-2008, 01:00
I sometimes carry a 55# pack in Fl where I am hiking in for just a few miles (<10) to camp then day hiking around the camp....but for real hiking like an AT thru I use my GoLIte Jam 30 and am at 27 pounds plus water. In winter I have to add 4 more pounds of heavier clothes, gloves, knit cap, etc. but still anything over 30-35 will kill you long term.
My great experience with ULA over the past few years leads me to highly recommend you consider a Catalyst. I have a P2 and love it.
Lighter, lighter, lighter !!!
tucker0104
11-28-2008, 21:20
I am at 28 pounds before water and that is as light as I can go with my stuff and I have good stuff. I guess I will never be a true ultra light hiker.
Bare Bear
11-28-2008, 21:35
If your 28 includes five days food then you are pretty dialed in.
trailfoot
11-28-2008, 22:04
I started off with a Granite Gear Vapor Trail and purchased the Atmos 65. Love this pack. when the vapor was having issues i started noticing what others were carrying on the trail and would ask what they liked and didn't like. by far the most poplular pack was the atmos 65. reasons for liking it was the mesh back, handy pockets in the hip belt. down fall have to put food in 2 diff bags took a little while for me to get use to the frame but if you start with the pack it will be fine.
One guy had the golite pack and it broke on him but Brer Rabbit had the same pack last the whole way.
Go lighter than the Gregory packs. Eveyone that I saw using a Gregory got rid of it somewhere along the trail.
phillycheze
12-01-2008, 18:17
gregory z65 = 3 lbs. 14 oz.
gregory z55 = 3 lbs. 5 oz.
gregory z35-r = 3 lbs. 1 oz.
osprey atmos 65 = 3 lbs. 10 oz.
osprey atmos 50 = 3 lbs. 1 oz.
osprey atmos 35 = 2 lbs. 9 oz.
there's a comparison of 2 companies vented packs. pretty damn close if u ask me, but the gregory has a beefier belt and a lumbar pad while the osprey's back panel is totally vented.
i have had an atmos 35 for about 3 years now. it started on a backpacking trip and did great. then it was my daypack at an adventure camp for a solid 2 seasons (u should see how big med kits are for kid camps)... next, it went to europe with me for 2 months and it carried summer, dressy/nice and late fall clothes-n-stuff easily while hotel/hostel hopping. and last weekend it went with me on a 2 night backpacking trip in some pretty cold conditions (15 one night) and held my gear fine but i had to strap lots of stuff on the outside. i totally recommend the atmos 35. if i can afford to get my gear a little lighter, smaller, and warmer; it would be perfect for all seasons during 2-5 day trips.
i tried on a loaded gregory z55 for about 2 hrs one day and it felt good. thinking about trying that one out for extended days without resupply and winter trips...
phillycheze
12-01-2008, 18:20
on the above message all weights are from the medium size on the dealer's website.
Bare Bear
12-01-2008, 18:46
My Gregory Shasta was over 5 pounds and over six with the lid.
I switched to my GoLIte and it held up well and was just a hair over 1 pound. It still had padded straps and very basic chest strap and web waist belt. No problems with it staying together.
daylaandjasper
01-07-2009, 00:06
have any of you checked out Aarn packs? they are totally revolutionary. www.aarnpacks.com (http://www.aarnpacks.com). you have to order them from New Zealand which sucks cause you can't check it out before you buy it, but they are like no other pack on the planet.
what makes them different? they have these cool pockets on the front that balance your load, vastly improving your posture. it doesn't seem like having 20% of your weight up front would make that big of difference but it does- you literally forget you are carrying 30lbs. you don't carry this pack- you wear it.
it also has a super nifty strap system that lets each shoulder strap give with your body movement, I can swing my arms around in circles- try that with a normal pack.
pricewise they are comparable to Ospreys and Gregory- we got the Featherlite Freedom model- holds 50L- weighs 3 lb 12 oz with the front balance pockets and an integrated (but removable) waterproof pack liner. it was 240 us with shipping.
it also has this wicked cool 3d mesh on the back- very very ventilated- unlike any other mesh I've seen on packs.
I hiked the AT before in 2001 with a Dana Design pack and have also carried at various times a Kelty Flight, ULA P1 (precursor to current lightest models), Gossamer Gear G4, Golite Jam, Osprey Aether, and my first pack a hugemongus gregory- so yeah I'm a gear head. I will never carry another pack besides this one. I think it could be especially helpful for older hikers since it is so less stressful on the body.
check it out!!