View Full Version : New Pack
Hey I need a new pack. Right now I have a JanSport External Frame. I've brought it on two weekend trips and it's done great and I've really liked it. I need a new one because a third hiker is joining the family. It's gotta be under $200 and be fairly spacious. It'll be primarily for a hike of the Shenandoah portion, but I'll probably be using it for a hopeful thru-hike one day. Any ideas?
THANKS!
How spacious is spacious? Can you put a number to that word?
mountain squid
12-04-2008, 19:49
Hey I need a new pack. Right now I have a JanSport External Frame. I've brought it on two weekend trips and it's done great and I've really liked it. I need a new one because a third hiker is joining the family. It's gotta be under $200 and be fairly spacious. It'll be primarily for a hike of the Shenandoah portion, but I'll probably be using it for a hopeful thru-hike one day. Any ideas?
THANKS!
If you are planning a future thru-hike, do research with that in mind. I would also suggest getting all your other gear before buying a pack. And then buying a pack that your gear will fit into. If you just buy something 'spacious', you might end up with more pack than you need, which will likely mean carrying more weight than necessary.
Some suggestions to get started:
ULA-Equipment (http://www.ula-equipment.com/index.htm)
Granite Gear (http://www.granitegear.com/index.html)
Osprey (http://www.ospreypacks.com/index.php)
See you on the trail,
mt squid
Blissful
12-04-2008, 20:04
Why do you need a new one with a third hiker? Each of you should carry your own gear unless you are true family and plan to stick it out by helping carry gear. I'd stick with your external for Shenandoah, then when you are planning for your own thru, buy a pack then.
There are three of us. We have two packs.
Blissful
12-04-2008, 20:21
There are three of us. We have two packs.
Let the third guy buy a pack then. Or he can look for a cheap one at a thrift store. Each one should carry his own weight. My son even had his own pack at age 10, a fifty cent one from a yard sale.
Walkie Talkie
12-04-2008, 20:24
There are three of us. We have two packs.
It makes sense to me. For under $200 you have plenty of options. You should get your butt down to the gear store right away and go pack shopping. In the end it is what you want that matters, not any suggestion we may give (although ULA does make great packs). You have $200 and a pack to buy. Sounds like a good time. Of course I am a gear addict.
Feral Bill
12-04-2008, 21:16
Tell us more about this third person. Experience, age, preferences, etc. For $200 you can pick from all sorts of excellent packs.
Well here's the story. It's me, my dad, and my sister. We have two Jansport external frames which my sister and I use for emergency services with Civil Air Patrol. My dad and I used them on our last two weekend trips. We're planning an 11 day trip for the summer. I'm the main hiker in the family. I'm the one that will be doing plenty more, and longer, hikes in my future. So we decided that I'll get a new pack and my dad and sister will use the other two packs.
FritztheCat
12-04-2008, 21:37
That makes sense.
Here's what I've been told on this forum and it makes a whole lot of sense. First, get all your other gear. Then, take the gear to an outfitter and have them fit you with a pack. By taking your gear with you, you'll be assured all your gear will fit (with little leftover room thus preventing taking things other than you'll really need). Of course you'll need some extra space for food.
Personally I like having extra room. I admit that I used to pack way to much stuff but I've moved on. Now I like the extra volume as it allows me to pack without overstuffing everything, which takes alot more time and is harder on the gear and the pack. Personally I think the whole rigamaroll of buying all the gear and then seeing an outfitter and having a pack fitted and all that is a ritual designed to still sell way more gear than people really need, and a pack that's way to heavy and expensive for what people really need. There is nothing wrong with getting something like a 3100ci 20oz pack and making it work for you. For $100 you will get alot more use out of it than a $200 4 pound pack, even if you might need to spend another $130 on something a little bigger for winter.
People need to remember that SOME outfitters may be very knowledgeable, but ALL outfitters are salespeople.
Jim Adams
12-05-2008, 15:59
Why not just buy another Jansport if it works well for you and you like it?.....Don't get caught up in the "have to have an internal frame fad". I just went back to a 16 year old external and sooooo happy that I did. Use what works for you!
geek
traildust
12-05-2008, 16:02
Osprey Aether. Excellent. Then again you will probably get plenty of suggestions.
Feral Bill
12-05-2008, 21:17
At 16 you are likely still growing. Make sure your new pack has enough adjustment. Externals are often good that way.
How you pack your pack is almost as important as the pack, imo. I've carried a Golite Dawn for the past four years (3200 cu. in.). It is basically a stuff sack with shoulder straps (padded) and a waist belt (not). It has a couple of mesh side pockets and a larger zippered pocket in the back. It has no frame whatsoever, is made of 1.7 oz. silnylon ripstop and has a Spectra gridstop bottom. It weighs 14 oz.
The only way to comfortably carry this pack is to take a closed cell foam pad, roll it up, stuff it vertically into the pack (I cut mine to exactly match the height of the pack), let it unroll, and stuff everything into the middle. Rides like a dream. First week I had it I made a small tear in the collar which closes the top (tore the grommet out). Since then, being careful, I doubt the tear has gotten an inch bigger.
I have a Granite Gear Virga on the way. It's a little bigger and tougher than the Golite. I'll use it for winter weekend trips.
for 200 I would get 2 one light frameless pack and an internal larger than the jansport possibly used