pack size

[simon]

Hi, i'm curious as to how many people thru hiked with a bag sized three thousand cubic inches or less? What challenges did you have with this small of a pack?

[SGT Rock]

Getting all your stuff in it...

I've seen some very disciplined packers get down that small, but for the most part people trying to pack something like that end up hanging gear all around the outside which can throw off the way the pack is supposed to ride.

I'm pretty good at going light - but I doubt I could get all my stuff in a 3,000 ci pack. My food bag would take up most of it leaving town.

[Compass]

Put all your stuff in a box and calculate its volume (BxWxH) and see if you have 700ci left for food.
If not, can you strap the pad on the outside?

[bigcranky]

The main challenge is getting all your stuff inside. My daughter has a <3000ci pack. She's a pretty light packer -- down bag, hammock, lightweight clothing -- and her CCF pad is strapped to the outside. But she has no room left over in the pack for food or even a cook set.

Of course there have been successful thru-hikers with very small packs. In general they have been experienced ultralighters, carrying very little food and doing big miles. On our first section in Georgia in 2003 we met a thru-hiker starting the first week in June. He had what looked like a school bookbag. A particularly small school bookbag. His plan was to be at Neels Gap that evening, 30+ miles up the trail. (It didn't hurt that he had thru'd the PCT the previous year, I suppose.)

My personal preference and recommendation is something in the 4000ci / 60-liter range. There are plenty of great lightweight packs in that range from major manufacturers and small cottage gear makers.

Can you thru with a 50-liter pack? Sure. Go for it. Just be aware of the challenges.

[JAK]

I get by with a 3100ci Jam2, but a 4500ci Pinnacle would be better.

My volume budget is roughly...
25% blue foam pad
25% sleepingbag and bivy and poncho/tarp
25% food
25% miscellaneous (socks/layers/shells/firstaidsewingrepairkit)
little room left in back pouch when main compartment is stuffed
water bottles and mug/pot in side pouches
side pouched could be used for something else if water was carried in front
haven't made a good place for my Kelly Kettle yet

I haven't thru-hiked, but I think 3000ci would be tight.
With some modifications, maybe, if you kept it very simple.
My bag and bivy could be smaller also, for a summer thru hike.

It would be nice to have the flexibility of and extra 1000ci, for stuff like hiking out of town now and then with french bread and wine and cheese and grapes and stuff. Also if you wanted to bring along a project now and then, like making a hat or cape or sweater or a straw hat or basket or pair of moccassins or something just for the heck of it. It also nice to be able to pack up quickly without alot of fuss, or compression. I really like the Jam2 for short trips, but for a thru-hike I would keep it light but go bigger, like the Go-Lite Pinnacle. Especially so if I wanted to try out hammocks and stuff.

[q-tip]

I am packing my Vapor Trail for my thru hike starting Monday. With extended throat it is 3,600 ci and I can barely fit all my stuff in it. Right now it weighs 24 lbs. and I am repacking and repacking trying to get it to 21-22 (w/o f&w). Clothes and food take up a boatload of space. I am looking at what I can hang on the outside like campshoes, water bottles (bladder internal) and what clothes I can do without. Hard choices even after spending a week on the AT in GA several times in '07. I sure do not want to move up to my next pack that weighs 4.5 lbs but has an additional 1,000 ci. Getting this all to fit and focusing on real needs is a big part of the fun in preparing for the walk. Good Luck.

[JAK]

The Go-Lite Pinnacle is 4500ci and well under 2 pounds.

[calculating infinity]

i never understood how people have to struggle so hard to get down below 15 pounds or so without food and water.

[Nicksaari]

5000 cu inches Osprey,
light as S___
use all seasons. eat like a king

but i wish i was a thru hiker
so my post is bias.

[skinewmexico]

I sure do not want to move up to my next pack that weighs 4.5 lbs but has an additional 1,000 ci.

Sell it, and get a Pinnacle. Use it until it warms up, then go back to your Vapor Trail.

[take-a-knee]

I am packing my Vapor Trail for my thru hike starting Monday. With extended throat it is 3,600 ci and I can barely fit all my stuff in it. Right now it weighs 24 lbs. and I am repacking and repacking trying to get it to 21-22 (w/o f&w). Clothes and food take up a boatload of space. I am looking at what I can hang on the outside like campshoes, water bottles (bladder internal) and what clothes I can do without. Hard choices even after spending a week on the AT in GA several times in '07. I sure do not want to move up to my next pack that weighs 4.5 lbs but has an additional 1,000 ci. Getting this all to fit and focusing on real needs is a big part of the fun in preparing for the walk. Good Luck.

You can put your water bladder between the framesheet and the pack. It works well there, it is easier to get out to fill, and it even stiffens the framesheet a bit.

[take-a-knee]

i never understood how people have to struggle so hard to get down below 15 pounds or so without food and water.

That is about where I am for a spring/fall hike in the south. Plus three pounds for winter, minus three for summer.

[garlic08]

To fit your gear in that size pack you need to carry a single wall tent or tarp, a high quality down sleeping bag, don't carry a fleece or other bulky synthetic clothing, carry nothing but the essentials (leave the unabriged complete works of Shakespeare at home), and be able to hike 20+ mile days so you don't have to carry many days worth of food.

[Montana AT05]

I switched to a cheap $90 Kelty pack in Delaware Water Gap when I thru-hiked. It had just under 2900 cui and I did just fine--and I wasn't a light weight hiker then.

I carried a ton of food too since it was more than 1/2 through my hike and my appetite was past obscene.

[Ox97GaMe]

My pack is 3400 ci Lowe Alpine. I seldom have it maxed out when I am out for a 4-5 day trip, which is what your average between towns duration will be on the AT. I have my tent/hammock, therma rest, and nalgene bottles strapped on the outside. I usually run about 32-35 lbs fully loaded with food/water in summer and around 40 lbs in winter. Im not an ultralighter. I like a few 'luxury' items. I go to the woods to enjoy it. There is probably an optimal weight for comfort/convience. At some point, reducing weight usually means that you have to sacrifice some of the comfort and convience.

[Stir Fry]

At some point, reducing weight usually means that you have to sacrifice some of the comfort and convience.

Not at all my pack used to be around 45 lb. and is under 20 lb. now i carry all the same stuff that I always have, i just swiched to lighted things.