View Full Version : How to Pack a Pack?
In what order should I pack my stuff? I have a GoLite Pinnacle pack (top-loading).
If you need to know what all I'm bringing here's a link to my work-in-progress gear list: http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?t=69849&page=2
Atm I'm thinking sleeping gear at the bottom, everything else in the middle, food at the top? What should I reserve to keep in the outer pockets for getting at quickly?
Thanks in advance
Rethinking maybe clothes (other than ones I might need to get to quickly, such as rain jacket) at the bottom, then sleeping gear, then water/food, rainjacket near top, with all my smaller items in the outer pocket.
Hikes in Rain
03-11-2011, 08:32
Think of setting up camp in a driving storm, with horizontal rain, while keeping things dry. So, shelter on top or otherwise accessible, so the rest can come out where it's dry. (Maybe an outside pocket?) The outfitter also suggested heavier stuff at the bottom, just the opposite of my old external frame.
I just got my new pack yesterday, after a sustained effort to lighten up and reduce the bulk. Granite Gear Escape AC 60. So, don't listen to me, I have all new equipment! I'm going to keep watching this thread for hints. :)
Think of setting up camp in a driving storm, with horizontal rain, while keeping things dry. So, shelter on top or otherwise accessible, so the rest can come out where it's dry. (Maybe an outside pocket?) The outfitter also suggested heavier stuff at the bottom, just the opposite of my old external frame.
I just got my new pack yesterday, after a sustained effort to lighten up and reduce the bulk. Granite Gear Escape AC 60. So, don't listen to me, I have all new equipment! I'm going to keep watching this thread for hints. :)
Well, my tent packs up rather long, so even with the bottom of it sitting at the bottom of my pack, I can pull it out from the top without much issue (maybe just pushing my rainjacket and food sack to the side to pull it out). Then I can set it up (in under a minute) and get inside and then have plenty of time to pull out sleeping bag and all that stuff inside.
Raul Perez
03-11-2011, 08:53
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNsKBqCHKeo
That is how I packed out my ULA Circuit for my 2010 section hike. I pack relatively the same for the ULA OHM.
Everyone packs different but it gives you an idea.
I have a top loader too but has a front access panel. I pack mine as i use it when i am done for the day. From top to bottom it goes like this. Poncho, tent, food bag, clothes, sleep bag with the sleep pad wrapped around everything inside. (i keep my tent poles and stakes seperate from the tent along the side of all the gear. This allows me to pack my tent loose in a stuff sac and not folded) Packing up is just as easy since most of it can be done inside the tent. The food bag is the heaviest and i like to have it just above my hips but not quite in the middle of my back. i find good balance and mobility with this setup. for the most part everything stays dry and it is always where i know it will be.
I would suggest getting all your stuff and just practice packing. You will come up with your own system very soon.
The only real recommendation I would make would be that your bag and clothes be double-protected against getting wet - usually accomplished by using a dry bag of some sort that is inside a trash compactor bag lining the inside of your pack.
I'm pretty OCD when it comes to my gear and pack the exact same way every time. Everything has a place and when I use something I put it back in that place, even if I know I'm going to use it again in 5 minutes.
That keeps me from losing/forgetting things and I can find exactly what I need, when I need it - even if it's pitch black dark.
I would suggest getting all your stuff and just practice packing. You will come up with your own system very soon.
The only real recommendation I would make would be that your bag and clothes be double-protected against getting wet - usually accomplished by using a dry bag of some sort that is inside a trash compactor bag lining the inside of your pack.
I'm pretty OCD when it comes to my gear and pack the exact same way every time. Everything has a place and when I use something I put it back in that place, even if I know I'm going to use it again in 5 minutes.
That keeps me from losing/forgetting things and I can find exactly what I need, when I need it - even if it's pitch black dark.
I have all my clothes (and sleeping bag, food, etc.) in dry sacks, and I have a rainproof pack cover, do you suggest I line my pack with a trash bag as well just to be sure? Also, my sleeping pad (Thermarest Z-lite) isn't in any sort of sack its just there in my bag.
I also don't have any sort of waterproof sack for all my small misc. items, I'm thinking of getting a dry sack to put them all in, and small ziplock baggies as well for items such as phone/mp3 player to keep them safe from the elements.
zombiegrad
03-11-2011, 09:36
The recommendation I've received is that light-weight items go at the bottom, midweight items go in the middle, and heavy-weight items go at the top. Other than that, it's a lot of cramming to get the best configuration that takes up the least amount of space. It works for me. This is how my bag looks from bottom to top:
First is my down sleeping bag in a compression sack at the very bottom of my top-loading Deuter Act Zero 60+10. It fills the bottom out nicely and evenly. On top of that is a sack containing my hammock in snake skins next to my hammock underquilt that's in its own compression sack (both are horizontally placed, with one length-wise and one width-wise, if that makes sense). On top of those two items is my clothes bag, which I place horizontally and it takes up the entire row. The heaviest item is my food bag, and it goes at the very top. Finally, around the foodbag I squeeze in ziplock bags containing assorted items, filling out any gaps between the bags. I carry my tarp in their snake skins and dri ducks rain gear in one of the outside pockets, and my pack raincover is attached to the outside of the bag. As for the other items like hygiene kit, first aid, and other odds and ends, those fit in the pockets on either side of the lid of my pack.
This is just to give you an idea of what works for me and my bag. Hope you figure out what works for you and yours!
Montana Mac
03-11-2011, 10:06
I have a top loader too but has a front access panel. I pack mine as i use it when i am done for the day. From top to bottom it goes like this. Poncho, tent, food bag, clothes, sleep bag with the sleep pad wrapped around everything inside. (i keep my tent poles and stakes seperate from the tent along the side of all the gear. This allows me to pack my tent loose in a stuff sac and not folded) Packing up is just as easy since most of it can be done inside the tent. The food bag is the heaviest and i like to have it just above my hips but not quite in the middle of my back. i find good balance and mobility with this setup. for the most part everything stays dry and it is always where i know it will be.
Your description is exactly the way I pack my pack, except for the sleeping pad.
I have all my clothes (and sleeping bag, food, etc.) in dry sacks, and I have a rainproof pack cover, do you suggest I line my pack with a trash bag as well just to be sure? Also, my sleeping pad (Thermarest Z-lite) isn't in any sort of sack its just there in my bag.
I also don't have any sort of waterproof sack for all my small misc. items, I'm thinking of getting a dry sack to put them all in, and small ziplock baggies as well for items such as phone/mp3 player to keep them safe from the elements.
YES!!! I had a large garbage bag as a liner in my pack. I also carried a couple of smaller bags for extra protection.
I found a lot of times the waterproof pack cover actually collectd rain in the bottom during heavy rains. Also when it rains for days on end the water will work down between you and your pack where the pack cover doesn't protect.
stranger
03-11-2011, 17:32
There are many different ways to pack a pack, and while this is important to some degree, it might not matter as much as people will tell you, there are some rules of thumb I've found:
- Try to keep everything inside the pack, if you can't fit everything IN your pack, you probably need a bigger pack (closed cell foam pad excepted)
- The higher the weight, and closer to your body, the less the pack will pull towards the ground behind you...BUT the more top heavy the pack will become when you crawl over a blowdown
- Packing weight lower into the pack will achieve a more stable pack, but more of a pull to the ground behind you
- I use a 50 L pack liner, all my standard gear goes into that, I close it and lay my shelter on top of that, then my food bag. When I pack up in the morning two things are usually wet, shelter and food bag, so this works well.
- Lay your hydration system horizontal across the top, rather than buried in some pocket towards the bottom of your pack, easier access and overall a better place to carry water IMO
And remember, your gear and your brain will determine how you pack your pack much more so than anything else. Not everyone thinks the same and some gear will be harder to pack than others.
Remember to utilize corner space, fold things instead of rolling them, etc...Packs are rectangualar shaped, so filling a rectangle with a bunch of cylinders means alot of extra space is lost between each cylinder.
Fold your thermarest flat like a text book, remove the poles from your tent bag and use a shorter, fatter and more packable one (or none), make sure you use the interior space of your cookpot (first air, headlamp, Aqua Mira, cup, spoon, potholder) so it serves as storage as well. Keep raingear accessibe, keep your shelter accessible.
Other than tent poles, crocs or a bulky foam pad...keep everything else inside your pack, and if you can fit any of those items inside your pack, do it. All packs work best full with nothing outside.
There are many different ways to pack a pack, and while this is important to some degree, it might not matter as much as people will tell you, there are some rules of thumb I've found:
- Try to keep everything inside the pack, if you can't fit everything IN your pack, you probably need a bigger pack (closed cell foam pad excepted)
- The higher the weight, and closer to your body, the less the pack will pull towards the ground behind you...BUT the more top heavy the pack will become when you crawl over a blowdown
- Packing weight lower into the pack will achieve a more stable pack, but more of a pull to the ground behind you
- I use a 50 L pack liner, all my standard gear goes into that, I close it and lay my shelter on top of that, then my food bag. When I pack up in the morning two things are usually wet, shelter and food bag, so this works well.
- Lay your hydration system horizontal across the top, rather than buried in some pocket towards the bottom of your pack, easier access and overall a better place to carry water IMO
And remember, your gear and your brain will determine how you pack your pack much more so than anything else. Not everyone thinks the same and some gear will be harder to pack than others.
Remember to utilize corner space, fold things instead of rolling them, etc...Packs are rectangualar shaped, so filling a rectangle with a bunch of cylinders means alot of extra space is lost between each cylinder.
Fold your thermarest flat like a text book, remove the poles from your tent bag and use a shorter, fatter and more packable one (or none), make sure you use the interior space of your cookpot (first air, headlamp, Aqua Mira, cup, spoon, potholder) so it serves as storage as well. Keep raingear accessibe, keep your shelter accessible.
Other than tent poles, crocs or a bulky foam pad...keep everything else inside your pack, and if you can fit any of those items inside your pack, do it. All packs work best full with nothing outside.
Where did you get your 50L pack liner? I was looking for something in the range of 50-70L dry sack or liner to use instead of lining my pack with a garbage bag, but the biggest I could find was 35L.
Other than that good tips, water bladders at the top (or under raingear) is probably a good idea, since I tend to stop to refill water more often than pulling anything else out of my pack.
stranger
03-12-2011, 08:15
Sea to Summit makes silnylon pack liners of 50, 70, 90 litres, I think Outdoor Research makes some as well.