View Full Version : Pack Volume / Weight Capacity for AT Thru-Hike?
What size (liter or cu in) bag, with what weight carrying capacity do you think is optimum for an AT Thru?
I know there are way too many variables to make that a tidy question ...
I'm currently humping an Atmos 50, My base weight is around 17 lbs for shoulder seasons. When loaded with food and water for a couple of days, I'm at around 28 lbs, and the pack is pretty full - not up into the throat full, but still ... I'm concerned as to whether I'll have the volume and weight-bearing capacity to carry food for 5-7 days.
I'm thinking ~60L and the ability to carry 35-40 lbs is about right, and that has me looking at ULA Catalyst or Circuit, Deuter ACT Lite ACT Lite 65+10
or maybe an ACT Zero 50+15, SMD Starlite(?), Osprey Atmos 65 or Exos 58, GoLite Pinnacle, etc ...
I have almost a year to figure it out on my own, but I'd like to hear what ya'll think?
Thanks,
My thru is not until 2013...but I am getting ready. I will be using my ULA Circuit. Here are some videos with what all I fit inside it:
ULA Circuit (http://sticksblog.com/gear/my-current-gear/backpack/ula-circuit/)
Also, here is a gear list of what I plan (at the moment) to carry on my thru:
Gear List (https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0Aqh886ycFM9kdEs3VnNWTUsxQmJxbWJYdldCTzJ2M 0E&hl=en)
I think you will find some useful info on that topic in a "Thru-hiking Info" link article(s) here at WB.
bigcranky
04-20-2011, 21:30
The Circuit (or something similar) is a good all-around choice. It's a compromise in all the best senses of that word -- it's not too light, nor too heavy; it has enough capacity but not too much; it will carry 35 pounds in comfort, which is plenty for an AT thru; and the cost is reasonable.
So in short, a 2-3 pound internal frame pack that can carry about 3500 cubic inches total, with a frame that can handle 35 pounds.
I've been going over the resupply articles, scribbling notes and highlighting in my copy of the Companion. I note several places in southern half of the trail where one might want to leave town with 7 days worth of food to avoid going into small burgs with limited resupply options, and wasting time and money on excessive zeros & neros...
That makes a worst case to be 7 days x 2 lbs/day of food and 2 L of water = 18.4 lbs. Add that to my 17 lb base weight and I'm up to 35.4. A lighter pack capable of 35 lbs with sufficient volume oughta do the trick.
The Circuit gets to the top of my short list for that reason ... I wish I could try before I buy, but the endorsements here and elsewhere are pretty strong. I am a little concerned that BPL measured it at considerably lower volume than claimed (2900).
My thru is not until 2013...but I am getting ready. I will be using my ULA Circuit.
I ran into your blog while researching the ULA Circuit! Very nicely done!
I don't want to make BigCranky any crankier? Hard to argue with anything he said! I think he's got it right. Either way Chilly your'e in the ball park with most of the packs you listed.
First, you don't need the perfect pack to thru the AT!
If really dialing your pack in:
IMO, you are getting too volumous and heavy with a pack, based on what you said, for an AT thru with 65 + 10L. Might be OK at the start of your hike, but I think you would find as you advance on your hike that volumed pack, and the extra wt THAT backpack implies(just the wt of the pack!), is going to be overkill. You'll seek to downsize that pack because that's what you will be doing with the gear that goes in it! I would throw it out of consideration based on YOUR AT HIKE. Just my opinion though also throwing into the mix the wt of the pack.
Think about this too! You get a higher volumed pack with the ULA Circuit at a lower pack wt(just the pack wt) when compared with the lower volumed Atmos 50(3000 cubes in med length torso). That's just what's typically opposite! More volume in a pack that weighs less with those features and wt carrying capacity at a reasonable price. YIPEE! IMO, that's the way to go! You are on your way to becoming a rational UL guru! Just be aware that the ULA Circuit is designed as an UL pack for its volume and wt carrying capacity and is for recommended uses(stick to the specs, it's a GREAT AT THRU-HIKER PACK!) and you shouldn't have problems. I don't buy a BPL article writer's assessment that it's just a 2900 cubic inch pack either!; I would read that article carefully about what's being claimed!
I note several places in southern half of the trail where one MIGHT want to leave town with 7 days worth of food to avoid going into small burgs with limited resupply options, and wasting time and money on excessive zeros & neros..
That may be right for you, maybe not! I know who wrote that article and have great respect for the writer but do be aware it's an opinion based on a particular hiking style, what may be typical, and certainly partly on MPD! I would highlight the word "might." It's very possible to thru the AT without ever having to resort to HUGE mile days(let's just say above 20 MPD) and never haul more than 5-6 days of resupply! LOTS of AT thru-hikers do it! And, if you're concerned about the 7 day food wt and the wt carrying capacity of the ULA Circuit you might consider that you ARE NOT SIGNIFICANTLY OVERLOADING IT FOR A SIGNIFICANT PERIOD.
I'll hit you with another pt. That 2 L of water wt you claim you will always be hauling can VERY OFTEN be reduced to 1 L water wt on the AT. Just spend short hiking periods hauling that or larger amounts of water wt when you are ready to camp for cooking, etc. If you are staying at AT shelters, AMC huts/camps, etc water is usually available very near or at the shelters. Shelters occur OFTEN (ALWAYS?, maybe a few exceptions?) less than 10 miles apart? If you hike with the AT Thru-Hiker's Handbook water sources are listed and sometimes their reliability! Water sources on the AT are very often encountered less than 10 miles apart!
Sounds like you are going to have a GREAT hike!
Ditto on the blog, Stick.
Just spend short hiking periods hauling that*(2 L)* or larger amounts of water wt when you are ready to camp for cooking, etc
bigcranky
04-21-2011, 07:19
You can't possibly make me any crankier, Dogwood, so don't worry about it.
Otherwise your analysis is right on. Those 65+10 packs are on the large side for a thru-hike. Even my old SMD Starlite is probably too big, and it doesn't compress as well as I would like. Now I have both an Ohm and a Circuit. I originally though the Ohm would be the perfect pack, and it's really nice, but then I spent an hour or two walking around Neels Gap with the Circuit, and bought it on the spot. Great pack.
If I'm not mistaken there is a weigh station in Neels Gap.
I don't want to make BigCranky any crankier? Hard to argue with anything he said!
Agreed .... On both points!
IMO, you are getting too volumous and heavy with a pack, based on what you said, for an AT thru with 65 + 10L.
Well, I always thought that big Deuter would be at the high end of volume, weight capacity and, well, weight. They do get rave reviews for comfort and as a Ski Patroller, I get a real nice pro discount with them ... Hard to ignore. But I understand big discounts ain't the be all/end all. Gotta live with it too!
Think about this too! You get a higher volumed pack with the ULA Circuit at a lower pack wt (just the pack wt) when compared with the lower volumed Atmos 50(3000 cubes in med length torso). That's just what's typically opposite! More volume in a pack that weighs less with those features and wt carrying capacity at a reasonable price. YIPEE!
Yippee indeed. 21 ounces less is a nice decrease, and puts big food loads into the realm of reasonableness... Plus, the Circuit appears to have about a 10 lb higher weight carrying capacity!
... It's very possible to thru the AT without ever having to resort to HUGE mile days (let's just say above 20 MPD) and never haul more than 5-6 days of resupply!
I am no longer a big mile guy. Neither is my hiking partner. We are more apt to take it easy and enjoy the sights. To offset that pace, we don't want to be spending unnecessary days in town. I also understand that any overload of food in the pack gets consumed quickly!
That 2 L of water wt you claim you will always be hauling can VERY OFTEN be reduced to 1 L water wt on the AT.
Nooooo! Pretty sure I called seven days of food and 2 L of water a worst case scenario. If not, it's what I was thinking!
Sounds like you are going to have a GREAT hike!
Thanks for the great advice!
If I'm not mistaken there is a weigh station in Neels Gap.
Do they issue tickets for oversized/overweight packs? :rolleyes:
88BlueGT
04-21-2011, 09:27
FROM WHAT I HEAR, the Circuit is a great pack! I have a Circuit as well but have never done any MAJOR trips with it. Maybe its just my gear but I have a hard time packing a winterbag for a 5-6 day trip w/ food w/ that bag. THAT IS, with a 2.5L water bag INSIDE though which takes up tons of room.
Regardless, phenomenal pack!
I don't buy a BPL article writer's assessment that it's just a 2900 cubic inch pack either!; I would read that article carefully about what's being claimed!
http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/ula_circuit_ula_catalyst_ula_camino.html
Not a very flattering review overall. The reviewer did not appear to fit well with this pack. Neither in body type, nor apparently in mind-set...
As for the volume, the reviewer claims to follow the ASTM standard which does not permit one to claim open mesh pockets when measuring total pack volume. Their measurements pretty well matched ULA's, but they felt it important to treat ULA the same as all the other packs ...
That big mesh pocket looks like it can swallow a whole lot of stuff.
I have an atmos 65 and I have room to spare but the way the internal frame goes through the heart of the pack takes up valuable room. The volume of the pack may be 65 L but the usable is no where near that. My GF has an REI womans flash65 that is rated at 64L. 1 L smaller than mine. Her bag looked so much larger when we got it that we tried to see how many bear cans we could fit in mine and hers. I can fit one bear can in my sleeping bag compartment only if I use the zipper on the bottom. The zipper you dont have on the 50L atmos. In her REI Flash we could put them in the top and stack 4 bear cans and close the pack. So my point is her pack is rated smaller and lighter but it has WAY more usable volume.
Great attitude all!
I'm just offering opinions Chilly.
There are other pack companies that add the volume of their open mesh pockets to the total volume so I don't think ULA is looking to be treated any differently with respect to their total pack volume calculations. I see no deception on their part with respect to this. NO WAY is the Circuit just a 2900 cubic inch pack!
I would take that review of ULA, the Circuit, and other ULA packs, consider it, it does have some merits(I guess), and weigh the reviews against the mounds of favorable reviews by others, including MANY happy Circuit owners!
Just a negative pissy review from the start!
I would take that review of ULA, the Circuit, and other ULA packs, consider it, it does have some merits(I guess), and weigh the reviews against the mounds of favorable reviews by others, including MANY happy Circuit owners!
Mounds of favorable reviews is a great way to describe the overwhelming number of positive reviews I've read,
Just a negative pissy review from the start!
That was my very impression.
Thanks for all the suggestions and feedback. I punched the button on a ULA Circuit, and it oughta be on my doorstep tomorrow. Looking forward to loading her up!
88BlueGT
04-29-2011, 11:36
Good move, and yes, the mesh pockets can potentially hold alot.
For me, bigger is better...60L would be the absolute bare minimum. I like something around 85 liters.
I'll be using my Gossamer Gear Gorilla for my thru-hike next year. It has 2400ci (39L) main pack capacity and an extra 400ci (6.5L) in the external pockets. I can fit all of my gear plus 1-2L of water and 6 days of food in the pack with with extra space to spare for additional clothing in shoulder seasons or winter. For a true winter trip I'd probably take my REI Ridgeline 65, though.
88BlueGT
05-02-2011, 11:30
For the comments about BPL saying the Circuit is a 2900ci pack, I believe that the main body of the bag is 2900ci + the outside mesh area + the side pockets comes to 3600.
Joker4ink
05-04-2011, 17:46
Although I havent thru-hiked, I use an Exos 58 and I have had 31 pounds in it and it rode like a dream. I originally bought the Atmos but then returned it due to the weight difference. With the Exos, I was originally concerned about the reduced amount of padding compared to the Atmos but it is very comfortable. Despite the relatively "thin" material, it seems very durable. My day pack is an Osprey Talon too...I very much like their packs.