Got my new backpack this week!

[Silverstone]

I'm pretty excited because the brown-suited Santa Claus dropped off some new toys this week. First and foremost, my new backpack. I decided to go old-skool and went with an external frame model. Got the Jansport Carson model. It's 4900 cc's of neon blue trunk space, and I totally dig it. After having tried on numerous internals and not liking any of them, I *knew* this was the one I for me as soon as I saw it. Lots of great features that I can't wait to take out and play with.

That was the biggie.

I also picked up an ultralight first aid kit, and a small Leatherman multi-tool. The Leatherman was kind of an impulse buy and while it's cool and all, I've already decided that it's not sufficient for a long walk in the Green Tunnel. Of course, I love my Gerber Gator knife, and I carry it everywhere, but it's a bit heavy and big for backpacking purposes. So I still need to find a happy medium.

On the way, but still having not arrived yet, is my stove and cookware. Even though I was *sure* for several weeks that I was going to get the MSR pocket rocket, I did my homework and went with the Coleman F1 ultralight instead. In the same shipment, I've got the Snow Peak Trek titanium cookware combo. I'm looking forward to testing it out in the back yard one of these nights. Hell, I even went over to Bass Pro Shop the other day on my lunch hour and picked up some fuel cartridges and Mountain House, just to see what all the fuss is about...

Anyhow, I'm thrilled to get new goodies, and figured I'd share my excitement with you folks.

Silverstone

[Storm]

Congrats on the new gear. Test it out and then take it hiking. New gear loves to hiking.

[House of Payne]

Sounds like some great x-mas gifts in June.

Just out of curiosity, how much does that Jansport external frame weight dry weight?

I grew up with external frames packs but when the internals came out somewhere in the early 80's I never went back.

[hikerboy57]

You can leave the leatherman home, where its more useful.. as far as a knife goes, I carry a swiss army knife more as a security blanket. I also carry a single edge razor blade which gets a lot more use than the knife.You really just need a blade to cut. The pocket rocket doesnt really require any repair, I have on myself. as far as a first aid kit, you can search the UL forum , where they'll probably tell you you need no more than a handful of bandaids, couple of gauze pads, and disinfectant wipes. You can create your own UL first aid kit, and itll cost you less.If your kit has a signal mirror, you can use your credit card hologram as a signal mirror. Sometimes these kits are packed with stuff you dont need.as far as the pack, you could probably go lighter. But you can compensate by packing items that have more than one use( a bandanna can be used a s a pot holder, etc.)Search the forums, theres great stuff for you to learn here.

[Silverstone]

Just out of curiosity, how much does that Jansport external frame weight dry weight?


Not very much--it ain't got nuthin' in it yet.

[Silverstone]

Dang. Didn't get my smileys in that last post. It was funny in *my* head though...:rolleyes:

[House of Payne]

Not very much--it ain't got nuthin' in it yet.I was curious about the new jansport pack empty weight. 5lbMaybe?