Get all your gear dialed in THEN pick a pack that fits it, not the other way around. Most Thru hikers carry a much bigger pack than 25L but there have been plenty who have done it with packs that small. QUestion is what are you trying put in it?
Get all your gear dialed in THEN pick a pack that fits it, not the other way around. Most Thru hikers carry a much bigger pack than 25L but there have been plenty who have done it with packs that small. QUestion is what are you trying put in it?
I carry an Osprey Exos 58 without the the top panel (brain). As long as you are resupplying regularly, a small pack in warm temps works well, but for me, when I have to carry food for a longer section, the extra pack volume is needed. It could be that my food takes up more space than most? I would also add, that I don't like to over compress my down quilt so I use a larger stuff sack than is typically supplied by the manufacturer, which adds to the volume.
Last edited by Nooga; 03-13-2015 at 10:49.
I guess that my pack doesn't qualify as ultra-lite - I still have my trusty Vapor Trail purchased back in 2005!
Long-distance aspirations with short-distance feet.... :jump
I have three....
ULA Ohm 2.0 is probably my favorite.
ULA Catalyst is my oldest one.... had it for a little over a decade.
I just bought an REI Flash 45 for a trip with two of my sons this summer. My packs will be distributed between us and the Flash is a good buy. It has all kinds of do-dads I don't need but the weight is a respectable 2 pounds and a few ounces. There are a lot of things on it that I consider unnecessary but it carries well. It doesn't have the space of my Ohm 2.0 so not as versatile. But....at the REI outlet with my discount is set me back $78 and you cannot beat that with a stick.
Your 15 years old and my guess is you don't have the experience or ultralight gear to do a thru with a 25L pack. I know I don't and I'm a lot older than 15. Chances are you need a little larger pack when you get all the gear together.
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I agree with this completely. The gear you choose actually becomes much less important once you are out there. All the packs/sleeping bags/ tents are better than what we used 20+ years ago. The trip isn't about the gear.
Also... don't get caught up in this super-light craze. Don't get me wrong, make good choices that strongly consider weight but don't go for the lightest load. There was little difference to me hiking with a 15lb pack vs. carrying a 20lb pack when I was thru-hiking. You get in good enough shape that a couple pounds just doesn't matter. The difference between being able to carry 25L worth of food and "stuff" and 50L DOES matter.
My advice to someone in your spot would be to buy lightweight but cost effective equipment that is simple in design and has been successfully used by others.
I use a custom HMG Porter 55 (with 150d black cuben hybrid body) and a Mountain Laurel Designs Prophet. Love them both. A lot.
I'm with this guy. I picked up an REI Flash 45 for $80 at REI-Outlet too. Only takin it on day trips so far, but it rides pretty well. Nothing better than cheap gear that's actually good. I always envy the dude with a baseweight almost as low as people who spend 10x as much as he did.
As for thru hiking with a 25L pack.. I'm gonna say anyone who has done it had a fair amount of prior backpacking experience. Or a lot of their equipment was strapped to the outside of their pack. My dry sack for my quilts is 13L and my clothes bag is 8L... That would take up pretty much all the space in a 25L pack.. and prob fit awkwardly.
Just took my Atmos AG 65 for its first 4 mile test. Learned I need to lose 30 pounds from my 20 liter belly, but I guess I already knew that. Pack was great tho ... real nice distribution.
Also learned a 20% REI discount makes it easy to justify buying a pack you can't afford, even with the duscount. ; (
I might be 15 but i'm also a boy scout and have had a hiking career of 5 years and also did a 100 mile two week hike in the moutains of new mexico with the same pack
Yea... a few ounces or even a pound don't make a difference on a thru hike but the extra space often is nice as you are stocking-up in town.
I COULD carry the Flash 45 on a thru-hike of the PCT, AT etc...etc.... but I wouldn't. I'd take a larger pack with more capacity because you don't really pay much of a weight penalty and you can always cinch it down when you are under-loaded. I'd carry my Ohm 2.0 probably. The Flash carries really nice though and for 3-4 day trips around here it will work perfectly.
Still available...... really an outstanding deal on a very usable pack.
http://www.rei.com/product/863031/re...ck-special-buy
I used a gossamer gear G4. According to their site it's about 52 liters. On any normal backpack trip it's way too big for my needs, but on my PCT hike I was so hungry and carried so much food that coming out of a resupply I wondered how I was going to fit everything into my pack. Going into town my pack was too big again.
Some knew me as Piper, others as just Diane.
I hiked the PCT: Mexico to Mt. Shasta, 2008. Santa Barbara to Canada, 2009.
Northface terra 50. Love it.
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I hiked the PCT with a 4000cu inch Gossamer Gear G4. When I set off I was able to fit 10 days of food in there. Thousands of miles later when I set off for a 5 day section I could barely fit my food in there. It's not because I had more gear it's because I was way more hungry.
I usually hike with a small ULA Relay, which is similar to the ULA CDT pack. There's no way I could put enough food in it to hike the PCT but as a normal person who isn't a walking stomach on the verge of starvation, it's just the right size
Some knew me as Piper, others as just Diane.
I hiked the PCT: Mexico to Mt. Shasta, 2008. Santa Barbara to Canada, 2009.
If you have had it for a year, haven't you done a few multi-night trips with it yet? That would answer your question if its too small or not for you. If it can carry all the gear you think you need and carry 4-5 days of food, you are good to go. Should be easy to find out for yourself if it will work by doing just that.
I used a ULA CDT frameless pack for the northern part of the AT that I did in 2012. Though I could get away with using a smaller MLD Burn frameless pack with my gear on the AT since resupply isn't that far apart and water isn't often a problem. But for the other long trails (PCT, CDT), my current pack is just right. My baseweight is normally 8-9.5 pounds. That includes 1.5 pounds of camera gear, most of which is strapped onto my shoulder straps and not in the pack itself.
Granite Gear Crown VC, 60 L, 2 lbs. (small) best pack I own. I really like all my gear inside the pack, and the new outside pouch takes care of need to get to quick easy.
I use a 40 liter Gregory Zulu. Great bag and I have plenty of extra room loaded down for 5 days.