Pack Help

[ibigler5]

I was looking for a new backpack. I'm planning to thru hike the AT in April. I was choosing between the Gregory Baltoro or the Gregory Z65. Can anyone help me with these options or recommend a better back. Thanks

[KG4FAM]

baltoro is way overkill for starting in april.

[Egads]

Why buy a 6 lb pack when a 2 lb pack will do the job? You might as well carry a brick to Maine

Look at ULA Catalyst & Granite Gear Vapor Trail / Nimbus

[garlic08]

Are you comfortable with the rest of your gear? How much does it all weigh? Get the pack last and get the lightest one that will carry your stuff comfortably. Don't get the biggest pack you can find and just fill it up. You don't need a six-pound pack to carry 15 pounds of gear. Both of Egads' suggestions are excellent.

[Strategic]

I'll second the suggestions above from Egads and Garlic. Especially take a look at the ULA packs; very well designed and built by a small, hiker-owned company right here in the U.S. They're great folks to deal with too, very friendly and helpful. They sent me a refit for my ULA Amigo gravity filter when the old style cartridges became unavailable, no hassle at all.

You'll find that a light pack with a good suspension (like the ULA's and Granite Gear's) will carry a load better and more comfortably than big old-fashioned monsters like the Gregory packs. You're young and can probably take a good deal of weight, but you'll be surprised at how good it feels not to. Go as light as you can to carry what you need.

Good luck and good hiking.

[kanga]

I'll second the suggestions above from Egads and Garlic. Especially take a look at the ULA packs; very well designed and built by a small, hiker-owned company right here in the U.S. They're great folks to deal with too, very friendly and helpful. They sent me a refit for my ULA Amigo gravity filter when the old style cartridges became unavailable, no hassle at all.

You'll find that a light pack with a good suspension (like the ULA's and Granite Gear's) will carry a load better and more comfortably than big old-fashioned monsters like the Gregory packs. You're young and can probably take a good deal of weight, but you'll be surprised at how good it feels not to. Go as light as you can to carry what you need.

Good luck and good hiking.

strategic, have you taken a look at gregory's packs lately? suspension on the new ones is just fine.

but also what garlic said is dead on. get your gear together and then find a pack that matches your load, not the other way around.

[Bare Bear]

I used a heavier external frame pack for most of my section hiking and never bothered going lighter. For my thru in 06 I started with a Gregory 6.5 lbs. At Harpers Ferry I had my GoLite Jam 30 sent and switched to that 1 lb pack and SO MUCH MORE was able to go everyday. I would not have made it if I had kept that too heavy pack. There are lots of good light packes these days. Try some from friends or a hiking club. Actually use them for a three day hike and see how it feels after eight hours. Less is more when you hike long distances. I have never seen a 55 pound pack person make it, I am sure it has happenned but most are 3 lb packs or less......

[Joe8484]

Osprey Packs are another choice that most outfitters carry. The Exos model comes out in JAN and is their new ultralite pack

[twoshoes06]

Hey ibigler5,

Have you ever hiked a long-distance hike before? I recommend not going over 3000 cu in, but everyone is different. I definitely do not recommend getting all of your gear then buy a backpack that fits your gear.

There are numerous reasons for this, with the best one being that you are going to overpack if you are new and you are going to want to fill in every little space in the pack, making you carry more than you need.

I used a Gregory G-pack on my thru-hike in 2006, which is 2700 cu in and had plenty of space. I would recommend the Gregory z55 or Osprey Talon 44.

A friend once told me when I was getting ready to travel abroad: "Take everything you are planning to take and all of your money and lay it on a bed. Now split the stuff in half and double the money. That is what you need to take."

I would recommend the same for you. It is easier to get stuff than to lose stuff on the AT.

Good luck. Let me know if you need anything.

[Blissful]

Get all your gear assembled then buy the pack last.

[Bare Bear]

Yeah what Blissful said. In addition I felt the one thing that helped me the most was a suggestion that I buy a good restaurant scale that reads in oz up to five pounds ($50). I then weighed every single item or group (eg. Personal: toothbrush, paste, eyeglasses, head lamp, etc.) Once you look at the weights you can eliminate a lot of stuff until the weight looks better. Then you mail stuff home for the first month until it gets really light. A few weeks on the Trail really make you appreciate the WEIGHT IS EVERYTHING concept.

[gaga]

what Egads said,and then buy the other stuff,not to pass 30Lb with food and water,unless you can take a lot of foot,shoulders,neck and knee pain

[BookBurner]

Ibigler5 - I admire your willingness to tackle such a great adventure at 19 years of age! Check out Go-Lite's Jam 2, Henry Shires Tarptents, Frogg Toggs, alcohol stoves, Tvyek groundsheets, Heineken cook pots, Walmart grease pots, etc. I've seen some of your other questions (very good inquiries, mind you) and you seem to be leaning towards heavy and expensive gear. It's a natural inclination (guilty myself), but unnecessary. Save some bucks, save some weight, and save your knees. Think lighter from the outset and spare yourself the agony of the inevitable learning curve. Having been there and done that, there's a lot better ways to get to Maine than hauling around a ton of gear like some broken-down Grand Canyon mule (again, guilty as charged). Good luck!

[skinewmexico]

Great review on the new Exos packs at Backpackinglight.

[tucker0104]

I have an Atmos 65 that is probably to big but I never stuff it full.

[Bare Bear]

I sometimes carry a 55# pack in Fl where I am hiking in for just a few miles (<10) to camp then day hiking around the camp....but for real hiking like an AT thru I use my GoLIte Jam 30 and am at 27 pounds plus water. In winter I have to add 4 more pounds of heavier clothes, gloves, knit cap, etc. but still anything over 30-35 will kill you long term.

[Lyle]

My great experience with ULA over the past few years leads me to highly recommend you consider a Catalyst. I have a P2 and love it.

[Croc']

Lighter, lighter, lighter !!!

[tucker0104]

I am at 28 pounds before water and that is as light as I can go with my stuff and I have good stuff. I guess I will never be a true ultra light hiker.

[Bare Bear]

If your 28 includes five days food then you are pretty dialed in.