HELP on Ultralight/ lightweight backpack sizes

[sherpa11]

Hi!

I know this topic may have been cover here before and apologize if it has. I searched for info regarding this topic,
but wanted to get some first hand experience for backpack sizes (volume size).
I have not been backing in 14yrs, and wanted to start going again.
Ultralight/lightweight backpacking seems the best way to go!
I'm on a budget but have scored great deals on most of my gear!
My gear so far this includes prolite 3 short pad,Campmor 20 down bag.
S.D. light year tent. Homemade alcohol stove, soloist cookware. Fuel bottle (8oz.)
2 - 2 liter collapsible hydration bottles. First aid kit / fire starter / sewing kit
3 - 4 days worth of food. Based on 2 lbs - 2.5 lbs per day.
Already own some fleece,base layers and lightweight rain gear.

Based on the gear listed would a 3100 or 3200 backpack size work?
What size backpack do you recommend?

I was looking at ULA - Equipment : Conduit or the Ohm
MLD - Exodus
Gossamer Gear - Mariposa Plus or the G4.

Thanks in advance for your input.
Sorry if this has been covered already!

Sherpa11

[garlic08]

If you carry that tent and fleece, it may not work. Most UL hikers use a single-wall shelter or tarp. Fleece is pretty high volume--leave it behind if you can.

[cow_rock_camper]

i don't think your gear is light enough for a frameless pack. i would go with the granite gear vapor trail/ or nimbus ozone. or osprey exos.

[Quoddy]

If your gear actually ends up being under the 10 pound UL cutoff any of the packs you mention should work fine.... I have 3 of those listed. With four days of food plus sufficient water your weight will be into the low 20's. Of the packs you listed, I'd go for the Ohm if the total weight gets any higher than that. I plan on using my new Ohm for long stretches of 7 days because of the lightweight frame. The Conduit and the Exodus have always been OK for me for up to 4 or 5 days max.

[mtnkngxt]

I would reccomend the ULA circuit. Your not into UL category yet. You are however close. With my hammock settup I come in right at 10 pounds before food and water. So I'm packing 22lbs max. Thats using a ULA Conduit and that is my winter loadout. Summer I'm around 16lbs full out.

[bigcranky]

Your gear list is firmly in the "light" category. That's great. That's where I like to be, after flirting with "ultralight" for a while.

My personal feeling is that "light" needs a pack with a suspension and about 4000 cubic inches. Something in the 2-3 pound range, with a frame sheet and/or aluminum stays. There are many choices these days. My Six Moons Designs Starlite is good, but you can get good packs from ULA, Osprey, even REI has a decent 65 liter lightweight pack. The Mariposa Plus has stays, if I recall correctly, but I'd be concerned about the capacity.

Can you do it with 3200 cubic inches? Sure, but maybe not with a tent and fleece clothing.

[BrianLe]

This is hard to judge externally --- even knowing enough about the specific items you listed, there are a lot of things you'll inevitably pack that you haven't listed --- which of those and what type and how many, all of that makes a difference. For someone that hasn't been hiking a lot, 2 - 2.5 pounds of food a day sounds a lot, depending on what type of food and how you (re)package it.

If you already own a pack or can borrow one, ideal might be to find the listed capacity of that pack, then put in the literal (and complete) load of things you propose to carry, estimate what percentage of pack capacity you're using. Don't forget to factor in how much stuff can be carried externally in various mesh pockets and the like. I carry a substantially higher percentage of my stuff that way in a GG Mariposa Plus than I used to do in a more traditional (heavier) pack.

[Egads]

i don't think your gear is light enough for a frameless pack. i would go with the granite gear vapor trail/ or nimbus ozone. or osprey exos.

I would reccomend the ULA circuit. Your not into UL category yet. You are however close. With my hammock settup I come in right at 10 pounds before food and water. So I'm packing 22lbs max. Thats using a ULA Conduit and that is my winter loadout. Summer I'm around 16lbs full out.

I agree with all these comments. Don't buy one of those packs until you switch to a hammock, tarp, or single wall tent.

Having used both the Mariposa & the G4, I prefer the G4 for many reasons.

I don't have any of the other 3 packs you mention, but have a ULA Catalyst, and it is well designed, well built, and bombproof. I am sure the other ULA packs are well made too.

[George]

you can use a stuff sack on the outside for bag, tent or pad in 1 day food/drink volume goes way down by using the freshest type food first especially on grocery store resupplies

[skinewmexico]

I've got a Mariposa, I just sent back for the aluminum stay retrofit, got it back in a week. Nice pack, great service. The G4 is nice too, got one of those. I don't think I've ever heard anything bad about ULA. Like other posters have stated, you may not be at a low enough volume to get everything in a UL pack yet. I also have a Golite Jam2, now that might do the trick. Or a Golite Pinnacle. Both of those 2008 models are on closeout most places now.

[sherpa11]

Hello to everyone!

Thank you very much for your responses!
I'll lose the fleece and the tent!
Any recommendations on tarps/tarptents? Shelters? Besides a bivy!
Food consumption was based on some info I read a few days ago.
Food thoughts or input?
Any other input to shed LBS on a budget?


Thanks again!

Sherpa11

[Egads]

Any recommendations on tarps/tarptents? Shelters?

Any other input to shed LBS on a budget?

There are plenty of UL shelter / tent threads already on WB. Put the WB search function on the toolbar to work

The least expensive way to shed weight is to leave the unnecessary things at home. I leave my stove & pot at home for weekend trips in the summer.

[mtnkngxt]

Best place to save weight is the Big 4. Pack Shelter Insulation and cooking.

My bombprood lightweight reccomendation for Everyone that ask me is as follow.

ULA Circuit/or Catalyst- 180$/$235 36oz for the Circuit
Henry Shires Tarptent Squall2- $230 34oz
WM Summerlite- $275 19oz
Thermarest ZRest/Prolite4 short-$35/$110 Zrest 10oz
MSR Pocket Rocket-$30 3 oz
Evernew .65l Ti pot-$45 3.5oz
Ti Spork- $10 .5oz

As far as water treatement If you feel like you need to filter Katadyn hiker pro 9 ounces if you get rid of the intake hose wieght and cut the lines to a more reasonable length and get rid of the bottle filter. Personally I use Polar Pure, and it works great 3 ounces.

If you went with the Circuit, Zrest, and some type of chemical water treatment, you could get your big 4 packweight down to 109oz or 6.8lbs. Add about 2lbs for clothing like jackets and socks and stuff like that. about 1.5 lbs for First aid toiletries camera phone book compass headlamp. Add a 1lb for Raingear and your total is around 13lbs. With food and water your well within reach of 25 lbs total pack weight. This gets you a tough durable bombproof setup. I'd be willing to hike any part of 3 season with this settup. Add a down jacket a good base layer and a WM Alpinelite and your now winter capable.
You could spend as much as 1000 dollars or if you dont need an inflatable pad and could live with the Zrest and not filtering your water could get closer to 700.


Now you may think that is alot to go backpacking, but when you hit Neels Gap with all that stuff you got that you thought you could haul for 2100 miles, let me tell you you'll be forking over the cash to replace alot of stuff. If you spend the money up front, you'll be able to make the trip more enjoyable and safer. Lone Wolf will tell you its just hiking, and it is. However there is no denying that coming down Dragons Tooth or the White Mountains with a 50lb pack is much more likely to cause an accidental fall or twisting an ankle than a 25lb pack.

[mister krabs]

You can use a tall kitchen garbage bag to help measure your volume, the 13 gallon size is 49L or 3000 c.i.

[garlic08]

Another thread just started to answer your question about other UL tips.

Henry Shires makes the best Tarptent I've seen. The Contrail is pretty popular.

I can seldom eat more than 2 lbs of food a day. A great way to save packing weight is to manage your water carefully. During a wet year on the AT, for example, it's often possible for a fast light hiker to carry no water at all.

[calculating infinity]

You can use a tall kitchen garbage bag to help measure your volume, the 13 gallon size is 49L or 3000 c.i.

this has helped me figure what size backpack i really need, thanks.
i see an ula ohm in my future