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Long and Light Walking - Packs
Tony de Bellis
The second heaviest item is your backpack. Beginning, I had a huge six pound Kelty Tioga external frame backpack. It took only one hundred miles of the Pacific Crest Trail for me to switch to a lighter internal frame pack. Getting adapted to the internal frame pack took another one hundred miles. Generally, the internal frame pack is loaded so that heavier items are closer to your body's center of mass, which is located near your belly button. This means the food and water need to go next to your back. I do like the lighter weight and easier pivoting provided by the internal frame pack and have not had any cushioning or ventilation problems. I used the Camp Trails Rainier at four pounds four ounces for several hundred desert miles and found that the aluminum stays were redundant. By then I was willing to pay for lighter weight. I tried two large internal frame day packs next. Both were about 30 liters or 2,000 cubic inches in volume, and close to two pounds each. The lighter weight was wonderful but the lack of volume really hurt. The best of these day packs is the Solomon 30 L RAID. At about $70, it has a combination hip belt/dual pouch that is detachable.
"Detachable" was a feature that I definitely wanted now. I wanted a detachable top lid that would hold the myriad of kits that I had accumulated: first aid, tool, toilet, pills, mosquito netting, and insulated film storage. And I needed detachable belt pouches to hold my camera and notebook and map sets and guide booklets and compass and pencils and spoon. My pockets were empty except for a handkerchief. The high point of the day was to walk into camp with a couple of hours of daylight left and detach my Thermarest chair and top lid and belt pouches and food and stroll over to the view. There I could take off my shoes and write and eat and chew or think and dream. I could also start dinner and work on my feet. Everything I needed was literally at hand.
The best back pack that I have found comes from Only the Lightest Camping Equipment, P.O. Box 266, Troutdale, OR 97060. Phone is 1800-933-Hike (4453). Their lightest pack is "The Quest" at 3000 cubic inches 2 lbs. 4 oz. I have used it for about 2,700 miles and have added the belt pouches from the Solomon 30 L Raid to the pack and done pruning to trim unnecessary padding and webbing and washed it three times and it is still my number one pick for anything over one day. It's comfortable, detachable, expandable and available for only about $150. However, I am trying another huge Kelty. The "White Cloud" is a spectra cloth expedition (as in Everest) pack what weighs between 1.1 and 3.5 pounds and comes in one color - an undyable white! The bag ages to a gray between washes and everything detaches. The top lid, two side pockets, the hip belt all come off. I usually wear this pack with only the detachable lid so the weight is only about 1.1 pounds. If you carry more than twenty pounds it is important that you add the hip belt to shift some of the weight onto your hips. The Kelty pack also allows for an internal water bladder that rides next to your back. The hip belt suspension package is terrific and makes this my favorite big pack. At about $300 it is pricey but is a lifetime investment with great flexibility.
Ray Jardine's 'Beyond Backpacking' gives complete information on getting your pack lighter. He has long preached the ultra light packing and stealth camping techniques. He advocates the more comfortable options of the light weight packer but he clearly writes that a hip belt is needed if your pack weight exceeds twenty pounds.