Jump to content

Recommended Posts

Gee, I thought everyone used ziplocks.

For most things, yes. For others the sea/summit bags are pretty good and hold their seal pretty well. When you have several ziplocks to get, having them in a sea/summit bag helps. Getting a bright orange or yellow one can help spot your stuff as it floats downstream...or if you leave your diddybag of stuff laying around and need to find it. ;)

  • Upvote 1
Link to post
Share on other sites
  • Replies 72
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Top Posters In This Topic

Popular Posts

@@tnmule20....just be careful with sizing. You may find very quickly that 65l gets filled up very fast. I do ultralight a great deal and I can fill my 85l pack pretty fast...usually with stuff others

Thanks for all the great suggestions.  I went to REI on Saturday and tried some packs.  I really like the Osprey Atmos 65.  The suspension keeps the pack off of your back so you don't get as sweaty.  

Hi, and welcome to the forums. The best choice is a really personal thing. It depends on your size, build, interests, and personal preferences. Some like external frames, some like internal frames. I

Posted Images

I have considered several times looking for an external frame.  I like that they hold the pack away form the body for better cooling air flow.  Just doesn't seem to be all that many choices with them now days.... but for folks like you and me we're not looking to hike the full length of the appalachian trail anytime soon... so we really don't need that perfect rig

Link to post
Share on other sites

 

New question to the group ... these tech materials lose water resistance after a while. Is that a "pitch the pack" factor for you? Or, do you just invest in the cover/garbage bag/tarp to compensate? The old canvas never really resisted water, so that was never an issue. From the get go, we knew if we didn't get the poncho cinched, the gear was gonna be soaked.

 

I never buy packs with the intention of having them waterproof.  NONE OF THEM ARE even from the get-go.  The minute you open up the top in a rainstorm your gear gets wet.  There's no room in the bivvy tent for a pack.  It sits outside in the rain.  The only reason the poncho covers the pack is because one puts it on while wearing the pack!

 

If anyone out there pitches packs because they are not waterproof are the fools that will spend $200 on a new pack only to realize that $200 worth of ziplocks will last a lifetime.... or two.... or three

  • Upvote 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

Gee, I thought everyone used ziplocks.  

Lol. There's no way I could fit my sleeping bag into a ziplock. I could put it in a trash bag, but a trashbag won't compress it, and it would be pretty bulky. So I have a waterproof compression bag to make it smaller and keep it dry. 

 

Sometimes folks at outdoor retailers will try to upsell folks into nylon compression sacks for things that don't really need it or a ziplock would be more than adequate. Or they sell folks Nalgenes when a SmartWater/Gatorade/Powerade bottle is lighter, and is durable to last a year's worth of hiking. They cost like a $1.50 each.....

 

I 100% agree that anybody who throws away a pack because it's not waterproof is out of their mind. A dirty, wet pack is a happy pack. It means it's being used. 

 

I've seen two strategies. One is a cover like @@Krampus suggests. The contents and pack fabric will stay dry, the straps will still get wet. (I think wet straps feels good unless they start chaffing, OUCH!) Generic rain covers run $20-40$ depending on manufacturer and size.

 

@@Stosh outlines the very popular trash bag liner routine. The fabric of the pack will get wet, but the contents will not. 

 

I don't even bring a tarp with me backpacking. I just put the rain cover on the pack, and lean it up against a tree overnight. All my extra clothes and sleeping gear comes into the tent with me. Another option is a large contractor trash bag. Just stick your mostly empty pack into the trash bag and tie it shut. 

 

I'd use the pack cover if my load is small and I can fit most of my stuff in the pack. If I have to clip lots of things onto the outside of the bag, I'm going with the trash bag liner routine, and the stuff on the outside better be stuff I don't want wet. 

 

@@Stosh If you are using a Yucca, you can probably fit your poncho on over it, with a modern internal or external frame, I think that would be a bit of a stretch. 

 

@@blw2 Look at the Atmos AG 65. It has the back airflow you like from externals. I have that trampoline suspension on my Exos, I will never go back. 

 

I love backpacking, I wish my troop did it more. 

 

Sentinel947 

 

Edited by Sentinel947
Link to post
Share on other sites

 

I've seen two strategies. One is a cover like @@Krampus suggests. The contents and pack fabric will stay dry, the straps will still get wet. (I think wet straps feels good unless they start chaffing, OUCH!) Generic rain covers run $20-40$ depending on manufacturer and size.

 

 

They have new covers that are lightweight AND cover your entire pack like an eggs, straps and all. Very nice! Can even double as a shelter in a pinch.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Don't do this to me.... lol. Can you link me to one?

 

Got mine in Europe. Very nice. Deuter and Ortlieb make some seriously nice gear. Like Sea/Summit "dry packs" without the hefty price.

Link to post
Share on other sites

They have new covers that are lightweight AND cover your entire pack like an eggs, straps and all. Very nice! Can even double as a shelter in a pinch.

 

So do military ponchos  :)  That's all I ever use.  Even used the poncho as a tent on a lot of treks.  If nothing else it keeps the morning dew off.

 

Lol. There's no way I could fit my sleeping bag into a ziplock. I could put it in a trash bag, but a trashbag won't compress it, and it would be pretty bulky. So I have a waterproof compression bag to make it smaller and keep it dry. 

 

You aren't pressing hard enough!  :)  Seriously I use heavy weight trash bags with a clip to seal off after I have compressed it.  I have two loose compression straps that I used to compress BEFORE I toss it into the trash back and seal up.  It ends up totally waterproof and smaller than even the stuff sack compression.

 

@@Stosh If you are using a Yucca, you can probably fit your poncho on over it, with a modern internal or external frame, I think that would be a bit of a stretch. 

 

The poncho isn't meant to keep the pack dry, packing already has done that!  I mean, unlike a rain coat, one can put it on and keep dry even without taking the pack off.  I never try to keep my pack dry  At night it sits out in the rain, on the trail it gets wet unless the poncho happens to cover part of it  and during the day it just sits around.... in the rain if it's raining.

 

Sentinel947 

 

Link to post
Share on other sites

That is the pack we recommend for scouts in our troop. I've got two or three in my attic that have logged thousands of miles from my sons. Jansport also makes (or made) a slightly smaller model for boys less than 100lbs (older son was a 112 senior) . I didn't know Jansport still made them. The are easy to adjust for scouts as they grow, they hold a lot and they are open back panels. Great packs. When the scouts out grew them, they would sell them to new scouts for nearly nothing. Jansport used to give discounts to scouts. Things may have changed.

 

You will love that pack.

 

Barry

Edited by Eagledad
Link to post
Share on other sites

Four of the Packs are Jansport Rainiers. The picture was taken in 1998 at about 11,000 ft in the Pecos Wilderness, New Mexico. The boys were 14 on that trek, but most of them were still using those same Rainiers on their Philmont trek three years later. They had several hundred miles on them by that time. The adult taking the picture is also wearing a Jansport Rainier.

 

The little guy on the right is my older son who did eventually grow into the pack. He was the only person who weighed less than 100 lbs (89 lbs).  He had strong legs and never once complained about carrying his share of food and gear.

 

Barry

 

post-10490-0-03737800-1460406683_thumb.jpg

  • Upvote 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

Yes Sentinel, thos Osprey's do look nice.  Thanks for the point out to that model.  One of these days I might consider an upgrade.  Not doing any backpacking any time soon, but I have been trying to slowly cut down my kit.... I think once I get it a little better, i might go on the hunt for a new lighter pack

Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...