Women's packs

“OK, I don't know why the backpacking gods have smiled upon me, but my wife has actually agreed to try backpacking!

I need to get her a pack, but of course I don't want to spend a lot of money.

I was looking at this Women's Kelty Haiku 3000 since it's a women's model and it's cheap. It's a little small, but she doesn't have to carry as much as I do, just her clothes, sleeping bag, food, etc. since I'll have a lot of the gear we use together.

Any ladies have recommendations on this pack, or possibly another that you use and like?”

“bit--I have the Dana Designs Glacier pack and I love it, it's a bit heavy, and I know there are some good deals out there on it right now. The hip belt is perfect on me!! I have not found a pack that fits better yet.”

“3000 is very small...might want to upgrade her to a little bigger...”

“I have a Gregory ******? I've found that it doesn't have to be designed for a woman, it's more important to get the right size. However the Gregory is a 7 lb pack. It seldom get's used now that I have my go-lite Trek (once again a small). No frame, but I carry an average load of 30 lbs vs. 37-40 just because of pack weight. It's a lot more comfortable. This means the difference between 1/4 and 1/3 of my body weight.”

“and let her pull her own weight.

No sympathy here...if scorchfire can do it,,,so can your wife.

good luck and congrats...now she'll be wantin to go all the time with you. (which translates to: NO ESCAPE)...moral is..."beware of desires...you might just get what you want, then wish you hadn't".”

“I like my pack but not sure what kind it is.”

“cottonsocks has a Kelty Tornado that seems to serve her well.

The biggest drawback I see in that her model doesn't have a hydration pouch. However we solved that by putting the bladder in the pack and running the tube out the side zipper.”

“My pack is a Kelty Trekker.....I got it YEARS ago...I am looking at new ones now......but not sure which way to go.....and anyone have any suggestions for a winter sleeping bag???/”

“Golite Trek is not a woman's pack but I love mine and it's soooo very light!”

“Bit, I would get her something bigger. 3000 cu is tiny. She won't wanna carry huge heavy loads but stuff is bulky and you can always cinch down a pack. Any chance of borrowing a pack before buying?

You know, I have a Lowe Netherworld ND70 you guys can use if you want...just return it if/when she's ready to choose her pack. Email me if you want it. It's about 4300 extended.”

“I give my gf my climbing rucksack of about 3 000 cu.in. and it's more than enough. She carries her clothes, sleeping bag and mattress and I carry everything else including her backpacking espresso maker and the cute little cup. It's good for everything except winter packing and she's not ready for that yet. JMHO.”

“and I have the osprey ariel 60. I like it alot, but it is not much bigger then yours. 3500, I think.”

“Have you thought about renting/trying out a couple of likely packs before buying? Just a thought.”

“yeah, I have to agree. Rent one first! I have a couple I could borrow you in a size small.”

“S 16-18 length 2# 6oz 3700 main compartment 950 all pockets 4650 main & all pockets 600 extention collar 5250 all
M 18-20 2# 8oz 4050 950 5000 600 5600
L 20-22 2# 10oz 4400 950 5350 600 5950”

“Smaller is better.
Give a newbie a big pack and they will always fill it up with too much unneeded weight.”

“I will refrain from commenting Stove!!!”

“I can ask at a couple of the gear stores around here. Well, at the gear store around here. (Sorry, Huntsvillians, but I don't consider the Outdoor Omnibus to be a gear store. It is a cave where a gruff old bear lives.) If we had an REI here I could probably rent one.

Thanks for the loan offers! I'll check around to see if I can borrow or rent something locally first.

Stikky...I hear ya man.

As far as 3000 being small, yes, it might be if she were going by herself and having to carry all her own gear, but I really don't foresee that, at least not for a long time.”

“i use the osprey aether 60. and i love it! i actually chose the men's over the women's. i suppose it all depends on the pack. whatever pack you're looking at, check the measurements on the website and then determine whether you need the women's or men's.”

“Tango....

Do the Golites have hip belts???”

“"Smaller is better.
Give a newbie a big pack and they will always fill it up with too much unneeded weight."
StoveStomper
10:33:53 AM
11/12/03

As quite obvioulsy evidenced by cottonsocks packing skills.”

“Smaller is better.
Give a newbie a big pack and they will always fill it up with too much unneeded weight."
StoveStomper

That is the truth SS!”

“Well darlin, I must say that at about the 7.5 mile point on that last hike, you probably had a good grasp on what didn't need to be in that pack.”

“Bit, have you considered an external frame as a starter pack?
They last a long time and can be given to your kids when they grow up!
http://www.campmor.com/webapp/commerce/command/ProductDisplay?prrfnbr=9047&prmenbr=226">Like this one?
It's about 3 & 1/2 pounds and very adjustable.”

“...and it's certainly the right price!

I might go with that for her. It's true, it could easily be passed down to either of my kids if she didn't like it, or got a different pack.

I guess I'm an idiot to want to buy her a pack anyway. I have a feeling she isn't going to like backpacking, but hopefully I am wrong.”

“Golite seems to make great light packs...but correct me if I am wrong that the down side is that beacause there is no frame they can only go to a max of 30lbs of wieght?”

“maybe 3000 is small for the cold of winter, but for the rest of the year 3000 is totally adequate for me.”

“jeepers - That's right. GoLite was for Ultralighters when they first started. They are making packs for the not quite light people now.”

“The go-lite trek has a hip belt. They may have some newer models as well. I've carried 36 lbs in the pack for a weeklong trip -- no problem.”

“so the not so lighters are what...35-40lbs? I guess with all the space in the trek you can fit alot of gear...but it has to be light gear.”

“everybody's definition is going to vary, but here's my breakdown of UL, light, etc. these weights are all gear only - no fuel, food or water.

ultralight: 12 pounds or under
light: 13 to 25 pounds
normal: 26 to 35 pounds
unpleasant: 35 to 45 pounds
insane: above 45

obviously these numbers are totally subjective and vulnerable to attack.”

“Thanks Tarbubble. Does anyone else have an opinion. And be nice to tarbubble! :-)”

“As someone who's carried more than 45 pounds, I have to agree, that's insane!

Unless of course, you can take the punishment.”

“i carried 45+ once myself, at the start of a 9-day trip. it took 4 days before i started enjoying myself. and yet, that was the trip that made me fall in love with backpacking.”

“I agree with tarbubble. I guess I'm a lightweighter. Til you pack in the food and wine that is.”

“I think I was right at 40 when I started my longest trip.

Heaviest was my first trip since Scouts, a couple of days on the Pinhoti in East Alabama. I had one of those propane burner stoves, and since I had no idea how long one of those little bottles would last, I (yes you guessed it) carried two.

I think I was over 60 at one point in that trip.”

“i'm fooling around at the bottom end of lightweight. it's funny to think that on that 45+ pound trip, my pack and the 2 (yes, 2) bear canisters i carried equaled over 2/3 of my current base weight.”

“Hey, that external Camptrails is just like the external camptrails that was my first pack! Wonder where that pack went? Hmmm. I had crap strapped all over the outside of that thing in an effort to take more stuff, lol.”

“practice makes perfect TARBUBBLE! But then one can ask how long the learning curve should take hehehe...

So with a light pack of say 20lbs...how many nights (in summer) could you last?”

“OK, let's imagine that i'm going on a trip in the Sierra Nevada in summer. as light as i can go right now would be 16 pounds (that includes my 2 pound 5 ounce bear canister, which i could ditch depending on my itinerary). since i always pack too much food, i'd be carrying between 1.5 and 2 pounds of food per day. let's say 1.75 pounds. i can fit around 10 days of food into my canister, so let's guess that i'd be carrying 18 pounds of food for 10 days, which would make for a total of 34 pounds. throw in 11 ounces of fuel (roughly 1 oz. per dinner) and a liter or two of water and i'm still under 40. but i always toss in extra food at the end because i'm a paranoiac.”

“Okay, time to put on my REI hat. If your wife is just getting into backpacking, and she' doesn't plan on doing much hardcore stuff, like serious bushhwacking, mountaineering, overnight snowshoeing/skiiing, canyoneering, etc., I would recommend a good external frame pack. It seems so many people are going to internals just because they look "cool" or are the "trend", but a good external is usually a better choice for casual backpacking. Of course this is my opinion. I love my external frames. External frames ride cooler (it's just a mesh against your back, with the actual pack a few inches away, allowing air circulation/ventilation so it's much cooler), externals are also typically more compartmentalized so you can organize your gear better. You can lean an external frame pack up against a tree and get what you want out of it by accessing the various pockets and compartments, while internals tend to be more like big duffel bags that you need to dump out your gear in a pile at camp to access, or dig blindly with your hands and feel for what you need. And for me, I can stand up straighter in an external pack, while with my internals I have to lean a bit forward. The center of gravity in an internal is typically lower and closer to your back, while an external it rides higher and a bit further out. I find the loads easier to carry with an external. You can also strap a lot more gear more easily onto the external frame instead of cramming everything inside an internal.

Of course this isn't true for all packs, and many internals are being made with more and more pockets. But that really defies why internals were made in the first place. Internals were initially designed to be narrower, more streamlined, with no pockets. This was to make the center of gravity closer to you so it feels more secure in off-balance situations, like mountaineering, climbing, canyoneering, steep bushwhacking, etc. And the narrower profile with no pockets was supposed to make it easier to slide through tight spaces. With pockets being added to internals, it starts tweaking the center of gravity and making the packs much less streamlined. But people think they look cool, so it's the trend.

So short story long, here's my recommendations: if you will be backpacking on trails or realitvely easy of-trail stuff, go with an external. If you will be doing things that require critical balance, like mountaineering or serious off-trail stuff on steep angles, go internal. If you will do both and need just one pack, go internal.

A fantastic women's external backpack is the Kelty Trekker. REI's version of this is the Kelty Sierra Crest. It's the same pack. These packs have all the comfort adjustments you'd find on an internal pack... load lifter straps, sternum straps, curved shoulder straps, a beefy hip belt/suspension system, a hydration bladder pouch, etc. It has an adjustable aluminum frame so you can get a perfect fit for the torso length. It also allows you to adjust the width of the shoulder straps. And it has bazillions of pockets. AND the Women's Sierra Crest is on sale at REI right now for under a hundred bucks.

Kelty Sierra Crest”

“I need a womans pack, good thred :) AHEM MIKE :)”

“Buck, good info on externals. I still use my old 25 year old 4 pound external pack for some trips.
The Kelty you quoted is also 5 and 1/2 pounds. I would go as light as possible.”

“The Kelty Trekker that I have is much more comfortable than the Camptrails that I used to borrow. It's also more adjustable, I like it alot better. It's also on sale right now at Campmor for $89.97. Interestingly enough (for me anyway); that's what I paid for mine 8 years ago, also on sale. Hmmmm....some things never change. Here's a link if you're interested.”

“No sympathy here...if scorchfire can do it,,,so can your wife.

Hmm, Stikmon, I'm not sure if that's a compliment or not!

Anyway, I have the Kelty Coyote 4500 pack and I liked it. Granted, I've only gone backpacking once this past weekend, but it did the job. It seems smaller than the others as well and not very expensive if you buy off of Campmor.

http://www.campmor.com/webapp/commerce/command/ProductDisplay?prrfnbr=31799619&prmenbr=226”

“BIT...I have my daughters kelty Trekker......you can borrow it.....I think my trekker is comfy...and I live close by...LOL”

“Thanks everyone for all the good advice!

Div, I may very well take you up on that offer.”

“I have a kelty yukon. Its about 3500 cubic. It doesnt quite fit my but its the closest I have ever come to a pack small enough for me at that price (I got it for 79 bucks) I hate it though. It sqee\aks with every step and always throws me off ballence. ah..... someone drop a hint to mike please ? :)”

“BIT......let me know..........email me.........”