Backpack selection help

“I guess my decline into heavy gear is complete. I'm normally a lightweighter but am accumulating gear for trips with my son. My first trip with him showed me that my sil-nylong Gearskin pack and 50#'s don't mix well. Next time I'll leave the 12 pack of juice boxes at home.

I've never owned a conventional pack, so I need help. My 2 packs to date are a 2800 ci daypack. I used it for 2 years of backpacking. I currently use a Gearskin which is open cloth with no set volume. This leads to my question. I'll be carrying my stuff, plus a youth sleeping bag and most of his clothes. I'll be hiking in a minimum of lows close to freezing, but not colder. Most hiking will be in warmer months so that we can play in creeks.

Is 5000 ci or so about right?
Since this is only going to be once or twice a year I really don't want to spend over $110 or so.

Here are the two I'm looking at.

Mountainsmith Circuit (Med) 5400 ci ($104): http://backcountrygear.com/catalog/packdetail.cfm/MS1700

Rokk Minaret 5500 ci and ($108): http://www.justhike.com/site/465873/product/110227”

“I've used a 4,500 ci before with my kids, except they carried their own sleeping bag. So from a comparison standpoint, your prolly in the right ballpark.

I basically carried extra food and "snack" items, plus a larger tent than normal.”

“I have a Mountainsmith Auspex and it's both rugged and comfortable.”

“*shakes head and walks away*”

“Now Stovie, this is just for small tyke trips and slow, plodding basecamping trips.

It's a ying and yang thing. I'm probably doing Neels Gap to Dick's Ck Gap on the AT this spring over 3 days. No heavyweight gear on that one.”

“;-)”

“The pack I'm using now is 5300 ci. It holds my tarp, my sleeping bag (zero degree), a bag liner, my full-length Thermarest LE, three days worth of food and cooking gear for 2 people, and all of my clothes and raingear--including cold weather layers and incidentals, and a first aid kit inside the pack and with PLENTY of room to spare.

I hope that helps give you an idea of the kind of room a pack that size has. My son was a little older than yours when I started taking him with me on backpacking trips and he had a small pack of his own and carried his sleeping bag and clothes himself, so I really just had extra food and water to carry.”

“It's good to hear I'm in the ballpark. I suspect I could back off 1000ci or so if I went external frame.

I'm leaning towards the mountainsmith based mainly on reputation. It's a heavier pack, but hopefully more stable.”

“oh, btw - my big pack I mentioned is an external Kelty.”

“nothing wrong with external..I prefer them. My hiking partner HATES them. Now I let him talk me int internal framed packs...and they jsut arnt the same :(”

“I thought about the Kelty Trekker as well. I feel like I could put both bags in a sil stuff sack and pack it on bottom. That would just leave the tent, clothes, and food. The 2 ground pads will get strapped to the outside of either pack I go with.”

“How old is your kid? I had mine caryring all of his gear at 5 years of age. I sure as heck wasn't going to carry it after this trip:
http://community.webshots.com/photo/124864919/124865115rufYiX
Being a packdonkey SUCKS.
Train the kid right and you can stay light (yuckyuck!)
The kid is 7 now and has a Deuter Fox 30 from kidssource.com. It holds his gear. All I carry for the two of us is the tent (and I sleep in a REI Coupe, so it is light) plus our food and kitchen items.
He has been on around 20 trips and hasn't figured out yet that in theory I should be carrying his junk. Hehheh....
Btw..if taking kids, don't carry heavy liquids for them, just carry Crystal Light for them ;-) And learn to cook food kids like with no weight involved ;-)

http://www.freewebs.com/freezerbagcooking/

And of course, good luck..lol!
last edited: 1/03/05 9:54:49 AM”

“He'll be 5 in Feb. The last trip he took his toys in a backpack. I'll probably step it up each time until he's carrying a good bit of it by 6.”

“That's about how big my pack looked carrying all the crap I carried.

My wife wanted me to take juice boxes, not next time. I also had a ton of clothes for him and 2 sleeping bags. The temp was down close to freezing. His sleeping bag is one of those camping kit type of bags that's probably good for 50, so I double bagged him with one of mine.

The meals went good. I took bread and did grilled cheese and also did pancakes for breakfast. I'll check out that link for some better ideas on the next trip.”

“If you interested in an external I got a catalog from Cabelas that had the Kelty Tioga 5600 on sale for $99. It has the same suspension as the 50th anninversary model. I couldn't find it on their website but it is in the post Xmas catalog.”

“I'll check into that then. That sounds like a good deal and plenty of room to hang crap off of.”

“I don't suppose you could post the item ID number by chance?”

“I've got a North Face Inca that's about 5400ci. It's an internal, and I filled it up with our stuff. My daughter carried her toys and clothing. I carried everything else. She was 8 at the time, and I think her pack weighed about 6 pounds.

My philosophy on it was since I wanted her to enjoy going, I would carry most of her stuff. I knew she wouldn't have a good time on the hike if she was loaded down with her own sleeping bag and pad. Next time will probably be similar. I may make her carry her own sleeping pad, which will only add about a pound and a half to her weight.”

“I still use my original external pack from the mid 1970s for 'heavy' packing.
You can hang a crazy amount of crap on an external.”

“That tioga looks good, but it sure doesn't look 5300 ci. I think this is the one I'm going to wind up with now.”

“Also, with the amount of off trail, basecamping trips I've started doing a bigger, more rugged pack makes sense. I also have this secret desire to do a 5 day trip in the Tetons. Ahhh, one day.”

“Hey Dayhike, I use 5 different packs, I use the external frame packs for the big loads 60 to 90 lbs. I have a few internal frame packs, a small pack for through hiking 20 to 25 mile days 18 to 25 lbs a medium size for most hiking which is what you are looking at. A big mammy jammer around 7000, I like this pack for most hiking because it is a great base camp pack. Some of these packs will break down with the smaller top being a daypack. The big packs are nice not to carry allot of weight, but to put all the cold weather stuff in on that Teton trip. I like the fact that I can put every thing inside it. I pack it to about 35 to 40 lbs. But if you do allot of base camping pick up one of the big framed externals and modify it.As I did for my Camera pack. You can Probably put the pack you are looking at and your daypack on the frame.You can pick up the external pack cheap at a yard sale. It might weight 70 + lbs, but if you only going 5 miles or so its not bad. At your sons age he doesn't need to rough it, or he will grow to hate it.”

“Thanks matt. It seems like the more folks that chime in that the more it looks like I'm in the right neighorhood with what I have in mind. Feedback like this is why TT is just the best.

I agree with keeping the weight off him. I don't mind carrying it and that way it keeps it a fun weekend in the woods. I hope to take him 2x this year and then family camp 2x.”

“If you buy only one item for your son it would be to buy him a GOOD sleeping bag. Buy him a North Face Tigger bag, it is a 20* bag. It is affordable and washable. Your child will thank you.
Smartwool makes kids socks. Worth every penny.
Tell mom all you REALLY need to carry is a pair of shorts, and a pair of pants, thermals for night, socks and underwear for every day you are out. One long sleeve top, one short sleeve top. Hiking boots and sandals for camp. A rain jacket and a fleece jacket. That is all you need.
A kid can sleep on a Ridgerest 3/4 pad and be perfectly fine. Weighs 9 oz's.
If you need gaiters, OR makes them for kids. Same for gloves.
All in all, Ford's pack weight is usally between 9-13 lbs. Some trips are long, some are short.
What is more important to kids is having a good time in camp. I try to plan camps so he will have a creek or lake to play by. Kids may whine and moan, but that is just being a kid. Kid's aren't made of porcelain, they can handle carrying a pack and hiking 3,000 ft of gain and 10+ miles in a day. It builds character ;-) lol.....
My sweetie in action..http://community.webshots.com/photo/170018142/170025933LMCMKw
http://community.webshots.com/photo/133499346/133504051IaoUtf
You can never know what your children are capable of till they try :)

But if ya feel the need to packdonkey, Mountainsmith Specters rock. I have carried in the upper 40's in mine.”

“All my gear is made out of lead. Wussies. I use a hollowed-out brick instead of a Nalgene. The only thing I cut back on is my underwear. I wear a thong. It's made from chain-link fence, but it's still a thong.”

“hmmm.....I thought I was the only one.”

“you just don't learn...LOL...Buck your a riot!”

“Dude, if you're gonna get a big pack go for a Gregory. Out of the four brands of packs I've had (Kelty, Dana, Gregory, Osprey) the Gregory was the best for hauling a lot of gear and being VERY comfortable. Next was the Dana...I'd almost say the Dana was more comfortable but it couldn't carry as much and cost way more. If I ever needed a bigger pack again I'd go with another Gregory. And for the times I need a lot of gear I take my good ol Shasta. I'd recommend the Forester though.”

“I'd like a Gregory, but only want to spend around $100 bucks since this will be an occaisional use pack.”

“Sierra Design makes nice kids size rain pants and jackets.

The pants how drawstrings at the cuff. Got my daughter a set for Christmass. Will double as a wind / dry layer over fleece or snowpants too.

oh yeah - REI had them for 15 bucks each.
last edited: 1/04/05 11:11:43 AM”

“I found this backpack:
http://backcountrygear.com/catalog/packdetail.cfm/KE6351

light, and lots of space. do you guys know anything about it?”

“It looks like a Kelty. Maybe 4500'cu. And I would say it has a really comfortable suspension system, looks light, good for multi-day excursions. I think you could haul just about anything in it.”

“Dyneema Gridstop is pretty good lightweight but strong material. When the military started taking over all the supplies of spectra many manufacturers moved the Dyneema stuff with sucsess. Looks good imho.”

“A WHITE backpack????
Girl, you crazy! ;-)”

“Yupp, yupp. I have never owned a kelty, so I was curious. What info on the site made you think it has a comfortable suspension system?

(I didn't see anything on the site, unless I missed it)

It worries me that the pack is a one size only pack.”

“Damn... I'm liking it more by the minute... must... resist... don't... need... another... pack...”

“That pack looks sweet.
Thanks for clearing up those details BM.”

“heehee, nice pack huh? I was hoping someone would say that!!

I know it's white...but it's lite, and spacious. I could pack for more then 3 nights. :)”

“Gem, BM is just messing with you. LOL
He just wrote the description of the pack directly from the ad. ;-)”

“I realized it. Saw the top description, but didn't see the "comfortable".

heeheeheeheehee... It is a nice pack, but the white is a pain in the ass. don't know why they even make white backpacks. I know kelty had that $800 pack back then, it was ALL white.”

“I saw a picture of lyra wearing white pants while 'camping'. ;-)”

“It's the nature of the material Gemini. You can't color Spectra... or Dyneema. So it's white. Freaking tough stuff though. You'll never wear that crap out.”

“okay...I like it more and more. I guess it doesn't matter if it's white then. LOL Now I really would love to find it in a local store. IF not, i think I may just order it.

Kelty has a great pdf files for fitting the pack. (I think it would work for other packs too)

http://kelty.com/Kelty/PDF/Packs/ShadowINST.pdf”

“LMAO! I kill me!

I get a commission from Kelty.”

“nope you don't!! their site and their pdf file sold me! Oh, and DeoreDX. :)”

“Some backpacks I've looked at don't have the mesh pockets on the side for water bottles. Where do you carry your water so you don't have to take the pack off to get to it. Do these usually have a hyrdration system or what?”

“That looks like ENS's pack, not sure if it's exactly the same, maybe he'll chime in.”

“Dyneema is some good chit. It's stronger then Aramid fibers (one of the trade name for Kevlar). Like spectra they make bullet proof vests from this stuff.

http://www.dsm.com/en_US/html/hpf/home_dyneema.htm”

“Looking at this pack http://www.campmor.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?productId=36592557&memberId=12500226
Anyone know if this is a good deal?
Looking for about that size and lightweight. This is under 4 pounds.”

“I have a mountainsmith pack that is nice, but I'd spring for a Z-pack if you've got the money.”