I'm the proud owner of an External Frame pack.

“so, I'm helping a friend shop for his very first pack and was absolutely stunned to learn that there are very few, almost zero, external frame packs being made anymore.

I've been an external fram loyalist since my uncle handed me down his 70's Kelty Tioga. Since then, I upgraded to an 80's Tioga, and then to my current darling, a Kelty Pacific Crest (best pack ever, IMO).

Any other external frame fans out there?

Also, with these newfangled internal frame packs, where the hell do you put the tent? this is a serious question.”

“where the hell do you put the tent?

I prefer inside, if it's soaked, strapped to the outside.

I haven't used an external frame in....about 20 years.

I know Dana Design was making a model.”

“it'll fit inside? What, vertically?

REI still has a couple Kelty models listed - I guess in adition to being an external frame loyalist, I have my love for Kelty.”

“I'm rockin a Kelty Illusion internal frame right now (3,400ci and 3 lbs). It's OK. I am still dialing it in after using it for three years and hundreds of miles :)

No. Tent goes hortizontally, poles go vertically.”

“I put my tent in loose, stuffed down inside to fill the nooks and crannies. There's only one pole and it also slides inside quite easily. Stakes are in a zip pocket on the outside. My pack is an Aether 60 and at 3500 ci is easily large enough for my AT thru this year. In '05 I did most of the hike with a 3000 ci Atmos 50, which I may switch to this year when summer rolls around. Being younger than you guys, I scarcely remember external frames. Do you have pictures?”

“Ha!
last edited: 2/01/10 3:12:27 PM”

“here's my current one


and the old ones
(modeled by my brother)


and also, modeled by my brother, on the right
”

“Yeah, I remember grampa talking about those...j/k”

“haha, well, my uncle grew up in the 60's - and I guess one of his friends got a job at Kelty, so he set up all his buddies with packs and they got into backpacking that way (because they had free packs, as opposed to wanting to backpack) - then they all became Sierras bums, living in Mammoth, skiing all winter and backpacking all summer. Then, when his bum knees forced him to get a real job, he bequeathed me with his pack to carry the torch of external frames on into this brave new world”

“I have the Kelty Tioga like the one in the pic,used it on My97 At hike
Also own 2 internals”

“97? You're as old as those other guys.

Pepsis, I'd pay a lot of respect to a pack I got under those circumstances as well.”

“the bottom's worn so thin that light gets through, one strap is tied on with twine, and it's completely bent off kilter from a rough fall it took down a canyon in Colorado... and it's still just great. I'll take it out on some of my shorter trips, where a complete pack failure wouldn't be disastrous - just to give it a few more miles. Oh, the places it's seen!”

“I meant to say I'd either treat it with great respect or get drunk and hawk it...or both.”

“My wife uses a Kelty Tioga Jr. She has tried a few other packs and this one is her favorite.”

“I have been usin an external frame pack for 28 years. I am still using the Kelty Trekker I have had for the past 12 years. I have accepted that the internal frame packs have evolved to the point that I should make the switch. It just hasn't happened yet.”

“I was a loyal Jansport ExtFrame user up until a few years ago, when I switched to Granite Gear. I used an Eddie Bauer bag on a Jansport frame since the late 70's, switching to a Jansport Ranier in the early 90's. The main reason I went with GG internals was the weight savings when I decided to go towards a lighter pack weight overall.”

“I use an old Alpinlite frame with home made belt, bag and straps for summer heat when I must carry all the water for desert trips. These pack let air circulate around your back and can be more comfortable with heavy flat land hiking. I had a shade awning that was made of kite materials that rigged to the aluminium side verticles , but it and a spin tarp blow away in a dust devil last spring.”

“Who killed Salebored and who is using his name?”

“You'll never find the body out in the High Desert.”

“I hate external frame packs.
Yeah, I am a hater.

For me everything goes in the pack.
The tent is usually broken down and shared among those who will use it.
When sleeping solo I use a tarp or a Tarptent and they get stuffed.
I carry trash bags for wet tent or tarp.
The only thing that hangs outside my pack is my sandals.”

“

"The only thing that hangs outside my pack is my sandals.�
MarkO

How 'bout the guy wearing the sandals?

LOL.”

“I have one. It's great. A jansport”

“Frame packs require strap-ons.

Are you a strap-on kinda guy, Slim?

With my internal frame packs I stuff it all in.”

“I always clip my sandals to the outside of my pack, but the way they hang, it looks like I'm carrying someone, and their legs are sticking out behind me. Kinda ridiculous, actually.”

“Dang, Brother Slim!
That thang is hangin' to your knees!”

“... yeah, I get that a lot

wait, oh, you were talking about...

never mind”

“'round back, Jack!”

“What the hell is he doing with that cudgel?”

“MarkO - That backpack is loaded for 28 days and has clothing for any weather including cold and snow. My guess on it's weight was about 80-85 pounds. The pack is an Alaska 115.”

“It has an expandable top that can add about nine inches additional cargo space.

Edit was not working for me.”

“I think you can still get external frames through Cabelas and REI.”

“External frame packs? What's next; you want to go back to horse and buggies?”

“I still have my '73 Kelty Tioga, and several earlier Keltys. I use them as loaners for new scouts and parents. They work fine, no one wants to steal them, and if new scouts like backpacking they start pestering the parents to get them internal frame packs. If they get an internal frame pack, they have to get a sleeping bag small enough to fit inside.

The only problem I have with them is that the shoulder pads and waist padding can be very hard from age. Does Kelty sell replacements?”

“

�What the hell is he doing with that cudgel?�
Nimblefoot

Maybe he just wants to cudgel you!”

“Bob,

I've seen replacement stuff avail through campre. I would not count on kelty for replacements (in my experience).”

“The last one I had, Amtrak turned into a bag of broken sticks.”

“a bag of broken sticks.”

That's what'll happen to yer cudgel if you bring it around here, matey.”

“Ok I will come clean, my first "pack" that I bought was a Jansport "Scout" external Frame (still have it) that came with these NEAT metal hoops by the waist belt. You could use them to stand the pack up while you were out.

Used it a couple times. I occasionally switch between external and internal. But since I do a lot of brush whacking....externals are too much of a pain.”

“brush whacking....? Be carefull, don't brush her against the streak.”

“But since I do a lot of brush whacking....externals are too much of a pain

true... nothing sucks more than nearing the end of your hike, being completely dog-tired, and snagging the top of your pack frame on a low hanging branch...”

“....for any weather...

...can add about nine inches additional...

You ole stud muffin!

I think you can still get external frames through Cabelas and REI.”
Nonconformist
12:27:39 PM
2/02/10

Can I get one in camouflage?”

“Yeah, but you won't be able to see it.”

“Hmmmm.........I see.”

“ROTFLMAO...Pepsi...you ever do a Pack Flip?

LOL coming down a steep hill, the top of your frame catches a small branch and you jerk forward. This throws you off balance forward down the hill, you hit, the pack continues over and flips you?”

“never done a full flip, but I could see it being pretty hilarious.

I was on a trip this last fall through this overgrown canyon in death valley (surprising, but it was like a friggin jungle in some of the places where there were flowing springs). We'd stopped off for a beer at the (roughly) halfway point, so we were a little giggly. One of my friends got his external frame pack so tangled in vines that it took him about 5 minutes to extricate himself. Of course, the rest ofus just watched, in tears from laughing so hard...

also, I hate the extremes you have to go to in order to get underneath low branches with an external frame... anything short of a military crawl or an exorcist crab walk and you get snagged. God that's frustrating...”