buying a new pack (yea!)

“The Macpac Ravine pack arrived from Backcountry Equipment in San Antonio last Friday.
Its a simple and very well-made pack and weighs 3.5 lbs.
The material is quite rugged and it ain't made in China!
I'm not sure if its TOO big though at 4,400 cu in.

Backcountry Equipment has some good looking packs from Ferrino, made in Italy,
Ferrino has a website and quite a lot of mountaineering stuff.”

“all I can say is that Osprey kick ass!!! I have had mine for almost 10 years now..used it in hard canyoneering,mountaineering and new england bushwacking..durable..handles loads extremely well..and ohhhh the comfort...everyone I know who has one..loves them...OSPREY”

“The Osprey packs look good.”

“Congrats, and good choice pisgah.”

“I just sold my beloved (sniff, sniff)Dana Design Astralplane Overkill (6,000 ci) to 10 Bears.

I think my days carrying 75 pounds on my back are over with.
After all, Larry can carry 80 pounds, and Roy can carry 100.
That's a few cases of beer.”

“That's the pack I have Mel! How could you sell it! That's blasphemy. The Dana Design gods will surely punish you. But admitedly, for some outings, it is overkill!”

“I looked at the Ferrino packs. Does anyone have some info on these? My son is leaving for Europe in April for a month and we are looking at a pack for his trip (lucky little cus). I don't know if I can bear to let him leave the country with mine. Afraid he'll meet a girl there and won't bring my pack back!!:)”

“pisgahforest-sorry for straying on your thread. I guess I should have started a "Kid's Leaving the Country" thread.”

“I ordered a Gregory Whitney from REI last week. Can't wait for it to arrive. I'm psyched!”

“That pack would be bigger than mel!!!
If you were to follow mel carrying that thing it would look like a pack with legs!”

“For me, that pack was NEVER overkill.
I bought it in 1994.
There were times when I actually ran out of room with it.
At it's (and MY) best, we humped 80 pounds together.
I love that pack like a son.
But since I got the llamas five years ago, The only time I've used it was last June when we had a small TT hike through the Yosemite backcountry.
I was lugging about 65 pounds then, after four years of having llamas carry all my stuff.
I realized then that my load monster days were over.
Why should I carry anything when I have four idiot teen-aged Llamas carry it for me?
10 Bears will give it a good home.”

“Update: turns out usoutdoor.com ran out of the Osprey Finesse, but I found it at some store in NY (http://www.mountainmanoutdoors.com/backpacks.html) for $140! Ordered it yesterday, hopefully it'll arrive next week! I'll let y'all know how it turns out!”

“i got a new hat, and a thermarest chair. now i can sit on my ass and not have the sun shine in my eyes.”

“Raddy....
If you stood up, wore a hat, and bent over and looked between your legs, the sun wouldn't get in your eyes then, either.”

“S.S. I have a "Finese" as well. Sweet little pack. Super deal you got.
Hey Mel treat yourself and use some of that Dana money to replace that old red Kelty of yours.
Lots of super deals out on the web now.”

“Ordered my Osprey Aether Pro (old style) last nite fo $75, no shipping or tax, from usoutdoor.com. Thanks for the tip seldom seen!”

“Back from spring break, and besides a bad cold and sore muscles from shoveling out of a blizzard, I got a new pack, a Vaude Grand Canyon (65L), while at Canoecopia in Madison. Waterproof, though not submersible, and extremely adjustable and comfortable suspension. Only around 5 lbs. I bought the Vaude rep's show sample for $140 off (almost 40% discount)! He said that model isn't being sold in U.S. anymore, just Europe. Just happened to be one of the packs at the top of my list to examine over break, though I thought it was going to be too pricey. Serendipity.

Other find at Canoecopia: Hennessey Hammock standard model for $79 (expedition models were going for $99). Couldn't resist getting a second one at that price. The rep for the show was the guy you see on the website in the hammock between two cypress trees in the swamp. He had one set up at the show and was selling a lot after people tried it out.

Still haven't found the right pair of Gore-Tex boots, though I tried a pair of Lowa's that were pretty nice (at $190).”

“Well, I took my new Osprey Finesse out for a snowshoe hike in the Cascades (near Alpental ski area off I-90) this weekend. I like it! The pack feels comfortable and has great balance.

By the way, I ended up ordering two (long story), so now I'm selling one on ebay. Take a look if you're interested: http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1126643206.”