Internal or External

“I am thru-hiking the AT and want to know which is best External or Internal packs. And which of each you would recomend?”

“You don't need a pack for the AT, haven't you ever seen Suvivorman? If i were you, I'd just Stay in the city...”

“Once you go internal..
you never go back....”

“Used an external pack for about 20 years before I switched. Internal packs just kept getting better over the years and the external packs are just about what they were way back in the day.”

“go frameless if you got the guts to go ultra light”

“I love my external frame and will never use anything else”

“Hut oh, me and Pepsi have something in common. I have an old Jansport external and there's just no reason to change now.....”

“I had an external Jansport as well, weighed about 8lbs. Now I use a golite Jam 2, about 1 lb 6 oz. Will never go back”

“External is what I've been leaning to. Have only used internal before in the past and wanted to know what you thought about External this will be my first thru-hike. Have done several week long hikes but havent been happy with the pack I have. Currently have 2900 internal is that the right size for the AT or do I need a larger pack. Looking at a Kelty 3200 also a Jansport. Don't know alot about the Kelty bags any info on them.”

“IMHO, the lighter the load, the funner the trip”

“There are many strategies for hiking the AT maybe check out White blaze. You could go ultralight or frameless and stop for food every couple days or you could try to pack ten days of food and stop less often. HYOH.. External frames are for carrying significant weight, if your base weight is 8 lbs, then you prolly don't need an external frame.”

“I'd go internal - not only is it lighter, but it will help when you hit some of the more scrambly parts of the trail.

But, I agree with 1camper - its your hike, whatever best suits how you want to hike it is the right choice.”