I have often seen folks spend lots of time (and oodles of money) selecting a backpack in a camping store. Almost inevitably they end up with something very heavy and very uncomfortable (for a long walk) and have spent so much money they are going to just go with it – and suffer! But, as […]
You might have noticed it in the cover picture below or this post, that I seemed to have something hanging from my pack as we walked in to Pangboche: It is a DIY mobile clothes line which I am drying one of my handkerchiefs on. If you walk the EBC some time you will find
An updated version of this iconic pack is now available in 70D & 100D (as in the Gorilla) DWR coated Robic Nylon in three sizes from 578 grams & US$153 (Nov 2019), the G4-20 Ultralight 42 Backpack Quite a good price and weight. This would be very suitable for a lightweight hiking/hunting pack. Features include:
I just saw the Granite Gear, the Crown X60 (ie 60 litre) pack on Massdrop for US$120 which has to be very good value for such a robust award winning hiking pack. As I already have $50 credit from folks whom I have recommended who have joined, it is hard to pass up. Perhaps for
This will make your frameless pack more comfortable, transfer load to your waist belt and help keep your back dry. You can still buy an ‘air beam’ from Granite Gear for US$50. You will need to make a 3D wicking mesh pocket on the back of your frameless pack (one like this or this for
I borrowed my son-in-law Matts’s Zpacks Arc Zip just so I could try it out. I loaded it up with about 10kg of stuff I would usually carry for a trip of about a week I guess and went for a five mile (8 km) walk in a local pine forest. Just the other day
The ‘Big Five’ for less than $100 and under 3 kg! I recently posted about this 362 grams cheap 40 litre pack which you can buy from Amazon for US$20. I bought one just to see and found it very good indeed – as good or better than many more expensive packs I own/have owned,
You really don’t need a heap of expensive gear to get into hiking (or a ten ton load). You can start eg with a lightweight pack. You could consider the simple dual compartment 362 grams, 40 litre G4Free available at Amazon for US$19.99 (Feb 2018), and you could shave a bit off that weight if you
The quest for a dry back when hiking is never ending. I confess I punched a pattern of holes with a wad punch just like this in my Sitlight Pad prior to our Bartle Frère walk back in September for use on my Gorilla Pack. It certainly improved the situation a lot, but it was
Just in case you really need an indestructible 93 litre pack which will carry 40 kg (100lb) plus a moose and weigh only 1.25 kg. Personally I couldn’t resist the photo. That (by the way) is an Alpacka pack raft, most likely the Fiord Explorer model, their ‘moose boat’! If you haven’t got one, you
