Category Archives: Backpacks

Osprey Hornet 46 Ultralight and Compact

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I own an Osprey Aether (no longer made) at 1 pound, nine ounces and an Osprey Atmos 35 (discontinued) at 2 pounds, 4 ounces and love both. The Atmos 35 is really solid with a frame, mesh net at your back and really stretchy pockets all around. You can go for a week or more in this 35-liter pack. Just when I thought Osprey had completely abandoned the ultralight market with many packs at 4-5 pounds (not ultralight), I was pleased to discover the Hornet series at sub-two pounds. They have lots of choices for men and women. Worth a look at the company website.

Be light. Be safe. Be one with the pack.

Sierra Crossing: Tom Stientra’s Great Adventure

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U.S. award-winning outdoor writer, columnist and TV personality Tom Steinstra is writing an eight-part series in the San Francisco Chronicle newspaper about a 70-mile backpacking trek through Sequoia National Park, starting at Siberian Ridge and ending at Mineral King, which takes in Mt. Whitney, one of highest points in North America.

Steinstra says in this first part: “The most remote river canyon in the Lower 48, the headwaters of the Kern runs through this mountain cradle. A trek here can reveal the towering canyon rims, ancient virgin forests, pristine lakes and creeks, waterfalls and hot springs, and wildlife for which each visitor is a curiosity, not a threat. The trout fishing in the remote Kern can be the best of any in the American wilderness. The streams are the purest in California. People are scarce and litter nonexistent … to get there you have to earn it …. Sounds amazing. To read more, click here.

Be light. Be safe. Be one with the pack.

Choosing Your First Backpack – Let Weight Guide You

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I’m a member of and frequent shopper at REI. They have a good selection of goods and for the most part knowledgeable folks working there. I can walk around for hours touching, poking, feeling, examining and exploring. It’s actually a treat to spend two hours there even if I don’t buy something since I live in a rural area 100 miles to the closest REI store.

Many of their sales people, men and women, are experienced backpackers. However, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been in a store when someone comes into to ask for basic advice, such as choosing a backpack, and their expertise seems to disappear.

Personally, I have never heard any discussion — and I’m always eavesdropping — about going lightweight, despite the fact that REI has plenty of light and ultralight backpacking gear.

I’ve posted on this subject before, but let me offer some advice:

Keeping the basics light will help you start light and stay light. The basics are backpack, tent, pad and sleeping bag. Limit this to 10 pounds. Less is better.

Two Days or Treks
I don’t care what kind of trips you plan to take — two days out-and-back or a trek on Appalachian Trail — you can get by just fine with a pack weighing no more than 3 pounds, preferable 2 pounds or less. These lightweight backpacks have plenty of bells, whistles and pockets. They also are comfortable.

My light pack is an Osprey Aether, 1 pound 9 ounces, and my heavy pack is an Osprey Atmos 35, size medium, which weighs 2 pounds, 9 ounces. Rated as a “light and fast backcountry adventure pack,” it is optimized for up to 30 pounds. I have come to prefer it because it has more pockets into which I can jam (ultralight backpacking) gear.

If you want to be an ultralight backpacker, you can also find molecule-light packs at less than 8 ounces, such as those made by Gossamer Gear.

By picking the lightest, most comfortable pack, you’ll narrow your choices and quickly be on your way to being a lightweight backpacker.

My basics – with light pack: 6.5 pounds; with heavy pack: 7.5 pounds. My first backpack alone weighed 7.5 pounds.

Don’t be afraid to tell someone in the story you want to go ultralight. Say: “I want my basics to be under 10 pounds.”

Be light. Be safe. Be one with the pack.

Ultralight Day Packs Keep Pack Weight Down

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A light daypack is an essential piece of equipment for the light backpacker.
Kiva Designs Key Chain Backpack
I’ve taken many, many three-day loop trips that involve two overnights and 8-10 miles of day hiking wearing your pack. That’s great except for one thing: you’re wearing your pack the whole time. Even an ultralight pack is still a weight on your back.

More and more of my backpacks involve hiking to a campsite and then taking long day hikes to explore the area. My companions The Duke, Wild Bill and I load up our sandwiches, windbreakers and water in Duke’s ultralight daypack and head out. In the Caribou Wilderness, for example, we hiked in 4 miles to a great camp, then took 10-12 mile day trips.
Kiva Designs Key Chain Backpack Open
The Duke’s wife found his daypack years ago, but couldn’t remember where she got it. My wife finally found one for me the other day in a Bed Bath & Beyond. From my web search it appears they are mostly sold in luggage shops.

The Kiva “key chain backpack” weighs just 2 ounces and is four inches wide by 3 inches high. Unzip it and you have a 612 cc daypack. Cost: $10. It was a great find. A feather on my back.

Be light. Be safe. Be one with the pack.

Zero Based Budgeting – Perfect Formula for Lightweight Backpacking

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Most of you have probably heard of zero-based budgeting. It’s a simple concept: your budget starts at zero and builds. This differs from annual budgeting that merely looks at the previous year’s budget and adds or subtracts an amount.

With spring on us and snow melting fast, you’re probably anxious to hit the trail. But you want to do it as lightly as possible.

So where do you begin? You start at zero. That means buying a really light pack and building from there.

When I started backpacking 10 years ago, the average big load pack, like my 5800 cc Dana Terraplane was 7.5 pounds. By the time I added my 7.5 pound Sierra Design Meteor Tent, I was already at 15 pounds. Ouch!

The 2007 Backpacker Magazine Gear Guide lists dozens of packs in the two to three pound range. Here’s my recommendation to get off to the lightest backpacking season ever:

•Choose a pack around 2 pounds.

•Ignore marketing gobbledygook about “Adventure Packs”, “Racing Packs”, and “Fast Packs.” Any of these will be a good place to start since they are small and light.

•Smaller is better: it’s lighter and you’ll be forced to take less (I can pack for a week’s trip using my 1 pound, 9 ounce Osprey Aether 2,800 cc pack).

•If you don’t have the money to get a whole new set of equipment — and few of us do — then just start with the pack and then carefully analyze each item (whether you really need it; can it be used for multiple purposes).

If you check out my past posts in “key posts” or “backpacks” or “tips” you’ll find examples of lightweight packs and strategies for lightening up.

Be light. Be safe. Be one with the pack.

64 Backpacks 3 Pounds or Under

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The annual Backpacker Magazine Gear Guide is just out and it is absolutely jammed with all the latest packs, tents, boots and more for backpacking, hiking and camping.

Good news for light and ultralight backpackers: of the 479 packs reviewed, 64 are 3 pounds are less. This is the culmination of a real revolution in materials and construction that has created a whole new generation of really light packs.

For those of you who don’t think this is a big deal, consider that when I started backpacking in 1998, monster internal packs were the rage. My own pack was a beauty — a Dana Design 5800 cubic inch model made for carrying 50+ pounds very comfortably.

In fact, when Backpacker Magazine’s editors did gear reviews, you would have thought they were human pack mules — raving about how easy it was to carry huge loads.

Well, no more. My mantra is keep your base weight to 10 pounds or less (pack, sleeping bag, tent/shelter and sleeping pad. And now, you can do that with no sweat.

I also noticed that the listings include foreign manufacturers. The Europeans have long been experts at hiking and backpackinging with lots of innovative gear, but few have gained mainstream status in the U.S.

Alas, in the Gear Guide pack division is Bergans of Norway with six sub-three pound packs. This is a real breakthrough.

More on the gear guide once I’ve had some time to digest it.

In the meantime….

Be light. Be safe. Be one with the pack.

Bungee cords add a boost to backpack

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MSNBC reported today on an interesting new backpack …

According to scientists, the ergonomic design of the new bungee pack reduces strain on shoulders and joints.

061219_Backpack_vmed.widec
The cords suspend the load in the pack so it stays at the same height from the ground while the wearer is running or walking, thus reducing the risks of muscle and joint problems.

Its designers said it will allow users to carry an extra 12 pounds (5.4 kilograms) while expending the same amount of energy as when carrying a normal backpack.

“For the same energetic cost, you can either carry 48 pounds in a normal backpack or 60 pounds in a suspended ergonomic backpack,” Lawrence Rome of the University of Pennsylvania said in a written statement. “It is like carrying an extra 12 pounds for free.”

The backpack, which was designed for soldiers and emergency workers, could be useful for children and hikers.

“Being able to move at relatively high speeds is crucial for many professions as well as in some athletic competitions and recreation,” said Rome, who collaborated with researchers at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Mass.

The scientists have formed a company to produce the backpacks — known as Lightning Packs — and are now working on a lighter, small version.

Could a bungee backpack make a 20 pound load feel like 10 pounds?

Be light. Be safe. Be one with the pack.

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Mike Kretzler’s Lightweight Backpacking Base

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This post is a continuation of my Backpacking Gear List Series, focusing on ways to achieve the lightest possible pack, while maintaining some comfort and staying safe while hiking and camping on your backpacks.
Backpacking Gear List

A frequent reader of my blog and experienced lightweight backpacker Mike Kretzler of Olympia, Washington and publisher of PEREGRINATE at http://www.mkretzler.blogspot.com, was good enough to share his list of base gear. Like my base list # 2, his is between 9 and 10 pounds.

His tent and sleeping bag recommendations are particularly interesting.

Here’s his list (by the way, I tried to provide links to Montbell Diamond tent and Moonstone bag, but couldn’t locate on company websites; names may have changed):

•Pack: North Face Slipstream (3 lbs., 10 oz.) – no longer made, super-comfortable, but too heavy

•Tent: Montbell Diamond – https://www2.montbell.com/america/asp/products/Spg_shosai.asp?cat=1201&hinban=2322276 (3 lbs.)

•Bag: Moonstone (1 lb., 15 oz.)

•Pad: THERMAREST 3/4 PAD (1 lb., 2 oz.) -

Total: (9 lbs., 9 oz.)

Be safe. Be light. Be one with the pack.

P.S. – Mike lists this quote on his blog homepage (I like it):

But how the hell can a person; Go on to work in the morning; To come home in the evening; And have nothing to say (John Prine)

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Backpack Series: Under 10 Pounds

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This is the second in a series of posts on backpacks that I consider either lightweight or ultralight.
Backpacking Gear List

As noted in my last post, I have two sets of base gear. Why?

I like gear and am constantly experimenting. And truth be told, I am also a little into comfort these days.

The Osprey Atmos 35 gives me more pockets and easier access. The Exped Downmat 7 is filled with down and provides excellent insulation from the cold ground. Ground insulation makes a huge difference in staying warm with a minimalist sleeping bag like the Western Mountaineering HighLite or any similar bag.

Base Set #2
Pack: OSPREY ATMOS 35 BACKPACK (size large) – 43 ounces (2#,11oz)
Tent: Light Year – 1-Person 3-Season Backpacking Tent – 43 ounces (2#, 11oz)
Sleeping Bag: Western Mountaineering® HighLite 35 Degree 850+ Down Sleeping Bag (35 degree) – 16 ounces (1#)
Sleeping Pad: Exped Downmat Sleeping Pad 7– 32 ounces (2#)
Base Total: 9 pounds, 6 ounces.

Considering my original base set 10 years ago was more than 20 pounds, this is not a bad start for someone who wants to become a lightweight backpacker. Because no two backpacks are alike and no two wilderness areas are the same, there is no reason not to have multiples of certain hiking gear, such as sleeping pads. For example, you could add a Gossamer sleeping pad to my list above in the place of the Exped and bring your base down to about 8 pounds. The choice all depends on the weather conditions.

Be safe. Be light. Be one with the pack.

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GoLite Race Pack

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GoLite Race Pack

My first rule of shopping for a lightweight backpack is to eliminate all of those 3 pounds or heavier. However, if you’re really serious about being lightweight, you should probably set you upper limit at 2 pounds. There are many, many choices out there in this range, including the GoLite Race Pack.

Don't be put off by pack names such as "adventure pack" or "race pack" because it is mainly marketing jibberish.

I like several things about this pack: it weighs 1 pound, 8 ounces, costs less than $100 and has plenty of pockets, including a big pocket for rain stuff, a wet tent or whatever. Continue reading →