In backpacking, the big three are the three largest, bulkiest, and often the heaviest items, other than food and water. They consist of
- your pack
- your shelter
- your sleep system
Many experienced backpackers will tell you to get gear as light as possible. This mentality is known as "ultralight backpacking". The foundation of ultralight is with these big three items. The benefit of ultralight backpacking is that you experience less physical strain, you have more energy, you can go farther on the trail at a faster clip. The extreme end of ultralight backpacking is that you also sacrifice some comfort and the other drawback is price. Ultralight gear is often very expensive, especially for these items. As we drill down into some of the other gear, there are ways to pare down some weight at little or no cost, but packs, shelter items, and sleep systems that are high quality and light weight are often hundreds of dollars.
There are a lot of options for all three of these, but I want to just touch on some of the categories for each of the "big three" gear divisions. Backpacks is long enough to be its own article, so this one will stand alone. We'll see how the other two sections go.
Backpack
For a multi-day trip, you need a backpack that can hold everything you need. Backpack capacity is generally measured in liters of volume. You also want to consider how heavy your load will be. Experienced backpackers will tell you to save your pack selection for last because you need to know that the rest of your gear will fit in it and carry comfortably. Why am I talking about this first? So you don't make the mistake of buying your backpack first. It's the most obvious thing you will need when you are backpacking, but it's possibly the most important thing to get right so you are comfortable and safe while hiking, especially for a long trip.
Packs are most commonly broken into categories based on structure and then design elements.
Structures
- External frame
- Internal frame
- Frameless
The advantage of having a frame in the structure of a larger backpack is that it helps to stabilize the pack and distribute the weight. Ideally, you don't want the weight of your pack to be on your shoulders, but more on your hips. With a frameless pack, your load can shift around and it's harder to keep things balanced with a larger load. For short day hikes with water, snacks and a few odds and ends, a frameless pack is fine, but not so much when you are carrying multiple days worth of gear including shelter, food, etc.
External frame packs have somewhat gone out of fashion. The frames tended to be larger and heavier anyway. Internal frame packs often have a couple of rods that run from the top of the pack down to the hip belt to help provide structure and to transfer the weight of the load to your hips instead of your shoulders.
Internal frame packs are the most common for longer trips. They also breakdown into minimalist and traditional packs. And also packs with horizontal frame elements and packs that only have vertical frame elements. Most traditional frame packs will have some horizontal frame support. The more framing you have, the more stable and structured your pack will be. The trade-off is it will weigh slightly more.
Minimalist packs tend to have far fewer pockets, zippers, straps, and features than more traditional packs. The traditional packs may have external and internal storage pockets for organizing gear as well as extra padding, straps and lash points. They also tend to weigh more.
One last thing to take into consideration when buying a pack, torso size. Rather than trying to explain things that others have explained well, and probably better than I could do here anyway, I will provide this link and just say that I get size large packs for myself.
Everyone is different and it's a good idea, not only to try a pack on before you buy it, but also to try it on with some weight in it to see how it carries the weight. This is not always possible, but if you can, it is advised to do so.
What have I chosen for my trip?
I own 3 backpacks from previous backpacking trips. The oldest pack is a North Face Badlands pack. It has a 60 liter capacity. It's a good pack, but it is heavy (6 lbs). If you were on an expedition with no opportunities to resupply for several days on the trail, it might be a good option, but for this trip, I only have to go 3-4 days before a resupply.
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| Image is a 75 liter version, but looks the same as the 60 liter version, just bigger. |
I have actually decided to donate this North Face pack to the Goodwill. I was considering selling it on ebay, but it has some issues. It's usable, but I don't think I could get much for it and detailing the issues on ebay would be more of a hassle than it's worth to me.
The other two packs I own are both under 4 lbs. One is a Gregory brand 55 liter pack. The other is an Osprey 50 liter pack. The Gregory pack carries a bit more comfortably than the Osprey, but it is a few ounces heavier. It is also designed more for carrying a hydration reservoir, not water bottles, so it has no water bottle holster pockets. I used to use hydration reservoirs, but I am going to try different water filtering/carrying options for this coming trip. For that reason and because the Osprey is lighter weight, makes it a better choice for me.
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| What my Osprey pack looks like. |
I reached out to Osprey and they will repair or replace the bag. I am expecting to hear back from them on how they will back their warranty, but they say it can take 8-10 weeks for a repair.
I don't think I ever realized that the mesh cutout on that outside pocket was only bonded to the stretchy main part of the pocket with some kind of glue or adhesive. If they re-glue it, I wouldn't trust it. Even if it is stitched back together, there are other issues with this pack for me that were not ideal after doing a few hikes with it.
Hydration
The water bottle pockets on the side are a bit tight and hard to reach. I was able to access my water bottles, but getting them back into the pockets was a bit of a pain. It was so much of a hassle that I sometimes decided not to bother with reaching back to grab a sip just because I didn't want to fool with pulling my bottle out or trying to jam it back in. Drinking water should be easy. I could use a hydration reservoir with this pack, but that means added weight, because the reservoir weighs more than the bottles and the filter that makes filling the reservoir easier is also considerably heavier than the squeeze filter system I hope to use. I will discuss my water system in greater detail in a future article, but for now, just know that I am planning to carry water bottles and having easy access to my bottles in some kind of side pocket is a priority for me. The Osprey pack does better than the Greggory brand pack I own, but it's not ideal.
Ease of packing
The Osprey pack has a frame that is intended to provide ventilation between your back and the pack. It really does a good job of ventilating, but as much as it curve away from your back, it is also cutting into the internal capacity of the storage inside the bag. Everything you put deep into the pack has to pass around the bowing frame. The frame of the Osprey Atmos is in the way when I am packing gear deep in the bag.
Weight
There are lighter packs that the Osprey, even though it's the lightest pack I own, at 3.47 lbs. Ultralight packs are typically made of lighter weight materials, the typically reduce the frame down to bare essentials required for structure and transferring the weight of the load to your hips, and, because many backpackers now use plastic water bottles for hydration, they come with easy to access water bottle pockets.
Final answer...
I could live with the packing inconvenience of the Osprey pack, but the other two issues have become a higher priority for me after taking the Osprey on an overnight as well as some day hikes.
I had an opportunity to get a deal on an ultralight pack by Durston Gear. I have now purchased a Durston Kakwa 55 pack.
The Kakwa 55 is a 55 liter capacity ultralight pack. The large size weighs just over 30 oz. The Kakwa 55 will help to cut my base weight (total weight carried without water, fuel, or food) by around a pound. It has a large water bottle pocket that is cut to easily get bottles in and out. And the Kakwa will have more storage capacity and does not have the internal frame gouging out space inside the pack.
The Kakwa pack does not have a lid pocket like the Osprey. The top closes with a roll that clips together. It also has a large outside pocket for storage and hip belt pockets. It has a minimal internal frame that should provide load stability and structure without adding much weight or restricting capacity.
I have also considered the Hyperlite brand, which is popular, but the cross bar frame support in the Kakwa 55 and the lower price (considerably lower) were determining factors for me. Durston also has a 40 liter pack that is virtually identical to the 55 liter version, but has smaller capacity and is slightly (like a couple of ounces) lighter weight. I opted for the 55 liter version because I was able to get it at a discounted price, and I also believe it will give be more versatile. I have seen some reviewers of the 40 liter version who expressed some minor frustration at the limited capacity of the 40 liter for colder weather backpacking (when you need to take extra layers and often bulkier gear to deal with the cold) and also people who do trips in locations that require bear cannisters, which are somewhat bulky. The bear cannisters did not fit well in the 40 liter bags.
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| Durston Kakwa 55 |
Another cool feature of the Durston packs is that they have holsters on the shoulder straps that can hold water bottles or other items. This really makes it easy to grab your water (or whatever easy access item you want).
The biggest issue with Durston is they are a Canadian company, they are small, so you have to order direct from them, and they are popular because their products are well designed, quality, light weight, and competitively priced (relative to similar products on the market).
I purchased my pack over a week ago and it has not shipped yet. Shipping from Canada can take a while because items have to pass through US Customs. In the meantime, I am somewhat limited on the kinds of trips I can take. I hope this pack arrives before temperatures get too hot here so I get some practice carrying it.
In the meantime, I am waiting...
Thanks for stopping by. Coming soon, the third component of the "big three", the tent I have chosen. After that, I will talk about some of the other gear I have opted for, including my hydration kit, my cook kit, my poop kit, and miscellaneous other items.
I also hope to produce some articles on my trip planning, including scheduling, meal planning, resupply planning, and logistics for the thru hike.
Cheers,
Gavagai
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