Looking for real backpack advice

[bush_hog]

Looking to get into backpacking and camping more as we fall down the rabbit hole of Cubscouts. Before trying different brands and buying a couple different packs... anyone locally have any Mystery Ranch or Osprey in the 50 to 65 Liter size that I can try and see if my gear will fit into??

Also, do most people pack their tent in thr bag or cinch it up on the bottom of the ruck?

Thanks!

COVINGTON AREA

 

[Labeeman]

Good morning. I’m in BR and have a fairly new osprey that fits your needs. If you are in BR let me know and you can try it out. As far as the tents go about 99% of people pack the tent in the bag.
Here’s how most people pack,
liner bag in pack,
sleeping bag, sleeping pad, clothes in liner bag, then close liner bag. These are the things you want to keep dry at all cost.
Tent and food bag on top of liner bag in pack along with ditty bag( tooth brush, charging cords etc)
Close pack.
Rain gear and all other stuff ( sit pad) on outside so you can get to it quickly.
You want to try and keep your pack nice and tight on the outside. You don’t want stuff banging or swinging around as it will drive you crazy.
Here are some great you tube channels to help you
Homemade Wonderlust
Kyle hates Hiking
Dan Becker
Darwin on the trail. They have all the knowledge you need.
I have hiked hundreds of miles and they have hiked thousands. There advice is golden.

 

[AustinBR]

Looking to get into backpacking and camping more as we fall down the rabbit hole of Cubscouts. Before trying different brands and buying a couple different packs... anyone locally have any Mystery Ranch or Osprey in the 50 to 65 Liter size that I can try and see if my gear will fit into??

LABeeman shared good advice.

I'm also a major backpacking nerd and would be happy to answer any additional questions you may have.

First, I recommend that you read through the REI Backpacking Checklist and make sure you have everything that you need.

I typically do 70-90 mile hikes at a time and use a 65-liter Osprey AG bag. I hike with a group of 2-4 buddies and we all have a range of gear, from basic stuff to some of the highest end ultralight stuff that you can get.

My advice would be to go by the Backpacker (there is one in Mandeville) and get fitted for bags, put weight in them, and see how they feel.

Also, do most people pack their tent in thr bag or cinch it up on the bottom of the ruck?

Thanks!

COVINGTON AREA

Anything on the outside of your pack is prone to getting poked, stuck, and/or torn on the outside world while hiking. Getting a hole in your tent could let water, bugs, or excess wind in.

The general rule of thumb for packing a bag is essentially what LABee said above. I, personally, put my quilt (sleeping bag) in a separate dry bag and don't use a bag liner, but that's just my preference. I also put my clothes and puff jacket in separate dry bags.

A rough outline of how my pack is packed, from bottom to top:
Sleeping bag, pillow, quilt, sleeping pad, jetboil, dinner food, clothes, day-of lunch food.

On the outside of my pack I have crocs on a carabiner (for water crossings), my ultralight chair in the stuff sack, and if I'm not using them, my trekking poles.

On the outside pockets I have medical and my poop kit.

In the hip belt pockets I keep snacks, bug spray, a lighter, and a small knife.

I keep my water bottle on a chest strap.

 

[AustinBR]

Below is a rough list of what I carried for 7 days in Glacier National Park last fall. Some of these items wouldn't be needed for weather >32 degrees. We averaged around 30 at night and got to zero on one of the climbs:

Item	Grams
Osprey Atmos 65L Pack	1905
Sawyer Water Bottle	204
Jet Boil	490
Wind Breaker (Patagonia)	102
NeoAir Pad	628
REI Towel	92
NEMO Filo Pillow	250
Cup	104
Spork Set (one extra)	37
Poop Trowel	34
Poop Kit	160
Rope	136
Chair	516
First Aid	317
Misc	175
Tent	780
Tent Frame + Stakes	393
Tent Ground Cloth	150
Headlamp	116
Extra Batteries	47
Garmin InReach Messenger	113
Spare Battery (Removed)	0
Sleeping Bag Dry Bag (Sea to Summit)	150.00
EE Quilt	670
Bag Liner (Sea to Summit Reactor - Compact Plus)	248

 

[mforsta]

Austin and Beeman do you a self- inflating or blow up sleeping pad? Which one do you use?

 

[AustinBR]

Austin and Beeman do you a self- inflating or blow up sleeping pad? Which one do you use?

I only use an inflatable pad. Self-inflating is pretty much a thing of the past.

I have the one generation older version of this pad

If you aren't going below 32 degrees, you don't need a pad with this high of an R-value.

 

[Magdump]

+1 on the Osprey. I cringed at the price, but after a week up in Philmont I decided it was a bargain. Try Facebook marketplace for a used one if you must. I’ve seen them pop up fairly regularly

 

[Labeeman]

Austin is spot on with his gear list and advice. Blow up sleeping pads are what everyone uses and most come with a blow up sack to inflate them. I had a big Agnes pad but gave it away last week when my hike was over to a young lady that didn’t have one but desperately needed one.

 

[bush_hog]

Below is a rough list of what I carried for 7 days in Glacier National Park last fall. Some of these items wouldn't be needed for weather >32 degrees. We averaged around 30 at night and got to zero on one of the climbs:

Item	Grams
Osprey Atmos 65L Pack	1905
Sawyer Water Bottle	204
Jet Boil	490
Wind Breaker (Patagonia)	102
NeoAir Pad	628
REI Towel	92
NEMO Filo Pillow	250
Cup	104
Spork Set (one extra)	37
Poop Trowel	34
Poop Kit	160
Rope	136
Chair	516
First Aid	317
Misc	175
Tent	780
Tent Frame + Stakes	393
Tent Ground Cloth	150
Headlamp	116
Extra Batteries	47
Garmin InReach Messenger	113
Spare Battery (Removed)	0
Sleeping Bag Dry Bag (Sea to Summit)	150.00
EE Quilt	670
Bag Liner (Sea to Summit Reactor - Compact Plus)	248

Great list... I imagine this is your essentials list, food, clothes, and water would be extra?

I'm currently waiting for a lighter tent to get here. My Big Agnes Hotel 3 is a little over 6 lbs. What sleeping bag do you have ? Also which headlamp?

 

[sandman7925]

You’ve received good advise but I’d like to reiterate getting fitted with weight in the pack at a shop.

 

[bush_hog]

You’ve received good advise but I’d like to reiterate getting fitted with weight in the pack at a shop.

It's definitely on my to do list. I'll check out the backpacker in Mandeville

 

[Labeeman]

As far as tents go it just depends on what amount of weight you are willing to carry. If it’s a short 1-5 mile trip in to your spot you can carry a lot of weight so anything goes, but if you are hiking 10-20 miles a day you need to go light. Some of the young hikers on the AT hike up to 30 miles a day. That is a testament what a young body and determination can do for you. All the respect in the world to them. A 6 pound tent would never see the light of day on the AT. You need to be in the 2-3 lb weight category. I have a 6 moon design tent for two that is in the 2-3 lb range. You use your hiking poles to set it up. There are so many good tents out there it just depends on what you are willing to spend.

 

[Labeeman]

As far as the headlight I use, it’s the nitecore. Very light, rechargeable and reasonably priced.

 

[AustinBR]

+1 on the Osprey. I cringed at the price, but after a week up in Philmont I decided it was a bargain. Try Facebook marketplace for a used one if you must. I’ve seen them pop up fairly regularly

Osprey makes quality gear. I am a very big fan of their "Anti-gravity" frame system. It's easily worth the two pounds I could save by going with a frameless pack.

Great list... I imagine this is your essentials list, food, clothes, and water would be extra?

Correct. I tailor my gear to every single hike. Over the past 5ish years I've gone through a bunch of gear and have 2-3 of almost everything.

Food looks like this for an average hike:
Breakfast: Two cliff bars, instant coffee if it's not raining - heat the water up in my jetboil. If it's a short (less than 5 day) hike, I'll sometimes bring actual coffee and brew it, but it just depends on the hike. Usually have 1L of water with breakfast. On longer hikes, if I know we'll have a >15mile day or a lot of elevation, I might bring a freeze-dried breakfast and try to pack in extra calories in the morning.

Snack: Between breakfast and lunch I'll usually have an additional cliff bar or some trail mix. For trail mix, I buy the cheap giant bag at the store and then add extra M&Ms to get more sugar in it.

Lunch: Cheese sticks, salami, pepperoni, stinger bar, trial mix.

Dinner: Always a freeze dried meal. I'm partial to Peak meals as they're usually 900-1200 calories. On days where I know we'll have a long hike the next day, I'll throw in a 500 calorie freeze dried Mango Sticky Rice. I also usually have sour patch kids before dinner. PSA on that Mango Sticky....we actually keep them on hand and my wife likes them as dessert LOL.

All in, I'm at around 3500 calories most days on trail, but some days I'll go over 4000.

Water: I typically carry a 1L Smart Water Bottle on the side of my pack and a Sawyer Filter Bottle on my chest. I also always have a gravity filter to filter 4L of water at camp. We don't typically hike in locations where there isn't ground water available.

I'm currently waiting for a lighter tent to get here. My Big Agnes Hotel 3 is a little over 6 lbs. What sleeping bag do you have ? Also which headlamp?

My tent is the Big Agnes Copper Spur

My sleeping bag is an Enlightened Equipment quilt. It weighs about 1.5lb and is rated for 20 degrees.

I'm actually going to replace my headlamp this year and see what the best in the market is at the time. That being said, it doesn't really matter so long as it has a red light mode. I don't do any night hiking. We use headlamps to get around the campsite at night and to go pee in the dark, but all in all, I'm probably actively using the light for ~20 minutes total, per night.

 

[AustinBR]

Forgot to mention that I also bring an Adventure Medical First Aid kit + Leukotape for blisters.

 

[mforsta]

Forgot to mention that I also bring an Adventure Medical First Aid kit + Leukotape for blisters.

You like the tape over moleskin?

 

[AustinBR]

You like the tape over moleskin?

All day, every day.

If I have a major hot spot popping up, I'll put moleskin and then top it with Leukotape. But 99% of the time the Leukotape works just fine. It's MUCH stickier than moleskin.

 

[marinetaco01]

Water: I typically carry a 1L Smart Water Bottle on the side of my pack and a Sawyer Filter Bottle on my chest. I also always have a gravity filter to filter 4L of water at camp. We don't typically hike in locations where there isn't ground water available.

Big Fan of the full size squeeze. Ditch the factory bags and grab a cnoc for dirty water and filter into a 1l smart water bottle

My tent is the Big Agnes Copper Spur

Killer free standing tent. It’s that perfect blend of ruggedness/weight ratio. I went from the copper spur to the durston xmid 1p (non pro) for the weight savings.

Ive ditched sleeping bags and use quilts now. I’ve got 2 from UGQ and wouldn’t hesitate to buy them again.

I started out with a granite gear crown 2. currently using a waymark thru. Careful when shopping packs and take a look at their weight ratings I think would be the one piece of advice I would give. I find packs are like shoes though and you just gotta find the one that fits. Feature sets will vary depending what the pack is built to do but I always look for a full length stretch pocket on the back and a single main pouch with no pockets on the hip belt or shoulder straps.

 

[AustinBR]

Big Fan of the full size squeeze. Ditch the factory bags and grab a cnoc for dirty water and filter into a 1l smart water bottle

Same! I usually hike with the Squeeze as a backup nowadays. I really like the Sawyer bottle as I can just bend over, dip the bottle in, and drink out of it. I toyed with the Grayl and it was cool, but way more work than the Sawyer.

For camp, we use a Platypus gravity filter that filters 4L of water at a time. Works well for cooking and for having a bunch of fresh water to chug overnight.

Killer free standing tent. It’s that perfect blend of ruggedness/weight ratio. I went from the copper spur to the durston xmid 1p (non pro) for the weight savings.

Ive ditched sleeping bags and use quilts now. I’ve got 2 from UGQ and wouldn’t hesitate to buy them again.

Yeah, big fan of this tent. On my last long hike we could only bring two tents between the four of us, so my buddy and I split the weight of the tent which was AWESOME. About one pound each for the tent lol.

As for bags, I use an Enlightened Equipment quilt. It's around 20 ounces (20 degree bag).

I'm going hiking in June of this year and I kindddaaaa want to buy an EE 50 degree bag, but I'll probably just bring my current one and drape it over me if I need to.

I started out with a granite gear crown 2. currently using a waymark thru. Careful when shopping packs and take a look at their weight ratings I think would be the one piece of advice I would give. I find packs are like shoes though and you just gotta find the one that fits. Feature sets will vary depending what the pack is built to do but I always look for a full length stretch pocket on the back and a single main pouch with no pockets on the hip belt or shoulder straps.

Have you looked at Z-Pack tents? I've toyed with getting one, but I really, really like my Osprey, even if it's 2lb heavier.

 

[marinetaco01]

Have you looked at Z-Pack tents?

My hiking buddy has an altaplex. It’s an awesome tent. I couldn’t bring myself to drop 700 on one when I could get the xmid for 250. The weight savings just wasn’t worth the extra $$$ for me.

Maybe could justify it if I was doing a legit thru hike but just couldn’t do it for the week/weekend trips I’m doing.

I’ve got a 20 degree and 50 degree quilt and kinda regret getting the 50. I just don’t use it enough.