Light Packs for Heavy Loads: State of the Market Report

[Addie Bedford]

Companion forum thread to:

Light Packs for Heavy Loads: State of the Market Report

[Chris Townsend]

I've used the Pinnacle on the last two TGO Challenges and I really like it. 30lbs really is the upper limit for comfort though. I have a medium Pinnacle and a medium Odyssey and they fit me fine. I measured the back length of various packs when I reviewed them in TGO last year and the Pinnacle measured 61cms. The medium Catalyst was 60cms, the medium Odyssey 65cms, the Medium/Large Osprey Talus 44 58cms and the medium Gregory Z55 55cms.

I haven't tried the new version of the Pinnacle yet. I don't think any are actually available. I did see it at Friedrichshafen. The changes might make it handle heavier loads a little better but probably not by much.

I haven't tried the Alpine Vapor either. The Vapor Trail certainly has a much more supportive hipbelt than the Pinnacle.

I'm still waiting to try the Osprey Exos too. Again, I saw it at Friedrichshafen and it looks excellent.

[Richard Young]

Thanks very much Chris – I'll have to put together a comparison table and go from there.

Can I ask if anyone else has any insights into how much a GG Nimbus Ozone/Meridian can actually carry? I like the idea of the adjustability and compression system (if not the lighter fabric), but really need to know if it can cope with a larger load.

[Peter Macfarlane]

Just a thought, there is a longer back length version of the OMM Mountain Mover available. It was made as an exclusive for the Tiso chain of stores in the UK. It's also 10 liters bigger in capacity though.

[Richard Young]

Cheers for the heads up PTC* – you've caught me asking questions without using my More-On code name!

Anyway, Chris reckons c. 16kg for the Mountain Mover – what do you thing?

[Peter Macfarlane]

Chris is right, the hipbelt is geat load carrier. I haven't managed to fill it with enough stuff to make it uncomfortable yet.
It's a great winter camping pack becasue of its mountaineering flavour.

Worth a shufty.

[Roger Caffin]

> External frame packs do this well, but are heavy, bulky and unstable (though some would argue otherwise
Sure would!
My MYOG H-frame pack weighs 800 grams, made of Easton arrow shafts and Dim Poly X-Pac fabrics (waterproof). It has carried up to 25 kg over reasonable distances in the winter – you get to those weights when portering skis, snowshoes, food etc in to a base.
Pity no manufacturer wants to produce them. Sigh.

Cheers

[Michael Fogarty]

As I recently discovered, my ULA Circuit was not large enough for a 7-1/2 day trip. Lucky, I had just purchased a Granite Gear Nimbus Ozone.
I was carrying 40-42lbs which was just about max. for this pack. Whats nice with the Ozone series is the ability to adjust the torso length from 18"-22"(reg.size pack) and the availability of 3 different hip-belt sizes and the choice of 4 shoulder straps, trim and wide, sized regular and large.
You also have the option of the light hip-belt over the ultralight hip-belt, which has a plastic stiffener in the hip-belt, for even greater load bearing support.
The optional hip-belt pockets are very nice as are the pack pockets and shoulder strap pockets too.
I added both RH & LH hip-belt pockets, a small pack pocket and (1) shoulder strap pocket for my camera.
I had been considering the Lowe Alpine pack for week-long trips as well, but don't like the fact that they don't have or offer hip-belt pockets, which, once you've had or tried, they are hard to do without.
Of course the Contour has the top pocket, which is handy for your small incidentals, but you still need to remove the pack to get at them.

[Andy Dixon]

as mentioned by Chris in the review, a word of caution over OMMs stated volumes is required.

I have a OMM Villain which is listed as 45 litres (plus an additional 10 on extension)

However, this pack is probably around the 40 litre mark (certainly no more than that) and would not cope well with an additional 10 on extension. (However OMM packs are light, well featured and pretty bombproof so I do quite like the Villain).

So beware if buying a pack via mail order as has often been highlighted on BPL volumes vary tremendously between manufacturer's (I can think of at least one 40 litre pack from a different manufacturer which is SIGNIFICANTLY bigger than the 45 litre Villain!)

[Brad Groves]

Chris, thanks-

I go pretty light when I can, but many people I speak with these days think that 50-60 pound loads are completely unreasonable… even after I explain that the load includes two weeks worth of food (30-35 pounds for me)and gear for temps around 20-40 degrees F and rain, not to mention photo gear. Quite a relief to find your article here. On longer trips, we're still packing light and using all the principles espoused in the forums–just have all that durned food!

[Jack Thompson]

Dan McHale makes the best pack, period. I have two. The fit is perfect, the material is custom, and he knows how to customize options to make as light or as heavy as you like. It's all about an analysis of the feature/benefits/weight. How much do you want to carry and how much flexibility do you want to adjust size on a trip? By the way, his frames are just outstanding….and that's the basis for everything else on a pack. I can't count the number of thru-hikers I met on the AT who had broken the fame on every manner of "high-end" pack.

He's also knows more than anyone else in the business.

Jack T

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