UL Backpacks

[Henry Thomas]

Suggestions for winter backpacks

[Stephen M]

HMG

[Ken Thompson]

Winter where?

[Henry Thomas]

Cold Minnesota Winters , sometimes below 0 degrees

[Henry Thomas]

Golite packs, any recommendation

[Bob Gross]

What is your mode of transportation? Boots, snowshoes, skis?

Cross country skiers swing their arms a lot, so they prefer a rather narrow backpack.

–B.G.–

[Dale Wambaugh]

It's a question of volume and I would want an internal frame to handle the extra weight. Those 5lb SUL base weights totter when subjected to cold winter gear lists.

Get a box roughly pack size/proportion and find the internal level that all your gear comes to. Calculating the volume on a cube is easy enough and will give you a *rough* starting point. Then you can start asking which pack.

[Henry Thomas]

Thanx for the input, it is either boots or snow shoes. I have a ULA Catalyst which runs out of room with the down and i will pulk when the terrain permits so volume is not a problem, but when i need the back pack i was looking at Golite packs with large volume and low price. The coldest i been is minus 13 degrees. Input on what people are using and would recommend buying.

[Hiking Malto]

Nobody can answer your question without knowing the volume you need? In the olden days I used a Golite Pinnacle but there isn't a chance that I could fill that today in the winter. I use my normal three season pack. If for some reason that runs out of room I still have a Golite Jam that could hold anything I take. But that obviously won't work for you. More detail. The quality of the question will dictate the quality of the answer.

[Eric Blumensaadt]

As one who loves winter backpacking and taught winter survival to Army ROTC cadets I feel "UL" gear and winter conditions usually do not mix.

A light but tough backpack from Granite Gear would be a better choice. Winter geat can NOT fail and UL gear is more likely to fail in harsh conditions.

In any case, since winter gear is heavier, your pack should have an internal frame to transfer the load to your hips.

P.S. I'd recommend a minimum volume of 4,000 cu. in.

[Marko Botsaris]

Since you are talking about winter and volume – have you considered a pulk? There are a bunch of links on here, this is just one random one:

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=5001

You need to have a way to bring along your chest full of beer (or maybe hard stuff for internal warming)! But seriously, might be a good solution for bringing along all the extra stuff you might want in the winter.

Edit: oops. I see you mentioned pulks in one of your other posts further down.

In that case for big and cheap +1 on Jam. Use your sleeping pad, which I'm guessing will be substantial, for more support. The bag can handle the weight (within reason) and I'm guessing heavy jacket will tend to mitigate any added shoulder digging.

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