large capacity, lightweight winter backpack

Golite Gust (I've had mine for about 6 years and love it. 1 lb 4 oz. No longer available, but sierra trading post or ebay might have it) I added Cilogear style dee clips to my Gust and have been using it a lot this winter for backcountry telemark skiing.
Golite Pinnacle (like Gust but a few more features, and a bit heavier. Haven't had experience with it)
Cilogear 60L worksack (a little bigger than the Gust, but carries a load much better. fully featured weight is around 4 pounds, but for a load of only 35 pounds, you could probably ditch the framesheet and top lid, and only bring a couple compression straps, and get the pack's weight down to 3 pounds.

My winter pack of choice is the Granite Gear Nimbus Ozone at 3800 cu. in. (61 liters). It weighs 3 lbs. My trips are also short 1-2 nights.

I backpack with my wife and I end up packing the common goods like tent and kitchen kit and I find there is enough volume for this.

BTW, I use a down sleeping bag and a down vest both of which compresses small and allows me to pack only only one hooded jacket, a Patagonia Micro Puff. For frigid temps, I also pack Micro Puff pants but then the tent goes on the outside of the pack.

I would second the vote for the Gust. You might want to add the poster board to the back panel for winter loads, and get the 'newer' version that had side attachment loops that you could run bungy or straps through. I might even have a spare one I could let go of if you're interested (I still use mine, but my partner was never as enamoured as I was so we still have a virtually unused one in our closet).

Hi Art,
You might want to check out ULA's Catalyst. It's 4600 c.i. and weighs 2# 11 oz. I've used it's little brother, the Circuit for 2 years and am delighted with its performance. I've also been on trips with a Catalyst owner and he says it carries like a dream. Worth a look, IMO.
URL: ula-equipment.com

Lots more stuff to look at it seems. One thing I'm not too psyched about is carrying more than 20 pounds on my shoulders (I'd rather transfer it to my hips) so the Golite Gust might be out for me. It looks like an identical suspension to the Jam2 which was too small on my medium-sized torso even in a size large, and didn't have enough padding on the hipbelt for me. At first I was looking at the ULA Catalyst too, but then I realized that the backpack's main body + extension collar was only 52 L. The rest of the specified volume comes from mesh pockets and hipbelt pockets. ULA packs are great (I have a Conduit too), but I think the Catalyst wouldn't be a large enough pack for me.

I really don't mind a 4 pound backpack for winter loads if it means I can transfer the load onto my hips comfortably. I think I'll have to track down an Osprey Aether in a store to see how well padded the hipbelts are. I know the Granite Gear packs are comfortable, but the Stratus Latitude is a shave under 5 pounds and I already have an 8 pound pack in that size range. Maybe I'll have to re-evaluate my winter gear list to see if it will fit into a GG Latitude Nimbus. I agree the Nimbus Ozone would be lighter, but after a summer of frustrations with a Vapor Trail, I'm not interested in getting any more headaches from another Granite Gear extension collar.

I modified an old Golite Trek pack (5500 cu. in.) to carry heavier loads. I made the following changes:

– replaced the thin closed cell foam back pad with a thick one, and attached two pack stays to it with tape
– attached an old Mountainsmith Omni Inner Belt to the hip belt, and added a fabric slot at the bottom that the inner belt slips through.

Net result: a 2 pound winter pack.

In theory you should be able to take any large frameless pack and make minor changes to it to retrofit a crude suspension system to it.

Or, you could check out the Golite Odyssey pack at 5500 cu. in., which should fit your needs. Also, compression stuff sacks can bring your load size down substantially.

Concurring with Don's recommendation for the Trek (if you can find one), it makes a great winter pack for its light weight and cavernous load carrying capacity. In addition it provides a comfortable ride with load lifters that effectively transfer the weight to the hips.

By the way Don, any trouble changing out the pad seeing that the slot is in the inside bottom?

Sounds like a GoLite Pinnacle would fit the bill nicely: 4400 c.i. and 1lb 10oz. I haven't done any winter backpacking, but the Pinnacle is my go to pack for bulkier loads.

I have an original (1998)Mountainsmith Mountainlight 5200. This is when mountainsmith first came out with the mountainlight series of packs.

Without the top lid, trimmed and with the carbon fiber stays it is around 2 lbs, 4000-4500ci. Perfect winter pack. Light, large capacity, hour glass shape so it can fit bulkier sleeping bags and has a stay suspension that can carry heavier loads.

It will carry 35lbs and is super comfortable. It fits so well that I have been putting up with the extra room (its way too big for 3 season lightweight loads) for years because I haven't found a lighter pack that fits and feels as well.

I got one of the first issue MountainLight packs. I modified it with MYOG carbon fiber stays and added a nylon patch to the under side of the top to use as a belt loop for fanny packing. I also added a bottle pocket to the right side. Until I started carrying a LuxuryLite pack in 2005 it was my favorite pack. Now I just add a cylinder to the LuxuryLite and have a capacity of 6200 cubic inches at a weight of 39 oz.

MountainSmith MountainLight backpackpack (on the left) overlooking Loon Lake.

LuxuryLite backpack (configured for 5400 c.i. at 38 oz.) overlooking Lake Tahoe.

You'll find reviews of the Pinnacle as well as the LuxuryLite and other large winter packs on this site- good to check those out.

I had a Golite Gust as my winter/mountaineering pack for years. I recently switched to a Pinnacle which has far more versatility for a very slight weight increase. For high volume loads that are still lightweight, it's pretty hard to beat.

Doing a lot of glissading or crack climbing? Just cut off the side pockets and you're good to go!

Doug

If you want to mess with it I have an old Golite Trek in good shape I would be happy to get rid of. Drop me a line at romans8_28 at hotmail

"By the way Don, any trouble changing out the pad seeing that the slot is in the inside bottom?"

Yeah, I skipped a few details there. I got Penny to do the sewing, including both the slot for the Omni Inner Belt and adding a flap to the top of the pad pocket. Oddly, the Gust had the flap on the top, but for some reason Golite decided that it should be on the bottom for the Trek. That made it absolutely impossible to fit the rigid "suspension" into the pad pocket, but adding the top flap wasn't a big deal.

I ended up getting a Mountainsmith Boundary recently. It's 70 liters or so, and has a sturdy frame, a thick padded waist belt and shoulder straps, and weighs about 4 lbs 10 ounces. However, that weight should go way down after I make some modifications (and there's lots of stuff I can strip off this pack, the floating lid for one)…it may be a full pound lighter when I'm through with it. Anyway, I'll try to get in a trip with the pack this weekend or so and post a review of what I think.

I was considering the lighter packs such as the Golite Gust, but I don't really like carrying so much weight on my shoulders so a little extra weight for a sturdy frame (something stiffer than a sleeping pad-virtual frame at least) and a padded hipbelt is worth it to me.