Jarod, I don't own a prophet so please take the advice of someone who does more seriously then me…but I'm going to say 13+ pounds base weight is too much. Lets see if… its 3 full days you will carry 20 oz/day of food (probably more like 24 oz unless you pack carefully) x 3 days for 60-72 ounces + another 16 to 64 ounces in water. Thats around another 6 …lets say 7 pounds with some stove fuel. So we are at 20 to maybe as much as 24 pounds at the heavy point. Now yes it will be a lot less by the third day, but you will also be more tired. If it was 13 pounds total including food and water I would say you are ok.
MLD's sight suggests using the prophet with sub 8 pound base weight…which makes total sense. And consider you are not using an actual MLD pack but a homemade version.
Another consideration is distance and elevation change. If you aren't gaining much elevation and the distance is short…say 10 miles/day you can get by with much less comfort. Regardless I prefer comfort when walking and I have found that wearing a pack around the house it needs to feel "fantastic", cant even tell Im wearing it..etc…not "OK". Ok can turn into uncomfortable after just a few miles.
OK enough preaching on why it wont work… how to get the most out of it. I think you really need a smooth solid surface across your back and a tight structure. I would recommend using a GG thinlight pad rolled up and dropped into the pack to create a structure then pack your gear inside. Also if you can drop about 5 lbs life will be golden (I'm kinda surprised you can get 13 lbs of gear into ~1700 cu inches (main body)…while im thinking about).
I most certainly could be wrong, but I would hate to spoil a weekend with the buds by using an awesome pack with just too heavy a load.
I'd be interested in anyone else opinions who owns a prophet because I'm considering buying a new one, but have a base weight from 4 to 6 pounds.
Jamie
