Question for GoLite Jam Owners

I think the shoulder straps and foam backpad start to fail for me around 20-25lbs. That weight is doable but it's better if the last 5-10 lbs is food and water so it goes down, not baseweight. I am skinny and my collarbones kill without good shoulder strap padding on any pack FWIW.

I've got 45lbs in one right now for training and it's *not* okay :) (but it is all I have so I put up with it until I get a framed pack from my friend to borrow)

I have carried 30-35lbs on average for 15mi days on the AT for days at a time without being sore. How you pack it really helps with how it carries. YMMV

Jam2 is comfy from 15-25, but I have had it up to 34 without too much trouble although I would not recommend for long period of time.

Ben,

Good to see you again….where have you been?

I have carried up to 30 lbs in my Jam2 with a bear vault.

It worked, I was not uncomfortable, but I definitely was missing my Z55 with a frame sheet on that trip, which would have carried the load a little better on my body.

For me, I would really not want to carry anymore than 25 lbs in the Jam2. (I am 5'6" and 142 lbs, if this matters)

More than that, I would gladly take my heavier Gregory Z55.

P.S. Thanks for the tip a while back on folding my thermarest prolite 4 and using it as a L Shaped frame sheet inside the Jam2….really helped. Just bought GG Torso pad and trying to get it to work inside the Jam2.

-Tony

Thanks, everyone! And Tony — glad the Prolite 4 "pack frame" is working well for you.

Ben,

It sounds like you have enough opinions but please let me reinforce the above opinions with my own that the Jam2 is comfortable up to 20 lbs and functional up to 25.

nm

.

David:

When asking my question about carrying comfort, I was thinking of "day long" hikes — over 4-5 days.

nm

No, not day hikes — but 10+ hours hikes that span multiple days.

nm

>David:

>When asking my question about carrying comfort, I was >thinking of "day long" hikes — over 4-5 days.

I just did a trip like that in the Sierra with 34lb leaving the car and about 29 when returning. It was fine, probably due to the way it was packed. I get a lot of rigidity by packing the sleeping bag and clothes into two stuffsacks that fit snug, upright in the bottom and the bearcan on top of that. So most of the weight was on the hipbelt and the pack was straight.

See with a summer or shoulder season load I can fit enough food and water in a Jam2 to make it way uncomfortable so to me it's got more than enough volume. Now if you start talking lots of puffy down or syn gear I can see running out of volume quicker.

hi Ben!
as you can see in my avatar the Jam is more stable with loads like this one
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under 15lbs total. This pack is using a GG sitlight pad as a frame. I have used this pack more often than any of my others even tho (with mods) it still weighs 16oz. It is just too comfy to give up… now, about heavy loads.. I have also used the pack with a Prolite 3 and a BA-IAC inside for much greater comfort. If you can pack all your stuff inside the pad, then blow it up to as much air it will hold, it makes for a much more rigid frame than a flat pad (obviously :) )
I have used 30lbs in this for a total-lux trip including fishing gear and fry pan, chair, and other crap one would only take on a 1 mile hike.
I dont think, with my experience, that even with the best pad support you are going to get much more out of the Jam or Jam2 (which I also own) than 30 pounds. You'd be best to use a Starlight, Mariposa or something with stays.
*edit to show 30lbs, not 35

My experience shows that the Jam is limited to 20 lbs. after which, the shoulder straps dig in. I use CCF pad for a frame and pack it really tight to create a rigid structure. Then again, maybe I'm also a wimp :-)

I like the Jam (original version) for overnight winter hikes that require lots of puffy insulation but no heavy skis or snowshoes. The pack itself is nice and lightweight but still very durable.

It's one of my much used packs in my quiver, for the right conditions.

Hi Ben,

IIRC, Chris Townsend in the companion forum to 'light packs for heavy loads' said that 30 lbs of Jam was upper limit for him.

I say if you are looking for replacement, better wait for gossamer gear gorilla pack. :)

Question for Michael Stivers.

Michael, Could you detail the mods to your Jam that take it down to 16 oz. I have my Jam2 down to 18.35 oz. I removed the mesh hydration sleeve from inside (I found it uncomfortable to put a 2 liter platy in it anyways). I removed the strenum strap (easy one). I cut down all straps and the hip belt.

I'm trying to figure out how to remove the hip belt. I find the pack works well for me without using it.

Any ideas from anyone else are welcomed as well.

Thanks, Jamie

Jamie, I have a size small in the old and size medium in the new. In the original jam, at ~21 ounces (now 16.3) I removed anything that wasnt needed for the pack. The straps were all trimmed (since I dont expect to grow much :) )
cut off all loops, completely gutted the inside, and the sternum strap and any extra webbing. I did the same to the Jam2, and then used the mesh hydro sleeve as an outside pocket on my Ion. Now the Ion will hold a 2L platy… nice!
I dont recall the weight of the modded Jam2, but its more than 16- i think 17.5ish (but I added 1/4" ccf to the hip wings)

Question for Michael Stivers.

I'd love to see your waist belt wing modification to add the CCF pads. Sounds like a good idea to me and judging from how many responses Jam threads get, there is probably a lot interest here.

I've seen some or your projects such as your down quilt, and all look thought out and well executed.

Another question for Michael Stivers…(must be your day)

On the Jam2 did you remove the foam back pad and if so did you also remove the interior sleeve that holds the foam backpad?

Ok I got 2 questions…I saw a pick of your ion. Since I have the same hydration sleeve I'm considering adding it to my ion as well. Did you remove the seems on the back panel of the ion and resew them putting the Jam2 hydration sleeve in between … or did you just sew the hydration sleeve to the outside of the ion?

Thanks for the info! it really helps.

Jamie

Ben,
Just hauled 30lbs of waste from other hikers out of a popular campsite for the Appalachian Mountain club that was closing for the season using the original Jam and it did what it was met to due.

A ranger friend of mine uses this pack on a daily basis with a 10 lb radio, ax strapped to the back, SAR gear & first aid kit as his goto pack, it gets the job done for him.

Original worked for Andy Skurka with thousands of miles on it, hoping it should be fine for a four day outing packed correctly, (tons of reviews posted on this site).

Now go out and hike, post results later.

Good for you, Jim — and thanks!

To Michael and Jamie: thanks for your interest- I'll try to give a quick reply without stealing Ben's thread!

yes, I gutted the pack. meaning, everything that wasnt used for shoulder straps or waist belt was taken out. now, its a stuff bag with bottle holders. But, some of the features were a redundancy such as the back pad, already i use a gg sitlight or a ccf frame. Hydro sleeve went byebye. all straps were trimmed or removed. the only tweak not done was to cut off the reducing clips under the pack. I figure they will break off soon enough all on their own…

The hip "wings" can be done by tracing the wing onto 1/4 or 3/16 ccf (i dont think thicker is needed, or will even work at all) then you carefully remove the stitching on the bottom side of the hip wing- once you trim down the wings to fit inside you simply sew it shut. I chose to open the bottom of the wing so you wont notice my stitching as much – since it was less than pretty. But it is functional!
The hip wings also give a slight bit of additional support me thinks.

the ION mods were just as you described… take the seam apart from the inside, and then sew the mesh into the seam. It helps if you add a bunggee system while youre down there :) I used a size 80 needle with black gutterman thread.