What is the biggest backpack?

[Anonymous]

Top choices for 6001-7000 cubic Inch backpack.

1. Dana Design Astralplane, 7000
2. Gregory Denali Pro, 6588
3. Osprey Xenith, 6700
4. Gregory Massif, 6475
5. Osprey Crescent 110, 6900
6. Gregory Wind River, 6085

[Derek Goffin]

Hi, Alastair,
I have read both your books so in some small circles you are a "bit of a legend" too.
This is not quite what you asked but look at http://www.aarnpacks.com/products/load_limo.html
this 90 litre rucksack balances your heavy load front and back. No pack will be totally comfortable with that load.I think this may be the best. I have the lightweight Natural balance pack and it can be loaded with as little as no load on the shoulders because of the balance. I find it comfortable with 50 pounds. I have not carried more. The load limo has a heavier more sophisticated hip belt. Aarn will answer questions

[Lau Chi Man Vincent]

McHale+2 with full dynnema

I had use Denali Pro,Astraplane,Bora 95 before, but McHale is the best.

[alastair humphreys]

Thank you for all the advice, and thanks for reading my books, Derek! I wondered who had doubled my sales…

[N. F.]

With no resupply this must be well over 100 pounds. That seems impossible to me.

[bj bretzke]

nm
Snowbound and down
BJ

[Ike Mouser]

Really? Noone has mentioned AARN packs, the best load carriers in the world? They are specifically made to carry heavy loads and distribute the weight properly while maintaining center of gravity at all times.

http://www.aarnpacks.com
http://www.aarnusa.com

I have hte featherlite freedom FF, recently took it in the smoky mtns for 4 days, purposefully took heavier load than necessary (45lbs), after 4 days and 40 miles i had NO soreness in my shoulders. Not a shred, even surface abrasion on the skin was missing. My hips had no red marks from the hipbelt digging into me, and all my gear was immediately accessible because of the frontpockets. I never took my pack off except to rest/camp. You will not be dissatisfied, guranteed.

BUT you must go on youtube and watch the videos on how to fit the pack properly, as well as read all documentation on the aarn website. This pack has adjustments for EVERYTHING. shoulderstraps can be raised up and down, increased in width for wider shoulders, hipbelts can be adjusted to degrees, and more. In order for it to work properly you must have it properly adjusted, which is not too bad to do. Took me about 2 hours.

[drowning in spam]

Does it really win when it appears to be one of the smallest, if not the smallest, packs in this thread?

[Ike Mouser]

THey have lots of larger packs, goto the website. The same load carrying techology is in use on those packs as well.

[Alex Gilman]

Arc'Teryx Bora 95 Pack
http://www.rei.com/product/800274

The bottom sides have pockets that flip out not as streamlined when theyre out but they hold stuff like sigg bottles, snacks, etc. Freeing up room on the inside of the pack.

[Ross Bleakney]

If you are carrying that much weight, then the most important thing about the pack is how it carries the weight. In other words, if you find a pack that weighs two pounds more than a different one, but carries 50 pounds a lot more comfortably, then get it. I would say that the second most important thing is probably efficiency. If the two packs are just as comfortable, then you might as well save the extra two pounds. That is why I (and several other people) suggest you check out McHale. He has made packs to carry huge loads, while reducing the weight by using light (but strong) materials and eliminating bells and whistles (or, more to the point, giving you just the bells and whistles you want). I don't think he has a very good website, but you can see some of his pack philosophy and craftsmanship reflected on it. If you contact him and tell him what you want (and what you are doing) he can definitely give you a good pack (although, because it is custom, it won't be cheap).

As well as the other packs mentioned, I would browse around climbing websites and forums. Climbers carry a lot of weight (ropes, etc.) but are always looking to lose weight.

[Brad Groves]

You won't find a big pack capable of hauling the weight you're talking about that is lightweight. Just physically not possible to get a stout-enough frame, beefier padding, more robust construction needed in a pack twice the size of most UL packs. That said, for the kind of volume and weight you're talking about carrying, the weight of the pack becomes relatively inconsequential (horrors!).

A month's worth of food will end up weighing at least 40 pounds, plus a standard UL base of 15 pounds, plus packraft and accessories… I'm guessing you'll have a minimum of 70 pounds at the start.

Current production models would include the Osprey Argon 110, Arc'Teryx Bora 95, Gregory Whitney 95 or Denali Pro 105. Several mentions of Dana Design: the packs were awesome, but haven't been made for about a decade. As was also mentioned, the guy who made Dana packs now runs Mystery Ranch, and they make some huge, burly, Dana Design-influenced packs. MR has a fair bit of military contracting, so you know they'll take the load. No dealers for MR, though… have to deal direct.

Edit: Whaddya know… a fellow BPL'er kindly pointed out this website:

http://www.mountaincrossings.com/mysteryranchg7000backpack.aspx

I called MR a year or two ago to establish a dealership, but they informed me they were switching over to purely direct sales. I guess a few of their original dealers are still floating around?

[David Ure]

You should also consider the Granite Gear Stratus 5500. 90L and quite comfortable from what I have heard. Custom fit as well with interchangeable hipbelt and shoulder harness (which also adjusts for torso length):

http://www.granitegear.com/products/backpacks/expedition/stratusaccess5500.html

[Paul Gilbert]

There are a couple of UK brands that offer large volume, light-for-what-they are packs:

The Crux AK70 (70l, 1500g) http://www.crux.uk.com/en/crux_rucksacks_ak70.php

The Berghaus Expedition 80 (80l, 2430g but can be stripped to 1430g – the full weight includes a welded dry-bag!)http://www.berghaus.com/ProductDetails.aspx?ProductID=2294&Gear=1

Both have great reputations as manufacturers and you should be able to find one to try on somewhere!

Paul

[Franco Darioli]

The largest of the Aarns is the Load Limo, that is a 90L pack with the pockets. About 5lbs 8oz.
Filling those pockets with dense gear/food would make it provably more comfortable for heavy loads than most.
http://aarnpacks.com/products/load_limo.html

Franco

[John G]

I tried many expedition packs when I was doing multi-week, multi-weather, no-resupply trips. For me, the Lowe Alpine series was MUCH more comfortable with 45-70 lbs than the others. I think the shape (relatively shallow front to back & curved to sit over the shoulders) were the biggest factors – although the harness & hipbelt were great too so it's hard to know the cause for sure. The 90+30 litre version weighed about 8 lbs.

[Gerald Klamer]

So Alastair, for these 35 days without resupply, how many weight will you be carrying at the start?

Probably much more than 30 kg.

For weights like that I use the norwegian made Bergans Alpinist Escape, with a Volume of 130 litres! It is heavy for sure, but you can carry loads like that quite comfortable.

I used it on a combined walking/ packrafting trip in the Yukon Territory.

Would you tell us a little more about your iceland plan, maybe in another thread?

Good luck

Gerald

[Tipi Walter]

I do regular 15 day trips w/o resupply and recently pulled a 23 day trip and I rely on my superb and comfy Mystery Ranch G6000 load hauler to keep me out and about.

I've hauled a lot of weight over the years and gotta say this pack will support a big 80lb load without sagging, the bane and biggest drawback to most heavy packs. The photo shows me with way too much gear but hey, it can be done and a heavy load carried for extended trips.

[David Ure]

Looks Comfy….;)

[Dale Wambaugh]

Ummm, I think you missed the point. LEAVE ALL THAT STUFF AT HOME! :)

[Brad Groves]

One way you might be able to cut down on bulk & weight: If you take the dry suit, ditch your rain gear. On several of my longer canoe trips I just bring a dry top w/latex gaskets at wrist and neck. I only wear rain gear if it's cold, anyway, so I'm not too worried about ventilation. And it saves me the trouble of carrying redundant gear. You might already be planning that way, just thinkin' out loud.

[Tipi Walter]

It's sort of hard when pulling a 30 day trip w/o resupply to not take at least 45lbs of food. And if we're talking about winter, well, warmth comes with weight. And don't forget a few books to eat up the long winter nights in the shelter.

I'm most interested in discovering similar threads on this subject, as in: What's the longest a person goes out for without resupply?

[CW]

Arctic 1000

The longest unsupported trip I know of.

[Konrad .]

Surprised no one has mentioned this cottage manufacturer. Kifaru.net. Founded by Patrick Smith of Mountain smith. These are the packs that our soldiers put on their wish list. Kifaru= Burly as hell. People describe their arcteryx boras as bombproof…Kifaru packs put arcteryx owners to shame…and i own/ have owned both. All Kifaru's are 1000 denier cordura construction, reinforced bartacks in every possible location. They survive being dropped out of planes.

They are fully custom built packs built around your measurements. Longggg wait time ,often times 6 week waits. Heavy, but capable of hauling 180lbs of gear, and providing 140 liters of storage for some models. The higher end military packs have frames that are meant to haul out injured soldiers. The Hunting line of packs is meant to haul out your kill. I have a 80 liter military ZXR…heavy at 6+ lbs, but more comfortable than any pack I've worn. If I ever had to haul a load that big again, I would turn to my kifaru over any of my gregory's. Like many have mentioned, when you're hauling that much weight, a heavier pack that equates to more comfort is worth it by all means. They build their suspension so that you can transfer 100% of the weight to your hips (as in you dont even have to wear the shoulder straps). Obviously not intended to be worn this way, but a clear demonstration of its load transfer capability. Carrying 65lbs for me has never been more comfortable…just kinda felt like walking on the moon though. They have a military line and a hunting line. Your best bet is to go either Hunting Line directly (very clean and naked no frills packs) or Military line but with the specific request that they do not attach any of the pals/molle webbing on the outside.

Check these out if interested

https://www.kifaru.net/longhunter.html

and

https://www.kifaru.net/EMR.html

*found a nice image of it's potential

[Richard Lyon]

Can't speak to the packs but other Kifaru stuff I've owned or used – tipi, paratipi, hunter's seat – are great. Built for hunters opr soldiers and so functional without much regard for weight. The paratipi, though, isn't bad weightwise.

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