A new pack/stuff sack

[Dale Wambaugh]

I just got a Etowah Outfitters Townbag for organizing my essentials and a bug-out bag. It is a simple 2.1oz 7″x6″x18″ silnylon stuff sack with adjustable, unpadded shoulder straps. You can use it for a stuff sack or turn it inside out to use as a pack. I’ve been using a 3oz fanny pack for this duty so far.

I’ve been making an “August ovenight” list built around this pack, a 21oz sleeping bag and a Gatewood cape/shelter. I’m carrying water in a holster and not cooking — I think I just might pull it off. I might have to use a fanny pack to supplement.

[John S.]

Where did you buy it? What price?

[Dale Wambaugh]

I got it on Ebay. A couple sellers have them there from $22-$29 each. Mine was $27 with the shipping.

I emailed Etowah Outfitters and they said the item was new and not on their web site yet. They gave http://www.noc.com/store/index.html and http://www.mountaingearnow.com/ as possible sources. I believe mountaingearnow is one of the Ebay sellers. Two sellers have them on Ebay now– search “Etowah town bag” and check the “Search title and description” box.

I found a similar bag made by Integral Designs, but it is $55, much larger (25L/1525ci), and 4.5oz.

[Chrsitina Barlow]

Below is a link to the Etowah Outfitters Town Bag on the MountainGearNow.com website. Hope this helps!

http://www.mountaingearnow.com/home.php?type=product&id=97581

[Dale Wambaugh]

Thanks– I’ve wanted to recommend the bag, but without a web prescence that was difficult. The price is good too.

The bag comes with an elastic drawstring that I didn’t care for so I changed it out for a light braided cord. Other than that, it does the job nicely– a simple silnylon bag with pack straps on it. I carry my essentials in it so I don’t have to dig around for them or have them spilling out all over the place. It has enough capacity for some extra clothing, food, and survival gear for a day hike away from my main bag or getting back to the trail head if I am injured or other emergencies.

[John S.]

About 756 cubic inches of room.

[EndoftheTrail]

No direct experience, but the LuxuryLite SakPak seems pretty comparable but cheaper : 3oz @ $9

[Dale Wambaugh]

“No direct experience, but the LuxuryLite SakPak seems pretty comparable but cheaper : 3oz @ $9”

Good point!

The Etowah is smaller– not as wide as the LuxuryLite and makes a better ditty bag and still pretty large for that. I was looking for a smallish stuff sack that could double as an emergency backpack. The Luxury Lite is probably twice the size and would make a much better pillow. I have both, and come to think of it, I bought the Etowah before the LuxuryLite was available. You can fill the LuxuryLite past its reasonable capacity; it would be hard to do that with the Etowah unless you were hauling rocks :)

[Laurence Daniels]

Dale,

I share your enthusiasm for the small pack “August overnighter” idea…that being said, frustratingly, I can’t get the water on board my REI Flash to pull something like that off. I’m using a 48oz Nalgene cantene with a hydration hose and hiking in the Whites of NH, where there is plenty of water. What is this holster thing you have?

[Dale Wambaugh]

My solution was to use a fanny pack with water bottle holsters on each side. The whole idea falls apart– you might as well have a larger, heavier pack. It does move the heavier junk out of the should pack and onto your hips though.

This is the sort of water bottle carrier I had in mind. It is an REI model at 9oz.

There are all kinds of these things on the market as well as ones that hold smaller bladders with a hose.

The new Vaude Rock Ultralight 25 pack solves the problem.

It is just a couple ounces more than the REI Flash at 12.7oz/360g, but has mesh side pockets for bottles or you can hang a 2 liter bladder from the hook inside and it has an exit port on the RH side for the drinking tube. It will handle up to 15 pounds, so you really might pull off an August overnighter. I made up this example that could still be trimmed here and there:

Weight Item
1.10 bandana
9.00 Cirrus insulated vest
5.80 Lite-Speed windshirt
2.00 skull cap
3.80 Ulitmax Outdoor Scrambler socks
3.80 Beercan Stove
2.00 fuel tabs
0.35 spork
1.20 Titanium mug
1.10 Aqua Mira clorine dioxide
1.00 Bug Juice
0.80 Swiss Army Classic knife
6.70 first aid kit
1.10 Guide 426 compass
0.90 lighter and duct tape
1.50 maps
2.00 matches and candles in case
0.20 Microlite mini flashlight
2.00 Bolle PC sunglasses
4.00 personal hygiene kit
2.00 reading glasses
2.30 50' seine twine (bear rope, etc)
1.80 Space blanket
1.50 spare AAA batteries
1.00 sunscreen
1.80 Tracer headlamp
0.20 whistle
32.0 2 days food
64.0 H2O (2 liters)
1.20 1 liter Platypus in side pockets (2), one with sport cap
1.50 hand sanitizer
0.90 Snow stake digging tool
1.10 toilet paper
0.40 waterproof carry sack
12.7 Vaude Rock 25 pack
0.40 stuff sack for tent gear and rope
1.40 UltraSil dry sack (clothes and sleeping bag)
11.0 Gatewood Cape shelter/raingear
4.10 Spinnsheet ground cloth
1.36 titanium stakes
4.20 trimmed closed-cell pad
0.85 inflatable pillow
22.0 Micron XTS sleeping bag (50F)

220.06 Total ounces
13.75 Total pounds

That is a real world pack load too– water, fuel and food and nothing in my pockets. It assumes I am wearing a Capilene tee, hat, zip-off pants, briefs and socks. The compass, knife, match case, whistle, and flashlight could all go in my pockets. I normally wear the sunglasses and my first aid kit is on the heavy side (which I can live with if you don’t mind the pun). If I went to a 2000CI pack I could go three season with a 32F sleeping bag, gloves and some long underwear. The weight gain would be about 3 pounds given a slightly heavier pack and the gear.

[Laurence Daniels]

…for the “August overnighter”. The Flash pack, but the Thermarest rolled up inside gives me a solid frame and just enough room for what I want to bring. It is at 14 lbs, which is about all the non-padded straps, or actually, my shoulders will take. I get good weight transfer to my hip with this set up though.

The pack is stuffed well enough so as not to need a lid, and the sinch I get from the cord does well enough for me, for now. Here is a pic attempt.

[Christopher Plesko]

Funny you should post that picture :) I’m not pleased with it not fitting all the way closed though. My blue pad is 19″ wide at the widest. I haven’t decided what I’m going to be doing about that. So far it’s an awesome day pack and bike pack. Way lighter than my camelback and really cool with ice in the bladder. I’m going to have my crew keep swapping me fresh packs at each checkpoint in an upcoming 100 mile MTB race.

[John S.]

Chris, go check out the gossamer gear website and download the tip about the nightlight torso pad. They have instructions about cutting up the pad and reattaching with velcro. You could cut your pad in half lengthwise and put it back together with velcro as per their instructions. They are doing it along the short axis but it will work the same way, make your pad fit (will take up more room inside though) and might solve your problem. You might still be fine with a 17 or 18″ width pad so cut that thang up some more : ).

[Dale Wambaugh]

With these micro packs (am I coining a new term?) volume is as much an issue as weight. I think that having structure in the pack is only useful when there is a waist belt that actually transfer’s weight to the hips. All the micro packs (REI Flash, Marmot Kompressor, Vaude Rock 25) have waist straps that are good for stabilizing the pack, but don’t do anything for weight transfer. I found that putting the pad outside the bag is an option. It looks clumsy, but a closed cell pad is light enough that it doesn’t flop around too much. I’ve found some improvements with volume issues by using a Thermarest short self-inflatable pad folded and rolled, but the weight goes up from 9oz to 16oz.

[John S.]

I wish the Marmot Kompressor had a waist belt but it does not. A simple strap with some clips on the ends could be clipped to the fabric to do the same thing since it would not be used for load transfer…I think.

[Dale Wambaugh]

You could hook the waist belt to the lower end of the shoulder straps for that matter.

Vaude’s solution was to make a horizontal sleeve that the waist belt slides into, making it easy to add or remove– or repair. It just occured to me that waist straps on these tiny packs could be used for add-on pockets or water bottle holsters too.

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