the “Do it all Pack”

GoLite Peak. It shrinks enough for a day pack and holds enough for a three day with 3-season gear. It fits me and has the outside pockets I wanted.

I'd ramp up to a Jam for more room, but I don't normally do week-long trips— I could easily be convinced ;)

I was just thinking about this recently and thought about the ULA Epic. It would work well for backpacking as well as canoeing trips (although it is kinda heavy). Does anyone else make a smaller/lighter version?

I have an Exos 58 and a SMD Swift. I recently got an Osprey Talon 44 which looks to be a nice compromise between the two. Though I haven't tested it yet in winter or packrafting trips, I am hypothesizing it will work very well for any application. Though, I have heard if you hypothesize too much, you'll go blind….

I will second the SMD Swift. Good as a daypack or a weeks worth of supplies. That said my favorite is my ULA Circuit.

I really like the MLD Exodus. Although I don't usually use it for day hikes, the Exodus has a volume reduction system that gives it a wide range of uses:

From MLD:

"Total Maximum Volume: 3200ci main pack / 3600ci with filled extension collar

Minimum Volume: 1800ci with compression and bottom volume reduction system engaged."

Travis quipped: "Though, I have heard if you hypothesize too much, you'll go blind…."

That is now part of my personal lexicon! Perfect :)

Probably a McHale. Either a larger LBP or a SARC.

I want an extra large Golite Jam2 or similar…probably a lot like many Mchale offerings, although I don't think I'd be willing to spend that much (no offense to those that would- you're going to be excited to get that new pack Nick and I know you'll use it well).

The Jam2 does everything for me. It's never stopped me, but the only drawback has been capacity. So many packs overdo it: I don't want a frame and gadgets and load lifters and straps everywhere, just a simple, tough pack with more volume for bulky winter bags and insulation.

I'll probably end up sewing my own dyneema beast similar to David Chenault's recent MYOG creation.

Arc-teryx Bora 50 – 4 lbs. 6oz? That's twice as heavy as my week-long pack, and seven times the weight of my weekend pack!!

As OP has implied — there is no single pack that can "do it all" — not superbly anyway.

But to join in the spirit of the post… if I can only have one pack… then I think it will be something a like an SMD pack — I think dyneema is a sweet balance between light weight and durable — with easily-removable stays to keep weight low or to increase carrying load — as appropriate.

osprey variant … or some other dedicated climbing pack

climbing packs can be used for most other things …. but many other packs cannot be used for real climbing

it's going to have to deal with chimneys, the occasional haul, scree descents, bushwacking, etc …

youre going to have to climb multiple pitches with it on so it has to be ultra comfortable as you cant assume that you can "take off the pack every stop" …

it needs to be wearable with a harness on … and should be decently comfortable without the waist belt on

mesh pockets will get torn to shreds, and you want a hydration pouch

etc …

nothing kills a pack like rock climbing and scrambling

Ben, your dayhiking pack would not last more than a couple of hours climbing…

; )

I think the best do-it-all pack is a inherently a heavier pack because it must carry a load, be durable enough for climbing / scrambling, be large enough for multi-day hikes and yet compress enough for gear intensive day hikes.

Yup, a Mchale. Maybe a LBP 34 or 36?

MLD Exodus, durable dyneema, comfortable, and voluminous in size for bulky yet lightweight gear in winter. I don't climb, except on rare occasion sport climbing, I don't snowshoe or hunt, I can throw my Tenkara rod on anything, so the Exodus fits the bill for me.

IMHO the compromise for such different activies is far to great for just one pack. The changes between size, durability, weight and suspension are great. A durable, proper sized climbing pack could be used for day hiking but for a week long hike a lighter larger pack with great suspension would be my choice. A second pack is not that much expense or storage space compared to the other gear not to have what works best in the conditions you are in most often. I use a 18L daypack and 34L hiking pack for the two activities I do. Just like I have three shelters, one for family car camping, one for solo "good" weather and one for solo "harsh" weather. I do use one sleeping bag but can add layers to keep up with changing conditions to the point where I don't go out. But to answer the question my one pack would be the Aarn Marathon Magic 33 as it fills my longest hiking needs.

David wrote, "Ben, your dayhiking pack would not last more than a couple of hours climbing…".

I don't know of people "dumb enough" to do technical climbing with a tissue-thin silnylon backpack.

But then I am also not "dumb enough" to limit myself to just one ultra expensive pack — picking one that can handle the longest and most challenging trips that I might make — and then hauling out the same tough beast for a laid back summer overnight!! Maybe you do because Canadian summers are just so much more challenging…

I realize OP is just "shooting the breeze" and engaging in casual gear talk — it can be entertaining (I participated above) — but it's also just as useful as the older thread asking about putting together a "UL" system choosing only items available at REI. Entertaining maybe, but needlessly limiting — and not very realistic — or useful.

This is my first year using it but I like the Golite Pinnacle. 72 liter capacity and in the large weighs right at 2 pounds unmodified. It really worked well on a trip with a large group of guys and there was a considerable amount of "group" gear to carry and lots of food.

Jason:

If you notice, your Pinnacle — and most of the other packs mentioned (MLD, SMD, ULA, etc.) are all made with the same material type: Dyneema.

As above, there is no "Do it all" pack that will do everything well — but methinks Dyneema has the widest range in terms of satisfying many UL users with its light weight — while also being durable enough for a wide range of uses.

If I had to limit my gear closet to just one pack to cover all conditions and adventure types I would go with a "super" version of the MLD Burn. Opting for the "super" upgrade results in a very tough and durable UL pack that can handle any adventure. The packs low volume requires gear discipline and careful trip planning but with adding two belt pockets and two shoulder strap pockets for additional storage I can use this pack for any adventure my schedule will allow.

Limiting yourself to one pack? The horror………….the horror……..

The burn is an intriguing option but IMO it's a little small for a do it all pack. I have an Ion and a MH Scrambler for slightly longer trips but one can only put so much food and water in those. My Ion modded would be an excellent choice for most of what I do but for everything? Probably not.

ULA CDT is what has impressed me so far for this purpose but I haven't settled yet.

i think my super prophet is a great do it all pack, i could easily do a winter weekend, or weeklong 3 season trip using that pack. its very durable and can be compressed down for day use easily. it is comfortable with or without the belt buckled.
If i needed more volume for winter or something i guess i would have to agree with eugene on the exodus, but would definately go with the super option.

think some people are underestimating the gear you need for trad multipitch climbs

1. single rope … ~10 lbs … possible tag line or second rope carried by partner another 5-10 lbs

2. cams from 0.3 to #3 camalot, 10+ slings with 2 biners each, 1 full set of nuts, belay device, harness, rock shoes, helmet, cordelette and 3+ biners for anchor material, nut tool … 10 lbs + … possible doubles depending on the route and even triple in some cases … so very easily 15-20 lbs_ …

even split with yr partner that and the ropes is easily 15-20 lbs each just for climbing equiment

3. water … 2-3 liters there isnt much refilling in the middle of a full day climb … 4-8 lbs … food … 2-5 lbs … jacket .. 1-2 lb … essentials 1-2 lbs

you have 3 choices on a climb with yr pack

1. leave it at the bottom … bears call this a pinata … pray you dont get benighted

2. climb with it on yr back … better be durable if you need to chimney

3. haul it …. better be REALLY durable

NO MESH pockets … if the rock doesn't shred them, the gear will, climbing packs get trashed .. i consider 200D+ dyneema gridstop to be the minimum … many cragging packs are made of 400D to 1000D+

and this is for a SINGLE DAY trad climb with a LIGHT alpine rack

it easily gives 25- 30 lbs person … all that weight needs to be carried up a possible 2-3 hours bushwack approach … and then for 10-20 pitches and then down the rappel or descent

the cams will be digging in yr back if you dont have a good pad, frame … there isnt any easy way to pack all that metal gear without it collapsing yr pack if you dont have a frame/pad which is why a platy and holder comes in handy

make that a multi day alpine rock climb and yr looking at 50+ lbs starting easily

and yes alot of climbers do lighten up the other stuff as much as reasonable … there are some things you cant just get rid of without taking a lot more risks in terms of safety … especially beginner/intermediate climbers

now granted you can carry alot of gear out of the pack if needed … but yr more likely to lose gear, trip up on yr own gear (bad), damage gear, and its a b-tch on long approaches

back to the OP's question … a 35-50 L climbing pack in the 2.5-3.5 lb range would work well for most other activities as well … most good climbing packs can be stripped down to a minimal weight by design … so IMO climbing packs can be used for anything

the question is how much serious climbing will he be doing?

There's a lot of frameless packs being mentioned here. I like frameless packs but I don't think they are a good choice as a true do it all pack (long trips, winter trips, packrafting, climbing etc). Maybe if by 'do it all' you actually mean 'all the things you do', which just happens to be short to medium length 3 season UL hiking trips. Long trips (ie. 7+ days), winter trips etc are going to be a bit much for a frameless pack.

For a true do it all pack, you'd want some sort of a frame. You'd also want a good compression system so you can carry large or small loads. My ULA Ohm is pretty good at this, but for a true do it all pack you'd maybe want something a little bigger (for winter trips) and with a bit more of a frame to handle loads to 40lbs instead of ~30 lbs.

For me personally the Ohm works well as my only pack because my winter trips are short and I'm not a climber. It is a bit small for times when I'm carrying a raft and going out for more than 1-2 nights.

true, to me "do it all" means all that i want it to do. and i don't do multipitch alpine climbs. same as dan said, my use is short to medium UL trips. and a few fast dayhikes thrown in the mix. anything else would be pure speculation.

so i still stand by my super prophet and thank God for the "prophetic" wisdom that he gave Ron Bell to design what i consider the perfect pack.

Hey pretty good replies! That's awesome!

Multi-pitch climbing does require a bit of thought on what is needed gear wise or not(Carrying 4-6 pieces of the same size can def add some heft), and pack size wise (or none at all) that is very much a determined by the climber's experience level and the level of risk the climber is willing to tolerate.

But, I regress!