Running pack for unsupported trips

[will sawyer]

I'm hoping that some of you who have done the JMT unsupported or similar things can tell me what pack you wore and why.

I'm planning to head up to Vermont and try my hand at breaking the new unsupported record for the Long Trail. I'll be packing as light as possible, have 6 days of food and be running quite a bit. I'm looking for a pack that will be able to hold all that and not bounce while running, and then be able to compress down well when i've eaten through my food.

I just found the Inov-8 elite 25 pack and that looks pretty good, and not too heavy (12.8oz).
http://www.inov-8.com/Products-Detail.asp?PG=PG2&P=5050973037&L=27

Oh ye with experience and gear closets, enlighten me!

[Colin Krusor]

The OMM ("Original Mountain Marathon") packs generally earn glowing reviews and I'm very happy with mine. They are made in the UK but available from US distributors online. They were designed by/for a handful of prominent people within the UK fell-running (orienteering) community.

If you are going with very light and compact foods (in powder/flake form) and you can frequently refill your water (I don't know that trail at all), then you might be able to use one of the vest-style packs, like those made by Nathan. These are very popular at ultras like the Hardrock 100.

[Mike M]

might be a touch heavy, but the Talon 22 has quite a bit of room (w/ additional storage on the outside)- I haven't run w/ my 22, but I do w/ my 5.5- they are built very similar and the 5.5 is nice to carry when running (I typically have a full 3 liter bladder- along w/ most items you'd typically carry on a day hike in the mountains- probably 10-12#)

[will sawyer]

I've checked out some of the OMM packs, and that is what the inov-8 packs are usually compared to. the Inov-8 weighs about half as much as the comparable OMM pack, and those who reviewed the inov-8 seem to like it more than the OMM packs.

I think a vest would be pushing it, they seem to have pretty low volume. However one of Nathan's mountain biking packs , the X-Treme looks interesting, in the fact that it crosses the two chest straps to form an X. I might see if I can try to modify a pack to do this.

I've heard a few other good things about the talon 22, and both my sister and mom have matching ones, so I'll see if I can borrow one and test it out.

thanks for the suggestions guys.

[Art …]

6 days of food implies a 6 day trip plus or minus.
you said you'll be packing light.
how light ?
how close to the edge are you going ?
sleeping bag ?
bivy ?
clothing ?
I'm sure you must have your gear list mostly worked out.
Hard to give you pack suggestions without knowing what "volume" you need for your gear.

[Elizabeth Tracy]

For some endless discussion of the best running backpacks, and other ultra running equipment, see this:

http://www.themds.co.uk/forums/forumdisplay.php?4-Equipment-discussion

It's a UK/European dominated forum, and not all the packs are readily available in North America, FWIW.

– Elizabeth

[will sawyer]

Art, don't assume too highly of my planning, quite a few things are still up in the air. However i have most of my gear list down, and tonight got a scale so I'll be posting what I have shortly. It looks like I should be able to fit it all into a 30 liter pack easily, 25 would be fine. something smaller like the talon 22 would be pushing it. Most of the volume is food, so i'm ok having stuff all over the place for a day or two, as long as it doesn't interfere with anything.

While normally I agree that the contents dictate the pack, and pack should be the last thing, in a case like this I think travel style dictates pack and that dictates the contents.

Elizabeth, thanks for the link, looks like I've got a bit or reading to do tonight!

[Art …]

so 25 liters +-

my Golite Ion, size small, is about 23 liters (1400 ci)
weighs 261 grams.

a size medium or large Ion would easily fit your stuff.

I've never run with the Ion,
but if you pack it carefully, it might work.

[David Ure]

I am going to second the Talon 22. It is very feature rich and has a flexible but reasonably rigid back panel which adds weight, but it sucks against your bag for running.

There are also some Arcteryx specific running packs:

http://www.arcteryx.com/Product.aspx?EN/Mens/Packs/Aerios-14

But maybe too small for what you are looking for.

[Mike M]

Ion Large would probably fit the bill volume/weight wise, but it wouldn't be very comfortable running in my experience- you might be able to modify/replace the waist belt to make it stay in place better, but as is would come up short compared to a pack like a Talon (for running that is) imho

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