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jam 69.99 at golite
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Jan 6, 2012 at 2:01 pm #1283787
golite has the jam for 69.99
Jan 7, 2012 at 9:12 pm #1821532I assume this is the 2011 model. Does anyone have experience with this model? Is it possible to get the weight down a few ounces without major amputations? I am looking at the men's large for my husband…
Jan 8, 2012 at 2:34 am #1821592Dave Chenault led a thread on it last summer: read it here. A few posts down he talks about the minor trimmings he did, and notes they didn't add up to very much. IIRC, this was THE post that substantively discussed that Jam model.
After heartily defending it in that thread, though, he later posted a write-up of a nearly complete MYOG makeover he gave it. Here's that thread.
This is a total aside, but I'm personally starting to wonder about chopping off the whole back pocket. I like my 2010 Jam for its ability to carry snowshoes so dog-gone well (I love the wrap-around ability of the compression straps, probably my favorite feature of the Jam and what (in my mind) gives it a place in my gear closet next to my CDT), but that back pocket just seems extraneous. it's obnoxious to access, and you can't see anything in there to make it any easier. It could be I'm a lousy packer, but I've come to prefer mesh in back. Chopping off that pocket would give me a big tubular pack with good side pockets and nice hip-belt pockets, and a flatter surface to put my snowshoes against.
Tangent over.
-Daniel
Jan 8, 2012 at 7:24 am #1821616I picked one up and am sending it back. The side pockets do not hold a 1L Nalgene well. I thought I could replace the removable closed cell foam back pad but it is an odd shape and the sleeve that hold it in does not have a lot of room. I could try to use my ccf pad inside but that would just negate the back pocket which is pretty useless. I thought about trying to redo the back padding and the mesh but it is really not worth it as it would involve too much. I thought about replacing the back pocket also but it would involve too much also. I think it would just be easier for me to put a mesh back pocket on my Vapor Trail and use that since they are about the same weight.
Jan 8, 2012 at 9:11 am #1821648Nalgene? Try a platypus bottle (80% less weight as well).
Jan 8, 2012 at 9:16 am #1821649"80% less weight as well"
only when empty.
Too bad about the pack. $70 is cheap.
Jan 8, 2012 at 9:29 am #1821654"only when empty."
When did you change your definition of base weight?
Jan 8, 2012 at 9:39 am #1821659Yeah, just not was I was looking for. You have to pack the back of it really well or it feels lumpy. The shoulder straps just felt odd if I tried to use the sternum strap and less so without. The side pockets were actually shorter than the main body of the Nalgene bottle. It weighs just about as much as my Vapor Trail which I feel handles the weight better and feels better against my back.
I think I might be going more towards a Gorilla or just modifying my Vapor Trail since it already has a lot of the features I want except for a back mesh pocket which is something easy to do.
As for the 1L bottles, I like my 1L Polyethylene because I never have to worry about it puncturing or splitting if I drop it or delaminating or anything else. It is something that is going to last 10 years, weighs 3.5 ounces, cost $6, is easy to pour anything into and something which I can use for just about any purpose that requires a liquid.
Jan 8, 2012 at 9:07 pm #1821937Thanks, Daniel, for the links–very helpful! And Brett, for the comments as well. While the pricetag is VERY interesting, I think I'll save my pennies for something like the CDT…. Or sell I few items collecting dust….
Jan 9, 2012 at 4:27 am #1822013Just be careful when you start pulling a Jam apart (take your time) and plan on being scared when you see the mess inside.
Jan 9, 2012 at 4:27 am #1822014bncpackn was selling a HMG Windrider pack for $155 shipped which is a pretty good deal and comparable to the CDT.
Jan 9, 2012 at 7:15 am #1822060Also, Amazon is selling the 'classic' Windrider here:
It is quite a bit more pack (value for the $$) than the CDT.
Note on the CDT – I like the pack but it is noticeably smaller than a Jam FWIW.
Jan 9, 2012 at 8:42 pm #1822429Thanks! I actually have a Conduit, myself, and I think the CDT size would be perfectly adequate, but I will have to check out the Windrider–not really familiar with those packs and hadn't thought to check them out.
Jan 10, 2012 at 9:57 am #1822649The Jam is a great pack and this is a solid value, especially for someone looking to reduce gear volume and weight as an initial transition to UL. The Jam really carries pretty well, and I've never had issues with Nalgenes in my side pockets.
I actually like the big front pocket, but mesh would probably be more versatile. For the back pad connundrum, I just cut out the whole black back pocket and h20 bladder pocket, save for the bottom two inches or so, where the pocket it wider. I use 8-sections of z-lite for my pad and the bottom fits into the bottom piece of that back pocket very well.
Jan 10, 2012 at 5:38 pm #1822888What year do you have and what did you do secure the top of your z-lite? For me I would need to do that because I use a hydration bladder also.
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