Backpack Help

Hey, I am also going to philmont this summer (july 28 to august 11) and am looking at packs. In a post I asked about packs and a man recomended the rei flash 65 which is $150 and pretty light for all the volume. I don't think that you need a 70+ Liter pack because you will only have 4 days of food at a time, and it is bulky but not tooo bad. Just some ideas. Have a great trek!!!

-sean

Zack before you go buying a pack you need to figure out what you'll be caring. People on this forum tend to use fairly small packs because their other gear is light and compact. If you're going to be sharing heavier or bulkier group gear than you'll need a heavier pack to haul it. If you need a heavier pack there are a number of options out there. My brother has had good results with a JanSport Big Bear. I think you can get them for about $100. It weights about 4 pounds. If you need a heavy hauler this is a good option.

By this time, many troops have already started practice treks with the gear they will be carrying. Some require practice with a minimum weight for conditioning. Regardless of how much you will actually carry. You need some guidance from your trek leader.

Like others say, it really depends on your other gear. Volume is important as load carrying capacity.

The size reccomendations from Philmont apply to conventional heavy gear for the most part, in conventional packs.

Often those conventional packs have all kinds of pockets, which makes the total volume of them innefficient as well.

Get the Go Lite Odyssey for $89 on clearance while it lasts.

http://www.golite.com/Ms-Odyssey-P734.aspx

For Sean above, our crew will be at Philmont starting July 31.

I recently purchased the Odyssey after deciding that the Quest was going to be too small (70L v. 92L) for our upcoming trek (616). I've put only a dozen miles or so on it but very comfortable (5'11"/165#s) and more than enough space. Great buy for $89! If you don't need the space and are smaller, I recommend the Quest.

FYI… Our crew did a warm-up a couple of weeks ago. Pack weighed 21#s with all of my Philmont gear except some shared weight (crew tarp, pots, stove, and fuel). I had an individual's 4-day supply of food (two 1 gal ziplocs) and 4L of water. I expect my total weight to be under 30#s. Definitely not ultralight but not bad…

GoLite 70L Jam, which replaced the Pinnacle that I have. If you don't have lower volume gear then maybe the Odyssey would be OK (albeit pretty heavy). If you'll be using the Philmont issued gear you'll likely need the space.

Why does it need to be bigger than 70 liters?

My Six Moon Designs Starlite was fine at Philmont. By the specs, it is a 67l pack, but a bunch of that is in the outside mesh pockets. The main bag is 50-55 liters, depending on how far you extend the collar.

Most of our Phimont had 65 liter or smaller packs.

Also, "strong and durable" sounds like "heavy and takes abuse". Modern materials are very strong if you take reasonable care, like setting the pack down instead of dropping it. My pack weighs just over two pounds, and Philmont was its third year on the trail and its second long trek.