3 gallons of water in a frameless pack?

No way I would put three gallons of water in a frameless pack. You need some kind of frame. I've heard of people putting the U shaped frames from GG packs instide Jams (older models). I don't know if it would work for yours or not.

One idea would be to see if you can find a set of $50 cheap packs with frames at Dick's Sporting Goods or an army surplus store. The won't be UL but they will be much better then frameless packs for those weights, trust me.

I live northwest of Denton so we aren't too far away. I have the GG frame, if you'd like to try sticking it inside your pack we could meet somewhere. I think you'll need something more substantial but it might be a starting point. If the frame seems to work one idea would be to get a frame like that and attach it to a piece of foam with some gorilla tape. You could then put that inside the pocket where the foam pad currently is.

I put bottle pouches on the hipbelt on my jam and currently on my Burn. There are four each holding a quart. That would be two gallons off you back if both employ that strategy. Beyond that I won't carry that much weigh in a Jam. But if you do….. Your pack will get lighter fast.

You can see the red pouches on the jam. By the way, this was a very overloaded Jam on a Spring Rae Lakes Loop trip.

You need real packs.

Dont even think of trying to carry 45+ lbs in a frameless pack.

3 gallons in a Jam? Hell no.
You could pick up some old garage sale external frame packs and they would work well.

Maybe use rigid bottles like soda bottles

I agree with MB.

Maybe you could get a different system to ride under the waist?

Reminds me of an old trad saying- push your gear or push your skill but never both. In this case I might take less water and set out before daylight at a moderate pace so I am not caught in the heat of the day. The mileage seems light so being done before noon may be a good rule. I'd take electrolyte tabs and really get the most I can out of them

ymmv

That was quick. Great community. If yall ever want to walk or paddle, we aim for a couple weekends a month, most of the year, within about a 6-hour drive of the Metroplex.

Luke, thanks for the offer. I plan to borrow a friend's old Dana later today. On the off-chance it's been swallowed by his garage, I'll post again tonight, and could drive Tuesday or Wednesday evening.

My wife is going to try her REI Venus again. She never liked it (or her 2 packs before it), as regardless of load, her Golite frameless is the first one that doesn't bruise her.

I've done about 8 liters in a golite race (2.5 day on Guadalupe Ridge Trail) and about 9 liters in a golite peak (only 5 miles) before. It sucks…lol, but can be done even with 12 liters probably. I may not try 12 liters if the full weight goes over golites recommendation for the pack (with all other gear).

You can do anything.

What people mean is, you will be happier and have a much more enjoyable trip if you just use a heavier pack made for those kind of weights.

Most of the time we carry lighter weight to make our trips more pleasant.

There are times, when the opposite has to be done too.

Jeremy I wonder if your wife's packs don't fit properly? You could measure her torso. Some packs allow you to pull out the frame stay and rebend it, you might see if that is an option.

My mom dislikes most packs except her Osprey Exos. She said it "conforms to her back" better. She does not like packs with firm padding and stiff frames. You said your wife's packs had bruised her so I wonder if they have a similar problem. Maybe the padding on some packs is more appropriate for athletic males?

Dana packs are very solid. It will be a bit heavy but its worth it for this kind of load. Just make sure the torso length is right for you. If you have to you could probably take even more water away from your wife and let her keep the Jam.

By the way I just might be up for a hike or paddling trip together sometime.

Edit – By the way if you just can't figure out comfortable packs you might consider Eagle Rock Loop in Arkansas if you haven't done it. Its about 6 hours from you, and there is plenty of water. I might avoid it on Memorial Day weekend though.

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/process

Thanks for the invite. Unfortunately I'm in Midland now so that's way too long of a drive for me to fit into a weekend off work. Hope you have fun.

Of course this is WAY late, but I'm surprised no one suggested caching water along the way for pickup on the return. We do that all the time backpacking on waterless routes in AZ. Sure, the initial few miles to the first cache, the weight is staggering, but you keep getting rid of it!

I have an old Jansport external frame pack for cheap. PM me for more info.

I would add that to this list:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBAyYBHJhPQ

Three lbs. of water in a frameless pack is about as fun as a "blivit".

"blivit"-> 10 lbs. of manure in a 5 lb. bag.