REI Flash 18 as UL weekend pack

You're unlikely to fit everything in there. I have a 25L rucksack that I can use for an almost-SUL trip (base weight 5 lbs 7 oz) for one or two nights, and I have to use a compression sack for my sleeping bag.

Then again, there's only one way to find out! Toss all your gear inside and see how much room you have left for food. If it fits leaving, it'll fit coming back.

The link below is a pack dump of an REI Flash 18, hopefully it's of some help.

http://youtu.be/DzwHcVjdSAM

Here's another one. Same guy, same Flash, slightly different contents.

Depends. If you're using an insultex/bubble wrap type sleeping pad (maybe a neo air), a small tarp, thin quilt you can probably force a day or two out of it. It's something I'm considering myself. If you clip some items to the daisy chains it's probably feasible, but you will be sacrificing items to go this route most likely.

can you fit all necessary gear and food in an 18" x 7.5" x 8" box?

1060 ci = 18L

It worked for me for warm summer overnights with just a water bottle and a cookset lashed on the outside. For two nights I had to sew on an extension collar, but my base weight is about 11 lbs. At 7-8 lbs you should have a lot less bulk.

This is a great choice for your first UL trip because (a) it's cheap and (b) the small size forces you to only take the essentials. Take a few trips with this to test out your skills and other gear. Then, if you enjoy the UL experience and plan on doing more, decide if you want to spend money on something a little bigger, comfier, and more functional.

Here are my notes from my two night trip.

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=70899

"For a backpack I carried a Flash 18 modified with an extension collar made from the cinching half of a 10 liter stuff sack. Call it the Flash 23 if you like. Last summer I did an overnight with basically the same equipment in an unmodified Flash 18, but had zero extra capacity and ended up attaching bits to the outside. With the extra space at the top I had room for everything to go inside along with the extra day and a half of food and a light fleece pullover.

With two liters of water and hiking poles strapped on the whole package was just under 20 pounds. Subtracting food and water, and not counting some pocket items, base weight was about 11 pounds. The extension collar made the weight carry a little too high, and by the end of the first day my shoulders were feeling a little sore. On the second day with a lot of the food gone weight and bulk in the pack were no longer an issue. By the time I finished I was cinching the cords I added to the daisy chains to compress the pack."

I've tried a number of packs in this style and they aren't very comfortable past 10 pounds. They are fine for day hiking basics, but it's really pushing it for a weekender. Other than simple comfort issues, I hate fighting volume and spending too much time trying to get everthing to fit.

One way to fake it with a small pack is to add a fanny pack with water bottle pockets. That gets a big chunk of weight on your hips and give a bit more room if the fanny pack has storage. It does weigh more than a slightly larger UL pack would, but if you have a suitable fanny pack, what the heck.

Throw the UL load in your Gregory and have a great hike. It will feel like nothing.

This daypack beats the Flash 18 hands down in my opinion: http://www.rei.com/product/809163/rei-stuff-travel-daypack#specsTab

22 liters, 10 oz, 2 outside pockets for water bottles and a zippered lid. Simple shoulder straps. This daypack is easily overlooked because REI doesn't market it and they keep it with the luggage accessories all packaged up in its own pouch.