Backpack recommendations for 10 days in Gates of the Arctic NP?

[Matthew H]

I currently own a ULA Ohm but this obviously is not large enough to carry all the food and the bear canister that I need for a 10 day expedition. Any recommendations on a pack that might be good for this? I know the Osprey packs are out there but I was hoping for something a little lighter that still had the capacity to hold a decent amount of weight.

[Brad Rogers]

Without question – Seek Outside Divide 4500 or Unaweep 4800.   I was in Gates of the Arctic for 11 days in 2015 and used a Unaweep 4800 (and a Bearikade Expedition).

[Matthew H]

Thank you for the recommendation Brad. Those looks interesting, I’ll definitely check them out. You were happy with the way it carried? Side note: how was it? We’re doing a mixed 10 day backpacking/packrafting trip and it looks like it should be incredible.

[Brad Rogers]

I thought it carried fantastic.  I hadn’t carried 30 pounds since ~2006 so I was worried about how I would do.  I tried the Unaweep, the HMG Porter 4400, the Exped Lightning 60 and the Osprey Aether 60 and the Unaweep carried much better than any of them.  I admit that pack fit can be a very personal thing, but the suspension on the Unaweep is so much more substantial than any of the others I tried and without a Talon, the pack itself was under 3lbs.

The trip itself was fantastic.  I spent nine days backpacking and two days packrafting.  I enjoyed it so much I am going back to Alaska this year to do a 14 day traverse of the Chugatch Range and I will be using the Uanweep again.

I am 6′ 170lbs in 2015 (163 right now – goal of 160 for the trip) and have a long 21.5″ torso, thus the Unaweep that works with the 26″ frame better.  If I had a shorter torso, and could use the 24″ frame, I might spring for the Divide (which is optimized for the 24″ frame).

If you have any questions about Gates of the Arctic or the Unaweep feel free to PM me.

[Matthew H]

Appreciate the information Brad. I’m a 21″ torso as well so it sounds like it should be good.

Your trip sounds fantastic. I hope the weather co-operates for us!

[Brad Rogers]

I didn’t have great weather – it rained or snowed quite a bit but it was still a GREAT trip.  You will have a blast!

 

[Matthew H]

Beautiful! Those falls colors are amazing. I think we’ll be leaving there just as they start unfortunately.

[Tipi Walter]

A buddy of mine humped out a Seek Outside Divide pack on some strenuous trails and returned it after the trip due to ill-fitting problems with the external pack frame.  Here’s some pics of our trip on Slickrock Creek in NC—

Patman arrives in camp after a long tough day of backpacking and brings in the watermelon (we’re all members of the exclusive and elite Melon Club).  This shows the waterproof nature of the Divide pack.

Patman the Melon Humper.  He wanted to load down the pack to see how it carried.

A view of the Divide pack in camp.

We’re checking out the load lifter straps and torso adjustment—

The pack in action on Slickrock Creek.

[Brad Rogers]

What exactly were his problems?

[Manfred]

Matthew,

I took the Unaweep 4800 for four weeks across the Brooks Range in 2014. It worked perfectly for me. Carried a Bearikade Expedition, a packraft and other gear in it without any issues. You can find the trip report about that Brooks Range trip with my two sons here.

Have fun out there!

Manfred — Ban People Less – Be Open. BPL-BO

[Brad Rogers]

Manfred I had read about your trip, but had no idea that you had used a Unaweep.

[Manfred]

Brad,

we used two Seek Outside packs (Unaweep 4800 & Revolution 4800) and carried our two Bearikades in them. Our third pack was a Zpacks Arc Blast that also did fine with gear and a packraft but no bearikade.

Manfred — Ban People Less – Be Open. BPL-BO

[Matthew H]

Thank you for the input Manfred. That looks like it was an incredible trip! Do you happen to have a list of the gear you fit into the 4800? I called Seek Outside and they recommended me the 6300, but instead of a packraft (the guide has this left at the river during the trip so we don’t hike with them) I’m carrying a sizable camera, tripod and spare batteries.

[Manfred]

Matthew,

In a minute I will add a link to our pack list for our three backpacks to my trip report about the Brooks Range trip with my two sons

There you can see in detail what everyone was carrying. The food obviously ended up in the two bear canisters and Daniel didn’t carry the food that is listed in his column, but Philipp and I did.

Manfred — Ban People Less – Be Open. BPL-BO

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