Choosing a pack for a Bearikade Weekender?

[Adam Klags]

I need a little help choosing a pack to use with my new Bearikade weekender for the JMT and for other thru hikes.

I’ve been using a zpacks arc blast which is an older model, around 50 or 52L and without the new hip belt with extra bottom stay. I like the pack, but it suffers when I really fill it up and have a full bear barrel.

I’ll be needing something with more room in it that I can use to carry my Bearikade Weekender, which is 9″ by 10.5″

At this size, it does not appear that it will fit horizontally into a zpacks arc haul or arc haul zip… can anyone comment on that?

I don’t want to deal with it rubbing the center stay when stored vertically as it is supposed to be stored in the arc blast packs… I’m familiar with the other threads on this pack and using a bear barrel like this one, and so there’s no need to cover that again.

However, what I’m wondering is if the newer larger 62 and 64L arc haul and arc haul zip are big enough to fit the bearikade weekender inside horizontally?

Beyond that, what packs might other people recommend for a slightly heavier load of about 32 lbs all in?

I am wary about jumping up in weight to something like a ULA Circuit, but that pack looks wide enough to fit the bearikade weekender horizontally on the bottom, which would be idea.

Does anyone have anything else to recommend, or can you comment on my line of thinking so far to help me work this all out?

[Brad Rogers]

You have to have a pretty big pack to put the Bearikade Weekender in horizontally, and there was a thread about it here recently that might be worth a read.  I don’t think the Circuit will carry one horizontally, but the Catalyst probably will.  I do know the Seek Outside Unaweep Fortress 4800 will fit one all the way down to the bottom and a HMG Porter 4400 will not fit one at the bottom horizontally, but it will fit that way in the upper half (it has a taper).

[Ken Thompson]

Catalyst. The others only vertically.

[Craig Smith]

 

Adam,

Contact Jeremy Puskas with bonefiregear.com. He is starting to make the only bearikade weekender specific pack that I know of. Can’t send anymore pictures then this.

 

 

[Matthew / BPL]

not really an answer to your question but why do you want to carry the can horizontally? Is it just because of thebissue of rubbing the center stay in the ZPacks bag? If you go to a different bag perhaps you don’t need a horizontal carry.

I did the JMT in 2015 with a Catalyst and I found the lid much easier to pack and carry with the can in a vertical orientation. YMMV, of course.

[Matthew / BPL]

Another YMMV, but at 30-something pounds, I don’t think a heavier pack is a bad idea. The Catalyst is not that heavy, particularly after you ditch some of the extras and it provides much more support.

[Cameron M]

I use both a Weekender and and Expedition, and have no issues at all storing them vertically in my ArcBlast. I start with the sleeping bag at the bottom. After I insert the canister, I jam my neoair in the one corner next to the frame, and whatever tarp I have in the other corner. Both items serve to push the canister away from the crossbar. I may at that point stick my foam pillow in the gap between the canister and the crossbar for good measure. After 18 lbs I use the hip belt. Get the new ArcHaul and you can go to 40 lbs.

[Bri W]

I really like my Vargo CF Ti-Arc. I replaced my Arc-Blast with this pack for better comfort and bear cannister carrying capabilities. They’re releasing a new version in 2017, but it loses its bear cannister space. I used it on the HST this summer, and I plan to use it for the JMT next summer! I seam sealed it and added a zipper cover for rain, so now it’s completely waterproof. It carries beautifully, but I don’t think I’ve ever carried more than 27 lbs. with it.

 

 

[Cameron M]

Many thru hikers who have small packs carry the canister on top, but I don’t think I would ever advise carrying it at the bottom. I can start out with a filled canister weighing 18 lbs, nearly twice the weight of my complete pack, and I think that that load sits better to be center-high and close to your back.

[ben .]

for what it’s worth, which might be nothing, i stuff most of my quilt at the bottom of the pack followed by my bearcan. i use the last couple feet of the quilt i didn’t already stuff to insulate my bearcan against the part of the pack that rests against my back.

it works great in my circuit. i might be missing something but i can’t imagine why it wouldn’t keep your can well away from the stay.

[Michael Wainfeld]

Not really a lightweight pack, but McHale has specific Bear Canister straps.

[Cameron M]

The trailname of the guy at the right is “Bearcan”, given because he carries the can on top and intended to carry it that way the entire PCT. Sorry, I don’t have a good photo of the pack. Looks like integrated straps. Regardless, it is not that high up.

[Brad Rogers]

The shoulder straps look like a ULA pack to be.

I see people carry bearcans like that but I think that would be an awkward way to carry one.  Half of my pack weight or more is often in the can and its contents and carrying one high doesn’t seem like it would be good for balance, etc, though admittedly, I don’t guess I have ever tried it.

[Jake J]

I can fit a weekender horizontally in my exped lighting 60.

[Adam Klags]

Its interesting, I can’t really even get the weekender to fit into the arc blast horizontally, which is a bit of a bummer. I didn’t realize that pack was only 7 inches deep. I guess that’s part of the issue.

I wonder, would the extra inch of the other two zpacks packs be enough to get it to fit nicely…? Stats put those at 8 inches deep. I am tempted to try that.

I agree that carrying the barrel on the top is not the best idea for balance and weight distribution in the pack. That is one of the reasons I want to carry it horizontally.

 

[Adam Klags]

Has anyone tried this yet with an Arc Haul Zip?

[Ken Thompson]

Regarding the Arc Haul Zip from ZPacks site,

All standard Bear Canisters, including the Bearikade Expedition and the BearVault 500 will fit in the upper half of this pack standing on end. There is enough extra girth to either wrap a foam pad around the canister (if you use one), or stand a medium stuff sack vertically beside the bear canister.

[Link .]

On Andrew’s BLOG it shows a Sierra Designs Flex Capacitor 40-60 Pack with a BV500( measurements 8.7 dia. 12 length ) sitting horizontally at the top of the pack. Andrew was asked

Can a BV500 fit in the pack horizontally when the pack is expanded?

His answer:

Yes, it can. See the right photo below reason #2 on this page, ( this is the page l linked above )

You can see the outline of the canister’s bottom or top on the right side of the pack, near the top.

Plenty of room for it here. Further down in the pack, it may get squeezed some by the curvature of the stay. Still will fit, but not without putting more tension on the pack perimeter.

 

[Adam Klags]

Lol thanks Ken but I can read. I’m so sick of seeing that quote. It’s a lie btw. My arc. Last doesn’t fit the canister in any direction – who knows why. Maybe it’s because it’s older.

Point is I’m looking for feedback from people who own an arc haul. It has an extra inch and I want to know if that’s better or not really better.

 

Im looking to comfortably carry my bear barrel, not barely be able to cram it for the sake of a pack that’s too small for it just because of some idea in my head about needing to use a zoacks pack. I like them, but not enough to pretend that the quote is true. It’s a joke that they say the big barrels fit. I’ve seen ones that do “fit” and I don’t call that fitting. It’s an insane design flaw tonhave the pack so skinny, IMHO. It only needs to be 9 inches deep instead of 7 and it’s insanely frustrating to see that.

[J R]

Adam, another not-an-answer-to-your-question-but…

I have a 52L Arc Blast from 2014, before the bottom stay, the torso height is not adjustable and the hip belt has just one connector not two, and I can get a Weekender into it past the middle crossbar. You just have to relax the arc first (it’s the curved shape of the pack when the arc is tensioned that causes the Weekender to not fit all the way). Once the bottom of the bear can is below the crossbar I can re-tension the arc, but not as much of a curve as I would want it if the Weekender was not inside. Make sense?

[David Chenault]

As Brad mentioned our Unaweep 4800 fits any bear can horizontally anywhere in the pack, with room to spare.  The Divide fits the big guys horizontally in the top 1/2 of the pack.

-Dave (Seek Outside)

[Adam Klags]

Thanks, yeah you just described why it doesn’t fit. Same thing with mine. I don’t consider having to alter the arc and jam it in against the stays “fitting.”

I really like the light weight and overall quality of zpacks, especially the shelters.

I just don’t understand how anyone can say the bigger bear barrels fit with a straight face. In fact I’d go so far as to say it’s deceptive and unfair marketing in behalf Of zpacks.

Im 100% sure that no normal consumer would ever consider that a “fit” and that one day someone will go after them legally over this stupid lie of a claim on their site. If only I had a dollar for everyone who repeats that quote about all bear barrels fitting… (rolls eyes.)

i really don’t see the harm in making the packs 9 inches wide – worse comes to worse they weigh an ounce more, or you shrink the height instead. Is it really so difficult?? Many people want to use the combo of bearikade and zpacks arc blast,  you’d think the company would do something about it after all these years

 

 

 

[Adam Klags]

Dave, thanks for the reply. I had trouble figuring out the weights of your packs as supplied/wth options etc. I’ve heard good things but I wish there was a way to figure out the accurate weight of a given pack on your site? Right now I’m trying to avoid going much beyond the weight of the zpacks arc haul zip and trying not to have to go with a ULA catalyst.

Might you be able to direct me to where on your site I can calculate the weights of a pack configuration?

 

 

[Chris S]

If someone does sue them, can we please have the court transcripts posted here? I’d love to read that.

[d k]

Depending on what you’re willing to spend, the Luxurylite pack can be a good solution for very comfy and easy carrying of a bear canister, but they aren’t cheap.  The external frame with shoulder straps is 16 oz,  hipbelt 8 oz, 22L cylindrical bags as little as 2 oz each, stack 1, 2 or 3 on above the canister.  So it might be a couple of ounces more than you want.  I have an old frame of theirs, bought as a scratch & dent that I’ve recently attached a single top-loading bag to; haven’t had a chance to use it yet but I think it will be my go-to for trips with a canister.  I have no connection to the company, but I do think it’s the most comfortable pack I’ve carried; absolutely no weight on the shoulder straps, all weight is distributed around the hip belt.

http://www.luxurylite.com/stackpack.html

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