Choosing a pack for a Bearikade Weekender?

[Brad Rogers]

Adam-

Dave can probably give you more information and the Seek Outside website isn’t as specific about weights as us backpackers would like but I can give you one reference point.

My Unaweep 4800 (with some trimming) weighs 44.2oz

Frame 7oz
2″ frame extensions 0.6oz – I have a 21.5″ torso
Harness 8.4oz
Hipbelt (L) 10.4 – I have a 34″ waist but like a full wrap
Packbag (X21RC) 17.8oz

The 4800 is the same width all the way down and I have carried a Bearikade weekender horizontally and a Bearikade expedition vertically (which I will be doing again this summer for a two week Alaska trip)

It carries 40lbs very well when called upon.

[K2 Travels]

Just add the empty weekender to the top of your blast. Purchase the Y strap to keep it in place better. No reason to try and work a fully loaded canister into your bag.

[Jeff Patrick]

I have a Seek Outside Divide and would recommend it. Very comfortable and it compresses very well so you don’t have to use its entire capacity.

[David Chenault]

Adam, I recently revised the products pages for the Divide and various Unaweeps.  The weights are accurate and hopefully easy enough to interpret.  The Divide in X21 as most backpackers will run it (ie without the stock extra strappage) is 2lb 12 oz with a small belt, and is our lightest pack.

[jscott]

Here’s another vote for the Luxury Lite pack for carrying a bear canister in particular. I’ve attached a GG Mariposa top load pack to the frame of one of these. A Bearikade Weekender will just fit horizontally on the bottom ‘lip’ of the LL frame, inside the pack. That lip carries a canister like a dream. Very comfortable pack for around 2 lbs.

That’s a tad more than two pounds for a fully framed pack with a great hip belt. I carry all of the weight on my hips in this pack.

[tom lakner]

HI,

I carried a Bearicade Expedition in a GG mariposa Plus vertically  for a few weeks with no problem.

TomL

 

 

[Adam Klags]

Thanks for all the detailed replies here. You know, for whatever reason, it hadn’t occurred to me that I could try just carrying the empty canister on the pack. Its not a bad idea at all. I may give that a shot since it would allow me more flexibility in which packs to use.

I had only really thought about carrying the whole full canister on the top of the pack, which would probably be bad for the way the pack would carry…

Thanks everyone for the ideas, this gives me something to work with.

[Adam Klags]

UPDATE: After all the back and forth I figured it might be worth posting about my decision and the results.

I chose to take the “risk” and order the Zpacks arc haul zip in black gridstop fabric in the medium torso size.

I packed it up a few different ways to see how it all worked and let me just say… PHEW! It fits.

It doesn’t “fit” the way it “fits” in the 7 inch wide current model arc blast and arc haul cuben hybrid – actually jammed between the stay and the fabric, rubbing constantly.

In the arc haul zip, it actually fits with an inch or so to spare between the stay and the barrel. Perfect.

I also found that the barrel fit this pack horizontally, although it was a bit of a tight fit and so I am concerned about wear on the inside of the pack. There isn’t room to pad it like that, so its probably not worth the risk.

It also fits horizontally towards the top of the pack. If you are running a light load of food, I’d imagine it would be fine to keep it like that. It did seem to make contact with the zipper in one spot, but it didn’t put stress on it, so it seems ok.

Clearly the best way to pack it is as Zpacks recommends, but I just wanted to communicate that if you didn’t care about beating your pack up fast, you could surely do a horizontal carry. I would be very curious to know how well that works out in terms of pack durability….

Well, overall I have to say I’m impressed with all the upgrades from the previous model, and I think the company has really upped their game. I’m just sad that they don’t customize packs anymore because I would have liked to have added an inch to the depth and an inch to the width, while losing an inch or two from the height. I would also like it in the hybrid cuben since I know I won’t be hitting the pack’s weight ceiling and wouldn’t be stressing the seams which is likely the reason they won’t do this anymore.

Hope all this helps someone else who has this question one day! Thanks for all the advice you all offered, it was helpful.

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