Gear dialed in, time for a backpack

[George B]

Hey everyone,

I can use some wisdom here. Looking for a pack and prefer a framed one. A pack with a rather sturdy material and padded belt to better carry the load. Not sure about size. Water bottle pockets must be large and with a low profile to easily put the water bottle back – no exceptions here. I like simplicity. Base weight is around 9.5lb including my current pack (800g) without food and water.

Attached below are photos of everything that is going in the main compartment – stacked.

Dimensions are roughly 24 x 11 x 7.

Green – sleeping bag on the bottom

Black/blue – is roughly 4 days of food

Grey – sleeping pad

Grey – clothing

The sleeping bag in the photos is not compressed much but that is how I like it to extend its life. The grey bag on the very top is clothes and not compressed much at all.

I would expect the total height to go down to 22″ easily once it is in the pack.

Do you think I can safely get a pack with a 30″ collar from bottom to top fully extended? Short collar would be great – again, simplicity is king. I wouldn’t mind getting it shortened by a professional. So there are options.

So far looking at ULA Ohm 2.0 with a cinched top and LiteAF Curve 40 FS in VX21 for a shorter wait time.

Suggestions and wisdom are greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

[Kevin Babione]

I think you’re the first person I’ve ever seen (including myself) to dial in your gear and then buy the correct backpack!  Congratulations.

It might just be me, but I couldn’t see the photos…

[George B]

[George B]

Thanks for the heads up, Kevin! I hope it works this time.

[Michael B]

I’ve not owned one but the Seek Outside stuff is appealing to me from a fabric selection, business ethics, and design standpoint, and they get a lot of love here at BPL. The Flight packs look nice and as I said I am a fan of their Specta grid fabric, how it looks.

[Matthew / BPL]

I think the Ohm would be a great pack given the dimensions and weights you mention. I think their side pockets are the best in the business. I’m less of a fan of their shoulder straps with the bound edge. Also their hipbelt is more structured than I like but it sounds like you want that. The frame is just perfect for the weights you’ve described. I wish I could make my son’s Ohm work for me…

I have a 35L LiteAF Multiday Pack. Their pockets are 97% as good as ULA. I can’t speak to the frame or the hipbelt in the Curve. I do really like the removable Minimalist hipbelt on my Multiday pack, it’s very similar to MLD’s padded hipbelts

 

[George B]

Hey guys,

Thank you so much for the suggestions and all the wisdom! I decided to go with the LiteAF because of the color. Just kidding.

[jscott]

I don’t see any hip belt on the Lite Af…Maybe I missed it?

[Link .]

I don’t think he linked the one he is interested in because he said he wanted a frame and hip belt and 40L the one he linked to is 35L and has no frame or hip belt so I assume he is referring to this one CURVE X40L FULL SUSPENSION .

[George B]

Sorry guys! Curve X40L full suspension it is.

[Author]

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