Looking for Packs For a Alaska Youth Program

You clearly have more money than my group does, so you have much better options.  For our Scouting program, which does six to ten backpacking trips a year, we recommend Teton Scout 3400 ( https://tinyurl.com/ybs6zpt2 ) or Scout 4000 ( https://tinyurl.com/y9sygst8 ).  They are cheap, nicely adjustable, priced around $70, and so far very durable.  We were led to those through Clark Green’s review at http://scoutmastercg.com/best-internal-frame-pack-for-scouts/

They are not nice like the Osprey packs I’ve seen.  Definitely not the same carrying experience as the Osprey packs with that nice AG outfit.

We looked at nicer, more expensive ultralight packs, but ultimately for our kids, between 7th-12th grade, it didn’t make sense.  Most UL packs have a low weight limit, and I see too many of our kids overweighting their packs, making bad decisions in terms of managing the loads, not being kind to the packs when they’re taking them off/putting them on, &c.  Particularly middle & high school boys seem to have periods where they’ll just do whatever, despite knowing better at other times.

So, from a safety perspective, I’d recommend tougher, stronger bags.  Of course, ymmv, and you should go with what you feel is right.

-Charles

Thanks Charles. We don’t have unlimited funds either. Most of our other gear (cooking, etc) is going to err on the side of cheap and durable since it will also get used for rafting trips and generally get a lot of abuse. The main area where I think we’d spend a bit extra to save weight is on packs and maybe tarps instead of our heavy tents and cheap synthetic sleeping bags to save weight and also to save wear and tear on our heavy tents and 0 degree sleeping bags.

Have you tried contacting REI, manufacturers directly, outdoor guiding companies, etc.?  There may be grants of money or equipment out there for you.

What about JanSport? I know they’re not too popular here, but their stuff is durable and their warranty is fantastic which could be nice to count on for a program working with kids (they repaired a 25 year old travel backpack for me for free which I used as my first lightweight backpack for several years). Their Katahdin 50L is 2 lbs 6 oz and can frequently be found for $70 or less (they’re $100 new), plus JanSport does have a community partnerships program, like Michael S. was suggesting to look into above. From their site, under “Partnerships”:

“JanSport will accept and review philanthropic, environmental and educational endeavors for individuals and groups.

Please write to:
JanSport
Attention: Community Relations
2601 Harbor Bay Parkway
Alameda, CA 94502”

I’m not affiliated with them in any way, just happy with my experience with them.

Hi I work in outdoor education so I’m out in the field with groups for most of the year.  This is the pack we use for kids. We have some that a nearly 10 years old

https://www.oneplanet.com.au/product/outdoor-ed/oe-packs-bags/hr-nylon/

I would recommend a pack with as few features as possible. Top loading with no sleeping bag compartment

The Black diamond Misson looks good as does the Stone

http://www.blackdiamondequipment.com/en_US/climbing-packs/mission-55-pack-BD681186_cfg.html#start=9

http://www.blackdiamondequipment.com/en_US/climbing-packs/stone-45-pack-BD681157_cfg.html#start=13

The Kids will break them if they can

When buying packs for nephew and niece, I often saw the Mountainsmith Scream 55 & 50 (W) on sale for under $100. Never got them. Just throwing another option. The Kathadin seems lighter though…

Thanks for the tips guys. There are bunch of packs in their I haven’t seen before so this is making the gear research go a lot faster.

Michael, yes we are investigating pro deals, grants, etc.

I’m especially liking that Jansport Katadin because it has an adjustable torso. The other packs look great but we’d have to buy more in order to make sure we had enough of each size. But if we get a good enough deal that might work. Or we might buy a few later on for more advanced trips with a smaller more select group of participants.