File this under useful stuff found on social media.. and generally kicking myself. Hope this admission helps other hikers of course.,
I’ve been struggling with 40L packs and resigned myself to get a bigger one with the new “ultra” fabric. In particular I tried packing for Mt Hood (Oregon) last fall using a Zerk 40 and could barely fit my gear/food in.
Then getting a clue here or on r/ultralight (Reddit) I check out Justin Outdoor YouTube channel for his GDT videos.
Lo and behold, the guy has packed mostly slightly larger stuff (vs what I had) inside of said Zerk. Namely a RW Xlite, EE Torrid and a set of alpha direct clothes with extras inside the pack in a nyloflume liner, food in an Ursack and a single wall DCF shelter on top (stakes in DCF bag), Then complete raingear in the back mesh pocket along with hygiene items, water kit, poop kit, DCF FAK, and DCF ditty bag containers chargers, cords, etc.. Forgot where he put the stove. He carried some other stuff in the Zerks ample front pockets like lip balm, sunscreen stick, and even bear spray which he had to use once.
Think my problem was using a stuff sack (albeit DCF) to pack my quilt instead of letting it, and my packed clothes, fill every part of my lower pack. Granted I remember a rip in a former pack liner (garbage compactor bag) but thinking I should’ve investigated what caused the rip. Back to 40L packs, it’s been difficult packing a [discontinued] Patagonia Micropuff hoody (more packable then a Torrid) but watching this guy not only putting the latter in, but also an alpha direct top/bottom, plus likely additional base layers. Maybe I can save some money not buying yet another new pack, etc.. ? … Nah.
Still smaller packs tend to run a bit cheaper and my Zimmerbuilt is there for the large loads.
Well at least my lighterpack is probably lighter..
