Smaller Packs- Prophet or ???

@jrowan I’ve been studying this exact problem for a long time.

How to find a piece of gear that is light enough and versatile enough, so I can simply minimize the (a) volume of space it takes in my gear closet and (more important) (b) decisions I have to make when it comes time to pack.

The vast majority of my trips are either 24-36 hour overnights, or long (10+ day) expeditions w/o resupply. Very different packs needed! Especially in Montana, where even just one-nighters in the winter require some bulky gear.

Most of my trips are thus taken with an HMG Porter 4400 (frame pack for heavy weight / bulk on expeditions) or an HMG Daybreak (no frame, for 24-hour summerweight trips). For the in-betweens, I suffer with the extra weight and volume of the Porter and cinch the compression straps down, and let the gear inside billow out, to accommodate.

Honestly, I think my balance would be better shifted with a slightly larger pack for expeditions, and a slightly larger pack for overnights. I’m searching for options as well, and haven’t arrived!

John,

For context, I own the ULA Ohm 2.0, MLD Prophet, MLD Core, and MLD Burn sans hip belt.  The Burn was added to my quiver earlier this summer but has been out on a few trips.

I found the Prophet was more than I needed for sub 72 hour trips and the Burn to be just right.  I’ve used a 3/4 length prolite as padding on my back and to add structure.  I’ve recently switched back to hammocks and have not had an issue carrying all of my food and gear in the Burn, including both my MBULSS#3 and 3/4 length 20*F underquilt.

I’m going to hold on to it for another year but I suspect my Prophet may not see much use, if any, in 2017 and foresee my Burn being my go to pack for weekend adventures.

I just received a CDT in the mail yesterday so I don’t have hands on experience yet but I plan on getting a few miles out of it tomorrow. I already had the circuit but being an MBA student, most of my hikes are weekend hikes right now. The CDT seems very roomy and I will likely still have some extra room. One thing of note (I am up to speed as some folks here when it comes to gear analysis): The hipbelt on the CDT is a bit different than the OHM, Catalyst and Circuit. If you are not aware, you can see the slight difference on the website.

These have been really helpful replies- thanks to everyone. Based on a lot of the commentary, I’ve started zeroing in much more on the Burn after spending a lot of time checking out people’s blogs and other sources where I can get a better idea of how it looks when maxed out. I also dug out my typical gear kit (sans a few items) and played around with fitting them into my TNF Recon daypack (31L, although I’m not sure ) to see how it all fit. Not including my half-size Zlite, everything went in nicely with room for about 2 days worth of food. In a perfect world, I’d love to be able to finagle 5 days of food from the Burn (even if it doesn’t fit all that well…nearly everything I use it for will be shorter), but most of the discussion on here suggests that it’s a stretch.

Can anyone here comment on getting a Zlite (7 sections, 36″) into the pack body, and still having room for the rest of one’s kit? From reading stuff online, it seems like there seems to be a pretty even split between people who really have trouble fitting things in after adding the pad and people for whom it doesn’t really seem to be an issue (folks seem to have better luck with folded pads than burrito-style). Honestly, I actually prefer having it strapped on the top of the pack to use during breaks, but I also want to have something in there as support to help the carry. (I know there’s nothing stopping me from throwing in a section of a pad, but I’d like to see first if I can do it without adding anything to the pack.

Thanks again to all above for the comments- it has been very informative.

I have better luck using the corrugated plastic lawn-sign material as a back panel than a single layer of foam pad.  It takes up less room and is more supportive / stiffening. And several layers of foam pad, or a borito rolled pad take up lots of cubic inches.

For trips where I need to bring a little more than will fit – I like to put my extra insulation layer(s) in a stuff sack, and strap it across the top of the pack.  An idea from Don  Latigin’s “lighten up” book.

John- I really like that suggestion, because it’s such a simple solution, but never occurred to me somehow. (Obviously, it’s a bit more effective to do it on a dry day.) I have a feeling that I’ll be using that trick at some point.

Re: the sign- is it reasonably comfortable for you? (Inasmuch as there’s a reasonably rigid object right against your back.) I’ve read about people using that before, and there’s certainly an abundance of that material lying around my parents’ house courtesy of a few decades in local politics.

I’m prepping for a ~650ish mile PCT section in NorCal and Oregon to catch some of the miles I didn’t get to hike in 2015 after hurting myself on my thru attempt, and, while I can obviously use my Circuit, I’d love to do this as a more minimalist trip, so I’m working on really streamlining my gear.

The lawn sign backplate seems to work really well for people with a relatively flat back.

On people with more curve in their lower back, it’s more hit or miss.

You can always duct tape an 18″ steel ruler down the middle of a piece of blue foam pad, and then bend the ruler into a curve that fits your back perfectly. It’s a little heavier, but works well if you have a deeply curved lower back, and shoulder blades that rub on a “too flat” backplate.

I’ve used a piece of folded reflectix to add structure to daypacks and and my GG Kumo in the past. It’s softer than coroplast/fluted polyethylene (the sign stuff) while still adding some structure. I like it two layers thick. It also makes a nice sitpad or backup in case something happens to my NeoAir pad.

@John

If your gear really fills up a 30 liter main bag, I would think you would be better off with the Prophet.  I use my Burn for 24 to 48 hour trips when I do not carry much in the way of insulation because I expect warmer nights > 40 degrees.  I use my Burn when I am going out for longer or carry a bit more insulation for cooler nights or carry some common gear for a group such as Scout troop treks. If I were to just keep one, I would keep the Prophet.  BTW am thinking about a ULA Circuit for next years through hike.

I have just bought a cf Burn to replace my Kumo for 1-3 day trips without a bear can. The Burn is more than plenty big to carry everything for a 3 season trip. The zlite doesn’t really fit inside and if you can get it in there’s pretty much no room for much else. This is assuming a regular sized pad (72″). I’ve always loved how gossamer gear packs integrate a sit pad. I saw this on the MLD Facebook page and plan to do the same. It may work for you too.

https://m.facebook.com/steve.toth.5201/posts/pcb.10154401171742726/?photo_id=10154441015349588&mds=%2Fphotos%2Fviewer%2F%3Fphotoset_token%3Dpcb.10154401171742726%26photo%3D10154441015349588%26profileid%3D762764348%26source%3D48%26refid%3D18%26_ft_%3Dqid.6340083771144800637%253Amf_story_key.10154401171742726%253Atl_objid.10154401171742726%26cached_data%3Dfalse%26ftid%3Du_q_s&mdf=1

I also asked Ron to attach a padded Prophet hip belt. He does this for no extra charge. It does add 2 oz though to bring the cf version to 13.5 oz. I was surprised that it actually provides some weight transfer to my hips. I got it only with comfort in mind. Even on frameless packs I like a hip belt even if it’s just webbing like the Kumo in order to keep the pack close to my body and prevent swaying.

@Bruce

Just to clarify, that test load (gear only) didn’t actually fill the bag. I had enough room in there easily for a weekend’s worth of food, probably more with creative packing. As far as the Circuit goes, it’s a really fantastic pack and carries very, very comfortably.

@Dan

I’m definitely going to get the Prophet hip belt. If nothing else, I like it for stability, but also wouldn’t mind getting some load transfer. (Unfortunately, this probably means that I won’t get to take advantage of the abundance of Burns in Gear Swap.)

I think I’m leaning pretty heavily towards the Burn (w/belt), since it seems like it would fit at least 90% of the trips I’m trying to use it for. My big PCT section is obviously a bit more up in the air (should be doable, but I’m going to start off with a 100-mile stretch, and I don’t have my distance hiker powers anymore, so I’m pegging that at 5 days), but worst case scenario is that I take the Circuit, which might be the wiser choice anyway. If nothing else, it’ll give me more variance than my current pairing of Circuit and Exodus.