Suggestions for large capacity gear hauling pack? (packrafting).

[Justin Baker]

I would like to go on some long packraft expeditions some day and need a large capacity gear hauling pack. I own an osprey aether 85 but with the lid removed, it’s actually a 67 liter pack – I emailed osprey about it. I find the pack really comfortable but the size medium hip belt is too big and the bottom of the hip belt digs into my hips because I can’t tighten it enough. The size medium is just right for torso length (I am skinny, long torso, average height). I’ve considered looking into replacing the hip belt but would like a larger pack as I already own a pack close to that size. I looked at the osprey xenith 105 which is much larger but it only comes in medium sizes, no small which is an issue with the hip belt.

I am looking for any suggestions on a good pack! Something for a 20 inch torso and smaller waist. I am thinking around 90 liters. I want something that big for trips where I could be carrying 10-15 lbs of non packrafting gear, 10-15 lbs of packrafting gear, and up to 20 pounds of food. Could easily push 50 pounds. I want to be able to put all of my gear including pfd and a sloppily folded raft in there without playing tetris with my gear.

I am not interested in the obvious option, a seek outside pack. I owned one before and didn’t find it comfortable.

I have looked at the gregory denali 100 liter but it seems really heavy at 6.7 pounds. I don’t mind extra weight for comfort. I get sore spots easily on my body from heavy loads. I would like to avoid mesh sides pockets and any unnecessary features.

Thanks!

[Brad Rogers]

Seek Outside Unaweep 6300

100L

Less than 3.5lbs without a Talon

Will carry as much weight as your body can handle.

oops….missed how you didn’t want a SO pack.

[Brad Rogers]

Stone Glacier Cirque 6200    4.1lbs ?

Mont-Bell Super Expedition Pack 90   ?

[Justin Baker]

Thanks Brad! That stone glacier looks great but pricey for something that won’t be used super often. The montbell also looks good and more in my price range. I like the simple clean design. Interesting it doesn’t come in sizes, I guess I would have to just order it and try it out.

I really wanted to like the SO packs but I got fed up with the wonky torso adjustment system and it just never carried well for me. I have very little experience with large capacity packs and carrying weights greater than 25 pounds so it was hard for me to understand why the SO pack was uncomfortable and makes it difficult for me to find a pack that works for me. It’s difficult for me to determine if I am hurting because of the pack or because my body is seriously not physically conditioned to carrying large amounts of weight.

My osprey is super comfortable other than the hip belt digging into me which I believe is due to it being too large (does that sound correct?)

[Brad Rogers]

That doesn’t sound like a hipbelt that is too large unless it hurts right in the front around the buckle.

I hadn’t carried a load over 25 pounds since 2007 until I carried 40 on a two week backpack/packraft in Alaska in a SO.  It carried great for me and was WAY more comfortable than I thought it would be.

Everyone is different when it comes to packs and shoes.

[BlackHatGuy]

Cilogear 75L WorkSack maybe? Or will that be too small?

[Justin Baker]

My aether 85 caused a serious amount of pain on my hips. Luckily I was packrafting and only had to carry it in for half a day before floating 5 days. The second day my hips were sore to the touch. If it was a hiking only trip I would have been forced to bail on the second day because of the pain. I figured that the hip belt was sitting on my hips incorrectly because I couldn’t tighten it enough.

[Ben Brochu]

The best lightweight, large capacity load haulers I’ve found tend to be hunting packs (Kirafu, Kuiu, Seek Outside etc.) But they are all pricey. What was uncomfortable with with your SO pack? Did you have frame extensions? That could be the problem if you have a 20 inch torso. Would want at least 2 inch extensions. I have skinny little hips so that’s why I love the Seek Outside hipbelt. My Arcteryx Naos (which is a great pack, but $$$) would bruise my hips over 40 lbs because I would have to cinch the hip belt so tight to keep if from sliding down. The Seek Outside belt grips more on the small of my back than the side of the hips (even though the pressure is distributed evenly all around), with is great for me. Even though I have a 30 inch waist, I used the medium hipbelt, because it wraps better. This year’s Seek Outside packs have a narrower frame as well, which could help if you have a small waist. My first one was wider than I liked.

[J-L]

I would look into an external frame pack. My Kelty Yukon 48 carries 45lb loads well. I think it weighs just 4.25 lbs after I cut off the top bar and removed some things from the packbag.

I’ve tried on the Granite Gear Nimbus Trace Access packs and thought they were more comfortable than any of the Osprey or Gregory packs I have tried on. Nice hipbelt and you can choose your own size. Torso length is adjustable, as is shoulder strap spacing. They go up to 85 liters with a huge extension collar and top lid. It has mesh side pockets, but comfort and volume are good.

[Justin Baker]

I think part of the reason I didn’t like the seek outside pack is because of the external frame. While it twisted fine at the hips, the rigid frame restricted a lot of my movement in my torso. With the shoulder straps tightened, I felt like I had a board strapped to my back. This is more of a personal discomfort than an obvious problem. I ended up loosening the shoulder straps a lot so I wasn’t so restricted. With the loosened shoulder straps, the straps pulled back on my shoulders causing soreness.

I like my osprey pack because the frame is more flexible. I can really snug up the shoulder straps and keep the load stable but have good freedom of movement.

I think I am going to go with the xenith 105 and get a small hip belt from osprey so I have a huge pack to put my pfd in. I can get a good deal on osprey packs through my work. It’s not too heavy considering the capacity and I could do surgery on the pack to shed some weight.

[Ben Brochu]

Yeah, that makes sense. You can always use it without the lid if you wanted. I always prefers a larger capacity backpack to being forced to spend extra time cramming gear in or having to strap stuff on the outside. It’s worth a little bit of extra weight, as it carrying a pack that fits well and is comfortable.

[William Kerber]

I’ve never done any packrafting, but did see this on the ULA website a while back.

ULA Epic

The Epic was designed for packrafting expeditions in the harshest of climates, but it’s also been known to carry chainsaws, beer kegs, and elk quarters.

 

[nunatak]

My son had a ULA Epic for a couple of seasons. Impeccably made in the tradition we’ve come to expect from them. But ultimately too far in the UL camp to carry the weights associated with long trips AND packraft gear.

The belt/frame connection is alright but not burly enough for big loads, causing sag and the need for lots of belt tightening.

With only straps holding the load, which often is a slippery dry bag, one needs to tighten them so much that bad barreling was hard to avoid.

A general note regarding this style of pack is the temptation to carry the raft ‘unwrapped’ and exposed. If it sits horizontal at the bottom the ends stick out and risk getting abraded, possibly holed. Using a lightweight stuff sack may not help.

We always carried it folded flat and up against the back, with the main load outboard of this. We had fashioned a set of straps sewn in place and holding the raft independent of the rest. One still must be careful with the hard corners of the fold sticking out and possible rubbing on things.

[Justin Baker]

I looked at the ULA epic but with it’s 40 pound load limit I don’t think it would work for long packrafting trips. I already have a 60 liter pack for lighter/shorter trips. I am skeptical about having my dry bag exposed to brush and sharp rocks. Recently on the escalante river we hauled our packs by rope up crack in the rock. I put a small hole in my osprey pack’s fabric dragging up sandstone. I wouldn’t want that to happen to a dry bag.

[Edward Jursek]

With your particular requirements and specific demands you should email Chris Zimmer at Zimmerbuilt. Peerless workmanship, totally customized to your needs, and will cost less then you expect.

[Mathew MacDonald]

Not sure if you found a pack yet but here are my 2 cents.

I am pretty happy with my HMG Porter 4400 for packrafting and backpacking in Alaska. I added Zimmerbuilt a water bottle pocket and a rear pocket. I strap my Alpaka to one of the sides and it works great. I take it on 10-12 day trips.

My wife uses a ULA Epic and it has also been a good pack. She straps the packraft to the top of her pack usually. She likes being able to use the large 65L drybag for long trips or a 35 L for shorter ones. The nice thing about the dry bag design is you can replace it cheaply if needed. My HMG has a few patched holes and the cuben tape along the seams is pealing off in a few areas. It would be much more $ to replace the pack then just getting another dry bag. If ULA says 40 lb limit you can carry a bit more then that. The HMG pack is also uncomfortable after 40 lbs for the first few days. Its just a trade off for how light the ULA and HMG packs are.

If you also want to use the pack for hunting I would get a frame pack like a SO, the ULA, or Kifaru.

A number of my buddies in AK use Dana Terraplane packs. The old Dana packs carry weight incredibly well but are heavy and arent waterproof. Dana Gleason relaunched a new pack company called Mystery Ranch which includes the Terraplane.

[David Chenault]

Justin, my guess is that in addition to the totally rigid frame you’re a little on the skinny side for the SO frame.  Folks with waists under 32″ seem to not get ideal belt wrap with the belt-frame attachment points being 12″ apart.

Osprey might well be your best bet.  I’ve never used an Exped Expedition 100 but it looks intriguing.  The SD Flex Capacitor would be worth a look if it weren’t on the small side.  HMG as well though in my book the belt/frame interface isn’t direct enough in the 4400 series especially.  Rumors of the 5200 expedition series keep circulating.  HMG has upgraded their construction in a big way lately leaving the above as my only reservation.

[David Chenault]

As far as 40+ pound load comfort you should be able to achieve, with a bit of training, all day day-after-day ability in a pack that fits right.  With my load haulers I can carry 50 pounds all day and be very tired, but have no point soreness or chaffing.  Wearing the right clothes does become more important here.

[Brad Rogers]

I will ask a question based on Dave’s last comment:   Have you experimented with different clothing underneath the hipbelt?  I know I have one pair of athletic shorts that have a fairly large and dense tie cord, that bothers my hips when worn under a heavy pack.  With wearing pants or shorts that don’t have that cord (or a thinner one) no issue.

[Jeff Patrick]

Maybe you had the SO afjusted improperly? You should be able to have it all on your hips with no pulling.

I cinched my up at my ribs one day for a bit    And it still worked fine.

[Jeffs Eleven]

Eberlestock Mainframe. Its heavy at 4+lbs but if youre gonna be carrying 50…

i love mine. Nobody here will be interested… it will carry whatever you can physically carry due to the L-shaped frame. The harness is comfy to me.

I have a pic on my phone of me carrying a bundle of firewood and a ULA Catalyst sideways on top of the bundle. (Otherwise it was stupid-tall). It was ‘comfy’

[Taiga]

I currently use an HMG porter, bought at a significant discount. I like it a lot so far. However I haven’t carried any heavy loads for very long, fifty pounds for about six or seven miles and it worked well. I previously had a Seek Outside pack. I really want to like it. I like the wrap around hip belt, but I had too many issues with the pack fit, excessive straps, and loose stitching on the pack. After replacing items on the pack for third time I was done. It’s interesting Dave mentioned the fit not being good for folks with waist below 32 inches, maybe that’s part of it for me.

[Ryan Jordan]

For my long expeditions, which are about 2 weeks with packrafting or glacier gear, or 3 weeks of just hiking, I usually start with about 55-60 pounds.

I’ve done this with a number of different packs.

HMG Porter 5400 (not sure if this is available to the public yet, so ASK them to make it for you!) and the HMG Porter 4400. Both have done fine – with the same caveat that DaveC mentioned above — some training required. These are thinly padded packs, but it’s enough as long as your back and shoulder muscles are accustomed to carrying these weights in these types of packs.

ULA Epic – I’m not a fan (maybe it’s my body type, I never really figured it out) – but I’ve always had sore spots with this pack on my hips. However, I know a number of pals who’ve done ok at 50+ lbs with this pack.

Context: I’ve usually started these trips with a waist of 31-32 inches, and ended them … thinner. But by the time I was thinner, I had a light enough pack that it didn’t matter too much. But do consider that you’ll lose weight on longer trips.

I haven’t used any other packs at these weights on long trips since 2006.

I’m intrigued by Unaweeps though…

[Ben Brochu]

FYI, Seek Outside’s new frames are more narrow at the bottom (not sure how much as I’m not home right now) and the medium size belt works better for me than the small, even though I have a 30 inch waist (when I’m fat.)

[Brad Rogers]

I didn’t know they had made the frame narrower, I will have to measure mine as I have a frame from January 2015 and one from March 2017.

[Author]

Posts