Back in 2000, I was looking for a pack for along the Arizona Trail that would handle up to 65 pounds (30 kilograms) reasonably comfortably, as I would be carrying three gallons of water and a weeks food at times. Lightweight packs available back then couldn't carry that amount of weight without hurting, and after trying several, I ended up taking my old Gregory Shasta, despite the weight of 6.9 pounds (3.15 kilograms), knowing that it would be comfortable with heavy loads. Fast forward four years, and I was planning a 500 mile hike in the High Sierra on which I would carry ten days food at one point. With bear canister and camera gear as well, that meant a maximum load of 45-50 pounds (20-23 kilograms), though mostly I would be carrying 30-35 pounds (14-16 kilograms). Large volume lightweight packs had appeared by then, and I chose one of these - a GoLite Trek weighing an ultralight 34 ounces (970 grams) with a basic capacity of 4088 cubic inches (67 liters) and a maximum capacity of 5614 cubic inches (92 liters). The Trek was easily big enough for the ten day load, but the simple lightweight back system - an unpadded hipbelt and a soft, thin padded back - was inadequate for the weight, and I had the choice of crushing my shoulders or my hips. I partly solved the problem by cutting the corners off my foam pad and duct taping them to the hipbelt for extra cushioning. What this somewhat painful experiment showed me was that for heavy loads, a pack with a substantial supportive was still needed. I'd have been much more comfortable with the Shasta, despite it weighing over three times as much as the Trek. As lightweight backpacking has grown in popularity, the challenge for pack makers has been whether they could reduce the weight of packs for big loads from the 5.5 to 6.5 pounds (2.5-3 kilograms) average, to something that could be called lightweight. Happily, several have done so, and in this feature I look at what's currently available.
ARTICLE OUTLINE
- INTRODUCTION
- THE NEED FOR HEAVY LOADS
- FRAMES & HIPBELTS
- DESIGNS
- MATERIALS
- VOLUME
- RATINGS
- RATINGS CHART
- SPECIFICATIONS CHART
- REVIEWS
- ULA Catalyst
- GoLite Quest/Odyssey
- Granite Gear Vapor Trail
- OMM Mountain Mover 55
- Lowe Alpine Contour 60+10 Hyperlite
- Osprey Aether 70
- Lightwave Wildtrek 60
- CONCLUSION
# WORDS: 5410
# PHOTOS: 13
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Discussion
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Companion forum thread to:
Light Packs for Heavy Loads: State of the Market Report
I've used the Pinnacle on the last two TGO Challenges and I really like it. 30lbs really is the upper limit for comfort though. I have a medium Pinnacle and a medium Odyssey and they fit me fine. I measured the back length of various packs when I reviewed them in TGO last year and the Pinnacle measured 61cms. The medium Catalyst was 60cms, the medium Odyssey 65cms, the Medium/Large Osprey Talus 44 58cms and the medium Gregory Z55 55cms.
I haven't tried the new version of the Pinnacle yet. I don't think any are actually available. I did see it at Friedrichshafen. The changes might make it handle heavier loads a little better but probably not by much.
I haven't tried the Alpine Vapor either. The Vapor Trail certainly has a much more supportive hipbelt than the Pinnacle.
I'm still waiting to try the Osprey Exos too. Again, I saw it at Friedrichshafen and it looks excellent.
Thanks very much Chris – I'll have to put together a comparison table and go from there.
Can I ask if anyone else has any insights into how much a GG Nimbus Ozone/Meridian can actually carry? I like the idea of the adjustability and compression system (if not the lighter fabric), but really need to know if it can cope with a larger load.
Just a thought, there is a longer back length version of the OMM Mountain Mover available. It was made as an exclusive for the Tiso chain of stores in the UK. It's also 10 liters bigger in capacity though.
Cheers for the heads up PTC* – you've caught me asking questions without using my More-On code name!
Anyway, Chris reckons c. 16kg for the Mountain Mover – what do you thing?
Chris is right, the hipbelt is geat load carrier. I haven't managed to fill it with enough stuff to make it uncomfortable yet.
It's a great winter camping pack becasue of its mountaineering flavour.
Worth a shufty.
> External frame packs do this well, but are heavy, bulky and unstable (though some would argue otherwise
Sure would!
My MYOG H-frame pack weighs 800 grams, made of Easton arrow shafts and Dim Poly X-Pac fabrics (waterproof). It has carried up to 25 kg over reasonable distances in the winter – you get to those weights when portering skis, snowshoes, food etc in to a base.
Pity no manufacturer wants to produce them. Sigh.
Cheers
As I recently discovered, my ULA Circuit was not large enough for a 7-1/2 day trip. Lucky, I had just purchased a Granite Gear Nimbus Ozone.
I was carrying 40-42lbs which was just about max. for this pack. Whats nice with the Ozone series is the ability to adjust the torso length from 18"-22"(reg.size pack) and the availability of 3 different hip-belt sizes and the choice of 4 shoulder straps, trim and wide, sized regular and large.
You also have the option of the light hip-belt over the ultralight hip-belt, which has a plastic stiffener in the hip-belt, for even greater load bearing support.
The optional hip-belt pockets are very nice as are the pack pockets and shoulder strap pockets too.
I added both RH & LH hip-belt pockets, a small pack pocket and (1) shoulder strap pocket for my camera.
I had been considering the Lowe Alpine pack for week-long trips as well, but don't like the fact that they don't have or offer hip-belt pockets, which, once you've had or tried, they are hard to do without.
Of course the Contour has the top pocket, which is handy for your small incidentals, but you still need to remove the pack to get at them.
as mentioned by Chris in the review, a word of caution over OMMs stated volumes is required.
I have a OMM Villain which is listed as 45 litres (plus an additional 10 on extension)
However, this pack is probably around the 40 litre mark (certainly no more than that) and would not cope well with an additional 10 on extension. (However OMM packs are light, well featured and pretty bombproof so I do quite like the Villain).
So beware if buying a pack via mail order as has often been highlighted on BPL volumes vary tremendously between manufacturer's (I can think of at least one 40 litre pack from a different manufacturer which is SIGNIFICANTLY bigger than the 45 litre Villain!)
Chris, thanks-
I go pretty light when I can, but many people I speak with these days think that 50-60 pound loads are completely unreasonable… even after I explain that the load includes two weeks worth of food (30-35 pounds for me)and gear for temps around 20-40 degrees F and rain, not to mention photo gear. Quite a relief to find your article here. On longer trips, we're still packing light and using all the principles espoused in the forums–just have all that durned food!
Dan McHale makes the best pack, period. I have two. The fit is perfect, the material is custom, and he knows how to customize options to make as light or as heavy as you like. It's all about an analysis of the feature/benefits/weight. How much do you want to carry and how much flexibility do you want to adjust size on a trip? By the way, his frames are just outstanding….and that's the basis for everything else on a pack. I can't count the number of thru-hikers I met on the AT who had broken the fame on every manner of "high-end" pack.
He's also knows more than anyone else in the business.
Jack T
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