Perfected Packing

[Kawishiway]

I live with the belief that there is always more to know more to learn and to keep an open mind.

I'm looking at learn to pack all my gear in one pack and be done with it. Enough gear, clothing, and food for a week give or take a day keeping things trimmed as best I can.

May I ask the community as to what packs they suggest, and or use, and for your methods of packing. I'm not even sure what the true difference is between an internal frame pack and an external frame pack. I have rented Kondos, and then eventually started buying Duluth packs. A Cruiser Combo Duluth with water bottle pockets for my Food Pack and a # 4 Duluth for gear and clothing is what I've been using. My aim is to trim down to just one pack keeping weight down. I'm thinking minimalist philosophies. Currently my plans for this year's paddling season is first the BWJ and two week long solo trips following, providing I survive the BWJ.

I see that Duluth now has a pack called the Rambler with a back pocket and sides. I like the concept, but it isn’t large enough for more than a day or two. I also see a newer style of pack called the Monarch Duluth #3 & #4. I really like the concept of side pockets, detachable vinyl map pocket, three slash pockets on the inside front and a deep inside back pocket to hold the big stuff and cushion your back. I like Duluth packs with no frame as they ride well in the canoe, are comfortable to carry and rugged. I'm tempted to purchase this pack in the #4 size hoping to utilize it as my only pack, but would like to do some research first.

I think it was Stumpy that not long ago made a comment about to much "crud" in my canoe. Perhaps he has a point. Any tips about packing lightly and efficient packing tips would also be much appreciated.

k

[qp]

You know k ;D I did a little reseach and photo tricks on a few of your photos from that trip.
Hmmmmm!!!!!
Should we discuss the pack contents
Stumpy you the man for just pointing that out.
Zooooooom went the pc just before is crashed
What is all that stuff anyways?
K you better lighten that load or you'll never keep up in June
qp

[Kawishiway]

At least there is no "fudge" in any of my packs, QP. I'll leave that to you.

k

[Trout Lane]

I have to give high marks to our large Granite Gear pack. the BW Journal sells the same pack for a little less. Its will hold enough stuff to make it too heavy to safely lift - put it that way. But it has done many trips now and i see very little wear and all stitches basically intact. lots of Bells and Whistles on it and a $ 200 + price tag. It was a gift. I might be too tight to spend that.

tl

[GladesGuy]

K,
I can fit a weeks worth of gear + food in a Granite Gear Quetico pack about 5000 cubic inches and a thwart Bag 900 cubic inches.

Here's what I do;

Clothing use to be a big thing for me now I only carry what I'm wearing plus a complete change.
2 nylon shirt long sleeve
2 nylon pants that the legs zip off (double duty)
2 synthetic underwear
2 synthetic thermal long sleeve shirts
2 pair of wool socks
1 polar fleece pants 100
1 polar fleece pullover top 200
1 Goretex rain coat (double duty)
1 nylon hat
1 pair of leather boots
1 pair of camp shoes

Everything except what I'm wearing goes into a square compressor sack.

Cooking gear;
2 pots with 1 lid
1 8" fry pan
Bakepacker or outback oven
8' of aluminum foil
personal coffee press (double duty)
fork and spoon
stove MSR Dragonfly with 2 fuel bottles
scruby
2 Nalgene bottles 1 for rehydrating food, 1 for drinking
Everything excluding the stove, fuel bottles, Nalgene bottles and coffee press go into a #4 stuff sack. Stove goes into an OR padded cell and fuel bottles go into 2 zip lock bags, the bottles are lashed together with a strap.

Sleeping gear;
40 degree 3D sleeping bag
3/4 insulite pad
hammock
Lightweight tarp 9X9 with ropes
Everything goes into its own stuff sack, excluding the insulite pad.

Personal items;
1st aid kit in zip lock
TP in zip lock
Nice and Cleans
tooth brush / paste in zip lock
backpacking towel
privy shovel
large sponge (double duty)
All these items a packaged in a #2 stuff sack.

Food;
I only eat a fresh meal the 1st night and breakfast 1st morning. Everything else is repackaged and home dried which are vacuum-sealed.
All meals go into their own #4 stuff sacks(lunch, dinner, breakfast).

Other items;
lurers 2 plastic compartmentalized boxes
rod and reel strapped to thwarts
2 50’ ropes in their own stuff sacks
Headlamp packed with clothing
book packed with clothing in zip lock
folding saw stowed on side of pack
Everything that I want to stay handy goes into the thwart bag.
Rain coat? camera, lunch, tackle, sunscreen etc.



GG

[Beavers]

I have been trying to trim down myself, planning for my first solo in July. My main pack is a Woods Canada (about a 3 1/2 size Duluth) it is more than big enough to cram all my crud in. The other pack I will take is an Army A.L.I.C.E. pack, it holds a 20L olive barrel perfectly with room in the side pockets for a stove, fuel and misc. stuff. I think the two pack setup would work better for a solo canoe. From what I have read so far lager packs are a PITA to load in smaller solo boats and it helps to have a smaller pack in the front that you can move to adjust the trim.
You could always just make Oliver carry an extra pack or two

[Kawishiway]

TL,

I'ver heard nothing but good comments pertaining to Granite Gear. I like their packs.


GG,

Thanks for a comprised list of necessary items only.


Beavs,

(Can I say that with no offense?)

Agreed. Two packs in a solo and on a solo works well. When solo, it's up to you alone that your trip goes well and you come home safe and sound. Welcome to the club. I'm sure you will find a new perspective on the zen, the hum, the song of the Northwoods.

k

[azalea]

I am advocate for external frame packs. We have tripped with my wife (10 days) with two external frame packs in a 16' penobscot canoe with both packs lying on the bottom of the canoe (on the frame witht he frame keeping the cloth portion of the pack out of the bilge water), they fit even in that small of a canoe. Because of their shape, this does make getting the packs out of the canoe a bit more difficult than a more traditional canoe pack, but I doubt it is all that much different (I find getting any 65lb pack out of the canoe to be difficult).

The big difference to me is how the pack carries a load. A well designed external frame pack is the optimal design for carrying a load. This means given the same weight, it is easier in an external frame pack (or the same effort allows you carry more weight in a frame pack). Now certainly this is not true for all external frame packs, obviously there are variations in any design. But the best external frame packs beat the best internal frame packs which beat the best no frame packs.

As I was driving back from dropping my son off at college this fall, I drove by the Grand Opening of a Gander Mountain in West Virginia.
I stopped in, it was a major event. In the pack department, I started talking to a guy there where they were collecting info for a give-away. Turned out he was one of the co-founders of Jansport. He characterized the move away from external frame packs as more of a style thing than a performance thing.