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| COOP'S HIKING PAGE |
| GEAR - BACKPACK OPINIONS |
| Backpack: This seems like a logical starting point. Without it I would have a rough time carrying all my stuff. I started out with a Kelty Tioga external that I bought used off Ebay for $60. It's about 6lbs and was a good starter pack for me. It is tough and I can throw a pile of gear inside and lash the rest to the frame. This pack comes in handy when I am hiking with family and need to pack and haul extra gear for family comfort. As I started to lighten my load I realized that the backpack was a chicken/egg sorta thing and that I needed to trim away about 5lbs from my backpack, but couldn't do that until found some other weight savings. I ended up buying the GVP G4 backpack. It was between that and the GoLite Gust (at the time Golite did not offer the Trek pack which is more similar to the G4 than the Gust is.) The Gust is a tougher fabric and of ample room, but it doesn't have the external pockets that I find so useful throghout the hiking day. I didn't care for the GoLite Breeze because I like having a hipbelt. G4 Pros: 1) Weighs less than 1lb 2) Ample room - I don't need to go ultralight everytime 3) Larger sleeping bag compartment, doesn't compress the bag too much 4) Large outside pockets for carrying gear I need to access, or gear that is drying 5) Hipbelt still allows sharing of load weight with hips and legs G4 Cons: 1) Lighter fabric needs to be handled with relative care 2) The need to carry lots of water or another hiker's gear would be uncomfortable Internal Frame Experience: I recently hauled a fully loaded Osprey that fit me pretty well. It was a very comfortable hike. I felt the extra weight in my legs, but it was so comfy that the trade-off seemed reasonable - but that was after only about 2 miles of flat hiking. |