Author Topic: lightweight backpacking gear (Read 1827 times)

Anti-Johnny · « **on:** February 09, 2011, 08:43:38 PM »

I am backpacking around Europe this summer.

I went in 06 and I had horrible gear. Someone gave me a marine pack and, to be honest, it was the worst decision I have made ever in my entire life... that might be extreme, but it was crap. I have no idea how those guys manage with those things. It had no frame, padding, or waistbelt. I had a crooked spine for months. Chiropractor loved me.

Anyway, I am thinking Osprey, it is what was recommended to me. I would prefer something with a top and side loading option. But I have heard Gregory is good as well.

I was thinking about 5 days worth of clothes and toiletries. plus a netbook and a change of "going out clothes and shoes" so maybe 60liters should do it? Would like it to have a place for a sleeping bag. The loops at the bottom.

I am about 6'2" 175. so looking for something light. My girlfriend needs one as well, not as big and she is about 5'8" 135

were camping mostly in cities so I dont need any of the rugged stuff. although some sort of electric lantern might be nice for the beach.

I am also looking for a two person tent that will store me, my girlfriend, and our two packs.
I used a kelty crestone 1 during the previous trip and it worked real nice. Weighed nothing and with the rainfly on it had a space for my bag.

I figured some of you guys must camp and some of those of you camp must be able to give me some recommendations before i go down to REI and throw a fistful of dollars at them and say, "Need backpack, You for me backpack!"

Thanks guys.

this isnt us.
but it could be.

if she were a redhead and not a persian.

flybox1 · « **Reply #1 on:** February 10, 2011, 08:05:15 AM »

sounds like a fun trip.
my wife and i did 3 weeks between Denmark and Venice before we had kids.
Good times.
a lantern is good, but a headlamp/lantern is better.
really useful if you need hands-free. ive got the Mammut TR1. love it. low hight and strobe settings. the light diffuser works well to light a tent if hung from the ceiling.

Osprey makes great packs. I have an large aether 70. works great for 3day+ trips. the only suggestion i would give is to figure out what overall wt you're carrying, head to REI, load one up with their beanbags to the same wt, then add a few more lbs , and walk around. do whatever obstacle thingys they have. twist, bend, run, jump. you'll find out pretty quick if gonna be uncomfortable.
its gotta be comfy and stable on your frame.

i love sierra designs tents. its wet up here in the PNW, and they hold up well in downpours and snow.
if size/wt is an issue, and you have to go with a 2person tent, get a 3 season tent with a good rainfly that'll cover your pacs when stored outside.
most 3 person tents should be roomy enough for you guys and your gear stored inside.
hope this helps. Happy travels

Anti-Johnny · « **Reply #2 on:** February 10, 2011, 08:44:43 AM »

I have actually been leaning towards the Aether 70. And I used a headlamp last time as well. It was not a very good one though. The headband snapped free from the plastic on about day 35. I guess that might be a decent run if it only cost me $15.

I think we are heading to REI tomorrow. My pack last time must have weighed about 30 pounds but I dont think I used 1/3 of it. I have started to think about packing just for the backpacking portion and then buying some school and night clothes when I get to Vienna. An extra pair of size 12 shoes takes up a lot of room.

The Sierra Designs look similar to my Kelty Crestone. Thanks a lot I will look into them.

weekend_junkie · « **Reply #3 on:** February 10, 2011, 09:20:01 AM »

I've had a Gregory Shasta for more than 10 years and it is all you'll ever need.

Duanob · « **Reply #4 on:** February 10, 2011, 01:11:57 PM »

Here's what i do, go down to REI and get fitted and check out the stuff in person. Then go home and browse their rei-outlet.com site. Saved tons of money doing that. Also check out campmor.com and sierratradingpost.com as well. My wife and I do a fair bit of backpacking. I'm sold on good quality stuff but I haven't made the jump to the way-over-priced-too-light-to-know-it's-there stuff yet. You can get packs that weigh 3 lbs and bags that weigh 2 and tents that weigh 4 but those three things will cost $1000+.

I've got 4900 Northface pack and 3P, 3S tent and 15 degree REI bag and they may weigh a bit more but they didn't cost me my arms and legs. ~$450 total. The pack has been to Ecuador, Costa Rica, and Turkey/greece with me and numerous backpack trips to the Cascades and it still looks good. Good dry-fit clothing is a must too. I dumped my woolies (socks and vest) a long time ago for fleece. It's lighter, warmer, and can dry by wringing it out. Nice hiking shoes are good too. Zip off pants are nice, it's two pieces of clothing in one. Don't need heavy boots unless you're doing off trail or mountaineering. A good headlamp with LEDs is a must. They are lighter and use less battery life than the old style. There are ways to lighten your load without breaking the bank and your feet and back with appreciate it.

You can research stuff here:

www.nwhiker.net
www.backpacker.com

And read reviews on the REI site.

have fun, I am jealous.

Duke McDukiedook · « **Reply #5 on:** February 10, 2011, 01:25:12 PM »

I think K2 bought out Dana Designs but I bought mine about 20 years ago and it is the only pack I will ever need for serious hiking. If they are still in business there was a company called GoLite that made hyperlight hiking gear. Osprey makes good packs.

Marmot, Sierra Designs and Mountain Hardware make great, light 3 season tents if you will be doing summer and fall camping, you will want to take a look at them as well.

You'll want to take a look at www.sierratradingpost.com they have good online specials for hiking gear and all kinds of other outdoor stuff.

weekend_junkie · « **Reply #6 on:** February 10, 2011, 02:59:39 PM »

Quote from: Duanob on February 10, 2011, 01:11:57 PM

... Also check out campmor.com ...

They are a local store for me and just the best ever. As a matter of a fact, I bought my pack there years ago.

wannabridin · « **Reply #7 on:** February 10, 2011, 03:47:03 PM »

my buddy swears up and down for his dana design, and i'll back it, it's a NICE pack! albeit, 15 years old, it's still truckin along just fine! he's had multiple 3-4 week expeditions in the canadian rockies, in all KINDS of terrain and conditions and it keeps coming back for more!

i like osprey, mountain hardware and marmot as well a lot too, they're great packs. i'd just say go to REI and look for the most outdoorsy person (beards on men, leghair on women, haha!!

) and ask them what they personally use, that's what helped me with my day packs over the years...

Duke McDukiedook · « **Reply #8 on:** February 10, 2011, 06:33:02 PM »

I wasn't sure if Dana Designs was still the Cadillac of hiking backpacks or not still.
If they are still made as well as they were when I bought mine you will not regret the purchase. I will warn you they are not cheap, they will set you back but when you think about it these are basically lifetime packs as long as you don't use them EVERY day for backpacking.

Anti-Johnny · « **Reply #9 on:** February 11, 2011, 06:14:22 PM »

I think I have decided to go with the Osprey Atmos 65. Its a bit smaller than I was looking for but I think I can make it work. I got a 15% off coupon from school the other day for REI. That brings the cost down to around $200. REI has that awesome return policy so if I decide to go bigger or decide to change for any reason then I can return it at any time.

Still looking for an ultralight tent though. The free standing ones seem a bit large, around 8 pounds. The kelty 2 person is half that. I am not sure what the drawbacks are to it not being free standing. I never had a problem with my 1 man and it was super easy to set up.

Duke McDukiedook · « **Reply #10 on:** February 11, 2011, 11:38:20 PM »

I doubt Kelty makes a tent that could be considered light and definitely not ultralight.
You will need to look elsewhere and look to spend more money than a Kelty to get close to ultralight for tents.

Look for tents with taped seams whatever you decide to buy- that would rule out North Face and Kelty very quickly.

Anti-Johnny · « **Reply #11 on:** February 12, 2011, 08:29:25 AM »

The kelty is just under 5lbs.
http://www.trailspace.com/gear/kelty/crestone-2/

I used the crestone 1 last europe trip and it worked out pretty well. its a bit cramped inside, but the vestibule is large. The 2 has two vestibules. I am having some trouble finding a 2 person tent that has room to store two packs.

Some of the reviews for this one say its too small unless you really like the person youre camping with or that it doesnt have much sitting room. But we are only camping about 1/3 of the time, so those two things arent much of a concern.

I know with the 1 man crestone, air circulation is a bit of a problem, but never had any rain problems. I have had the 1 man for about 5 years and it still holds up well.

My price range is around $200. I could spend a little more if I got it from REI, I think. That way I can return it when I get back if it doesnt live up to expectations. Only problem is that REI doesnt sell the tent anymore, I think it was discontinued.

So I am still looking for a good light 2 man that has a large enough vestibule to take two packs, but weighs less than or around 5 lbs.

weekend_junkie · « **Reply #12 on:** February 12, 2011, 10:34:02 AM »

I've always had great luck with the Eureka Timberline and Timberlite tents.

HellKat405 · « **Reply #13 on:** February 16, 2011, 06:08:04 AM »

At your height, I would look at REI's Halfdome 2 plus. These usually go on sale (like 30% off) during the 3 day Memorial and Labor day holidays. Everyone I know that uses an REI tent has had pretty good luck with them, including myself. Sounds like you got the pack figured out, but I really like Gregory. I've been using the same Shasta for about 10 years and never had any problems.

Radam · « **Reply #14 on:** February 16, 2011, 06:33:39 AM »

My wife and I backpacked along the Mediterranean Coast last summer and had a Eureka 2 person tent with the upgraded rain fly. I was lucky enough to have a friend who let me borrow his backpack. I think it was a North Face. It was nice, and I like the internal frame. I'd say you just make sure you try out the backpacks at the store to see what fits the best. You can always find the same pack for cheaper online once you know what is comfortable. I just recently did that with some of those Vibram five finger shoes. Which I love, by the way.

Duke McDukiedook · « **Reply #15 on:** February 16, 2011, 10:21:44 AM »

Yep, nothing quite like wasting the salesperson's time and the local merchants time to try on whatever it is you are looking for, ask questions, loiter in their store and not buy anything because you can get a better price online.

People like you are true #$%*ing #$%*heads, just to let you know Radam.

And you wonder why the store is out of business the next time you go to try something on locally and wind up buying it online.

Duanob · « **Reply #16 on:** February 16, 2011, 10:43:07 AM »

"Yep, nothing quite like wasting the salesperson's time and the local merchants time to try on"

As far as REI is concerned I say BS! I shopped there way back when they were in a 2 story old musty warehouse store and the sales people were grizzled back country dudes and extreme skiiers and knew what they were talking about. When REI went corperate and hired a bunch of minimum wage mall rats to sell their stuff to other mall rats that don't know squat from shine-ola, that's the day I said screw 'em. I actually had a young salesgirl tell me to buy an expensive pair of skis because she liked the color! Other than that she didn't know anything about back country skiing. I had no problem paying extra for the experienced salesperson's knowledge, but now? Forget it. If REI had a problem with it they wouldn't have their REI-OUTLET site. There are some good small shops that would buy from but they are getting fewer and far between because of the REI big box store mentality.

Radam · « **Reply #17 on:** February 16, 2011, 11:06:02 AM »

If the chains that I went to for trying on shoes were actually a local store I'd buy from them, but they're just big chains like Wal-Mart. I do buy local from local stores like the skate shops and mc parts (when they have what I need). But if I'm an a$$ for that, then so be it. I support my local area more than most do, so I'm not f'd up about it. Cheers!

Duke McDukiedook · « **Reply #18 on:** February 16, 2011, 11:24:46 AM »

I am not talking about chain stores, local merchants- there is a big difference.

Radam · « **Reply #19 on:** February 16, 2011, 11:33:59 AM »

Well, maybe find that out before you go calling people "true #$%*ing #$%*heads" Just a thought. I support all sorts of local shops, but I do sh!t on the chains that send my friends/family stores out of business. That's why I don't shop at wal-hell and I live where it started. I'd rather pay more for everything.

Anti-Johnny · « **Reply #20 on:** February 16, 2011, 01:29:36 PM »

Unfortunately there are no local backpack manufacturers in Central Texas, that I am aware of. REI makes a lot of money here off of the rich hippies in Austin. So I dont feel bad about trying on things and then trying to find a deal online. I will probably buy from them anyway because of the return policy. As far as I am concerned, even if I use it for my whole trip, stain it, rip, return it and get my money, then I dont feel bad. Its a big ass corporation. They wouldnt have that policy if they werent doing just fine. Plus the bags are made in asia somewhere for a pittance.

The only thing that I buy locally anymore, and about the only thing you can get locally, is food. I hate chain restaurants. If youre ever in San Marcos, Zen's Pizza and Root Cellar is where its at.

The economy has gone global etc. There is no way its going back at a competitive price, etc.

I dont know, I appreciate the help but more than a bit uncalled for to try and degrade someone for saving a few bucks. Especially when I asked for ways to save a few bucks.

anyway, heres this to lighten the mood ya goons

I think I have decided on the atmos 65. I have a 15% off coupon for REI. So I will try it out over a couple camping/hiking trips around here before I leave.

That REI halfdome 2 plus tent caught my eye at the store so If I can get another coupon I think I will try it out as well.

Thanks for the recommendations.

Duke McDukiedook · « **Reply #21 on:** February 16, 2011, 01:53:30 PM »

What I mean by a local merchant is if there is a local mom and pop hiking or outdoor store in your area that you go to to try on shoes or a backpack for a fitting. Not chain stores.

I still stand behind my statement if you do that to a true local merchant that takes the time to help you, is knowledgeable about the item being potentially bought and you deny them the sale and buy online to save a few bucks you are a #$%*ing #$%*head, period.

Radam cleared himself when he said he buys locally when he can, for that I apologize to him.
Saving a few dollars while taking your local merchants does nobody any good.

This is why walmart and other multinational corporations have gotten this big, every one wants to #$%* all over themselves to save a dollar or two.

News:

Author Topic: lightweight backpacking gear (Read 1827 times)