daypack vs overnight pack

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siguy

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Aug 26, 2006
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how much does your kit change between a normal "daypack" and an overnight or multi-night pack?

in the pack thread someone mentioned that for a quick overnighter, they simply lash their daypack to a packframe with a sleeping bag, pad, and tarp along with some food and water.

i suppose i do something similar, but i normally change over all the gear into a seperate pack.

so do you carry a seperate set of gear on an overnighter vs a daypack, or is it pretty much all the same stuff supplemented with extra gear?
 
My daypack is my overnighter. Never know when something may come up and I end up spending the night.
 
My Wanderer can sustain me for a weekender (3 days 2 nights).
If I go longer, I go with a larger bag. All the "hard" stuff (non consumables) is pretty much carried in dry bags, so I just move them to the larger pack with the additional food and water (usually extra clothes for a logn stay as well).
 
i wouldnt change the setup a whole lot, if any. just some more provisions. id keep the overnight stuff in the daypack, just in case.

cpl punishment, how do you like the wanderer (an awfully general question)? as not to hi-jsck the thread, if you wouldnt mind, could you e-mail me your thoughts? BarberFobic1992@aim.com
 
I always overdo it so they are the same basically except I add some extra socks
 
if backpacking = dedicated pack;
if just day hiking = daypack + emergency stuff for when it matter to get through a night or so. More stuff if with the family.
 
The only difference between my daypack and overnight pack is minus the tent and sleeping bag in the daypack. For me this keeps it simple and reduces the frustration, when you can't remember if you brought an item or where it is located in your pack.
 
Before I was quite so weight concious I would throw a bag over my shoulder for day hikes, and throw that in a pack w/ my tent/bag/stove on an overnight or multi-day.

Now I have a small bag of things that go in my day pack, and on an overnight/multi day the small bag goes in my pack. This keeps the redundancy down, and saves an extra pound or two.

You do lose a little modularity with the second method though. With the first one, you can set up a sort of base camp and still have a smaller kit to run around with.
 
My multi-day kit adds a shelter, sleeping bag, pad, cook kit and more food. Depending on the season, maybe a couple more pieces of clothing, like long underwear for sleeping. These are the bulkiest and heaviest items too, so it makes a big difference in the size and weight of my pack. A 1500 cubic inch pack will do for day hikes and a 2950 cubic inch rig for multi-day trips.

I still need my PSK, compass, maps and other essentials that I take on any kind of off-pavement travel. I'm always carrying water and I'm a fan of hydration packs with a little extra storage for day hiking. They sit close to the body and aren't swinging and bouncing around. The hydration packs that have a "stuff it" area with compression straps are great for stowing an extra layer of clothing in easy reach.
 
My day pack is an 1800ci REI Jet UL (ultralite). It weighs 1.4lb, or something like that. Total weight with a bottle of water is just under 10# and is packed with gear that will help me stay a night, with relative comfort.

My multi-day pack is a 3600ci Kelty Moraine. It's weighs 28# with tent, bag and everything else that I carry, including spare clothing and water. Each bag has it's own gear, so there's no swapping gear from pack to pack. I just replentish what gets used on the outing.
 
I have 4 packs ranging in size from a small converted gun pouch/holster that's attached via a belt clip, a small hip bag that has two water bottle pockets, a large Mountainsmith lumbar pack, and a larger Kelty Basalt. All of them have redundant survival gear, gloves, pile beanies, alcohol stoves (save for the belt pack) and fuel, assorted knives, lights, water procurement, and the larger two have North Face wind pants and a wind breaker in the Mountainsmith and in the Kelty some Marmot light Gortex rain gear.

I don't go on overnights these days. At 58, I prefer my camping van. But, I live in an area where my hiking is remote and my travels take me to remote areas. My goal is to get back to the camper by evening but my packs (except for the belt pouch would allow me to overnight if I had to. No sleeping bags but even the belt pouch has two 45 gallon garbage bags, cordage, a saw (Vic Farmer) and the ability to make fire. If I take that pouch, I have a canteen and larger knife on my belt.

The smallest pouch is about as small as I can go with a little survival kit that would allow me to overnight for a night or two but it wouldn't be as comfortable as the larger packs. While I wouldn't want to go off with only an Altoids tin kit, I do have a Ritter PSP in each pack and the equivalent of that kit+ in the belt pouch.

In my backpacking days, I would always stuff a small carry sack in my pack that I could load with essentials for day hiking away from camp.

So my view is take the right pack and stuff for the intended trip. I have four packs because two are in vehicles and two are in the house. The backpack is mostly empty and up in the closet. ;)
 
Huge differences in kit and bag for me. Considerations in no particular order include:

1] Personal admin
2] More comprehensive first aid
3a] Stove selection and fuel
3b] Supplemental cooking methods – wood burning
4] Flatware and cleaning gear for the mess kit
5] P Bottle
6] Electronics and batteries
7] More comprehensive navigation stuff
8] Water procurement, filtration, storage
9] Foodstuff become very different
10] Different sleep system and the introduction of mozzy netting.
11] Cutting tools and sharpening
12] Clothing including gaitors
13] Various sundries to make stuff or generally play about with while I'm there. [Fishing gear, string, safety glasses for bashing rocks spring to mind].

Yeah, some things overlap, and somethings are part of a larger system that I can use as a stand alone for a simple over night job. But there is a great deal more difference than just a bit bigger bag and a few more blah blahs for me. In fact, it is a different mindset.
 
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