Packs with stuff all over them Why?

norcalblacktail said:
JParanee: I agree with you. All my gear goes inside. When I need something I take my pack off anyways. My binocs, knife, pistol, etc are all on me and not the pack. I usually hunt and pack into some thick country and cant have things grabbing while moving through the thick stuff.

I understand though why some people attach a few things for easy access.

By the way nice ram and stone. Lets see some more pics.
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Dropped pack and jacket at around 14500 shot ram at 16500 Pamir mts. Tajikistan bordering Afganistan 08
Rams07011_edited-1.jpg
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texastonydobbs said:
I carry a few items strapped to the outside of my pack and weather does not affect either item,Whistle,Bic in a Kydex lighter & a micro photon LED light. Does not bother me in the least.
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I don't think that is quite what the OP had in mind!

I believe he was talking about the people with the 3 day packs who strap a ton of pockets and such to make it expedition pack sized.
 
JParanee said:
Dropped pack and jacket at around 14500 shot ram at 16500 Pamir mts. Tajikistan bordering Afganistan 08
Rams07011_edited-1.jpg
[/IMG]
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I don't think that one is gonna fit in your pack. :D

Just think how many knife handles those horns would make.
 
I don't get the "let's hang everything on the pack" school of thought either.

I think that they think by using a smaller pack they'll have a lighter load. While that may be the case, all that stuff hanging out causes the smaller pack to be overloaded and possibly less comfortable as it's not designed for that load.

BTW, that ram from Tajikistan is gorgeous.
 
I much prefer a pack that has all the PALS webbing on the INSIDE (like the KIFARU MARAUDER), and maybe a few rows onthe outside for lashing a knife or axe. Tis way everything is inside, (easy to organize with interior pouches on the PALS webbing) and the outside of the pack is nice and clean, less likely to snag on stuff.

(the Kifaru marauder is my next pack purchase)
 
I try to stash everything inside my Arcteryx Bora 80, but the things I need are in places where I can easily get to them. I too hate the clanking and swaying of extra stuff. I did enough of that in Boy Scouts decades ago. The sole exception is my Z-Rest sleeping pad which is often too bulky for inside.

If I don't have a full pack (easy summer overnight, for example) I ditch the top pocket and might leave the sleeping bag spot at the bottom empty.

It's a heavy pack, especially compared to the ultralight fastpacker stuff on the market these days, but it's super comfortable which makes all the difference to me. Nearly bombproof as well.
 
ilbruche said:
I don't think that one is gonna fit in your pack. :D

Just think how many knife handles those horns would make.
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A "Marco Polo". It would be one VERY expensive handle!
 
I don't know what constitutes stuff "all over" but I do like pouches on the back of my packs. I can't stand rummaging through my pack to find something that may have found its way to the bottom after a couple of miles. That and there are certian things like canteens and flashlights that I like to keep readily accessible.

Regardless of ones preference, there should never be an issue with properly afixed pouches falling off. They are very secure.
 
POCKETS on the outside are just stuff carried inside the pack with different access openings. I'm okay with that to a certain extent.

STUFF on the outside needs to be limited to what you need to reach without taking off the pack. Once you take it off, it's not hard to open.

For me that's knife, axe, water bottles, and sometimes on local trails cell phone if Ms. Koyote is on call or koyote girl is watching the kiddos while Ms. Koyote is at school. (Everyone confused yet?)
 
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the thing here is the difference between a military aplication and a civilian hikers. Or a civilian hiker who wants to utlize a military type setup, for Mil use a sm/med sized pack(2500-3000 CI) that can accept other pockets and pouches has much more versatility than a large rucksack(one pouch on a frame) I used a Kifaru Marauder and pouches while deployed that weighed over 6 lbs with nothing in it!!! that was just the pack and pockets, however I needed to have my gear organized and accesible. chow and snivel gear at teh very bottom of the main pack, nvg/battaries/extra ammo/cleaning gear/demo/etc in the outside pockets where they are easily accesible. Etc. etc.

For hiking and such, I much prefer a simpler pack, on the rucksack idea. Juat a large pocket on a frame. Trying to setup a hiking pack like a mil pack just gets too heavy too quick

this is my experience
 
i like the black kifaru.dont see many of them.

i feel the same way with things hanging off of knives.a lanyard is understandable but it doesnt need to be 6ft long or braided and people seem to have 100ft hanks of 550 cord hanging off of every single piece of gear in their kit.

550 over load.

things i may have i outside my pack {zulu} are sleeping mat,sweat shirt or jacket,water bottle or maybe a hatchet.

i cant stand things flopping around or making noise.i dont even like the straps from my own pack flailing around so i keep'em duct taped down.

i run a tight ship...lol
 
I can't be doing with the strapping loads of stuff to the outside either. I'm usually quite disparaging of it, referring to it as the “tinker” approach. In winter mats sometimes get strapped to the side but that's about it. Sometimes my golok bag goes up the side, but that's too temporary and specific to count here I think.

I was reminded how much it sux last winter with what I think is perhaps the worst case. My playmate showed up with her sleeping bag lashed underneath inside a bin bag. [If ever there was something I wouldn't want vulnerable on the outside of my pack it would be my sleeping bag. It is also the thing I see most often strapped to the outside of a pack, maybe because the pack is too small, but far more likely because of the plethora of crud sleeping bags that don't compress well enough to fit inside]. After a few days she suffered all the pitfalls I remember from long ago; the battered bin bag, the sleeping bag annoying the buttocks and legs while walking, the endless straitening it up and re-doing the bungees, the constant fear of it getting wet... .She will be much better armed for this winter. She's learned it in a way words cannot convey.

“A lot of the Euro guys use pretty simple packs, too. I am not really up on what you guys are using these days, though.”

British isssue PLCE is plain compared to some of the kit I've seen. Yeah, it's got extras like the ability to have the side pockets off and yoke them up as a day pack, but the format is still fairly classic. You do see some of the more exotic stuff occasionally, there's a couple on here, but they aren't so common amongst professionals as one might suspect. The biggest propellant here has been the RM. Back in the day of external frames the best was the Karrimor Arctic Marine units had in Norway, and more recently RM popularized the Berghaus Roc, a very simple climbing sack. Even the current PLCE bergan with the bells and whistles can be traced back directly to the popularity of that simple sack with a decent back system.

Rams07011_edited-1.jpg
Helluva image. Cool.
 
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Even in the military, you don't want too much crap flopping about as it will get snagged in vehicles, planes and choppers. For the military, it's the external pockets that allow quick access to mission-needed items: ammo, FAK, bino's, NVG's, smokes, etc.

Most of the external packs I see on the trails have stuff clanging all over them and it would drive me nuts. I usually have just a sleeping bad a couple of carabiners, wet socks or shirt and if we're climbing, I'll have some rope (but I usually put it in its own bag to protect it. There's a balance between external stuff getting hung up and you getting access...once you go off trail, you'll know what doesn't work.

ROCK6
 
For hunting a large cargo pack makes sense in that you woll carry bulky items, stripping off warm clothing, packing out hides/heads. The only thing you need access to in a hurry is your binos.

Mil- others team members need to know EXACTLY where your battle dressings are, EXACTLY where your radio and batts are...etc.

Hiking/backwoods- hiking a main trail, I have everything I need attached. If I decide to do an offshoot and go light, I can strip off excess pouches and bury them to come back to later. This removes bulk and weight.

Nice to have different tools for different uses.

2Door
 
northern1 said:
i feel the same way with things hanging off of knives.a lanyard is understandable but it doesnt need to be 6ft long or braided and people seem to have 100ft hanks of 550 cord hanging off of every single piece of gear in their kit.
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i cant stand things flopping around or making noise.i dont even like the straps from my own pack flailing around so i keep'em duct taped down.
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Truth is that I don't put lanyards on all my knives. In fact, only my outrider, Case rigger's knife, and one of the fixed blades I rotate through. I'll string one on if I'm in a boat, though.

And one of those lanyards is braided, with fancy knotwork and a monkey's fist. And there's nothing wrong with it.

I personally keep my 550 and 330 cord inside my pack where it won't get dirty, scraped up, worn, and rotted.

lmalterna said:
Hiking/backwoods- hiking a main trail, I have everything I need attached. If I decide to do an offshoot and go light, I can strip off excess pouches and bury them to come back to later. This removes bulk and weight.

Nice to have different tools for different uses.

2Door
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I don't duct tape my straps, but I tie them. Duct tape is messy.

I do like removable pockets or bags, even though most of mine are carried inside the main pack when I'm hiking.

I really don't much like danglies.
 
Personally, I like a pack with a lot of pockets to better organize my stuff. The "one big sack" style of pack just makes it too difficult to find things in a hurry. My current backpack has two internal comparments and five external pockets (which seems about right to me).

I do agree about not wanting things dangling off the pack, however. I can't stand things swinging and bumping around as I hike. I keep a small compass clipped to one of my straps, and use a bladder system for water, so those two things are readily available. If I need anything else I can just drop the pack for it.
 
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