- Joined
- Dec 22, 2006
- Messages
- 2,194
I'd like to kick around some thoughts on options for carrying wilderness PSK's. I've seen threads that touched on the subject and I'd like to get into the subject over-all.
Some criteria I've run into:
size
weight
durability
carry options
You could carry your PSK in a grocery sack if you wanted too. I'm generally looking to keep the gear organized, clean, and dry. Options I've found or seen used by others:
Some of these options require another means of carrying-- the zip locks and stuff sacks are simple orgainizers and protection. From there you wrap it around your waist, hang it from your belt, wear it over your shoulder or strap it on you back.
Fanny packs:
IMHO, fanny packs don't work. They don't work for me mostly because of my body type. I'm a typical middle-aged white guy with no butt and too much gut, and a fanny pack generally tries to head south to fall around my knees and they bounce around. I don't think they are much good for more than a handful of gear. There are some fanny pack designs that use should straps, much like some of the miltary carry systems like the ALICE. I'd rather just use a backpack at that point. They can be more expensive and heavier than a backpack of the same capacity.
Shoulder bags:
These run the gamut from large messenger bags to small "murses" (man-purses). I've used messenger bags for commuting and thye work well until the load gets over ten pounds or so. I had a large Timbuk2 and a couple variants by The North Face and REI. My main complaint on messenger bags is that they aren't secure-- most designs have a large main compartment with a flap over the top and small items can be lost. They do blend into an urban environment well and you could haul a small arsenal in one. There's room for a generous urban PSK, extra clothing, umbrella, lunch, etc. The other weakness I found is that most don't have a means of carrying a water bottle without sharing space with your other gear; if you're going to go this way, look for one with a water-bottle pocket on the outside. My favorite of late is a vintage Banana Republic Israeli Paratrooper bag. The design has been around long enough to have lost its paramilitary/emotional impact and it is a practical size for a man-purse. I think the messenger style bags are great for travel and carry-on luggage.
There are sling-style shoulder bags that have formed straps worn bandolier style with a bag that uses zippers and various pouches and compartments. The other main variant is a zippered bag with a simple strap that can be slung over one shoulder or bandolier style. Again, look for one with a water bottle pouch on the outside. Any shoulder bag is aided by having a short grab handle-- these are a great help in getting on and off transportation and just moving the bag around. It's easy to add a grab handle if the bag has d-rings for attaching the shoulder strap. I made a couple from plastic snaps and paracord made up in the style of a survival bracelet, so you can haul some paracord easily too.
Another good shoulder bag for a PSk is a camera case. IF you are carrying a lot of electronics they are a natural choice. Domke makes the best and in canvas and ballastic nylon. Their satchels make excellent urban PSK bags. They offer dry bags too.
Looking at shoulder bags in general for wilderness use, I've worked through a few scenarios using ultralight camping gear and it could be done. My interest was piqued by the old military mussette bag, but shoulder bags didn't pan out for other than short day hikes and travel. As with fanny packs, the expense and weight exceeded a backpack.
Backpacks:
IMHO the good ol' backpack gives the best blend of weight, cost and ease of use. There's no end of options and durability. For hiking I use an ultralight pack made by GoLite that allows me to haul 3200 cubic inches/30 pounds and weighs just 22 ounces. There are ultralight packs that weigh half that! Let me make no bones about it: durability does suffer with the super ultralight packs, BUT you can get an ultralight pack with a reasonable level of durability. It's not unusual to find day packs that weigh 3 plus pounds. Keep in mind with your gear weight that every ounce you shave off you gear equals more food, water you can carry-- and less stress on your joints and energy level. There is simply no need to go into the woods with 50 pounds on your back.
If you are really interested in ultralight hiking, join the forums at http://www.backpackinglight.com. Some of the more fanatical folk there are going on multi-day hikes with FIVE (or less) pounds of gear for their base weight (everything except food, fuel, and water). I can do 12 pounds base weight for a summer hike and that's about as far as I want to take it.
Dayhiking:
If your goal is to go out for a day, I think a hydration pack with some extra cargo capacity is the way to go. Water is the heaviest single item in a day pack. All you need beyond water carrying capacity is some room for food, extra clothing, and your PSK-- and a couple toys like a camera or binoculars. Hydration packs keep a good quanity of water (2 liters) stable and you can drink as you go from the hose. I use a Platypus Mega that has the water bladder, some zippered compartments, and a "beavertail." A beavertail is a flap on the outside of a pack with adjustable straps that will let you strap clothing and other items outside. They are perfect for things like a wet raincoat that you don't want in with your dry gear. You can keep a fleece or other layers handy too. For rainy weather, I add a large silicone roll-top stuff sack to turn that area into waterproof storage.
Multi-day hiking:
I use a Golilte Jam model. The GoLite Gust is another model I like. There are a number of companies specializing in ultralight pack design, so there are pleny of options. You can easily find a pack that will haul 30 pounds or gear that weigh two pounds or less. To keep my PSK organized, I use Sea to Summit silnylon roll-top stuff sacks. I hang my food and smelly stuff at night to keep bears and critters out of it and I use a drawstring style backpack for that. If things fall apart, I can use that bag to haul my PSK items to get home. I'm thinking of situations where my main pack is lost, stolen, or left behind for an injured person while I go for help. The drawstring pack leaves enough room for clothing and food as well as my PSK, so I don't become a victim while going to help. I've bought mine in thrift store for a couple bucks and htey weigh three ounces or so. They are often made for promotional give-aways. Adidas has one called a "Sackpack" that is a good example. Anyone who sews could whip one up in an hour.
So there's my $0.02 on hauling PSK's in the woods.
Some criteria I've run into:
size
weight
durability
carry options
You could carry your PSK in a grocery sack if you wanted too. I'm generally looking to keep the gear organized, clean, and dry. Options I've found or seen used by others:
- zip lock freezer bags
- Aloksak bags
- generic drawstring stuff sacks
- silcone-coated roll-closure stuff sacks like the ones offerd by Sea to Summit and Outdoor Research
- heavier roll-closure bags made for kayaking and rafting
- pouches like ammunition magazine pouches
- fanny packs
- shoulder bags
- backpacks
Some of these options require another means of carrying-- the zip locks and stuff sacks are simple orgainizers and protection. From there you wrap it around your waist, hang it from your belt, wear it over your shoulder or strap it on you back.
Fanny packs:
IMHO, fanny packs don't work. They don't work for me mostly because of my body type. I'm a typical middle-aged white guy with no butt and too much gut, and a fanny pack generally tries to head south to fall around my knees and they bounce around. I don't think they are much good for more than a handful of gear. There are some fanny pack designs that use should straps, much like some of the miltary carry systems like the ALICE. I'd rather just use a backpack at that point. They can be more expensive and heavier than a backpack of the same capacity.
Shoulder bags:
These run the gamut from large messenger bags to small "murses" (man-purses). I've used messenger bags for commuting and thye work well until the load gets over ten pounds or so. I had a large Timbuk2 and a couple variants by The North Face and REI. My main complaint on messenger bags is that they aren't secure-- most designs have a large main compartment with a flap over the top and small items can be lost. They do blend into an urban environment well and you could haul a small arsenal in one. There's room for a generous urban PSK, extra clothing, umbrella, lunch, etc. The other weakness I found is that most don't have a means of carrying a water bottle without sharing space with your other gear; if you're going to go this way, look for one with a water-bottle pocket on the outside. My favorite of late is a vintage Banana Republic Israeli Paratrooper bag. The design has been around long enough to have lost its paramilitary/emotional impact and it is a practical size for a man-purse. I think the messenger style bags are great for travel and carry-on luggage.
There are sling-style shoulder bags that have formed straps worn bandolier style with a bag that uses zippers and various pouches and compartments. The other main variant is a zippered bag with a simple strap that can be slung over one shoulder or bandolier style. Again, look for one with a water bottle pouch on the outside. Any shoulder bag is aided by having a short grab handle-- these are a great help in getting on and off transportation and just moving the bag around. It's easy to add a grab handle if the bag has d-rings for attaching the shoulder strap. I made a couple from plastic snaps and paracord made up in the style of a survival bracelet, so you can haul some paracord easily too.
Another good shoulder bag for a PSk is a camera case. IF you are carrying a lot of electronics they are a natural choice. Domke makes the best and in canvas and ballastic nylon. Their satchels make excellent urban PSK bags. They offer dry bags too.
Looking at shoulder bags in general for wilderness use, I've worked through a few scenarios using ultralight camping gear and it could be done. My interest was piqued by the old military mussette bag, but shoulder bags didn't pan out for other than short day hikes and travel. As with fanny packs, the expense and weight exceeded a backpack.
Backpacks:
IMHO the good ol' backpack gives the best blend of weight, cost and ease of use. There's no end of options and durability. For hiking I use an ultralight pack made by GoLite that allows me to haul 3200 cubic inches/30 pounds and weighs just 22 ounces. There are ultralight packs that weigh half that! Let me make no bones about it: durability does suffer with the super ultralight packs, BUT you can get an ultralight pack with a reasonable level of durability. It's not unusual to find day packs that weigh 3 plus pounds. Keep in mind with your gear weight that every ounce you shave off you gear equals more food, water you can carry-- and less stress on your joints and energy level. There is simply no need to go into the woods with 50 pounds on your back.
If you are really interested in ultralight hiking, join the forums at http://www.backpackinglight.com. Some of the more fanatical folk there are going on multi-day hikes with FIVE (or less) pounds of gear for their base weight (everything except food, fuel, and water). I can do 12 pounds base weight for a summer hike and that's about as far as I want to take it.
Dayhiking:
If your goal is to go out for a day, I think a hydration pack with some extra cargo capacity is the way to go. Water is the heaviest single item in a day pack. All you need beyond water carrying capacity is some room for food, extra clothing, and your PSK-- and a couple toys like a camera or binoculars. Hydration packs keep a good quanity of water (2 liters) stable and you can drink as you go from the hose. I use a Platypus Mega that has the water bladder, some zippered compartments, and a "beavertail." A beavertail is a flap on the outside of a pack with adjustable straps that will let you strap clothing and other items outside. They are perfect for things like a wet raincoat that you don't want in with your dry gear. You can keep a fleece or other layers handy too. For rainy weather, I add a large silicone roll-top stuff sack to turn that area into waterproof storage.
Multi-day hiking:
I use a Golilte Jam model. The GoLite Gust is another model I like. There are a number of companies specializing in ultralight pack design, so there are pleny of options. You can easily find a pack that will haul 30 pounds or gear that weigh two pounds or less. To keep my PSK organized, I use Sea to Summit silnylon roll-top stuff sacks. I hang my food and smelly stuff at night to keep bears and critters out of it and I use a drawstring style backpack for that. If things fall apart, I can use that bag to haul my PSK items to get home. I'm thinking of situations where my main pack is lost, stolen, or left behind for an injured person while I go for help. The drawstring pack leaves enough room for clothing and food as well as my PSK, so I don't become a victim while going to help. I've bought mine in thrift store for a couple bucks and htey weigh three ounces or so. They are often made for promotional give-aways. Adidas has one called a "Sackpack" that is a good example. Anyone who sews could whip one up in an hour.
So there's my $0.02 on hauling PSK's in the woods.
