Bmurray
Gold Member
- Joined
- Feb 9, 2012
- Messages
- 7,594
no Fiddlebacks so it ends up here
grilled chicken
Kraft mac & cheese might be the best thing ever!
Phil, you and I would get along very well if we lived near each other.
Bob
no Fiddlebacks so it ends up here
grilled chicken
Kraft mac & cheese might be the best thing ever!
So, John and Odaon. There's definitely a lot of compromise as far as packs go. I can't always say exactly what I want but I have a closet that can attest to what I don't want in a pack. Right now I'm basically just looking for a good day/2 day pack that's comfortable for long hikes and has good organizational abilities and is US made. I'm definitely going to check out Kifaru. There were a few packs on their site that I like already. I really like the Maxped for organization but they can get uncomfortable, especially the single shoulder ones. I also like the fact that most of them open up completely. I guess I really need to figure out where I want to make the compromises. The made in the US part is a must though. I'm really getting tired of buying overseas stuff and I'll avoid it whenever I can.
I tend to venture off now and then, but always end up back at Osprey for packs. Unfortunately for you, they moved their CO operations to Vietnam in 2008. Here are a few companies that (at least a year or two ago) still manufacture in the USA.
Gossamer Gear
http://gossamergear.com/
Mountain Laurel Designs
http://mountainlaureldesigns.com/
ULA
http://www.ula-equipment.com/index.asp
Mchale
http://www.mchalepacks.com/
Zpacks
http://zpacks.com/
Zimmer Built
http://www.zimmerbuilt.com/
Mystery Ranch
http://www.mysteryranch.com/site/index.html
I tend to venture off now and then, but always end up back at Osprey for packs. Unfortunately for you, they moved their CO operations to Vietnam in 2008. Here are a few companies that (at least a year or two ago) still manufacture in the USA.
Gossamer Gear
http://gossamergear.com/
Mountain Laurel Designs
http://mountainlaureldesigns.com/
ULA
http://www.ula-equipment.com/index.asp
Mchale
http://www.mchalepacks.com/
Zpacks
http://zpacks.com/
Zimmer Built
http://www.zimmerbuilt.com/
Mystery Ranch
http://www.mysteryranch.com/site/index.html
Thurin, I ordered a HPG Tarahumara based on your assessment above.
Find what you like and what works for you. If I can help with HPG info or pack exchanges, or Kifaru or anything else, let me know. Evan and Scot have also said they plan on doing more shows so folks can get their hands on stuff to try out. They were at SHOT and Overland Expo. I'll try to find out what other shows they have coming up.
Thurin, I ordered a HPG Tarahumara based on your assessment above.
This was the first year I've missed Overland Expo West in a few years and I don't remember seeing HPG there in the past. Do you attend?
So today, I'm packing up stuff, getting ready to move, reflecting on collecting 25 years of crap. I post up a "two for tuesday" this morning and now, a few hour's later, it hits me. IT'S WEDNESDAY! Man things are getting jumbled in my life. Hopefully come mid August I'll be able to settle down.
So, any of you guys live in Kansas City?
That's an awesome post Thruin. HPG is definitely another company I've been interested in, through truthfully I haven't done a ton of looking at their products.
I've been looking for a replacement day/weekend pack for my Golite that is pretty well used... My Kifaru covers the longer trips and big game hunting, I may just have to pick up one of the smaller HPG packs.
It's really a bummer Golite went under. Another local Colorado company and I had a friend that worked there.
Checkout the Tara TripleT mentioned, and also the Connor for daypack ideas. I posted my typical Connor load out earlier in this thread if you want to get an idea of what it'll hold (with room to spare). http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...-TOPIC-thread!!!!!!!!?p=16067268#post16067268
Definitely! I was a big fan of Golite!
I'll take a look at those, thank you! Seems like you can't ever have too many packs huh?