Backpack recommendations please

[bbdave]

I used to wild camp a few years ago but from a canoe so no issue with packing. I have an interest in getting out on Dartmoor to explore for some one nighters I can walk to from home but I need a pack I am 6'3" and very broad, I do like a traditional look but obviously it needs to be comfy oh and cheap ideally . Can any of you good folks reccomend anything?

Thanks
Dave

 

[Billy-o]

Hi ... in terms of thinking about the size of the pack and what goes in it ... are you thinking Summer or Winter? Tent? Bivvy? Hammock? Those sort of things

 

[bearbait]

I've had good experiences with Lowe Alpine packs. They seem well thought out and, in my experience at least, long-lasting. Not cheap though. Keep an eye out for Sales, e.g. Cotswold Outdoor, etc. I've just picked up a new Lowe Alpine pack for less than half price from them.

 

[Erbswurst]

If you don't know which size you need, tell us the equipment that should be packed, and down to which temperature (lowest in the night) you want to use the stuff.

 

[bbdave]

Hi ... in terms of thinking about the size of the pack and what goes in it ... are you thinking Summer or Winter? Tent? Bivvy? Hammock? Those sort of things

OK well I guess I'll start in the spring and I'll probable use a tent.

Dave

 

[bbdave]

If you don't know which size you need, tell us the equipment that should be packed, and down to which temperature (lowest in the night) you want to use the stuff.

OK I'll probably be put straight but off the bat I'd take a tent sleeping bag and mat flat pack firebox about a4 size grub for a night a small cook set or zebra tilly knife etc. If I start in the spring I guess -3⁰ ish

Dave

 

[Erbswurst]

Looks your stuff approximately like this here?

 

[Billy-o]

All I was going to say was usually I take a 45L/50L pack, but if it is just Summer only for a night, there's no hobbies other than drinking involved and I can do a hammock, I'll take a 30L. Winter, and if there's snowshoes and that which may have to be carted, with a tent, sleepmat, loads of bulkier spare clothes etc, I can add a 10L toplid to the 45L ruck I have and maybe get away with it .. Or, take the 70L one. I don't think I have ever filled that one up.

Usually, its the 45L one though. Summer means light sleeping bag. Bivvy and tent need a sleepmat, hammock doesn't (in Summer). That's the sort of equation you want to make. The bulky stuff. Even squished right down, my winter sleeping bag is huge compared to my summer one.

Other stuff doesn't change ... cooking gear, food/water, 10 essentials bag, a little first aid bag, spare socks, room for a waterproof, woolie and hat etc. Those basic things are pretty constant.

As for brands, I don't have one of these but people seem to really appreciate Savotta at the moment. Gregory, Deuter, Osprey are all good, light, tough enough and affordable. I like older Kifarus. Heavy and expensive, but very comfortable. Then there's the Karrimors. It's all good.

 

[bbdave]

Looks your stuff approximately like this here?

Yes similar i have a few bits to get through the winter and maybe change some for smaller lighter items.

Dave

 

[Erbswurst]

I think this used Dutch one here has the right volume. It is 10 litres larger than the Karrimor SF 45 in the video, which also would of course be an option for you.

But this here is cheap:

Holländischer Kampfrucksack 60+20 "klein", tarn B | 543645-30-000

Der holländische Kampfrucksack mit Seitentaschen ist hervorragend ausgestattet, robust und hochwertig. Die NSN: 8465-17-124-2311 orientiert sich am Lowe Alpine Rucksack Sting. Hersteller ist Arwey, Belgien. Deckel mit RV-Tasche außen und RV-T…

www.raeer.com

It is an authorized high quality copy of a Lowe Alpin model.

Which tent do you use?

 

[Erbswurst]

Here a British seller:

Dutch (Gen-2) C-Sting Rucksack. D.P.M. | Endicotts

More stock just arrived! Another superb product from our Dutch friends!The 'C' (contract) sting 'pack has a massive following ( in fact, I was walking home the other night with my 'sting and looked around to see what was going on, and I had 60 people behind me.........d'oh!) with build-quality...

www.endicotts.co.uk

Here you can choose how used they are.
I would buy grade 1.
NATO equipment grade 1, handpicked, supergrade is nearly always the best deal you can make.

Ask him about the missing side pouches yourself, I think the British PLCE pouches will fit.

 

[bbdave]

Here a British seller:

Dutch (Gen-2) C-Sting Rucksack. D.P.M. | Endicotts

More stock just arrived! Another superb product from our Dutch friends!The 'C' (contract) sting 'pack has a massive following ( in fact, I was walking home the other night with my 'sting and looked around to see what was going on, and I had 60 people behind me.........d'oh!) with build-quality...

www.endicotts.co.uk

Here you can choose how used they are.
I would buy grade 1.
NATO equipment grade 1, handpicked, supergrade is nearly always the best deal you can make.

Ask him about the missing side pouches yourself, I think the British PLCE pouches will fit.

Brilliant and just down the road!

Dave

 

[Erbswurst]

It is in your area?

 

[bbdave]

It is in your area?

Yes just up the road.

Dave

 

[Erbswurst]

That's nice!

It is one of the best assorted military surplus shops in Europe.
Have a look at original German army field shirt, British uniforms, especially waterproofs, DPM gaiters, DPM Tarp, siliconised nylon insertion bags, German and British army insulation mat, the smaller British army pouches that fit to the belly of the rucksack. Swiss attachment straps. And so on.

I would buy there all and everything I need. They are pretty cheap and sell well chosen stuff.

Count in minimum 3 hours if you are relatively interested in such stuff!

I surely could spend all the day there like other people in the Louvre.

 

[SaraR]

Not what you want to hear during times of restrictions, but I would get all the things that you'll want to carry in the backpack together so that you know exactly what volume and weight requirements you have. Then go to the shops and try on all packs with a suitable capacity and find one that feels really comfortable on *your* back when weighted down to whatever target weight you have. They are all slightly different, so you need to find the one that fits you.

I know everyone one says to get as small a volume as you can get away with, but I hate not being able to rummage around for that thing underneath wothout taking half of the things out of the pack, so I prefer a slightly bigger volume pack if I have the option.

 

[Erbswurst]

A 190 cm tall man should try larger rucksacks anyway.
The chance that they fit is pretty high and the Dutch are a tall nation. Why should they issue rucksacks that don't fit to men between 180cm and 190cm, if everybody is round about 185 cm tall?

The rucksack I recommended will not loose its value, it could surely be sold later for the same price, and for traveling and portages it's even worth to keep it if he wants later something else or smaller.
He can just put 3 Ortlieb PS10 dry bags as rucksack liner and liners for the side pouches into it and throw it in a canoe how it is. For the lid pockets one can find something waterproof too.

The rucksack will fit to his canoe kit and if he later gets lighter and more compact stuff he can use it for winter tours or longer expeditions.

And perhaps he simply doesn't need fragile lightweight stuff, because he is strong like a bear and can easily carry army surplus and equipment he bought for canoeing.

 

[TLM]

Some of the modern packs can easily be compressed so extra volume is not that much of a problem. Being too small is.

 

[Erbswurst]

The rucksack I recommended has enough compression straps all around to reduce it to the size of a day pack.

 

[lostplanet]

Agree with Sara about rummage room, cant see the point of ramming everything into a 30L pack, And i never know what i might end up bringing back with me so I like the extra space.
Ive gone full circle with rucks. started with a short back bergan, moved through 6? different bags and now back to a Long back PLCE bergan.
I can carry 15 -20 Kg without any discomfort as it just seems to work at the moment which has surpirsed me. I messed with waist padding to try and improve comfort but to be honest, im starting to use the waist belt less and less. All i would like to do is add some Molle straps for versatility as I prefer to carry wet gear pouches on the back to drain after use.