Good but reasonably priced rucksack?

[Graham_S]

You fitted all your kit, clothes, food and drink in that?

Yup.
Lowe Alpine Systems Mountain attack 50l pack.
All my kit, clothes, some of my food (I did a resupply run half way through) archery gear, and drink.

Whenever you go away on an outing, when you get back pile up your stuff into three piles.

1. The stuff you used.

2. the stuff you didn't use.

3. emergency stuff.

Next time you go away, don't take the stuff from pile 2.

After a few trips your gear gets pared down to what you need rather than what you want.

 

[ozzy1977]

What about the pile of stuff you might use?

 

[Graham_S]

Packing the stuff you "might use" is what leads to people needing a 120l bergen on their back and an all arms pack on their front.....

If it's something you use, it's in pile one.

When I was travelling to the Moot, it was the one camp I went on that I used public transport,
That meant I had to carry all my stuff that I wanted as opposed to loading it in my car.
It made me far more disciplined on the stuff I took with me.

Another good tip for carrying a smaller pack, is to get a waterproof stuff sack for your sleeping bag that has a one way air valve in it.
Don't use your compression sack, so when you expel the air, you get the same volume as the compressed bag, but it's malleable, and so fits into your rucksack better, with no dead spaces. a compressed sleeping bag often ends up as a hard round ball that means it doesn't fit into the rucksack well, taking up more room.

 

[mountainm]

How much water do you carry? And I take it that's a summer load out?

 

[ozzy1977]

What about shelter too.

 

[ex-member BareThrills]

60l is plenty for gear and a week of food. i agree that buying bigger bags is the road to big loads and carting too much carp round.

 

[ambiguous]

If you look on ebay for an oldish Karrimor rucksack you can pick those up for 20 quid downwards, they were bomb proof, I have an old karrimor jaguar that is really well made.

 

[tom.moran]

60l is plenty for gear and a week of food. i agree that buying bigger bags is the road to big loads and carting too much carp round.

totally man, its carrying the tank and all the water around that i cant stand

 

[tom.moran]

If you look on ebay for an oldish Karrimor rucksack you can pick those up for 20 quid downwards, they were bomb proof, I have an old karrimor jaguar that is really well made.

ive got one of those, was about to throw it away tbh

 

[rg598]

With all those items listed, what do you think I should go for? 45lt pack or more?

Since I don't know what size your tent and sleeping bag are, it is hard to tell. I currently use a 40L pack for my three season AND winter trips down to 0F(-18C) for trips up to a week and while holding 2.5L of water. For colder weather or longer trips I switch to a 60L pack.

Another big variable will be the clothing you carry. If your insulation is Primaloft and down, it will fit in a much smaller pack. If on the other hand you are using a few fleece or wool shirts, you will need a much larger pack. Same thing goes for rain protection. A double Ventile jacket will be bulky when compared to something like the Marmot Super Micra. That will effect your pack size.

All that being said, you will probably fit all of your gear into a 45L pack for a weekend trip, but it may be a too much of a pain. If your insulation and tent are bulky, you may have a hard time. In my opinion a safer bet is a 60L pack. Later on your gear will probably get smaller and you can change packs accordingly. A pack larger than 65L for me is an expedition pack. You shouldn't need it with the gear you have unless you are big game hunting or going out for a month.

 

[THOaken]

My sleeping bag in its pack as small as I can get it is about 35 x 18cm. The tent bag is about 60 centimeters lengthwise. I really just want a bag that can fit these items in and maybe a bit more.

 

[THOaken]

Okay, after a lot of searching around, I'm looking at this.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BRITISH-A...cksRucksacks_Bags_EH&var=&hash=item460dc8a78b

Cheap, in good condition and more than enough space for a new camper with just the essentials, I'm sure.

What do you think?

 

[Badger74]

Strap the tent to the bottom of the rucksack or split the poles and fold the tent square and pack it in the top of the rucksack WITHOUT the poles, and put the poles on the outside. Really it's not rocket science.

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[Badger74]

Just seen the sack you linked to; size wise, I'd say fine. I prefer external side pockets.

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[THOaken]

Just seen the sack you linked to; size wise, I'd say fine. I prefer external side pockets.

Sent from my KFOT using Tapatalk 2

Okay, thanks. It does have external side pockets too.

 

[Badger74]

Can't type quickly enough see above post

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[THOaken]

Is it going overboard for a beginner rucksack? I don't think so. The size is not bad, it doesn't need to be any bigger than that, and it's cheap. So I'd say it's a good pick.

 

[ozzy1977]

The bag you linked to is going to be in good condition as it is new, and would suit you just fine.

 

[copper_head]

Looks like a good size for your needs but I'd be cautious as the build quality might not be great at that price.
If your looking for something very durable on a budget have a look at the Swedish LK 70, heavy but bomb proof.

 

[ozzy1977]

Or a vulcan.