Light weight rucksacks that can carry 20+ kilo's with comfort... do they exist??
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I can personally recommend the Aiguille Alpine Zepher (1.18kg) - very durable materials but no superfluous features. The back system looks pretty basic but they have 3 fixed back lengths to choose from. I have carried everything required for winter and summer multi-day trips (including ropes, climbing equipment, harness etc) comfortably. Hope this helps. David
Ok I decided to return to this endevour and compile a spreadsheet of all the lightweight packs that are readily available in the UK that can carry heavy loads comfortably. If anyone interested you can view and even comment on it here
it clearly lists all the attributes for easy decision-making.
At the moment the Lightwave ultrahike 60 or their wildtrek 60 seem to be the two best lightweight packs that can handle heavy loads (what's the differences besides the little extra weight of the wildtrek, anyone know??)
I also like the crux ak47 because I want something that is just big enough for what I'll be taking because I find it much easier to pack the heavier items at the top of the pack where most men's centre of mass is located (opposite for women) which I find helps enormously with load carrying comfort, however without access to an ak47 I cannot be sure if it's 47 litres would be enough! If anyone near Nottingham has one please let me know!
Thanks for the Aiguille reccomendation, I've always heard good things about them but never came across one, at £100 it's certainly a viable option. Anyone know how Aiguille stack up against the other manufacturers? What kind of frame and suspension technology goes in to their packs?
it clearly lists all the attributes for easy decision-making.
At the moment the Lightwave ultrahike 60 or their wildtrek 60 seem to be the two best lightweight packs that can handle heavy loads (what's the differences besides the little extra weight of the wildtrek, anyone know??)
I also like the crux ak47 because I want something that is just big enough for what I'll be taking because I find it much easier to pack the heavier items at the top of the pack where most men's centre of mass is located (opposite for women) which I find helps enormously with load carrying comfort, however without access to an ak47 I cannot be sure if it's 47 litres would be enough! If anyone near Nottingham has one please let me know!
Thanks for the Aiguille reccomendation, I've always heard good things about them but never came across one, at £100 it's certainly a viable option. Anyone know how Aiguille stack up against the other manufacturers? What kind of frame and suspension technology goes in to their packs?
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Apologies, it's the 37 not the 47, still for sale though, I think ..
http://www.outdoorsmagic.com/forum/classifieds-section/f/s-crux-ak37-rucksack/56109.html
Check out AArn Bodypacks.
They are very very light and the old model which I inherited a couple of years ago has proved to be both cavernous and very durable.
Not sure I'd want to carry a very heavy pack like you describe for too long but they have an alloy frame and decent straps and belts and are easily adjustable to accommodate long backs.The other bonus is that there are extra mini packs which can be attached to the pack at various points to add load carrying space and balance the pack.
Well worth a look if you can find a discontinued model cheap on the net.
HTH Simon
They are very very light and the old model which I inherited a couple of years ago has proved to be both cavernous and very durable.
Not sure I'd want to carry a very heavy pack like you describe for too long but they have an alloy frame and decent straps and belts and are easily adjustable to accommodate long backs.The other bonus is that there are extra mini packs which can be attached to the pack at various points to add load carrying space and balance the pack.
Well worth a look if you can find a discontinued model cheap on the net.
HTH Simon
No sure if you are still looking
http://www.kifaru.net/KU3700.html Definitely not cheap, will almost certaily fit the bill .. but light cheap quality may apply.
http://www.kifaru.net/KU3700.html Definitely not cheap, will almost certaily fit the bill .. but light cheap quality may apply.
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cant see how saving 1.2Kg on the ruck when your carring 25kg is worth the effort - better bet would be to shave a few kg off the load you are carrying - would probably be cheaper too...
This advise it right on the money. There is no reason why backpacking gear should weigh that much.
As far as the packs, my REI Flash 62 has held up very well. However they are made by a store local to the US, so I imagine they will be hard to find in the UK. You can take a look at the Osprey Exos 58. The medium size pack weighs 1.14kg. That being said, unless you have extremely heavy pieces of gear made out of lead, I don't see how you are going to fit gear that weighs so much into so little space. My 62 litter pack at full capacity fits about 30lb of gear. Any more than that, and I have to switch to a 80 litter pack.
Interesting review with pics of the Crux AK47 here if you're interested: http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=41042
We've already tried to get lub0 to look at what he's carrying in another thread but he's adamant he needs to carry the big weight. He's doing a 260 mile route through northern England and carrying all his food from the start rather than doing food drops or resupplying on route. Not the way I would do it but each to their own.
I've actually now got my pack weight down to 15.7kg (which believe it or not includes two litres of water, all my stove fuel I'll need plus all 12 days worth of food!!!!), but that excludes the rucksacks weight itself, whatever rucksack I'll end up taking. It also excludes my Salomon shoes, sun hat and clothes I'll be wearing. These add a further 1.5kg so I'm actually at 19.5kg in it's entirety (assuming I'll be taking the LA sting rucksack) and this will be rapidly decreasing as the rations are eaten.
Having another look at my LA sting I'm actually leaning towards making do with it instead of buying a lighter pack as I've just come to appreciate just how compressible the LA sting is with bottom and side compression straps, you can really squeeze it and shape it how you want. At nearly 2.4kg it's nearly 1kg heavier than what I could get with something like a lightwave ultrahike 60 however as Corso said maybe these lightweight packs are no good in the long run with heavy loads inside, and I save £100 odd and besides the 1kg saving will be made up for after 3 days of food eaten.
One observation I noticed about the LA sting is the back length can be adjusted to 20 inches at it's max however upon measuring my torso length I'm 19.5" and have the sting configured on the third loop down for the comfiest fit. Obviously the adjustment numbers do not match up with torso lengths and experimentation is required to get the correct fit.
@Dark Horse Dave:
thanks for the pics/review of the crux, I see that guy reccomends them for heavy load carrying however talking to Carol (crux owner) he tells me the ak47 is designed for no more than 15kg and that I'd be better off with a lightwave as the ak47 suspension straps are too thin for all day comfort at these heavy loads. Very honest guy I must say.
Having another look at my LA sting I'm actually leaning towards making do with it instead of buying a lighter pack as I've just come to appreciate just how compressible the LA sting is with bottom and side compression straps, you can really squeeze it and shape it how you want. At nearly 2.4kg it's nearly 1kg heavier than what I could get with something like a lightwave ultrahike 60 however as Corso said maybe these lightweight packs are no good in the long run with heavy loads inside, and I save £100 odd and besides the 1kg saving will be made up for after 3 days of food eaten.
One observation I noticed about the LA sting is the back length can be adjusted to 20 inches at it's max however upon measuring my torso length I'm 19.5" and have the sting configured on the third loop down for the comfiest fit. Obviously the adjustment numbers do not match up with torso lengths and experimentation is required to get the correct fit.
@Dark Horse Dave:
thanks for the pics/review of the crux, I see that guy reccomends them for heavy load carrying however talking to Carol (crux owner) he tells me the ak47 is designed for no more than 15kg and that I'd be better off with a lightwave as the ak47 suspension straps are too thin for all day comfort at these heavy loads. Very honest guy I must say.
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