I love old framed bergans but as I near 50 I have to admit - they're heavy, too heavy, even when empty.
As a 9 stone 18 year old, two weeks wages was a small price to pay back in the 80's for a Cyclops Vulcan. The ability to carry a house on your back as you cut about on exercise was a huge improvement on the issued 58 large pack. And I was fit enough to cope.
After a tangle with Lymes a few years back, which has left me needing a walking stick, I started cutting back on what I took with me. The problem with large 120 litre packs like the Vulcan and PLCE is you tend to fill them with stuff you might need but never really use.
I've got my basic kit down to a T, and really, really cut back on what I take. I used to take so much kit that women's handbags used to genuflect in awe as I passed them.
I solved the bouncing bomb effect of a sleeping bag by using it to line my bergan - saving loads of space. No more bopping the back of your legs or head. Sometimes I take a wool blanket, "coating" the inside of the bergan with it, basically creating a tube that can be filled up.
I sold on my LK70, I liked it but the pockets were too narrow for me and the top of the frame snagged every branch at shoulder height. At least it didn't have mesh side pockets - handy but designed to snag brambles etc. I think it might be time to sell on my PLCE and Vulcan...
I must admit i was eyeing up a golf trolley in the charity shop the other day. I mentioned this to my daughter and she said it's only a step away from getting a tartan shopper trolley. With that in mind, sometime this week I'll send No.1 son up the loft to dig out the NI pack, Highlander 44 and my old comfy (though framed) telemark bag and I'll compare them all for content/capacity, weight and comfyness.
I love a day or two's bimble in the woods but it's time to admit I'm no sherpa.
Liam
As a 9 stone 18 year old, two weeks wages was a small price to pay back in the 80's for a Cyclops Vulcan. The ability to carry a house on your back as you cut about on exercise was a huge improvement on the issued 58 large pack. And I was fit enough to cope.
After a tangle with Lymes a few years back, which has left me needing a walking stick, I started cutting back on what I took with me. The problem with large 120 litre packs like the Vulcan and PLCE is you tend to fill them with stuff you might need but never really use.
I've got my basic kit down to a T, and really, really cut back on what I take. I used to take so much kit that women's handbags used to genuflect in awe as I passed them.
I solved the bouncing bomb effect of a sleeping bag by using it to line my bergan - saving loads of space. No more bopping the back of your legs or head. Sometimes I take a wool blanket, "coating" the inside of the bergan with it, basically creating a tube that can be filled up.
I sold on my LK70, I liked it but the pockets were too narrow for me and the top of the frame snagged every branch at shoulder height. At least it didn't have mesh side pockets - handy but designed to snag brambles etc. I think it might be time to sell on my PLCE and Vulcan...
I must admit i was eyeing up a golf trolley in the charity shop the other day. I mentioned this to my daughter and she said it's only a step away from getting a tartan shopper trolley. With that in mind, sometime this week I'll send No.1 son up the loft to dig out the NI pack, Highlander 44 and my old comfy (though framed) telemark bag and I'll compare them all for content/capacity, weight and comfyness.
I love a day or two's bimble in the woods but it's time to admit I'm no sherpa.
Liam
