What size is your pack?

[Timinwales]

Good question, SWTSMBOBUI would be giving me a stern look if she was reading this,
Bushcrafting sabre 45, long trip in th hills Arc teryx needle 65 (light and bomb proof), winter day in Scotland I used a Mac Pac Ascent (50 literish) on the bike or day/overnighter in the hills 35 liter marmot eiger??.
I've aquired (over the last 30 years) lots of hill bags, as I tend to forget to take photos or take them but not develop them (still got half a doz 35mm films to get done and no idea whats on them or how old they are) I tend to attach memories/ places/ people and experiences to my kit now this might sound daft but we all have our foibles. Still got a Berghaus cyclops2 Alp I bought in 89/90 I very rarely use but every time I look at it I can't help but grin.
Cheers Tim

 

[Scots_Charles_River]

Karrimor Alpiniste 80ltrs+, 1989.

Use it all year inc. winter climbing. Very comfy even as a day sack in wet or hot weather.
Enuf for overnight trips with all the kit.

Canoeing, use one or two 80ltr LOMO drybags.

Nick

 

[spamel]

Still got a Berghaus cyclops2 Alp I bought in 89/90 I very rarely use but every time I look at it I can't help but grin.
Cheers Tim

If you like seeing old kit, watch the film Touching the Void. Apart from the teeth grating leg snap scene, the kit they are wearing is all from back in the 80's. It looks, well, like kit from the 80's, but it takes you right back!



I do like the Cyclops bergans, they are robust and have seen use all over the world. If they can cope with over twenty years of abuse at the hands of Infantrymen and baggage handlers at Brize, they've got to be worth their weight in gold.

 

[Philbert]

I have a 80-100ltr Karrimore, I have had it for years but it has a good back system and lots of compression straps so i can bring the size down to what i need.

Also didnt see the button for Land Rover!
Not sure what size it is in litres

 

[Timinwales]

I do like the Cyclops bergans, they are robust and have seen use all over the world. If they can cope with over twenty years of abuse at the hands of Infantrymen and baggage handlers at Brize, they've got to be worth their weight in gold.

never a truer word, I dread to think howmany times it's been through movements at Brize and Lyneham for that matter,
Tim

 

[Nat]

Well now i've dropped the 65l ruck as it was a bag of absolute pants (cheap and nasty rucksack make ) and gone bakc to old faithful, the army bergen with side pouches.
However i have added a karrimor sabre 60-100 to my xmas list

 

[Templar]

Pack size huh... its not the size of the pack its where you take it...

Seriously, I have a couple of different ones for different jobs, general hiking and long range hikes I use my sabre 60-100, short trips up to 3 days I use my 30 lt sniper pack, shorter day trips I use my Maxpedition Jumbo Versipack or my fishing vest kit and a camelbak for tracking practice and my large US Army ALICE pack when I'm in the jungle coz it dosent get hung up on the weeds as much...

Cheers,
Karl.

 

[h2o]

i have 65 ltr karrimor panther i find it comfy and ok for 1 or two nights

 

[Peter_t]

i use a british army Patrol pack which is about 45ltr which is perfect for upto 3 nights out but if i need more room i strap stuf on like PLCE side pouches but for days out i usuly use rocket sacks 10-20 ltr

 

[SimonM]

I have a variety of bags that I use for different things.

Sabre Hydro 30 for short bimbles in the woods either alone or with the family.

Sabre 45 for when I lead walks from school - Risk Assessment says I need to take more gear than if I only had my kids with me!

Sabre 60 -100 for expedition use with school D o E group. Again RA says need to carry extra gear!

To top it all I have a set of side pouches & yoke (1 ordinary & 1 medics) which I use when (IF?) I need the extra space!

And no, I'm not loaded - I just have a very understanding Headteacher who buys whatever I ask for!

Simon

 

[Surrey Yeoman]

Berghaus Vulcan - 80ltr for trips of a week or more (pack + side pouches makes 100ltr).
Karrimor Sabre 45 - 45ltr for weekends (pack + side pouches makes 70ltr).

Contemplating a Berghaus Munro 35ltr for day trips, rather than using the Karrimor side pouches and PLCE yoke that I use at the moment, which isn't the most comfy set-up in the world.

Update - Was in town today and the Munro was calling out to me..................so I bought it! Had a long hard look at the Webtex Moray, which is a dead ringer for the Munro with the addition of a mess tin pouch on the front and was £15.00 cheaper, but in the end I went for the Munro, which felt more comfy to wear and better made. One of the things that put me off the Moray was the fact that for all the fancy padding on the back, the internal ally frame didn't rest on the padding, but on the thin part of the back and the padding itself seemed to be too wide apart - almost on the sides of the pack rather than the back where it might do some good.

 

[maddave]

Highlander forces 33 for weekends and forces 55 for longer...Great packs at reasonable prices

 

[Sickboy]

One night = 10L shakespeare game bag, it's tight but worth it
2 nights = 40L Lowe alpine half dome or ME Vector 45 in winter
Anymore and it's out with the Karrimor 75L compressed as much as possible

 

[Nightwalker]

Army Olive Green Bergen + Side Pockets 100 Litres.
Day sack = two PLCE side pockets on yoke - 20 Litres.

 

[Zodiak]

This is one of those how long is a piece of string questions isn't it

I use a modfied tesco day sack for less than 24 hour trips but I have to use a microfleece liner for a sleeping bag and use my small (3x2) tarp (plus dinner is a vesta meal)

For longer trips I break out my 36 year old "Feemans Catalogue" Kilimanjaro pack and frame. Just about everything apart from the frame itself has been modified or changed over the years but I like the flexibility.

Normally I use the original bag which has been converted into one big bag and the side pockets are now tie down not zip, along with a couple of poly bag liners. If I am using a tarp then the pack goes as high as poss and I am happy, but if I am using a tent then the pack gets moved down and the tent goes at the top.

On the other hand if I am running an indoor training session then I remove the bag and attached my holdall and laptop case to the frame leaving my hands free to carry the LCD projector and still use my phone.

The most unusual case was when I fitted a 20Litre water container to carry it to a training camp because the tap we were using dried up and we were a mile from the next nearest clean supply.

 

[Injati]

I hardly ever use anything larger than a 35l pack. Hate the tendency to always want to carry more. Cut it down to the minimum, and you'll get used to having to make due.

 

[Nat]

I've just back up to an issue bergen with side pouches, not because i take alot of kit, but most of my kit is heavy, dossbag and bivi bag, basha, some spare clothes. My cooking and food fits into one side pouch and my shelter gear in the other.

It's horses for courses on pack size. Some people take the absolute minimum so only need a small pack, and some take alot. There's no right or wrong size pack and i find this snobbery on pack size slightly distressing sometimes.

 

[andy_e]

Like most people here it seems, I have a couple of packs. I use a Highlander NI patrol pack most of the time, I think it's about 40 litres, which does me for most overnighters/weekend trips. For longer trips or in colder weather I've got a Sabre 60-100.

 

[Zodiak]

Sabre 45 for when I lead walks from school - Risk Assessment says I need to take more gear than if I only had my kids with me!

Sabre 60 -100 for expedition use with school D o E group. Again RA says need to carry extra gear!

I am a Teacher and DofE instructor, and don't carry anything extra so thats an intersting comment. What sort of extra stuff does your RA suggest and who wrote it?

Our head is quite good but I would prefer an interactive whiteboard first Mine is the only lab without one becaue of the long thin shape, although I would happily dump the manual whiteboard any day of the week as 90% of my stuff is powerpoint projected onto the board anyway!

 

[SimonM]

I am a Teacher and DofE instructor, and don't carry anything extra so thats an intersting comment. What sort of extra stuff does your RA suggest and who wrote it?

Our head is quite good but I would prefer an interactive whiteboard first Mine is the only lab without one becaue of the long thin shape, although I would happily dump the manual whiteboard any day of the week as 90% of my stuff is powerpoint projected onto the board anyway!

First,I work in a special (residential) school for pupils with severe behavioural issues and D o E funding is completely separate so couldn't be spent on an interactive whiteboard. Which science do you teach - I have to do all 3, plus ASDAN and the occasional RE lesson!

When I take a school group walking I change the following items:-

FAK - usually small "pocket" type - RA says full kit needed (School Nurse! A real one no less - not the secretary that has done a 1st aid course!)
Shelter - In case of injury (or a brew stop!) - Usually a basha - RA says tent (Dep Head)
Warmth - In case of injury - Usually a space blanket - RA says sleeping bag and roll mat (Dep Head).

The 3 changes to kit take up the extra 15L - I think its daft, if I don't need these extras with my own 2 kids, why do I need to take them for school kids? The Dep Head used to go walking / camping years ago and is i/c outdoor pursuits in school so I need to keep him sweet (he has the keys to the school campsite at Windermere!) and is a bit out of date to say the least.

I suppose I could buy a bothy bag to replace the tent - but I do not like carrying something just in case. Everything has to be usable - Tent / basha I can sleep in / under!

To answer the second question - I wrote the RA but it was modified when read by the other staff (Nurse & Dep Head).
Simon