How do you pack your pack?
Original post
I was reading the latest Wilderness Mag today and a quote stood out that has intrigued me for a while because it is counter to my own experience.
In the section on “Wild Women” under packing the advice is Keep the heavy stuff such as food water and stove towards the back (good?) and at the bottom of the pack?
I have often noticed while in the likes of Kathmandu and Bivouac stores the staff advising on pack purchase putting a pack on a prospective purchasers back then dumping a weight into the bottom of the pack which immediately pulls the shoulders back the person leans way forward and assumes a very uncomfortable pose and I can’t help thinking there goes another short experience in the bush destroyed by poor advice.
So at the risk of introducing a very anal topic how do you pack your pack?
For me my pack of choice is a MacPac alpine Pursuit 40ltr I don’t like hip belts and I like the narrow upright carry on my back.
Bottom up- first layer sleeping bag and bivvy bag, next- Hut shoes next spare clothing and hut clothes, next- Food water and first Aid kit alongside each other, next- Cooker and Gas plus days food. The top of the pack gets raincoat and the top pockets maps compass and any other aids I need for easy access. In short my heaviest items are at the top of the pack against my back across my shoulders where they don’t pull back but the weight is transferred down my back to my hips.
I realise that all this is subjective but I look forward to isogi’s statistical analysis and pmcke’s practical slant despite the fact that he carries a pack out of all proportion to good reason :)
I agree that the weight should be through the trunk, that is, top loaded, otherwise your top half tries to compensate for the overloading around the lumber region by forcing you to pull the shoulders forward in order to reduce the dragback.
Strange thing is that I've noticed so many schoolkids with vastly oversized and overloaded packs that if they fell backwards would surely never be able to get up again.
All I ever took to school were sandwiches and a pen....how times have changed.
But the trend of bottom up packing seems to be something that has developed over the years, and like you say Bigpaul, I think its something that is surely going to put people off tramping more than it is to encourage them.
I blame the retail outlets for insufficient training and general lack of care in what they're selling. Its all about the bottom line unfortunately.....!
Bigpaul.. age is catching up with me and I am improving. Over the years I have tended to pack my pack according to how I need the stuff in it, rather than by weight. Generally sleeping stuff in the bottom, then hut clothes, first aid kit and fuel stuffed around it. Next layer food and tent followed by clothes for on the track and parka. Camera, scroggin and maps in outside pockets.
However I have now migrated to an Aarn Pack and do what we all should do, heavy stuff in the front. Stove, fuel, water bottle, camera and GPS all go in the front pockets now.
I had a feeling an Aarn Enthusiast would spring to lite and to be fair something i should try (though breaking old habits and consigning old friends to the cupboard almost brings on an angsiety attack) but it probably reinforces the argument that your wieght is better high up than hanging down at the bottom?
The front pockets of the Aarn have a vertical metal strip so the weight is transfered to your hip belt. They then pull slightly forward on the shoulder straps. The pack itself is fairly conventional. I would describe the experience of an Aarn pack is like walking with your thumbs behind the shoulder straps and pulling forward, like we do on a monotonous track sometimes.
I must try it however my only concern is the hip belt, for some reason whenever i have tried a belt in the past it has set up a very uncomfortable throbbing in my right hip which is my most dodgey joint of the moment next to the knees.
I am with the old school of packing according to how I need the stuff. Sleeping gear on the bottom, stuff I need during the day near the top, everything else in the middle. Hut shoes/sandals go on the top because I tend to be wearing them whilst I am packing the pack. And the tent goes on top because it's too awkward to fit inside. And generally heavy things go close to my back, except that hard things can be uncomfortable when they prod into my back. My pack is a Macpac Cascade that is about 20 years old, very robust, but I feel that I am on the verge of moving forward into a new era of pack technology.
So it would seem that experience and most probably nessecity put the wieght at the top so I wonder why so many recommend the opposite?
To be honest most of my stuff is fairly dense once it's packed (clothes really get crammed down), so I'm not sure if there's much difference in distribution in the end. When I first started I used to try and put heavy things at the bottom, but then I realised I wasn't really doing that anyway and it didn't seem any easier or better from what I could tell. So these days I do similar to what pmcke said, which is just to put what I need during the day near the top. That means lunch, extra layers, water (probably the most dense thing of all) typically lies on the top but under the lid. Often there's a heavy sopping wet tent fly on top next to the water, if there's been no early opportunity to dry it out. Hut clothes, sleeping bag, etc, maybe dinner food will be crammed at the bottom, and I got into a habit of putting some non-dense rigid things (a dinner plate for one) near the front of the pack to force other things closer to my back. Odds n' ends (map, gps, wallet, beanie/balaclava/mittens) go in the lid. I usually have a compass tied inside my pocket and my camera and scroggin strapped to the front of my hip belt, but not in quite so sophisticated-or-complete-a-way as an Aarn pack does it.
I pack as I will need it. S Bag/mat at bottom, hut clothes etc, food, cooker in layers surrounded by clothes etc. One thing I always do is stuff my fly in last, between the pack and liner. It fills up all the nooks and crannies and is handy if you need it for a luch shelter etc.
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| Forum | The campfire |
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| Started by | bigpaul |
| On | 29 July 2011 |
| Replies | 23 |
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