Pack for long term tramping

hard to know without knowing the totall weight and volume of your gear stick all your gear in a large bag, rubbish bag or similar, take it to an outdoor shop and see how big a pack it will take to fit all your gear in.... and try the pack on and see how comfortable it is. always use dry bags for your gear that can't get wet. and use a drybag pack liner, it can still rain a lot in summer. i prefer black diamond packs, but they only go to 75 litres, i suspect you will need something even bigger... depends what your budget in, arcteryx make great packs but they are expensive. gregory have a good rep for large packs. osprey are also good you can mix and match patck bodies with different sized belts, bigger choice in sizes in their deluxe range.. they have a couple of ranges of large packs, depends how much comfort you want in yor pack as to which range you choose or how much you want a lightweight pack, going lightweight can mean a more uncomfortable pack so dont be too swayed by saving weight. at the most i've taken an slr with one zoom lens and that has stayed around my neck while hiking unless its raining. make sure its not too much of a mission to fit all your gear in the pack you choose, it can be more trouble than its worth wrestling to get everything in and out every day. watch the ease of access packs, that have main compartment zips, tehy should be water resistant zips with plastic covering the zippers. if you think you'll be doing deep river crossings where the water will come up to the pack try and avoid packs with zips on the main compartments, but almost all large packs will ahve a sleeping bag compartment, i usually just extend a dry bag right through to the bottom of the pack if it has a sleeping bag compartment and dont use the compartment if i know i'm going to be in the rain or deep rivers. some american designed packs arent designed to cope with a lot of rain , try and get one that is. nylon dry bag pack liners are a lot more robust than plastic bag pack liners.

Hello. Saw your post and just wanted to let you know I am also from the states and will be in NZ for about a year. I plan to start tramping in January 2013. If you are looking for someone to travel with let me know.

Hi there! Sorry it took me so long to respond. I will be in NZ all of January. The first week or so I'm there I will be with my mother, and then after that I will be alone. I really have no plan for travel in mind, though I know we will probably fly into the South Island, and then after she leaves I would like to travel north (I will probably fly back from Auckland the first week of February). I do have some plans to WWOOF somewhere along the way - I have been in touch with a number of people and was hoping to stop to farm somewhere for about a week, and then be on the move again. I have also been in contact with someone from Auckland and will probably spend my last week or few days near there. Let me know what your plans are and maybe we can coordinate a meet-up, even if just for a few days. My email address is [Email address removed] if you'd like to correspond there.

You are keen to carry around a (4x5) format camera. I do photography as a hobby and only been keen for the last few months. I personally went with a micro 4/3 camera, mainly due to the acceptable image quality in a very compact package. Makes it easier to carry the camera and lenses to the top of mountains and to chase birds through marshes. Your camera equipment is going to take up a lot of space. I suggest a two bag solution. One bag dedicated to all of your camera equipment (Maybe minus tripod). Make sure this bag can fit inside your larger main pack. If its to big then you might have to spread your camera gear across two smaller bags. Keeping all camera equipment in one place simply makes things simple. If you want to go out for a evening walk to take a few photos just grab the camera bag and go without the hassle of taking the large pack. The other gear you need to bring would be the standard backpacking gear list, these are outlined on many travel sites so would not go into detail. You might not need a tent, New Zealand back-country has a excellent network of huts available for a for a modest price, they are fairly basic but provide the essentials and are normally warm and comfortable. Not having to take a tent would save quite a bit of space in your pack. If you are passing through the town of Blenheim, let me know and I can advise you of a few of my favorite photography locations. We do not have the snow caped peaks of further south, but Blenheim still offers quite a selection of interesting landscapes.

You need to carry emergency shelter to enable you to survive the night in case you break your leg and have to spend the night out.

...or get lost, or encounter a hut that's already full, etc etc. Strictly speaking emergency shelter doesn't have to be as comfy as a typical tent, though.

Hi Brittany, I know that waynowski knows what he is talking about, but to add my differing point of view, i don't find it is worth it trying to get a pack that is waterproof. When I bought my first pack I went for one that was reportedly more waterproof, but I found it still was soaked through if I tramped in the rain. I no longer worry about the waterproofness of the pack, but I always use a pack liner. Although it is possible I have just never found a decent waterproof brand. Hope that helps.

Ditto. I have had a Seal Line packliner for some years now and it's still intact. My 600g pack is made from a Spectra type fabric and the Osprey Eos models are both unscathed from the cavalier treatment so far.

i never mentioned a waterproof pack, a drybag is a thin waterproof bag that goes into a pack, same with a drybag pack liner. waterproof packs are ambiguous,, if you get water in them it's hard to get it out....