Packin' it!
Original post
Sooooo......
Normally, I'm a light tramper. Well, my gear is at least. :P
However, I'm moving towards working only 6 months of the year, hopefully as of 2017.
And as such, I plan on spending EXTENDED periods in the backcountry. I'm not talking TA. I'm talking hitting track after track. I'm talking weeks in Fiordland and other regions.
So, my pack requirements are about to change DRASTICALLY.
I haven't bought a large pack, except a secondhand Tatonka for $20, in..... well, ever actually.
5 months meandering through the jungles and towns of SE Asia, all I had was a 34L Osprey.
I have a Hunter's Element pack, about 45L I think, but seriously, it's crap. The collar has ripped, and buckles are breaking. Terrible pack as far as durability goes.
So suggestions for large capacity, durable yet hopefully not weighing a tonne, preferably comfortable packs would be greatly appreciated.
I do not care what it costs. I'm going to be living out of it for 6 months at a time. Even one or two thousand is peanuts considering it'll basically be my home. Actually, I'll be living out of it all year round. When not hitting the tracks I'll be working as an extended-tour guide.
Cheers in advance for your suggestions and thoughts. :)
37 comments
So my overall strategy is to carry as light (yet practical) a base weight as I can, whilst still remaining comfortable, so that I can carry a lot more food.
My overall pack weight won't really be any lighter than anyone else's; but I'll be carrying a lot more food.
I'm also planning on taking a packraft, and takedown bow.
Add to that an ice axe, crampons and helmet during winter, and it all starts to add up.
But if I can self-sustain for a month in remote areas of Fiordland, I'll be happy. Oh, and that's tramping/paddling in, not helo or boat insertion/extraction.....
And I just don't see myself ever going tarp-only. I've done it, and am ok for short periods. But bugs love me, and I !@%$!#$^!#$%!#%!Q!@#$!$ hate them! :D
So if you ever see me tramping in the back country with anything more than a day pack, I'll probably be carrying about $4-5K worth of gear. The lightest and best of everything.
With a hut pass and tent, still a lot cheaper than paying a mortgage or rent. ;)
@Kreig: and those Fiordland sandflies are indeed something else. When I was there we didn't bother with DEET as it didn't work against them. Mind you that was before I discovered
100% strength DEET.
We had to cook in the tent which of course is a no-no but we did. I would sit there watching the cooker with my knife at the ready to slit the tent and escape from the nylon fireball.
I also think if you're smart in the way you pitch your tent and where you pitch it, you might be able to get away with a less stout tent. Our tent's not that robust and we plan our trips to ensure we can pitch it somewhere sheltered e.g. valleys if there is a forecast for wind. It has additional guys but we've never had to use them as the 2 guys we use have been sufficient in the places we've pitched the tent.
the abrasion resistance of polyester isnt great either, so putting it in with cuben fibre isnt going to make a big difference, i've come across reviews that have said as much
100% DEET? I'll have to look that up. I SWEAR by Bushmans from QLD in Oz (80%). I'm out on the creek multiple times each week, and until I get into the water and wash some of it off, the swarms of sandflies leave me alone.
Also, when I lived in Vietnam and trekked through many SE Asian jungles, I would have been MISERABLE without it.
I just spent two weeks in Fiordland, and with my Bushmans they pretty much left me alone.
As for the tent, I really like the flexibility of the Hexamid Duo. I'm confident it will suffice wherever I happen to be. And if not, I'll just get something else. :)
Same for the pack.
Just ordered some takedown arrows. Combined with my takedown bow, broadheads and small-game heads, I now feel I have a transportable system for replenishing food supplies whilst in the backcountry. With practice, of course.
However, always looking for more compact gear options, so toying with the idea of a slingbow. If I can find one that a bowfishing kit can be successfully attached to, I may switch....
Kreig, I'm curious as to you experience with bow hunting to replenishing food supplies whilst in the backcountry. How successful are you, how do you fit it into a longer trip where you're trying to get somewhere as well, what are you targeting - deer, goats, hares?
I've done a fair few longer sea kayaking trips where we tried to supplement food with fishing / shellfish. We could be reasonably successful, but it didn't displace all that much carried food - we really needed the fat and carbohydrate for calories to keep working hard, what you could catch tended to be just protein. It made the eating much more interesting than otherwise, but we still needed to carry about 500g / day of rice and oil to keep ourselves going.
Branch the topic if you like.
At the moment, I'm a tramper. Always time-limited in some way. So haven't spent a lot of time honing bow skills. However, I'm thinking for when I am only working 6 months a year.
All the time in the world. Time to practice hunting, trapping, fishing skills. Learn the ukele.
Stuff like that. :)
Apart from deer, goats, pigs what else is there to kill? Possums? Fish ? Eels?
I'm not a bow hunter, but I think killing likes of deer with a bow isn't that easy. Shooting them isn't either, at times
Don't forget a permit
Wouldn't carrying food be easier?. and a fishing line for eels or sea fish
Yep. Just looking to round out ALL skills. And no, I'm not someone to kill a deer, eat a quarter and let the rest go to waste. Goat would be ideal, or small pig etc.
I'm not looking for easy. I'm looking for satisfying.
And just as I NEVER stay in a hut without my hut pass, I will of course ensure I have all applicable permits.
Am I a hunter? No. Am I a fisherman? No. I aim to change that, as a means to greatly enrich and prolong my backcountry adventures.
Personally venison is too lean a meat. Forget the big stuff if you are serious.
Take a couple of leg hold traps and target possum. An old sock and a bit of bloody will get an eel no sweat.
If on the coast a rock headland should always hold a few Paua, Kina and a cray or two.
Those are real bush food. Plenty of fat. Easy to catch without spending too much energy. I can see that bow on trade me after a week, lol.
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| Forum | Gear talk |
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| Started by | Kreig |
| On | 30 October 2016 |
| Replies | 36 |
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