kernology - where laurie and learning meet
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Pictures
    • Art & Craft >
      • Temari
      • Yubinuki
      • Quilting
      • Weaving
      • Lapidary Work
      • Metal Work 2010
      • Metal Work 2009
      • Classes - 2010
      • Classes - 2009
    • Boots
    • Canyon Lake Gorge
    • Views of Texas
    • Views of Scotland
    • Travel >
      • Bunny Bravehart Road Trips
      • Scotland 2012
      • Maine 2011
      • New Mexico 2010
      • Scotland 2008
  • Oh, the places you will go!
  • Contact Laurie

The Big Walk - Kit #6b The Pack!

3/5/2022

0 Comments

 
It's time to get a backpack. In the picture below you can see all the items I will be carrying: sit pad, thermos, binoculars, electronics kit, trail hygiene kit, walking pole, base layers, cold weather clothing, puffy jacket and gloves, whistle, compass, multitool, head lamp, safety vest, first aid kit, stove and cooking cup, a day's food for coffee, lunch and snacks, rain gear, a small digital camera, water bladder. I weighed all of this and it's about 15 pounds; the weight could go up or down depending on the day and any last minute items I add.
Picture
To select a pack there are two important choices: your size and the volume of the pack.
  1. For the size of your pack; your torso needs to be measured, not your height. Some packs have adjustments for the shoulder straps and hip belt allowing it to fit your torso. Packs are also sized as one-size-fits-all, or come in S-M-L for men or women or unisex or are adjustable. Just because you are a man or woman does not mean you should limit yourself to a pack labeled for your gender; it's how it feels on you. It could be a Large woman's pack but if the hip belt doesn't sit properly on your hips or even wraps your hips such that it can be buckled then try a man's pack. 
  2. For volume of the pack, it's usually expressed in LITERS, not the weight you plan on carrying. The amount of gear a pack can hold will vary depending upon the manufacturer including outside pockets in the volume or not or them rounding up or down from the math based upon height, width, thickness.  
I know I have a long torso and my hips are large; I am not a svelte 115 pound person. But what pack would fit;  I needed to go try the pack on and make sure my stuff fits and not order off the web and have to worry about returns.
​
​Three weeks ago I went to REI looking to get a fitting and seeing what size it would take to hold all my stuff.  I had a woman help me get a size fitting but every pack she had me try on was a woman's large and the hip belts were too small - duh, yes I have rather large hips. Then if I could get the hip belt to fit, the pack would ride up, off my hips, when I tightened the shoulder straps and tensioners. I was about to ask for someone else to help me because I was getting frustrated and she did not seem to grasp that maybe I should be in a "man's pack" when she said "My shift is over and this is going to take a while" and got someone else to help me. The young man who took over was very helpful. I must have tried almost 10 packs from 5 or 6 different (Osprey, REI, Deuter, Gregory, Arc'teryx, etc.) makers just for fit, not even getting to how much stuff it would hold. In the end there was only ONE pack that "fit" (more on this later) - a 
Arc'teryx Aerios 45L Men's backpack. It fit my hips and was comfortable but it was a giant sack with a roll top; the tightening system is all elastic chords including the chest strap and just 2 pockets on the outside, one on each side. I bought it; it wasn't cheap either.

After about a week at home, I just felt that this wasn't the right pack, so I went back to the web and did more research. For every pack, there are hundreds of reviews on why such-and-such pack is good, not right or bad.  I was convinced that this 45L was tooooooo big and from my newest round of research, I decided that I would specifically look at Mystery Ranch and Osprey in 35+L volumes.

I contacted
 Good Sports Outdoor Outfitters, (Jordan to be exact) a family owned store down in San Antonio, for another pack fitting, to verify size and to see if my stuff will fit in a smaller volume bag without being crammed and have space for a bottle of scotch, when (not if) I visited a distillery, or possibly 2, or 3 bottles. 

This morning, I put all my stuff in the car, including the pack I bought at REI and headed down to the store arriving just around noon.  Jordan and I talked a bit about distance, terrain, weather conditions and what I planned on carrying. I then told him about the pack, still in the car, and what I was interested in and why.

Starting fresh, we selected the Mystery Ranch Scree 32 L, he was actually shocked I knew about it because it is a specialty pack (they make packs for the military) and no other store in the area carries it; I was interested in this pack due to the 3 zipper closure and the pockets outside and inside. We went over putting it on, tightening the shoulder straps, the belt and tensioning the pack on my back. The pack did fit but damn, it would not hold my stuff and the internal pockets were too small for most of the filled stuff sack, sadly it was not meant to be.

Next up was the Osprey Talon 36 one of the most popular packs. It fit ok but I didn't like the way the straps felt on my shoulders; it has a square edge, not rolled like the Scree, but my stuff literally stuffed the pack full, no room for any thing extra let alone an airline sized bottle of scotch.  Conclusion - a 35-ish L pack was not going to cut it unless I really compressed all the stuff sacks and removed some non-essential items OR changed out some of the items I had (rain gear, cold weather clothing) so I back to a 40+L pack.  

I was confused...

After more discussion, I brought the Arc'teryx Aerios 45L pack in from the car and put my stuff in it and put it on.  It was comfortable and though it was bigger than I needed, it would do. 


We took a break and Jordan and I discussed boots.

It's now two months until I leave so now is the time to get my over the ankle "boots" and get them broken in. When I started training I bought a pair of Oboz hiking shoes (below the ankle) - full shank and water proof with a rounded toe box.  They feel good on my feet but I now realize they are just a bit too small because if I wear a thicker sox they are tight across the ball of my foot and after an 8 mile walk my feet swell and my toe tips are rugging the inside; this is not good so I should get shoes a half size larger.

I also wondered if I really needed over the ankle boots; the tour company has suggested them as part of their general equipment list but for most of the trip I am walking on either pavement, the road side (packed dirt and gravel), or dirt tracks that were once a rail road bed. To a lesser amount I will walking on tracks innfields which will have some water and rock but not in massive boulder fields like on the northern Appalachian Trail (AT). As as side note, the videos I am watching of various AT through hikers, the majority are NOT wearing over the ankle boots; some wear hiking shoes, trail runners, even a Teva style sandal.

Having said all of this, Jordan measured my feet, with the socks I will be wearing (a liner and and an outer sock). A few boxes of shoes were brought out and I tried them on and settle on the Northface FastPack IV shoes that are waterproof, full shank and weigh less than the Oboz - shoes ( 20 oz vs. 26 oz). 

Here is Jordan helping with the shoe selection.  Time to checkout.
Picture
As we headed to the register, Jordan started to tell me about a pack that were not in the store but might be there in a few weeks by the Osprey Atmos.  Then he stopped and decided to check in the back just in case it had arrived and he found ONE though it was a 50L. 

The Osprey Atmos 50L has an adjustable molded hip belt, shaped shoulder straps, outside pockets, and a removable top lid for extra storage. The hip belt adjustments were wonderful and I liked how it felt but it was even bigger than the one I had already purchased and I just could not accept it. 

Now I was conflicted AND confused.

Once again I tried on the
Arc'teryx Aerios and ​Jordan then told me somethings about the pack - it's geared towards fast, light multiday trips which is why it's so light, has lots of elastic chords, is a large sack with no pockets and has a roll top closure. Jodan also talked about how the Arc'teryx are over engineers which is why they are very expensive. Then, in front of a mirror, Jordan pointed out that the pack is too long for me as evidenced by the gap between the top of my shoulders and where the shoulder straps attach to the pack this results in the weight being mostly supported by the belt and not really along my back PLUS their is no way to adjust the torso length; yes it was comfortable now but after 13 miles of walking what would my hips think??

​I was still conflicted about what to do.  Jordan then went into the back of the store and brought back a woman's large Osprey Archeon 45L. It has shaped shoulder straps, a molded hip belt, tensioners and adjustable shoulder strap position - but no adjustable hip belt like the Osprey Atmos 50.  I tried it on and it fit. Then we loaded my stuff which fit very well with room to spare for a bottle of scotch and surprisingly it seemed more full than the Arc'teryx Aerios 45L. The hip belt felt a little high so we adjusted the shoulder straps and when I put the pack back on it felt GOOD. I walked around a bit and pondered a bit more.  

I decided that it would be the Osprey Archeon 45 and along with my shoes, checked out.  

Jordon was so helpful and was amazing for the amount of time he spent with me. 

On the way home we went out for dinner and chocolate cake. 
​
Here are pictures of desert which is almost gone and me with the pack when I got home.
0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    RSS Feed

    About Laurie

    Laurie lives in central Texas with the memory of Erich, a.k.a. "the shop elf", who was her hubby of 35+ years and Cowboy Boots, the cat; her metals studio including 100+ hammers and 300+ chasing tools; her sewing studio which has a sewing machine, a closet filled with fabric, hundreds of skeins of embroidery floss and perle cotton, silk and other materials, and Mrs. King the dress dummy; one weaving loom, assorted knitting needles, tubs of yarn; assorted art supplies of pencils, colored pencils, water color pencils, water color paints, acrylic paints, markers, and pads of paper; lots of books; plus a plethora of geeky tech gadgets, computers, and more.

    Archives

    May 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    September 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    January 2011
    December 2010
    November 2010
    August 2010
    July 2010
    June 2010
    May 2010
    April 2010
    March 2010
    February 2010
    January 2010
    December 2009
    August 2009

    Categories

    All
    42
    Android
    Bfa
    Boots
    Bunny Bravehart
    Codesmith
    Comic-Con
    Covid
    Day Job
    Family
    Fencing
    Fiber
    Gorge
    Health
    Hike
    Jewelry
    Knitting
    Laurie
    Metals
    Minecraft
    Pandemic
    Photography
    Quilting
    Retirement
    Road Trip
    Scotland
    Sources
    Spinning
    Temari
    Texas
    The Big Walk
    Weaving
    Web
    Yubinuki

Kernology, Kernology.com, Laurie Jane Kern © 1998 - 2020 | All Rights Reserved