[pct-l] New Cuben Gear

[Steel-Eye]

Good morning, Jeff,



I think this is a great topic for on-line discussion.  Since I have some long-time experience with ultralite hiking, and since I do not have anything whatever to do with the design, manufacture, and marketing of ultralite packs I am free to offer an opinion.



Most pack marketers declare, or recommend, a maximum weight capacity for their products.  Even though I try to stay as lite as possible I regularly exceed these recommendations because, in my opinion, while the ratings are realistic for most people based upon carrying comfort, they are very conservative based upon the strength of the packs' material.  When I exceed a rating, my last thought is that a seam will open or the material will rip or break.  What I do expect is that the pack will less comfortable, and its useful life will be shortened somewhat.  Ultralite packs must put the greatest part of the load on the user's shoulders.  If such a pack has a hip belt, it won't be very effective because some real structure is necessary to transfer the load to the belt.  I could put the best, heavy-duty, padded, and contoured belt under a 4 ounce pack .. or even a 16 ounce pack .. and the greatest part of the force would continue to at the shoulder straps.



Knowing this I don't even bother with a belt.  My preparation for hiking with an overcapacity ultralite pack involves lots of hiking with such a pack, and engaging in upper-body weight training.  That doesn't mean adding 5 lbs. of muscle to avoid carrying 1 additional pound of pack structure, it means training those shoulder and back muscles to comfortably accept additional load.



The most water I can remember carrying was about 9 liters.  It weighed a lot .. at least for a while .. and I didn't like it.  However, since it is regularly consumed it's usually only necessary to carry that amount of water for about a half a day, and maybe for one camp.  Food, on the other hand, has to last an average of 5 days so the high food weight will continue for several days.  My greatest load was after a resupply in Mojave.  I had full loads of both food and water, plus a pretty good climb north from Tehachapi Pass.  Fortunately, it wasn't brutally hot, and there was a nice breeze .. When isn't there? .. so I just ground out the miles in low gear.



Steel-Eye.



^^^^^^^^^^  Join other hikers at:  http://www.aldhawest.org/  ^^^^^^^^^^





  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: jeff.singewald at comcast.net 
  To: Steel-Eye ; Hiker97 ; pct-l at mailman.backcountry.net 
  Cc: lizmares at cox.net ; carolwbruno at yahoo.com 
  Sent: Wednesday, January 09, 2008 8:37 AM
  Subject: Re: [pct-l] New Cuben Gear


  Folks,

  All joking aside about the water caches, I do have a serious question re: these ultralight packs.  Many of these ultralight packs appear to have capacity to carry no more than 25lbs.  Assuming my base weight is 10 lbs and my food weight for 5 days is another 10 lbs, how does one reasonably carry sufficient water to get through some of these long waterless stretches along the PCT?  6 liters of water would seem to max out some of these ultralight packs.  Would like to hear (off-line if you prefer) thoughts on how you ultra-light pack users deal with these issues.

  Jeff

    -------------- Original message -------------- 
    From: jeff.singewald at comcast.net 

    Looking at the pictures it sure doesn't appear to provide the comfort that I would want for a thru-hike.  Additionally, it doesn't appear that it would provide the support necessary to carry 6-8 liters of water through those long waterless stretches.  But with all the water caches, these long carries are becoming a thing of the past, so this might just be the ticket!

      -------------- Original message -------------- 
      From: "Steel-Eye" <chelin at teleport.com> 

      Good morning, All,

      I have one of Joe's early models which weighs 3.4 oz.  I really like it, but I've not yet used it on a long hike .... only on short, local sections.  It seems as light as a puff of smoke with shoulder straps.  I might put it to work this summer in N. California.

      Any ultra-ultra-light pack requires extra care.  I would be concerned if someone wanted to step from a heavy, bullet-proof Gregory to one of these .... whomever the maker may be.


      Steel-Eye

       

       

      ^^^^^^^^^^  Serious hikers gather at:  http://www.aldhawest.org/  ^^^^^^^^^^


        ----- Original Message ----- 
        From: Hiker97 
        To: pct-l at mailman.backcountry.net 
        Cc: lizmares at cox.net ; carolwbruno at yahoo.com 
        Sent: Tuesday, January 08, 2008 11:49 PM
        Subject: [pct-l] New Cuben Gear


        Want at a 4 ounce 3200 cubic inch backpack?  Check out www.zpacks.com.  Their stuff sacks are neat too.

        Your pal, Switch the Back

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