[pct-l] Cuben Packs

[Jeffrey Olson]

I've got 1800 or so miles on my Golite Gust, essentially a big sack at 
21 oz, and while I never carried two gallons of water, I have carried 35 
pounds of which 11-15 pounds was base weight.  To be honest, the 
greatest drag about carrying 35 pounds was lifting it to my back.  I got 
used to the weight, and 90% of it was on my waist.   I think Golite 
replaced the Gust with something called the Pinnacle...

I think it depends on the kind of pack and the packing system you use.  
I have been loathe to use one of the smaller packs that use a z rest for 
the frame.  I have one, and bring it out every year to see if I'm ready 
to use it.  But ultimately I just don't see how you can get the weight 
off your shoulders with this system. 

With big sack pack, you roll up the sleeping pad - mine is full-length 
blue foam because I use a quilt and don't like to depend on clothes I 
might be wearing or the pack itself to insulate my lower legs and feet - 
and put all your gear inside the rolled up blue foam pad.  I put the 
heavy stuff in first and stuff clothes around to tighten the whole thing 
up.  The sleeping bag goes on top, unstuffed, in its own garbage bag.  
Conventional wisdom is put the heavy stuff on top - DON'T!!! 

The key is packing everything but the sleeping bag tightly, regardless 
of where the weight is.  The 20" wide foam pad forms a really stiff 
cylinder between waist and shoulder pad attachment points.  You 
shouldn't try and wear the pack on your hips.  In my experience the 
"waist"band goes about bellybutton high.  This works even for people, 
like me nowadays, with big bellies...

Of course this is but one approach to the dilemma of using a frameless 
pack and an almost ultralight system... 

Jeff, just Jeff... 

Eric Payne wrote:
> I'm having the same dillemma when deciding if I should get a UL 
> frameless pack or not.  Even though I've got my base weight down to 8 
> lbs, it will still be pushing it on long water hauls and a 10 day 
> resupply thru the High Sierra.  Still, if the pack is well made, I 
> feel that it can withstand a few days when it is pushed to the 30 lb 
> limit.  If you read the PCT report on the zpacks site, the guy says he 
> had his pack loaded with over 30 lbs of gear, and it held up fine.  
> This would jive with the opinions on the Mountain Laurel Designs site 
> that say 25 lbs is max weight for comfortable carrying on a day to day 
> basis, and absolute max would be 30-35 lbs.  I'm pretty sure that the 
> fabric (be it Cuben or Silnylon) can withstand the weight put on it, 
> but the seams at the straps would be the main issue.  This is where 
> Gossamer Gear packs typically fail.  People say the silnylon will last 
> if taken care of, but the seams at the shoulder straps typically give 
> way when maxed out. 
>
> Interesting point:  Andrew Skurka told me in an email that the had his 
> Golite Jam2 packed with over 50 lbs on one stretch, and several times 
> in the low 30's, and this one pack lasted for over 6,000 miles of 
> hiking.  Be wary of people who tell you ultralight packs won't last, 
> especially when they've never strayed away from a pack with a 
> framesheet...
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