[pct-l] External framed packs (Ned Tibbits)

[Diarmaid Harmon]

Hey Ned and Jeff.

Thanks fort he posts on the different uses and styles of backpackers. I have switched back to an external frame pack
after using a lighter pack for my thru hike. I no longer need to blaze away miles and have re-hiked many of the sections
in Oregon, Washington and Northern California. I take my time and enjoy the area. Sometimes I stay put at a lake and 
day hike from there to several different areas. I carry a lot more creature comforts then I did on my thru hike and I find
the external frame pack handle's it better. I think all styles have their place and people need to be comfortable with what 
they choose for their style adventure. 
One thing I have learned over the years one style/size defiantly does not fit all.


Diarmaid “Irish” Harmon
irishharmon at comcast.net
"Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, Guinness in one hand, steak in the other, yell 'Holy Sh**, What a Ride!"



> 
> Date: Sat, 26 Jul 2014 11:03:27 -0700
> From: "Ned Tibbits" <ned at mountaineducation.org>
> Subject: Re: [pct-l] External framed packs
> To: "Jeffrey Olson" <philos56 at live.com>,	<pct-l at backcountry.net>
> Message-ID: <7E3778C1407343A7B58A27692C48D10F at NedPC>
> Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="iso-8859-1";
> 	reply-type=original
> 
> Hey, Jeff!
> 
> Fascinating! Thanks for adding this to the thread!
> 
> 
> 
> Ned Tibbits, Director
> Mountain Education, Inc.
> www.mountaineducation.org
> ned at mountaineducation.org
> 
> 
> Mission:
> "To minimize wilderness accidents, injury, and illness in order to maximize 
> wilderness enjoyment, safety, and personal growth, all through experiential 
> education and risk awareness training."
> -----Original Message----- 
> From: Jeffrey Olson
> Sent: Friday, July 25, 2014 3:02 PM
> To: pct-l at backcountry.net
> Subject: [pct-l] External framed packs
> 
> Two days before a long section hike my girlfriend was slammed in the
> head with a door by an angry adolescent in a group home.  It snapped her
> neck back and her ability to hike with the neck pain was seriously in
> question.
> 
> We went ahead and after 30 days her neck pain was gone.  When she went
> back to her doctor he got all excited (he was a backpacker with a wall
> in his family room covered with topos of the northern cascades).  He
> said that her Jansport D-5 acted as a traction device.  She carried 90%
> of the pack's weight on her hips, and the other 10% was on the clavicle,
> not the muscles on top of her shoulders.  The pack straps pulled back
> and didn't rest on top and pull down.  Apparently, while wearing the
> pack, the strain on her neck muscles was even, and this helped her heal
> what can often turn into a lifelong, chronic condition.
> 
> Jeff
> Arcata, CA
> 
> 
> On 7/25/2014 11:30 AM, Carol wrote:
>> Ned, I want to thank you for your last two messages-- this one and the 
>> next one, about your perspective on how backpacking has changed over the 
>> last forty years. Experience like yours and that of others on the list is 
>> invaluable.
>> I have been doing short hikes with a purposely heavier day pack (not 
>> filled with chains like Scott does, but still...!) I tend to carry all my 
>> tension in my neck and shoulders, so the internal framed packs I've used 
>> exacerbate that problem. My instinct has been to try to shift that weight 
>> to my hips, but with little success. It is nice to know that external 
>> framed packs work on that principle. My question about that is, is it 
>> possible to carry an "ultralight' kit in an external frame pack, then add 
>> extra weight as needed (extra food and water when supplies are scarce, 
>> mountain equipment in the Sierra, for example) ? How does a pack like that 
>> ride when a heavier load isn't necessary?
>> Carol
>> 
>> Sent from my iPhone
>> 
>>> On Jul 2
> 
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