[pct-l] Re: Packs

[bryanjacobson@mac.com (bryan jacobson)]

Matt, I'm relatively new to hiking/backpacking myself, started last summer. 
The first Backpacking bag I bought was a GoLite Breeze. It works well for
smaller loads, and has plenty of space, but whenever I've added much
water--more than one nalgene bottle, it started to get really heavy on my
shoulders and made it kind of tough to balance. I'm 5'9" and pretty slim in
stature, so that could be part of the problem, but I've tried the same weight
with my eastpack laptop bag and had far less problems with balance and such. 

I tried out the GoLite in Death Valley as well on a two day trip and I was
'fairly' pleased. I carried approx:

-a small bivy tent, which I didn't use
-marmot precip shell jacket
-REI Downtime 15 Sleeping bag
-2 liter of Hawaiian Punch.
-1 nalgene bottle standard (filled)
-flashlight, wallet,  keys, first aid, cell-phone, lighter, etc.
-food 4 bagels, pb&j, candybars, tuna-in bag
-long underwear set, polypropelene.
-3/4 z-rest

I hiked about 8 miles one day, slept, hiked out about 10 the next. The first 8
were pretty hard on the shoulders but I did get used to it as my water weight
went down. Even so, I was itching to try a new pack but didn't want to blow
much cash, so I jsut ordered a LL Bean White Mountain Summit Pack from
http://www.llbean.com for a pretty good price. Whether the hip-belt makes a
difference, I'll find out. But at least it will only cost me 80 bucks! 

Hope this is some help,

Bryan Jacobson

__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Greetings - Send FREE e-cards for every occasion!
http://greetings.yahoo.com