[pct-l] ultralight packs

[jjolson at uwyo.edu (Jeffrey J. Olson)]

I really like the idea of getting all the non-pack gear together before 
committing to a pack.  That said, I have about ten backpacks going back to 
my second pack, a Kelty Supertioga - I got rid of my sixties pack in the 
eighties.  I got a second Gust from northernmountainsupply.com because it 
was half price, and I've landed on it as the best for me.  Another 
question...

I am puzzled by the seemingly common wisdom that the sleeping bag goes in 
the bottom of a pack.  It's the most expensive item, and we know that after 
a couple stuffings it loses 10% of its loft, with loss every time its 
stuffed.  The reason I like the Gust is that the base pack with five days of 
food fills up half the volume.  I put the 800 down blanket in a garbage bag 
and it fills the top.  it looks like I'm carrying a huge amount of gear, but 
am not.

The worst thing about the Gust is that water bottles are not easily 
reachable.  For some reason I've resisted going to hydration bladders.

Jeff
Laramie WY where it's snowed all day and is 13 degrees at 8:22 PM...