[pct-l] Pack Design Help

[jeffreyn at sonic.net (Jeffrey Zimmerman)]

On Thu, 2 Dec 2004 01:50:15 -0800, Marshall Karon <m.karon@comcast.net> 
wrote:

> On the PCT, you really won't need a compass, GPS, etc. very much, or at 
> all. So, if you carry one, stash it out of the way - emergency use only.
>
> As for maps, most just use the guidebook sections - no extras. And they 
> can be folded or rolled up.
>
> ... Consider small pockets on a hip belt - like the ULA or Six Moon
> Designs packs. ...
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Michael Lissner" <mlissner@benchpro.com>
> To: <pct-l@mailman.backcountry.net>
> Sent: Wednesday, December 01, 2004 10:47 PM
> Subject: [pct-l] Pack Design Help
>
>
>> Hey. I'm working on designing a pack that is similar to the Gossamer
>> Gear G4, but with a map pocket of sorts on one side. ... [?] ... What
>> did you use as a map during the trek, and was there anything that
>> you kept with it? ...

That would be my observation.  It wasn't maps to which I needed access.  It
was water, camera, snacks primarily and all of these were on my hipbelt, or
on a fanny pack I wore in front.  Maps were available, in a plastic bag in
the G4 mesh pocket, but if I was going to use a map it would be at a 
stopping
point, not while moving.  What could have been improved was a way of 
managing
those pockets:  ironically they were difficult to slip on past the buckle,
yet somehow managed to easily fall off as I was climbing into the pack and
the hip belt dangled towards the ground.  I had four such things hanging on
my hip belt, and I soon learned a compulsive habit:  get the belt fastened
then count the items hanging from it -- sometimes I'd do the count while
starting down the trail only to discover one had fallen off and have to go
back.

-- 
Jeffrey Neil Zimmerman
Sonoma County, The Left Coast