Going light

I recently posted about lightweight solo backpacking tents, and my difficulties picking from several different models. I finally decided just to order a couple, evaluate them, keep one and return one (for those who think this is impolite, I would add that this is a pretty common practice with backpacking gear suppliers). I suspect the Eureka single-wall model will beat out the Alps model, because of the combination of weight and features.

Evaluating tents got me thinking about other gear, though, specifically packs. Five years ago, my ArcTery'x load carrier was state of the art, but since I haven't really done much packing the last few years or kept up with pack technology, I figured there had probably been some interesting developments there as well. And sure enough, there's a new generation of lightweight packs that will carry 25-35 pounds with ease, but themselves weigh anywhere from 1/3 to 1/2 of what my old ArcTery'x pack weighs. That 3-4 pound savings may not sound like much, but the potential cumulative effect on a long weekend roundtrip (typically 20-30 miles of hiking with a load) can be pretty significant.

A couple of packs really caught my eye:

The Osprey Atmos 50 and the Gregory Z-Pack

I'm planning on hauling in my typical 3-day base gear (sleeping bag, pad, old tent, food, camp clothes, stove/water purifier/cookware, all in stuff sacks) to REI, loading up both packs with it, and seeing which pack handles the load best.

As Scott Chaffin points out, REI is very cool about letting gear addicts come in and test out stuff this way, and they have an incredible return policy. So if I wind up dropping even more cash on a new state-of-the-art lightweight pack, it's Chaffin's fault. :)

UPDATE (09-10-2006): The Osprey pack won my in-store gear test, AND my mom found a nice 15% off REI coupon that was pretty sweet (thanks mom!). Target date for my return to solo packing the Ouachitas: Next weekend or the weekend after. Woo!

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 09/09/06 12:31 | Outdoors | Technorati

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