Choosing a rucksack

Darg said:
A lightweight tent and sleeping bag are enough to drop everything down to 45L size for just yourself, that was a 2 person tent so you'd have to add another sleeping bag, I also had enough food for 4 days and then some. Nothing particularly fancy, I just used one 650ml "mytimug" for cooking and tea, stove and gas. Then just clothes, again enough for 4-5 days which hopefully you won't need that much of.

My sleeping bag is an old cheap job that takes up a third of the room in my pack on it's own, a lighter summer one would help massively.
Click to expand...

That's good going. I can never resist the luxuries when going for a few nights. They're the killers for me. My hammock and tarp set up is pretty light however the beer, meat and camera gear can be truly testing.Haha! Thankfully the dog has his own pack now so I'm not carrying all of his stuff too.
 
Berghaus Vulcan, bought mine 28 years ago and even after hundreds of nights carp fishing and taking on holidays it still looks and feels brand new

not mine just a googled image that looks identicle...
wU2jaLB.jpg


the two side pockets can be unzipped and both have their own shoulder straps so can be used as single bags, or you can zip them together to make a double bag
 
Last edited:
DJ_Switch said:
That's good going. I can never resist the luxuries when going for a few nights. They're the killers for me. My hammock and tarp set up is pretty light however the beer, meat and camera gear can be truly testing.Haha! Thankfully the dog has his own pack now so I'm not carrying all of his stuff too.
Click to expand...

On my last 4 day hike I forced myself to weigh absolutely everything I brought, down to the spare shoelaces. I didn't bring anything that I didn't absolutely need, apart from maybe some excess food. Ainsley Harriott couscous packs are a godsend. Two of them for a dinner is plenty even after a long day and they are very light. No need to splash out £5+ on those silly ration pack style ones. Had some chorizo with me with I chopped into the couscous while it was cooking that made it go from meh to amazing :D

Get some cereal bars that you like for snacking during the day, bread, cheese and chorizo for lunch and muesli for breakfast and I'm happy out, plenty of calories to keep you going and nothing excessively heavy. I can also recommend that tubes of condensed milk, a squirt and some water will give you passable milk, it's a bit sweet but was quite tasty with the muesli. A small bit is all you need in tea and just tastes like someone put in a quarter tsp of sugar, not too bad.

EDIT: If anyone is interested in exactly what I brought:
http://i.imgur.com/kmbHlu7.png

Worth noting that I was aiming for 13kg, overshot that by quite a margin. Need to get a lighter sleeping bag and bring less clothes next time!
 
Last edited:
All this hiking chats making me jealous :p

I'm just taking my little man for his first camp up aviemore. If only I could convince my partner that outside is fun and you don't need a shower to stay clean haha

In all seriousness I'm gonna get the tent and everything together and weigh it up, measure things and get somewhere I can try stuff out
 
Vango do some reasonably priced packs.

You will struggle to get everything packed down to under 50L if carrying a lot of kit, or bulky kit IMO. 60-80L is more attainable. If you buy specifically lightweight gear, you can get below 50L quite easily, but you need to buy eg a sleeping bag which packs small, a tiny tent etc. If you want to eg sit in a tent porch on an evening, an expedition tent is no good!

Work out what you want to take, then get a pack to suit.

EDIT - are you walking with kit, or just rocking up to a campsite? If so, just get a daypack and a holdall!
 
GiraffePencils said:
I'm not sure if I should just get a bigger size anyway...... is it not better no have everything not so tight?
Click to expand...

Not afaik. You don't want a massive empty pack, but at the same time, you need scope that it will cover your different trips. If you are going to get use out of them, I'd look for a 35-45L and a 60+L for different circumstances.

The roll up travel vacuum bags are handy for packing clothes etc - this type of thing -
 
Darg said:
On my last 4 day hike I forced myself to weigh absolutely everything I brought, down to the spare shoelaces. I didn't bring anything that I didn't absolutely need, apart from maybe some excess food. Ainsley Harriott couscous packs are a godsend. Two of them for a dinner is plenty even after a long day and they are very light. No need to splash out £5+ on those silly ration pack style ones. Had some chorizo with me with I chopped into the couscous while it was cooking that made it go from meh to amazing :D

Get some cereal bars that you like for snacking during the day, bread, cheese and chorizo for lunch and muesli for breakfast and I'm happy out, plenty of calories to keep you going and nothing excessively heavy. I can also recommend that tubes of condensed milk, a squirt and some water will give you passable milk, it's a bit sweet but was quite tasty with the muesli. A small bit is all you need in tea and just tastes like someone put in a quarter tsp of sugar, not too bad.

EDIT: If anyone is interested in exactly what I brought:
http://i.imgur.com/kmbHlu7.png

Worth noting that I was aiming for 13kg, overshot that by quite a margin. Need to get a lighter sleeping bag and bring less clothes next time!
Click to expand...

That's incredibly well disciplined to only take that. My base weight is pretty decent until it comes to food and drink. Amazing how even a beer and pack of biscuits can negate hundreds of pounds worth of weight savings in other areas.lol Cheers for the condensed milk tip. Might have to try that one out. I can imagine that being a good kick in the morning with the muesli.

GiraffePencils said:
All this hiking chats making me jealous :p

I'm just taking my little man for his first camp up aviemore. If only I could convince my partner that outside is fun and you don't need a shower to stay clean haha

In all seriousness I'm gonna get the tent and everything together and weigh it up, measure things and get somewhere I can try stuff out
Click to expand...

If you're heading up to Aviemore then make sure to get some Smidge. Do not listen to anyone who tells you about Avon Skin So Soft....as someone who goes camping a fair bit up here I can tell you without reservation that Smidge is the only thing to really work and I've used both extensively. Don't skimp on it either. ;)
 
DJ_Switch said:
If you're heading up to Aviemore then make sure to get some Smidge. Do not listen to anyone who tells you about Avon Skin So Soft....as someone who goes camping a fair bit up here I can tell you without reservation that Smidge is the only thing to really work and I've used both extensively. Don't skimp on it either. ;)
Click to expand...

haha, now I've stood in clouds of them, watching everyone around me whine about getting bitten.
And I've never been bitten.....It's like I'm a bad smell :p

But best to get something for the little guy, cheers
 
I take a Lowe Alpine when I'm climbing.

Get Smidge and forget the Avon crap. A midge net for the head or even better a midge jacket. Use permethrin (Sawyers) spray for your clothes and equipment as ticks will be in abundance.

I know several people who still suffer serious symptoms from contacting Lyme disease, it's a very serious issue.
 
Vargas said:
I take a Lowe Alpine when I'm climbing.

Get Smidge and forget the Avon crap. A midge net for the head or even better a midge jacket. Use permethrin (Sawyers) spray for your clothes and equipment as ticks will be in abundance.

I know several people who still suffer serious symptoms from contacting Lyme disease, it's a very serious issue.
Click to expand...

Indeed. Please take note of this advice. Checking for ticks each night is very important. They are rife up here. I used to get them a fair bit until I wore gaiters. Just got back from Rannoch at the weekend and the dog had 5 and he was wearing an expensive tick collar. Make sure to pack a tick remover and check each night. They're easy to deal with but spotting them and removing them quickly can make all the difference. I use the O Tom tick twister and can recommend that....miles better than tweezers.
 
Darg said:
Osprey aren't great for proper long distance hiking with 15kg+ which you'll reach if you're bringing tent + food for two and a water bladder.

My friends got their 65L bags and the shoulder straps caused some serious pain, granted they were tools and overpacked their bags hideously so that didn't help.

I'd recommend the Lowe-Alpine 35-45L bag:
http://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/lowe-alpine-airzone-pro-35-45-rucksack-p269841

You can shop around or use price match to get it cheaper, I got mine for £70 with a price match.

Osprey are budget bags, they're good budget bags, I use a day-pack style 30L for commuting/trips to the family etc but for actual hiking you need to consider it an investment unless you want some serious back/shoulder pain with a heavy pack.
Click to expand...

I couldn't disagree more. Osprey certainly aren't budget packs. My 73L Aether pack is really comfortable even with 25KG+. Even my Talon 33L is a great day pack and was around the £80 mark. I really do recommend them.
 
Vargas said:
I take a Lowe Alpine when I'm climbing.

Get Smidge and forget the Avon crap. A midge net for the head or even better a midge jacket. Use permethrin (Sawyers) spray for your clothes and equipment as ticks will be in abundance.

I know several people who still suffer serious symptoms from contacting Lyme disease, it's a very serious issue.
Click to expand...

If you're using permethrin please be careful around your pets. Its.lethal for cats.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom