backpack

[christy p]

Hi, I'm looking for advice on getting a backpack for the Camino France. for the past number of years I have been doing a lot of running and done a couple of marathons, last week I went out walking with a backpack and done a 25km walk (it was like carrying a saddle on my back ) my back and neck were sore. which would be better a backpack with /without a frame I know that weight is important What size backpack :?:

Rgds
Christy p

 

[Deleted member 3000]

my back and neck were sore

You should be sore, but not so much in the back and neck. It sounds like you are carrying weight on your shoulders using the shoulder straps. The weight of your pack should be on the hip belt, making your sides and inner/outer thighs sore from stabilizing the pack. The shoulder straps are to stabilize the pack, not carry the load. One of my recent walking partners had a canvas pack from the 1960's that had no hip belt. He survived just fine, but just watching him made my neck hurt! Once again, there is more than one way to do something! :wink:

 

[jpflavin1]

Christy:

I would recommend you go to an REI or equivalent store in your area. They will help you find a pack that fits you. They will also show you how to pack the bag (weight distribution). You can put weight in it and walk around the store while you shop for other things to purchase for your trip. This will allow you to make adjustments so the pack is sitting just right.

As for pack size, the bigger the pack the more you will be inclined to put in it.

You also need to consider a rain cover. Most Osprey have a rain cover built into the pack. If you are bringing a poncho for rain gear make sure it has room for your pack. A lot of folks on this site like the Altus poncho.

Hope this is helpful.

Ultreya,
Joe

 

[mralisn]

Hi Christy,

Right above this forum page, you will find "Search Forum"

I did a quick search of "backpack"

I was immediately led to all kinds of information you may find helpful. Scroll down a bit and you'll find posts from last week to years ago. I think all the questions any one would want to have answered.

As for me, I have a 32L backpack (no frame) I've been using since 2004 including 3 walks. I'll keep using it until it completely falls apart. I love it.

The Camino excitement begins!

 

[scruffy1]

mralisn and I agree on the 32l no frame, the larger the pack the more un-needed stuff you will pack, the more memorabilia,, souveniers, trinkets, and assorted sorry crap you will collect on the way. The usual German proficiency prevails here too, Deuter and Vaude (my favorite) being easiest to find, North Face make good ones too but their products never seem to sit "right" on me-a personal opinion only-, better to invest in a good one then to be sorry later. And yes stuff the pack full with anything and everything you think you will be carrying all the side pockets everything then go back to the shop and have them there help match all the straps shoulder and hip to your body frame. You really need four hands for this and a professional is always best. Travel? In most airports in Eurpoe you can find a station that will spin plastic wrap around your backpack-worry-free air travel.

 

[christy p]

Thanks to all who replied, the comments were helpful
Christy p

 

[sillydoll]

An extract from a Camino planning guide:

Some people say that weight doesn’t matter – that comfort is the most important thing and that if you have a pack with a good, strong padded waist belt that takes all the weight on your hips you’ll be fine. That is okay for big, strong people who can carry heavy weights on their hips. It makes a huge difference if you are a small person, 5' 3" or 160 cm tall, and weigh around 55 kg or 121 lbs. That person will find it difficult to carry heavy weights on hips or back. Some people have back problems or other reasons why they can’t carry heavy packs and this makes the weight of the pack itself an important factor.

Comfort is important, but weight is a top priority for me and most hikers would be happy with my 600g OMM 32 litre ultra-light pack that holds all their clothing, toiletries, papers, sandals and has space for extra food when necessary. Fully packed the OMM should not weigh more than 6 kg.

Obviously, if you walk in winter you will need more clothes – probably heavier too – so you might need a larger capacity backpack, but you can still choose a lightweight model rather than a heavier pack.

Find a pack that fits really well
• Some packs have models for men and for women. Women’s packs are generally lighter, smaller and come in great colours!
• A good fit is essential. Packs come in different torso lengths and if you’re buying online, measure the length of your torso from the base of your neck to the end of the spine (level with your hip bones).
• Check all the specs carefully before hitting the ‘Buy Now’ button. Many websites will give you the sizes – S, M, L, XL – as well as the torso length of their packs.
• Most specs for ultra-light packs will also give recommended maximum weight to carry. If you intend carrying 12 kg – don’t buy a pack that recommends a max of 9 kg.
• Read the reviews, check out other websites that test backpacks to ascertain the comfort ratings.
• As some packs don’t include the weight in the specs, take a digital scale with you when you go shopping so that you can weigh the pack before you buy. Call or email the online manufacturer to ascertain the gross weight of the pack before buying. They might advertise the pack as ‘Ultra Lite’ when, in fact, it weighs almost 2 kg empty.
• Packs with inner frames and those that offer back ventilation will weigh more than most ultra-light packs.

When you find the right pack it will become a part of your body and after a few days of carrying it, you won’t even know that it is there – like a snail’s shell! It will be your best friend on the journey and you will need to feel really comfortable with it.

 

[dougfitz]

An extract from a Camino planning guide:

What sillydoll might have said is:

here is an extract from my own blog that I am presenting to you in the third person so it has an air of independence, and so that it isn't obvious that I am actually quoting my own advice, which I could give you directly.

Sil, anyone who has been around this forum for any length of time would know that your advice is good sense, and doesn't need to be disguised in this way.

Regards,

Edit: I have been provided an explanation why this approach is considered necessary.

 

[fortview]

Deleted by me

 

[koilife]

which would be better a backpack with /without a frame I know that weight is important What size backpack?

Religious wars have been fought over lesser topics than this!

To expand on the comments from scruffy, I would add that a "frameless" pack can be misleading. Many frameless packs still use a stiffening method (sheets of rigid plastic, sleeping pad, etc.) to enable at least partial transfer of the load to the hips. Absent load transfer, all of the weight is going to be on your shoulders, not your hips. If you pack light enough, that may not be a problem. However, even spartan packers aren't likely to go below 8 lbs of gear (clothing, toiletries, sleepwear, etc.). Add an extra 1.5 to 1.75 lbs for a frameless ultralight pack plus 2 to 3 lbs of food and water, and you're talking about hanging 12+/- lbs off your shoulders for 30+ days, which will either kill you or make you stronger. (At least, it would kill me; my son would be stronger for it.)

There are some really nice frame packs out there in the 3 to 3.5 lb range that do an excellent job of transferring weight to your hips. Yes, they are roughly 2X the weight, but I personally find the load transference to be a huge improvement, resulting in far less fatigue even though I'm carrying more weight. Therefore, while I personally own true ultralight packs in the 1.0 to 1.5 lb range, which use sleeping pads as the stiffener, I almost always end up back with my 3.5 lb Gregory Z40 because I'm so much more comfortable and less fatigued at the end of a long hike.

The trick here is all about fit, since almost none of the packs are adjustable for different length spines/torsos. This means you have to really test them under load at a shop. For instance, equivalent packs from Osprey and Gregory with equivalent spine measurements, will still fit slightly differently. In my case, the Osprey digs ever so slightly at my hips, but doesn't with my son who wears exactly the same size pack (he has a negligible 1/8 inch difference in spine measurement from me). In both of our cases, a Deuter for the same length spine results in excess weight on our shoulders because we're just at the edge of that size of pack. All the statistics on the Internet can never replace what you'll learn by wearing one around a store for an hour or two with 15 to 20 lbs of load.

As to the question of capacity, 30 to 40 liters should be more than sufficient if you follow the packing advice of the more experienced members on this site. As a side note, methods of measuring pack capacity aren't standardized, and most pack capacity is overstated. Tests by the backpackinglight.com community have shown variations of 5% to 15% are common so you really want to test smaller sizes with the actual gear you will carry because a 30 liter pack from Brand X may actually only hold about 25 liters, whereas Brand Y may be 28 liters.

PAX,
Matt

 

[dougfitz]

Many frameless packs still use a stiffening method (sheets of rigid plastic, sleeping pad, etc.) to enable at least partial transfer of the load to the hips. Absent load transfer, all of the weight is going to be on your shoulders, not your hips.

I don't think that it is quite as bleak as this in practice, and even with a frameless pack where the back panel is reinforced but un-stiffened, the waist belt carries a reasonable portion of the load. Different stiffening techniques seem to offer greater levels of load transfer, but I must admit that I couldn't quantify that.

The packs I tried in checking this were two adventure racing packs (30li Mountain Designs, 40li Macpac Amp Race 40), two framed packs with mesh panels (Salewa Summit 30, Deuter Futura Pro 30), one frame pack with conventional padding (Deuter Guide 45+) and another 'frameless' pack (Kathmandu Cane Toad). The load included a 3li Source bladder, a sleeping bag (~1kg), and enough other items to fill the Salewa. Both the Macpac and Kathmandu had stiffening panels and these seemed to allow a bit more of the load to be carried on the hips than the Mountain Design pack.

What I have found with the Mountain Designs pack when it starts to carry a larger load is that it takes up a rounded shape, and rather than sitting on either side of my spine, it sits pretty much on top of it. With lighter loads its not too bad, but not comfortable over longer distances with larger loads. Its a less of a problem with the packs that have stiffening panels, but not completely absent.

None of the framed packs suffers from this problem, and they all allow pretty much all of the weight to be carried on the hips.

 

[Tia Valeria]

The frame on our Berghaus packs hold the pack off our backs so allowing a flow of air. That way the pack does not make us sweaty. We tried the packs on in store to get the correct size and fit for us personally. We keep them for the Camino as they are such a good fit and the particular styles are discontinued. Terry's weighs 1kg 600gms and mine 1kg 60gms (This is not a typing error )
Our other smaller training/home use Berghaus packs are OK for a day's walk but would not be comfortable for the Camino as both are a little shorter in the back.

 

[koilife]

The frame on our Berghaus packs hold the pack off our backs so allowing a flow of air. That way the pack does not make us sweaty. . . . We keep them for the Camino as they are such a good fit and the particular styles are discontinued.

A number of current packs have a similar framing system, wherein a highly-tensioned, breathable, mesh panel rests against your back. There is open airflow space (like an arch) between the mesh and the back of the pack, typically in the .75" to 1.5" range.

On most of these, the frame itself tends to be high-strength aluminum tubing, and tension from the mesh gives rigidity and enables load transfer, all at a remarkably low weight penalty (at least on the 40 liter and smaller packs). Among the name brands that are likely to have widespread availability are Gregory, Deuter, and Osprey. The Gregory and Osprey have 2-3 different frame sizes within each model for different torso sizes, whereas the Deuter seems to only support one intermediate size. All three brands provide separate models for men and women and offer a variety of volumes starting around 25 liters up to around 65 liters.

For me, 40 liters is about right. It's large enough that I can "pancake" everything right up against the back to minimize deflection on my center of gravity, and small enough that the weight penalty doesn't start climbing unreasonably. The breathability of these mesh suspension backs is incredible in the summer heat and fine in the shoulder seasons, but problematic in the winter.

 

[sillydoll]

We held our Pratical Camino workshop in Durban on Saturday - over 100 people attended.

I demonstarted my pack by weighing everything that went into it and weighing the pack once it was fully packed - 4.750 kg. With the two 340 ml water bottles in the side pouches filled it will weigh under 5.5kg.

But, it has taken years of experimenting by weighing everything I buy in the store, cutting excess fabirc off too long t-shirts, wearing arm warmers instead of long sleeve shirts and leg warmers (above knee) instead of extra long trousers.

The biggest progression has been the backpack and through trial and error I found the OMM 32L pack with a mean weight of 600g to be my favourite backpack. It doesn't have airflow or frames or excessively padded waistbelt but with under 5kg on my back, I don't feel that I need those features.

 

[backpack45]

On our first Camino trip, we used frameless packs with only a web belt. Not recommended. However, I have been using my 2-pound Granite Gear Vapor Trail for probably 2,500 backpacking miles since and I love it. It has an internal frame, well padded shoulder straps and waist belt, top-loading, but no "bells and whistles." It was the most popular pack used on the Appalachian Trail for a while and won various awards for design. The Vapor Trail has been replaced by the Crown 60, which I will buy if my current pack ever wears out! Did I mention I love this pack?
backpack45