Pack color?

[Zig-Zag]

Use whatever you like. My local hikes are through some state hunting lands so i stick with orange for day pack, big pack, etc....

[MtDoraDave]

During hunting season (like my last two hikes) I wear the bright (Blaze) orange hat. They're two or three dollars at walmart. If it's cold, get a blaze orange warm hat, too.

The bright colors on my backpack are truly coincidental... Campmor had the Jansport Katahdin 60 on sale for $60, so I bought it on impulse. My other packs have been a camouflage military pack (super heavy) and muted green/gray on a REI Mars I bought from a neighbor for $40.

But like I said earlier, I'm not trying to hide or go tactical with my hiking equipment, but visibility is a valid safety concern.

[H I T C H]

You can always add a blaze orange pack cover to any pack for visibility in hunting season.




Hitch

[trailmercury]

I like subdued colors. My pack color is black.
As far as big game/deer hunting, the firearms seasons that require hunters to wear blaze orange/hot pink usually last 2 weeks or less. I simply avoid hiking on public land during those times...I would probably be hunting myself, and I wouldn't want to spook their quarry of course!
I bet that blaze orange pack cover is relatively heavy compared to wearing a lightweight knit stocking cap in blaze.

[Another Kevin]

The LNT organization gets pedantic with their recommendations sometimes. They advise against bright colors since it might be disruptive to wildlife and other hikers' wilderness experience (I wish I was joking).

It's a shame that they out recommendations like this because it makes them look like fools and likely causes people to take their organization less seriously.

Yeah, that's one of the things where they don't adapt to conditions. If you're out in the desert, or above treeline, or otherwise have really long sight lines, you probably do want to avoid spoiling people's views by camping in tents with garish colours that can be seen a day's walk away. It matters a lot less when you can't be seen a minute's walk away.

My usual pack at the moment is dull green and grey - again, it's because the pack fits me and holds my stuff. In hunting season I have a blaze orange vest, pack cover, and tuque. I'm pretty visible, even if I pull the hood of my dull green jacket up over the tuque.



The LNT recommendation for rubber tips on trekking poles is nearly as ridiculous. The talk about the scratches that the poles leave in rock makes me say, "you don't hike much in winter, do you?" There are some places where the crampon scratches in the rock are the easiest-to-follow sign that a trail is there. And I'm not going without my crampons when there's serious ice about!

[peakbagger]

I've found several packs in my price range and am considering a muted green, blaze orange, and this surprisingly vivid shade of blue. Does red really attract hummingbirds? I love humming birds!

I used to have red pack and have been visited by a few hummingbirds over the years. I was on trip in the 100 mile wilderness sitting on ledge miles away from civilization and had one come hang around my pack. I have seen them attracted to red patches on packs also.

The LNT argument about bright versus muted colors may be fine in the summer but the winter rescue folks up in the whites would really like you to stand out, hopefully to rescue you but also handy to find the body

[rocketsocks]

Yeah, that's one of the things where they don't adapt to conditions. If you're out in the desert, or above treeline, or otherwise have really long sight lines, you probably do want to avoid spoiling people's views by camping in tents with garish colours that can be seen a day's walk away. It matters a lot less when you can't be seen a minute's walk away.

My usual pack at the moment is dull green and grey - again, it's because the pack fits me and holds my stuff. In hunting season I have a blaze orange vest, pack cover, and tuque. I'm pretty visible, even if I pull the hood of my dull green jacket up over the tuque.



The LNT recommendation for rubber tips on trekking poles is nearly as ridiculous. The talk about the scratches that the poles leave in rock makes me say, "you don't hike much in winter, do you?" There are some places where the crampon scratches in the rock are the easiest-to-follow sign that a trail is there. And I'm not going without my crampons when there's serious ice about!

When I started climbing in the 80's there was a small to use only earth tones as sometimes gear is abandoned and left in place. Almost over night slings and runners went from primary colors to earth tones, pack and bags came next...and then the 90's came and so did pastels, tooth fruity, and neon...ugh!

[egilbe]

I used to have red pack and have been visited by a few hummingbirds over the years. I was on trip in the 100 mile wilderness sitting on ledge miles away from civilization and had one come hang around my pack. I have seen them attracted to red patches on packs also.

The LNT argument about bright versus muted colors may be fine in the summer but the winter rescue folks up in the whites would really like you to stand out, hopefully to rescue you but also handy to find the body

I halfway joke about that with my garish orange and yellows my winter hiking gear tends to be. The rest of the year, I'm more comfortable in earth tones.

[colorado_rob]

The LNT organization gets pedantic with their recommendations sometimes. They advise against bright colors since it might be disruptive to wildlife and other hikers' wilderness experience (I wish I was joking).

It's a shame that they out recommendations like this because it makes them look like fools and likely causes people to take their organization less seriously.

where did you see this? I cannot find any such recommendation on lnt.org, or any other lnt web site. I'm really curious.

Edit; found it on lnt.org, nevermind.

It is interesting to read the different color preferences here, they might be somewhat regional, like in the more crowded east, seems like more folks like to blend in. Everyone i know out here in Colorado seems to carry and wear bright everything.

I personally buy what's on sale and ignor the color of everything. If no difference in price, i go for bright colors for small little safety benefit. My wife always goes for bright girly colors, pink, lavender, etc.

[rickb]

I am a fan of subdued colors.

A good deal of LNT (most of it actually) has nothing to do with preserving the ecosystem, but rather enhancing people's weekend experience.

Nothing wrong with that, but best to call a spade a spade.

in the Whites, subdued tents camping legally a few 10s of feet away from a pond's edge can be invisible to campers on the other side. That's a good thing, I think.

Not because it matters in any objective sence, but rather because it enhances others' sence of wildness and experience in some SMALL way.

As an added benefit, subdued tents and clothes help will hide you and your camp when the zombie apocalypse comes.

[rocketsocks]

where did you see this? I cannot find any such recommendation on lnt.org, or any other lnt web site. I'm really curious.

Edit; found it on lnt.org, nevermind.

It is interesting to read the different color preferences here, they might be somewhat regional, like in the more crowded east, seems like more folks like to blend in. Everyone i know out here in Colorado seems to carry and wear bright everything.

I personally buy what's on sale and ignor the color of everything. If no difference in price, i go for bright colors for small little safety benefit. My wife always goes for bright girly colors, pink, lavender, etc.

with regard to my comment above it actually started in California as I recall.

[jimmyjam]

I have a black pack. So black packs matter.

[squeezebox]

A bicycle blinky light if you really want to be seen during hunting season.

[-Rush-]

I'm not a fan of the loud neon colors. I've got a red ULA Circuit.

[Odd Man Out]

I have a bright red Elemental Horizons Kalais pack. My other gear tends to be drab colors to blend in. I do have a silver mylar coated dollar store car sunscreen I cary for sitting on, tent alcove floor, extra insulation under sleeping pad, or stove wind block (good multi use item). I also figure it can function as a signal device so the SAR people can find my body. I've never hiked in hunting season. Not sure if the red pack is visible enough. Does it have to be orange?

But there is a great video of a lecture on bear safety by Tom Smith. It has been referenced in several bear threads. In that lecture, he says that bright colors attract bears to your campsite. I think this applies mostly to tents, as that is what will be visible at night when the bears are likely to visit. One of the definitions of stealth camping is to camp in such a way as to not at track critters. Usually the focus is on minimizing scents, but minimizing visual I'm act may also be a part of at least according to Smith. I don't know if he has published research on this issue or if he was just speaking on anecdotaanecdotal evidence, but he is very experienced so it's worth considering.

[Odd Man Out]

BTW, his story is at 52 minutes into the video.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=PExlT-5VU-Y

[Bronk]

Its gotten harder to buy gear now that some trails have color restrictions and the fines have become exhorbitant.

[Engine]

Its gotten harder to buy gear now that some trails have color restrictions and the fines have become exhorbitant.

I assume you're joking?

[rocketsocks]

Its gotten harder to buy gear now that some trails have color restrictions and the fines have become exhorbitant.

whut tha! Serious???

[AfterParty]

I got a black pack and a orange cover. I have a variety of colors though. It can enhance my mood.