Gifted Pack - Thru-Hike compatible?

[2Birds1Stone]

Hello Folks,

I received this pack as a gift over the holidays. From my research it doesn't look like external frame packs are popular with thru-hikers on the AT.

Would it be stupid to attempt a thru with a pack such as this?

http://www.basspro.com/shop/en/ascen...trail-backpack

More about me,

30 y/o
6'0"
210lbs

I will be attempting a thru in 2019 or 2020 with my fiance, I will be carrying about 60% of our combined load, as she is nearly 100lbs lighter than I.

[lonehiker]

Nothing stupid about attempting a thru-hike with that pack. Good luck on your 19/20 attempt.

[illabelle]

Here's a late to you. Two years is a long time to linger before making your first post.

If you've been reading stuff on WB for a while, you know that the "correct" answer is that you're doing it wrong unless you do it my way. Just keep that in mind as you read responses.

I have two packs, one of them weighs about 3 pounds, but is kinda small. If I wanna carry more food or insulation, it can be hard to get everything in it. The other pack weighs almost 6 pounds, and is adequate for whatever I wanna bring. Both packs are comfortable to wear.

Your pack weighs almost 6-and-a-half pounds. On the other hand, it's free. Free matters.

[2Birds1Stone]

Nothing stupid about attempting a thru-hike with that pack. Good luck on your 19/20 attempt.

Thank you for the response lonehiker.

I see a lot of discussion on weight and size of packs, especially in the Thru-hiker section of the forum. With such an emphasis on weight, I was worried that 6.6lbs was way too heavy.

Here's a late to you. Two years is a long time to linger before making your first post.

If you've been reading stuff on WB for a while, you know that the "correct" answer is that you're doing it wrong unless you do it my way. Just keep that in mind as you read responses.

I have two packs, one of them weighs about 3 pounds, but is kinda small. If I wanna carry more food or insulation, it can be hard to get everything in it. The other pack weighs almost 6 pounds, and is adequate for whatever I wanna bring. Both packs are comfortable to wear.

Your pack weighs almost 6-and-a-half pounds. On the other hand, it's free. Free matters.

Hello Illabelle,

Thank you for the warm welcome. I first became obsessed with the AT in 2015, after doing a few short day hikes in the Delaware Water Gap and Harriman State Park regions. In 2016 I began researching and planning more heavily, but a new career sidetracked my hiking aspirations. With things being iffy at work right now, I'm back to planning for when there inevitable layoff or career change happens.

The pack I linked is 73 liters, which is larger than the most popular packs I've seen from the "Class of 20XX" surveys that are done each year. I'm larger than the average hiker and will be carrying about 20-25% of my hiking partners load on our thru attempt. I just want to make sure I'm not setting myself up for failure from the get go by starting with a relatively heavy pack.

Free is good! From what I've read, the external frame packs make carrying a heavier load fairly comfortable, which is my main concern. We are leaning toward hammocks or tarptents for shelter, and still have a ton of research to do regarding the remaining gear.

Look forward to reading and contributing more to these boards now that I'm back in the planning and daydreaming phase.

[DownEaster]

If you're going to be carrying a heavy load, the go-to UL backpack solutions aren't going to work for you anyway. And as has been stated already, free matters. Years ago, I did a 200-mile stretch of the AT starting with 55 lbs. on my back (at Mt. Katahdin, so I had 100 miles before my first resupply stop). Pack weight didn't impact my enjoyment of those two weeks.

[Slo-go'en]

"Back in the day" we used to carry big, heavy frame packs, loaded with big and heavy gear. We also didn't hike very far in a day. 10 miles was a big day and 15 was a killer, resulting in taking the next day off to recuperate. Few were able complete a thru hike with that kind of load. The large percentage of people completing a thru hike these days is to a large degree the fact gear has gotten so much lighter and puts much less stress on the body.

To some degree, the weight of that pack is offset by the lower weight of the stuff you need to put in it, compared to what was common years ago. Once you collect the rest of your gear, you may find you don't need a pack that big.

[DownEaster]

The large percentage of people completing a thru hike these days is to a large degree the fact gear has gotten so much lighter and puts much less stress on the body.

This is news to me; I thought the AT completion rate had been fairly steady at about 25% for some time. Can you point me to any sources?

[Starchild]

It's heavier then most thru hiking packs, but it's heavier partly because its a external frame, and you also mention that you will be carrying some of yoru sweeties gear, and external is great for heavier loads. If the pack is comfy is another factor which you have not mention (if it's not comfy then it's a no-go on it).

[Starchild]

This is news to me; I thought the AT completion rate had been fairly steady at about 25% for some time. Can you point me to any sources?

Thought it used to be 10-20%, But recently 25% - last 5 years or so. would also like to see completion rates.

[Burrhead]

You have plenty of time to try it out. Just go on some overnight/ two night trips and see what you think.

[nsherry61]

To cut to the chase, in the end, you will most likely find another solution will be your preferred solution. You would not be the only external frame hiker on the trail or the only one to be trying a thru, but, you will be one of a very few rare birds on the verge of extinction. The the positive encouragement above is good and sound, but I also doubt any one of the above posters would choose to save the cost of the pack they want on their thru-hike attempt to save a couple hundred bucks of the several thousand the experience will be costing you. I've been surprisingly successful going cheap on all kinds of gear and still managing to be ultra-light, but a backpack isn't one of those things you can go cheap on and still have reliability for the 5 months of walking you'll be doing.

Yes you can do it. No, it's not foolish. Yes, it is probably something you don't want to do and something you will end up either not doing or regretting if you do. But then, martyrs have a place on the trail too.

[DownEaster]

Thought it used to be 10-20%, But recently 25% - last 5 years or so. would also like to see completion rates.

I haven't found any old finish percentages. The trend in the 2010s is a decreasing completion rate (30% down to 20%, fairly smooth) for NoBo hikers, and increasing completion rate (20% up to 25%, not smooth) for SoBo hikers, as you can see here.

[DownEaster]

Completion figures going back another 5 years are here.

[LIhikers]

2Birds1Stone
Welcome from another Long Islander.
If your geared up for some cool/cold weather hiking, and want to meet a number of other Whiteblaze members, and are available this coming weekend then see this thread

[Highland Goat]

As internal frame packs have evolved the ability to carry heavy loads and promote air circulation, the few advantages of external frame packs have faded. I only use an external frame backpack or a pack frame for trail maintenance.

Ultimately you will have to decide if the pack is comfortable enough to wear every day for months. Usually with a backpack there is a bit of a trade-off between comfort/fit and weight, but I would be surprised if you found that to be the case with this pack. You may wish to try the pack out, but it would be easier to return/resell if it is new.

Also, don’t worry about what is popular with thru hikers, as that sometimes includes ill-advised practices, like sleeping with food.

[egilbe]

I use an external frame pack. All of Maine at least one, most of it two or three times, or more on some sections, half of New Hampshire, some of it two or three times, all with an external frame pack.

[garlic08]

Much depends on the condition of your joints. It was necessary for me to stop carrying a six+ pound pack with fifty pounds of marital gear in order to keep backpacking. By age forty, each 100 mile trip took months of recovery for the knees. When AT dreams surfaced, we learned how to lighten the load and it became not only possible but fun again. The cost of the pack is nothing compared to the lifestyle issue.

With your time frame, you'll have plenty of time for shake-down hikes. Try a 100 miler, see how you feel, see if you think you can do it twenty more times that year. Some can, I couldn't.

[Shrewd]

I think it’s way too heavy, personally.

Hike your own hike and all that. I hiked with a buddy that had a similar pack; a red monster that was over 5 pounds. He called it the Devil and loathed it. Openly talked about burning it when he finished.

You can’t beat free but you’re also not hitting the trail for maybe two years. I’d suggest setting aside a bit of money now and again over that year or two and get yourself a better pack. You could save yourself up to four pounds with one purchase!


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[Shrewd]

The cost of a new pack weighed against how much money you’re going to spend on a half year adventure isn’t much, but the difference in comfort during your day to day toil would be quite significant.


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[dudeijuststarted]

Put the max load in it and go out for 2-3 nights. I had a $300 Gregory that fit perfectly but wrecked my lower back like no one's business, and it had some goofy sway bar that was supposed to do the opposite. I do find the ultralight packs, and ultralight loads, for me, save my back and hips. Your pack is a serious element to your thru hike. If you don't switch it out, add $200-$300 to your thru hike budget in case you need to switch it out along the way (you'll know by the Smokies.) This way your hike isn't ruined by something as simple as your backpack.