trail maintenance pack

[perrymk]

I'm looking for ideas for a trail maintenance pack. I've seen (online not in person) the Dakine Builder pack 40L and the Evoc Trail Builder Pack 30L. Both have a pop-out chainsaw carrier that looks pretty neat. I've seen a few homemade versions (online not in person) that were basically buckets or bins strapped to external frames that certainly served the purpose. I saw a large basket with a seat on top that had shoulder straps attached. I like the seat idea but not sure how comfortable it would be to carry.

I've been using my day hike pack with an external frame (made it myself) and carrying bulky tools as needed. I will be attaching a EZ Kut Sling Pak soon so carrying loppers will be easier.

Anyway, I'm thinking of making a dedicated trail maintenance pack and looking for ideas. My maintenance activities are strictly day trips and seldom involve walking more than a mile or two to the site, although sometimes we walk several miles and lop/chainsaw/paint blazes along the way. It needs to carry several bottles of water, a large first aid kit, loppers, and possibly a chainsaw and fuel bottle. And maybe lunch.

Thanks for any ideas.

[peakbagger]

If you are carrying a chainsaw an older aluminum frame pack is the way to go as chainsaw is not going to be comfortable on frameless pack. Hard to beat and old kelty design pack with a shelf.

[Cheyou]

Seek outside
https://seekoutside.com/revolution-s...on-pack-frame/

[Traveler]

Agreed with Peakbagger, aluminum frame with a shelf will accommodate a chainsaw far more comfortably than most anything else. There are a few manufacturers of packs used to haul tools like True North https://www.truenorthgear.com/catalo...ategory/packs/ .

If pack modification is desired, my guess is other volunteer sawyers probably have some ideas regarding pack modification or a source for packs they use.

[Slo-go'en]

Unless there are some serious blow downs to clear or your rebuilding the trail, you don't need to carry much. If you do have to carry tools like shovel, Grub hoe, axe, rock bar, and the like, the frame pack is the way to go. Lash the tools to it and hang a day pack with the rest of your stuff off it.

The work trips I do with the local club are brushing and blazing work. All I need to carry is my 8" folding saw and loopers. The loopers I can stick in day pack if I have to carry them any distance, but they are usually in my hand as there is always something to clip out of the way.

[peakbagger]

I dont have a current chainsaw certification so I carry a swedish bruch ax and a folding bowsaw type tool (Sawvivor long since out of production). They go in my daypack. If I needed to do drainage with a large tool and a long walk in I might switch to my ancient framed pack.

[Alligator]

The Dakine Builder is a fantastic chainsaw pack, depends on saw size. There's the two backside pouches for oil and gas although I use the inside one too with the foil. The pack opens up all around the main compartment so you can access and store whatever you are need a bit easier. Chaps are kind of bulky and that compartment helps. Too heavy a saw and the shoulder straps can get a little uncomfortable. I carried a Husky 440-e, just under 10 pounds without the bar, mine has an 18" bar. I strapped the saw to an old frameless pack for a while but this pack is world's better. Water, lunch, day hiking stuff, no problem, axe too. Rides nice. That other pack looks nice too but smaller and the pouch on the Dakine is cavernous, notice the stock photo with the bucket.

[perrymk]

The Dakine Builder Pack 40L is very tempting. They typically go for $189 but backcountry.com almost always has 20% off coupons. I'm going to wait until after I get the sling pack to see if I still want it. Some reviews suggest it can't carry a large chainsaw but if it holds a 5 gallon bucket I'm wondering how large a chainsaw they have. Maybe I'm missing something. I have an old freighter frame and several alice pack frames that I could adapt also.

[Deadeye]

I used to just strap a laundry basket to my old Kelty frame. The basket was half-cylindrical in shape. Worked well enough.

[Alligator]

The Dakine Builder Pack 40L is very tempting. They typically go for $189 but backcountry.com almost always has 20% off coupons. I'm going to wait until after I get the sling pack to see if I still want it. Some reviews suggest it can't carry a large chainsaw but if it holds a 5 gallon bucket I'm wondering how large a chainsaw they have. Maybe I'm missing something. I have an old freighter frame and several alice pack frames that I could adapt also.

Sawyers generally will have a much bigger saw then you would need for trail work. Out west you would want a bigger bar. In eastern forests, bar size is usually upwards of 20" for production work. The saw I listed is more than enough for most any trail work in the east. Most saw work is bucking not dropping trees. Even then though you can most times cut from both sides (safety first!). You don't want anything big anyway as you'll be carrying it for a number of miles.

I used to just strap a laundry basket to my old Kelty frame. The basket was half-cylindrical in shape. Worked well enough.

That sounds reasonable, a half-moon basket. I had a simple frame with a shelf pack and would bungie the saw on. It worked but didn't have any pockets. The Dakine has a hip pouch, eyeglass holder, water bladder pouch, internal and external pouches. It has a nice side loop to pick up with. It's a nice functional backpack with a saw pouch. From a backpacker's perspective, it's a great saw pack. Handles well off trail too.

I'm around 21" on my torso length (6'2") and that's about its limit. Weight wise, I don't think it would carry well over 40 lbs and probably 35 or 30 is better but I never weighed my load:chaps, axe, wedges, fuel, oil, first aid kit, and some dayhiking stuff like rain gear. It's like any lightweight pack. The pack has a limit and once you go over that limit, it will get uncomfortable. Too big a saw and it will get awkward.

[peakbagger]

Of course there is the AMC hut crew method

https://sectionhiker.com/amc-hut-crew-packboards/