Packing a frameless pack

[skinewmexico]

Throw it in the bottom without the stuff sack.

[garlic08]

Agreed, no stuff sack. One advantage of that is only compressing the bag as much as is needed for that day. If you're low on food and you're wearing most of your clothes, you can pack the bag with more loft. It fills the pack and rides on your back better, too.

[Tinker]

Throw it in the bottom without the stuff sack.

On the wet AT, you had better keep your bag as dry as you can. I use a plastic garbage bag, placed in the bottom of my pack into which I stuff my sleeping bag and sleeping clothes (and a clean pair or two of socks). Then I squeeze as much air as I can out of the bag, twist the neck a number of times to keep the bag from sucking air back in, and then I tuck it between the bag itself and my pack's inner surface. I do the same with my "warm up" clothes - for breaks during the day.

[stranger]

I agree on the bag thing, however, another way this can be accomplished is to pack your sleeping bag in an oversized stuff sack, one that doesn't roll down. This way it can take up more space when needed, to flattened out and shaped to the bottom of your pack when needed, but it's also protected from the elements.

Packing everything in small, tight, cylinders doesn't really work all that well with packs, utilizing corner space and folding things rectangular will give you a much more efficients shapes to work with.

[stranger]

Can someone teach me how to spell please???

[FireInk]

Thanks folks. I will try without the stuff sack. Most of my gear is going into a sil nylon pack liner so I don't think I'm going to worry about a larger stuff sack or trash bag. Thanks again. What's the sayin, No rain, no Maine. Thanks again.

[garlic08]

Most of my gear is going into a sil nylon pack liner so I don't think I'm going to worry about a larger stuff sack or trash bag.

I wouldn't recommend relying on silnylon alone for protection from water. Silnylon will leak with pressure, like where the pack is pushing against your back. A trash compactor bag or a contractor's garbage bag is a wise addition of an ounce or two. A large plastic bag can also double as extra ground protection in really wet campsites, or even as part of an emergency shelter. It's a good thing to have.

[Chicago]

I use the GoLite Jam2 and usually pack my items on two sides vertically so as to channel my spine in the center. That and keeping the packweight under 25 pounds really helps.

[schnikel]

A trash compactor bag or a contractor's garbage bag is a wise addition of an ounce or two.

Have to agree here. For x-mas I got some of those huge ziplock bags, like 20 gallon bags, They fit awesome in the P-1, and they are 100% water proof. I have placed that in the pack lining it, and have just thrown everything into the oversized zip lock and push out all the air and sealed it shut.

This makes getting into the bag to grab stuff a little more difficult, but worth it IMHO.
Schnikel

[garlic08]

Have to agree here. For x-mas I got some of those huge ziplock bags, like 20 gallon bags, They fit awesome in the P-1, and they are 100% water proof. I have placed that in the pack lining it, and have just thrown everything into the oversized zip lock and push out all the air and sealed it shut.

This makes getting into the bag to grab stuff a little more difficult, but worth it IMHO.
Schnikel

In addition to the large bag, I use a gallon ziplock for stuff I might need during the day and keep it at the top of the pack--hat and gloves, extra shirt layer.

I'll add that I only use the plastic when it's actually raining. Otherwise I like letting my stuff breathe as much as it can, even in the pack. I also usually lay stuff out to air and get some UV on longer breaks. It's amazing how a good dose of sunlight cuts the stink in the sleeping bag. (I hear that's good for questionable water, too, if you have a transparent bottle.)

[300winmag]

Not that I'm going to ever get a frameles pack,
BUT...

In the 70s the Jensen was the first successful frameless pack on the market. It had two vertical compartments on top of a bottom horizontal sleeping bag compartment. You had to fill the vertical "tubes" tightly to get the necesary support to put the load on the hips. Remember, this was in the days before UL (but in the days of Stephenson's LW gear)

That system needs to be revisited WITH a cc sleeping pad compartment against the back. Perhaps a "shoelace" compression system on each of the vertical tubes would properly compress a partial load. No?

Eric

[Doooglas]

Rivendell Mountain Works. Jensen pack.
I'll post a video in a couple of weeks.

[Doooglas]

Not that I'm going to ever get a frameles pack,
BUT...

In the 70s the Jensen was the first successful frameless pack on the market. It had two vertical compartments on top of a bottom horizontal sleeping bag compartment. You had to fill the vertical "tubes" tightly to get the necesary support to put the load on the hips. Remember, this was in the days before UL (but in the days of Stephenson's LW gear)

That system needs to be revisited WITH a cc sleeping pad compartment against the back. Perhaps a "shoelace" compression system on each of the vertical tubes would properly compress a partial load. No?

Eric

These guys are alive and well.
http://www.rivendellmountainworks.com/index.html

[sbhikes]

I wish they had better pictures of the packs on the site. All the pictures are tiny and whenever the picture is good enough to see the pack, they only show the strap side, not the pack side.

[Tinker]

Can someone teach me how to spell please???

It looks as though you spelled "please" just fine.

[Connie]

If I have a soft backpack that sits directly on my back, I always use a pack liner for my sleeping bag and any down product. This is because perspiration goes right thru the pack cloth.

If the soft back has a stand off for air circulation, or some sort of ccf pad incorporated in the design of the pack, this is not critical.

[Venchka]

I wish they had better pictures of the packs on the site. All the pictures are tiny and whenever the picture is good enough to see the pack, they only show the strap side, not the pack side.

Regular Jensen (green) and Giant Jensen. I own the regular.

JensenGiant.jpg

The Giant Jensen. The pack I regret not buying.

Giant Jensen with pockets.

shire-clay-giant-jensen.jpg

Giant without pockets.

Brown-Giant-340x500.jpg