I have know idea what I'm doing wrong

[Christoph]

I have my pack lined with the trash bag. I had tent loose under the bottom of trash bag.

I have my tent in the small compression type bag it came with. The whole thing straps to the outside of my pack on the bottom. I didn't want to put it inside my pack, especially under the compactor bag, mainly because if it rains (it did... a lot) then I have to pull everything out just to get to it and risk everything getting soaked. Might try something like this?

[tarditi]

I have the same pack and I'm surprised it can't fit everything you listed... I dig my baltoro - I actually found it too easy to bring extra stuff.
What make/model sleeping bag and sleep pad do you have?
Do share a pic - especially of your compressed sleeping bag with something for visual reference.

Try to carry the tent externally, for starters.
x2 on the comment about the fleece and wool sweater - redundant... ditch the wool IMHO.
You haven't yet accounted for food or water, but did mention the stove - remember to account for fuel.
You mentioned still needing to get boots - I hope you're not planning on putting them in the pack.

[RockDoc]

Need to see detailed gear list to really say anything.

[skinnbones]

I have the same pack and I'm surprised it can't fit everything you listed... I dig my baltoro - I actually found it too easy to bring extra stuff.
What make/model sleeping bag and sleep pad do you have?
Do share a pic - especially of your compressed sleeping bag with something for visual reference.

Try to carry the tent externally, for starters.
x2 on the comment about the fleece and wool sweater - redundant... ditch the wool IMHO.
You haven't yet accounted for food or water, but did mention the stove - remember to account for fuel.
You mentioned still needing to get boots - I hope you're not planning on putting them in the pack.

Sleeping bag is Mountain Hard wear (3lbs), Pad is folding therm -z- lite, and I will ditch the wool sweater. Not packing boots. Thanks for input.

[skinnbones]

I infer from previous posts that you are gearing up for an April Thur hike attempt.

A 65L pack should be plenty big for everything and 5 days of food, if you made good gear choices. If your using inexpensive (aka cheap) sleeping bag, tent and pad, those all tend to be large and heavy. Since your having trouble fitting everything in the pack, I suspect that might be the case.

A 20 degree down bag will compress significantly smaller then a 20 degree synthetic bag (and be a lot more expensive)
A UL single person tent will pack a lot smaller then an inexpensive dome tent.
A foam pad will take up a lot more space then an inflatable pad.

2 pair of underware, you just never know. Nylon briefs take up little space and have little weight.
2 short sleeve T shirts, plastic of course.
2 pair of socks.
One of each of the above is worn, so only one set is packed.
One pair of base layers, long sleeve top and long johns. Mostly for sleeping.
One long sleeve shirt ( I use a Dickie work shirt)
Fleece jacket is good, I usually just use a vest as it's slightly less weight and bulk then a full jacket.
Rain jacket. I don't bother with pants.
A couple of bandana's. One's on my head, the other hanging off the back of the pack.

Yes, April thru hike. May ditch rain pants like you stated.

[skinnbones]

First off, I carry a tremendous amount of crap and know you'll get better pack usage if you strap your tent and sleeping pad and water bottles etc to the outside of your pack. Even get a long narrow Thermarest-kind of stuff sack and stuff it with unused clothing and strap that onto the outside of your pack. Otherwise, where the heck are you going to put your food and fuel and stove?

You don't mention if you're planning a one-nighter, a weekend, 10 days or a 21 day trip.

April thru hike. I will try what you said.

[SkeeterPee]

I have 65l osprey atmos and had same issues. First put tent outside. It will often be wet/damp anyways so you will not want it in your contractor bag with everything else. Unless you have a very light pad, they can take up a lot of room. I have one of those folding zlites for winter and also keep that on the outside. That should leave enough room for everything else.

[saltysack]

I assume your not trying to put the zlite ccf pad inside pack?


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[skinnbones]

I assume your not trying to put the zlite ccf pad inside pack?


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No, I have pad on outside. I will place tent on outside too, like everybody is saying. Thanks.

[MuddyWaters]

I can't seem to fit everything into my 65L pack. I don't get it. I only have my tent, rain gear, sleeping bag, pad, and some clothes. I have watched videos and read tips on this forum on how to pack, yet I'm still running out of room. Still need to purchase boots and stove. I have know idea what I'm doing wrong.

On a side note; I have 2 pair of socks, 1 pair of sock liners, camp shoes / water crossing shoes, 1 fleece jacket, 1 wool sweater, 1 pair of trekking pants, 1 wind breaker, 1 pair of long johns, 2 pair of underwear, and 2 shirts. This doesn't seem like an overkill of clothing. Any tips?

fleece is very bulky.
So might be a wool sweater

Its probably your sleeping bag, and tent mostly.

[Hikingjim]

What kind of tent do you have?
When my gear was pretty bulky I would stuff my sleeping bag + at least half of my tent in the bottom area. When I was doing long trips with a lot of stuff I would put the tent fly in the tent bag on the outside along with the mat. I usually don't even bring the tent bag anymore. It's easier to stuff things in individually

A cheap lightweight down puffy jacket would probably go better for space purposes than a bulky sweater. Costco sometimes has decent ones for $40 or something

That should work for now, but there's no reason why you shouldn't be able to fit everything in there for your thru hike, with just the mat on the outside. So it's good you're asking now!

[Venchka]

To me a pack is by far the hardest piece of gear to buy. Why? Because the taste test moment of truth never comes until days deep into a trip. And this time cannot be duplicated with sand bags in a backpacking store.

Amen, Brother! Usually after the return period has expired.
Wayne


Old. Slow. "Smarter than the average bear."

[-Rush-]

You pack your fears, so perhaps you should identify what scares you and get hard facts about how useful the stuff you're carrying is. 65L is plenty of space for pack full of Winter gear on the AT. In fact, I think it's overkill if you're carrying the right gear.

[MtDoraDave]

My 60 liter Jansport Katadin isn't large enough for my cold weather, 1 week, hikes.

I'm from FL, so I don't handle the cold as well as many I've met on the trail. For clothing, I carry (or wear) 1 thin base layer, 2 sets of micro fleece, hiking pants, hiking shirt, rain pants, rain jacket, 3 pairs wool socks. ...and yes, when it dips into the 'teens I am wearing all of it around camp. Oh yeah, also a pair of gloves that usually clip to the outside of the pack when not being worn. ...and camp shoes.

After being dangerously cold one night in November a couple years ago (a night in the 'teens) I decided to buy a 0 degree down bag. Since I didn't have $800 for a sleeping bag, I went with a Marmot Never Summer - which is 650 fill, weighs 4 lbs and is bulkier than the more expensive, higher fill rating bags... but it keeps me warm when the temps drop in the teens wearing nothing but my thin base layer.

My tent is a tarptent squall 2, my sleeping pad is a Thermarest Prolite Plus, my stove and fuel fit inside a 1.2 L titanium pot - it all goes inside the pack. Then there is a week's worth of food.

Putting the tent in an outside pocket or strapping it to the back would save a lot of space, but didn't work with my pack.

Having a quilt instead of a bag would save space. Or going with a more expensive, higher fill bag would also save space.

[MtDoraDave]

My 60 liter Jansport Katadin isn't large enough for my cold weather, 1 week, hikes.

I'm from FL, so I don't handle the cold as well as many I've met on the trail. For clothing, I carry (or wear) 1 thin base layer, 2 sets of micro fleece, hiking pants, hiking shirt, rain pants, rain jacket, 3 pairs wool socks. ...and yes, when it dips into the 'teens I am wearing all of it around camp. Oh yeah, also a pair of gloves that usually clip to the outside of the pack when not being worn. ...and camp shoes.

After being dangerously cold one night in November a couple years ago (a night in the 'teens) I decided to buy a 0 degree down bag. Since I didn't have $800 for a sleeping bag, I went with a Marmot Never Summer - which is 650 fill, weighs 4 lbs and is bulkier than the more expensive, higher fill rating bags... but it keeps me warm when the temps drop in the teens wearing nothing but my thin base layer.

My tent is a tarptent squall 2, my sleeping pad is a Thermarest Prolite Plus, my stove and fuel fit inside a 1.2 L titanium pot - it all goes inside the pack. Then there is a week's worth of food.

Putting the tent in an outside pocket or strapping it to the back would save a lot of space, but didn't work with my pack.

Having a quilt instead of a bag would save space. Or going with a more expensive, higher fill bag would also save space.

So my "winter" pack is 85 liters... I bought it from a neighbor for $40; an older REI pack.

[Slo-go'en]

You pack your fears, so perhaps you should identify what scares you and get hard facts about how useful the stuff you're carrying is. 65L is plenty of space for pack full of Winter gear on the AT. In fact, I think it's overkill if you're carrying the right gear.

The OP is starting in April and while it can get chilly in early April, it isn't exactly winter.
Here's picture of all the gear I'll be taking to Colorado in September (if all goes well).
SAM_2631.JPG
This all fits into the 65L pack with room to spare for a weeks worth of food.

From top to bottom, left to right we have stuff sack for bag, the bag with CoolMax liner on top of a Neoair pad.
Assortment of clothes, Fleece pull over, tent (SMD Trekker), a light fleece lined nylon vest, pack cover, bug net hat, Crusher hat, fleece hat, neck gaiter, scarf, gloves, Gortex jacket, Sawyer Squeeze filter and bag, gallon water bag, big cell phone and battery pack, headlamp, pack towel, tent stakes, cooking pot, fuel cylinder, burner, waterproof plastic box with odds and ends in it. Tyvak ground sheet and a piece of close cell foam for sitting on and putting under the Neoair for extra insulation under my hips. The whole deal weights about 16 pounds.

[SGTJones]

Hey OP I'm with you. Somehow my 65L osprey weighs 55lbs coming out of every town. After hot springs I just took it on as a challenge to go halfway with a 55lb pack. For the life of me I don't know why it's THAT damn heavy but at Harper's I'm going to do some serious pairing down of the gear. With that said I haven't had any problems fitting it all... so, not sure. Don't be afraid to really cram stuff in.

[alnitak]

All your stuff should fit easily in the 65L Baltoro, ...without resorting to packing tent, etc. externally (and potentially exposing it to damage from branches, etc.). Just as a thought...do you have all the compression straps relaxed? Maybe there is more room in your pack than you think...

[saltysack]

The OP is starting in April and while it can get chilly in early April, it isn't exactly winter.
Here's picture of all the gear I'll be taking to Colorado in September (if all goes well).
SAM_2631.JPG
This all fits into the 65L pack with room to spare for a weeks worth of food.

From top to bottom, left to right we have stuff sack for bag, the bag with CoolMax liner on top of a Neoair pad.
Assortment of clothes, Fleece pull over, tent (SMD Trekker), a light fleece lined nylon vest, pack cover, bug net hat, Crusher hat, fleece hat, neck gaiter, scarf, gloves, Gortex jacket, Sawyer Squeeze filter and bag, gallon water bag, big cell phone and battery pack, headlamp, pack towel, tent stakes, cooking pot, fuel cylinder, burner, waterproof plastic box with odds and ends in it. Tyvak ground sheet and a piece of close cell foam for sitting on and putting under the Neoair for extra insulation under my hips. The whole deal weights about 16 pounds.

Where you going in Co and when?


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[Sarcasm the elf]

You pack your fears, so perhaps you should identify what scares you and get hard facts about how useful the stuff you're carrying is. 65L is plenty of space for pack full of Winter gear on the AT. In fact, I think it's overkill if you're carrying the right gear.

You may wish to qualify that statement, it might be true in many parts of the South and the mid Atlantic, but the northern part of the trail is a different story. Coldest night I've spent on the A.T. So far in New England was -17 degrees (f). Not to mention the required snowshoes, axe and crampons, true four season tent, dead geese etc.