Expedition Packs

I plan on doing a 4 week trip into the bush this coming summer and I need your advice on backpack selection. I currently own an Ibex 80 from MEC (76 Litre capacity) but I think I am going to need something much larger if I'm going to make it for 4 weeks. I plan on bringing in as much food as I can and supplementing that by foraging for wild edibles and hunting/fishing. Any suggestions on what type of pack I should try? Obviously, I need something quite large and comfortable. I won't be going on any established trails either so it needs to be fairly sturdy and reliable. Thanks for the help.

K...if you can find something on ebay, or wherever, from Dana Design's expedition packs in "overkill"...basically an expedition pack made in 1000 denier codura pack cloth, then well worth it. Terraplane, Alpine and others,might be somewhat weighty, but well worth their comfort level. I've used an Overkill Alpine, (5200 ci) for the past 6 years, when needed, and have never regretted it. It'll stand up to the utmost abuse and use. Ed

I have always liked Kelty packs. They are practically indestructable and their customer service is awesome. If you break it, they will replace it no questions asked. I slipped and fell down the side of a cliff about two years ago and slid about 50 yards on my back while wearing a kelty redwing 3100 and their wasn't a scratch on it. I still have and use that pack.

As far as expedition packs go, I have a Kelty Red Cloud 6650. It's a very large pack and weighs about 6 lbs, but the suspension system is VERY efficient and it doesn't feel like you are carrying that much. Gregory and REI also make very nice packs, they are just not really made for bigger people like me. :-) Hope you have a great trip!

Do you know how much food you need for 4 weeks, or are you just going to fill the pack until full? I would suggest you figure out exactly how much food you need, and then figure how to make it smaller in volume. Then figure the exact volume you need with all your stuff and get a pack to hold it all. And if it won't fit in your Ibex 80, you need to figure how to take less stuff. That pack is HUGE.

Did you try using the SEARCH feature on this forum? If not, the try it. You'll like it.
Set the time frame for 1 year.

Check out McHale Packs. I own the SCMII and it holds A LOT. He builds bigger ones too and they are very comfortable. I train with mine daily with 60 lbs and it feels like 40lbs.

So far I'm considering the Osprey Argon 110 or the Web Tex PLCE. Capacities are 110 litre and 120 litre respectively. I like the look of the Web Tex pack better but they're straight out of the UK and I can't find any reviews of their products as of yet. So far, everything I've read about the Osprey tells me it'll have more than enough volume/features and it seems to have a pretty good rep as a reliable pack.

I do not know where you are going on this trip, but, I have spent quite a number of stints of several weeks to a few months alone in BC, AB and northern Canadian wilderness regions. I have used a lot of different packs and most were NOT satisfactory under such conditions, where warantees mean nothing and rugged quality is everything.

I now use Mystery Ranch packs, exclusively, for serious wilderness trips where I must depend on my gear without question of failure. My choice for trips of this type is the MR Kodiak with optional Longpockets, twin Fliptops at the rear of the waistbelt, a few smaller pockets on it and my offside shoulder strap, a gun holder and some extra webbing straps from MEC to hold my sleeping pads and extra food sack on the outside.

I have seen and tried on the Ospreys and a lot of others, I will now only buy packs from MR and, as Charlie, suggested, a full house custom from Dan McHale.....maybe next year, if I can scrape up the $$$$$$$.....pricey, but, worth it!

If, you are going to be in remote wilderness for this length of time, you will NEED the finest gear available and "cheaping out" is a way to really bleep up your trip.

I have to agree with CJennings. McHale McHale McHale.
My McHale Popcan pack weighs half as much as an old Dana Design (or Mystery Ranch) AstralPlane I used to have - and it is more comfortable.

Get the Summit Equipment Bad Mamba Jamba Pack at galls.com for $99 on clearance. Me and two other guys I work with have it. I use it for loads above 50 pounds.

Why in the world would anyone willingly carry more than 50 pounds on their back?

I think that depends on your definition of "willingly". I can think of a few examples, but you could argue the willingly part. For example:

1. You are some Special Forces/Recon guy on a mission. There are many stories of these guys carrying well over 100 lbs, and non of it includes tent, extra clothes, sleeping bag, cooking gear. The food is usually 1 meal a day. Ammo gets heavy fast, so does body armor, weapons, and communication gear. No room for personal comfort.

2. Hunters who kill something big and have to carry it out. Ask phat about this one, I only hunt rabbits right now.

3. A dad at the zoo who stays too long and ends up with TWO kids on his back (each over 20 lbs), plus the kid carrier, and whatever hubby put in it. I know this one from experience. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

4. Someone living in a foreign (to them) country and who doesn't have a car, but needs to ride a bus to the store to buy food. A backpack is a good option, but man, all those grapefruit juice containers sure add weight. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

Like I said, "willingly" is used loosely. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Heh. ya beat me to it. and it's usually a lot more than 50 lbs at a time, for as short a distance as I can make it, cheating like heck with the modern miracles of a chainsaw, ropes and a small atv <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

it's "willingly" (ususally as willing as it gets when you look at a big furry critter and think "great.. now what have I got myself into" <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> )

kinda like this:

When I was young and worked on isolated BC Forest Service fire lookouts, we had only "sheepherder" wood stoves, Coleman lamps and 10 Imp.Gallon steel creamcans for our water. ALL of this, plus all our food and cordwood had to be packed up to the tiny pre-fabbed lookout building on one's back; the actual L/O had been packed into it's site in sections and assembled.

We were issued Trapper Nelson No 3 boards and, in the "good" Ranger Districts, the Forest Officer in charge of your particular L/O would often help lug the heavy stuff. I started at Fernie, BC, on Natal L/O, the guys there were older and my immediate supervisor was bone lazy and pretended to have a "bad ticker".....

So, I packed everything from a helipad about a mile away and much lower on the mountain and from a tiny supply shack about a half mile below the actual L/O. This was 80-100 lbs. of wood every two days as I cooked on this stove and all my water and grub, ,plus other supplies.

The steel creamcans full of water, weighed about 140 lbs. and most supply loads were around 100 lbs; I never really thought about it, just did it as I was 21 and eager to prove myself. The situation soon changed and propane fridges, stoves, lights and JetRanger choppers made things much easier; but, I STILL remember that first summer, with pride and I wish I could re-live it.

It was, 1967, "the summer of love" and I enjoyed packing those loads, it's good for young guys to work hard.

This is the very reason I have never applied for an Elk tag in AZ.
I don't have an ATV or access to one, so what happens if I kill an animal the size of a horse a mile from the car?

It's a mile of rough terrain out to the hunt carrying a gun & all the other stuff (not light weight backpacking), then after harvesting the animal I'd have to cut it into 1/8ths to be able to pack it out and that would be 16 miles of additional walking, 1/2 of it with weight, just to get it loaded in the car. But that's not the end... that animal is spoiling, & AZ is not that cold during Elk season, so time is critical. That animal has to be processed right now and you need to own or have rented a huge freezer.
It all makes for a really long & tiring day.

I don't know where the concept of training and fitness has gone. People should at least do some training with heavy loads. 50 lbs is not even heavy. Other than older people needing to lighten up because of aging problems, there's gonna be a new generation of wimps brought on by this UL thing.

Answer; You call all your "Will Work For Meat" friends. Especially those with old Kelty full frame packs. I have been on both ends of those deals. At least where I hunted, there was no worry about spoilage.

I'm in my fifties, not sure if that qualifies as "older." My knees let me know when I'm five pounds overweight, let alone fifty. I quit running because of the pounding, now I roller skate for cardio fitness.

Overloading for a backpacking trip once or twice per year isn't likely to build muscle long term. It's too infrequent. Far more likely that it will cause joint damage if you ask me. Besides, I'm out there to enjoy the trip, not to be a slave to an overweight pack.

I don't see someone who hikes 10 to 15 miles per day with 20 to 25 pounds on their back as being an out of condition wimp, but that's just me.

Lots of good suggestions out there. I'm looking into the McHale and Mystery Ranch packs. Friggin' expensive but its been my experience that you generally get what you pay for. Thanks for the help.

Nice moose, btw. I'm hoping to tag one of those babies in the next 2 years. Gonna have to get a quad to haul it out, though. Until then, its whitetail all the way.

For HUNTING, the MR NICE system, with OK frame, Crewcab, Loadsling and 6500 bag plus some additional pockets and a gun carrier system, is absolutely the best I have ever used. You can configure this for ANY Alberta/BC hunting and it comes in a "foliage" colour that blends in like nothing else, but, does not leave you with that "camo commando" look...I detest that.

I have spent quite a bit of time in wilderness Alberta, on the East Slopes and northeast of Slave Lake and this is THE pack for hunting there and here in BC. For actual mountaineering and similar pursuits, I would choose one of MR's G packs and have and I would LOVE to have a "full Dyneema McHale" expedition pack.....lotsa bux, tho'.