I carry an external frame. Here is a picture of it.

I bought the frame at a thrift store for $5, then cut it down and made my own suspension. With just the frame and suspension, it is at 3 lbs.

Here is another setup, for when I backpack with my kids. I had to carry stuff for 4 kids in this picture. And two of the kids, I carried 95% of their gear. So, 3 sleeping bags, two tents, 15 lbs of food, all the cooking gear, three sets of clothes, etc. This was probably around 75 to 80 lbs. There aren't many i-frame packs out there that have the volume needed for this amount of stuff.


I like externals...especially for beginners, and poor scouts. I have found that if you compare packs in the same cost range, that externals generally fare better. If you are unwilling or unable to spend the money for a quality sleeping bag (I am talking $100 of more), then get an external frame. Otherwise you aren't getting that sleeping bag inside.