Before my first AT hike in 2007, I refurbished my very old Kelty pack.

In the process, I decided what things I could remove and what things I could alter. I have since donated the pack to the Scouts as I have moved on to more modern packs.

I eventually got the 3,000 cu.in. near antique down to just a little over 3 lbs. I had shaved off almost a pound. I removed the top extension bar and replaced it with a loop of nylon webbing to have a "handle" to easily lift it.

I considered cutting the partition between the lower and upper compartments, but I liked the way I could put all my kitchen stuff into that compartment, so I left that. I cut off excess strap lengths. The new belt and shoulder straps were a little lighter than the old.

I guessed that there were too many aluminum tubes running across the back and singled out one to remove - and it worked out well. You may or may not be so lucky.

You could probably cut off more weight with a new bag of lighter weight material (and a waterproof bag cover of silnylon) which uses velcro instead of zippers for the side pockets and add lightweight stretchy back pockets for carrying things like wet tents/tarps/groundcloths....


Edited by Roocketman (03/09/10 10:02 AM)