# Backpack and no frame packs



## AlliKat (Apr 28, 2006)

I would rather have the weight on my back than on my frame. I want to be able to ride technical trails and be able to maneuver my bike.

What packs have people found that perform well? I'm targeting 30-35L. I just completed Durango to Moab ride borrowing my girlfriend's Solomon 30L pack. It is targeted to adventure racing and has no structure but is super light. As such, all the weight was on my shoulders which was not ideal.

I'd like a pack that is still very light but with enough structure to transfer weight to my hips.


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## flumphboy (Jan 15, 2010)

My ideal setup the past few years has been a 32-35L backpack, small frame bag, small toptube bag and 2 water bottles. I'm doing this for the exact reasons you mention for riding singletrack. I do not use a handlebar bag or seatbag unless I am only riding dirt roads or i need to carry more gear, like in the shoulder seasons.

Panniers not included, seatbags are the worst kind bikepacking bag for technical singletrack!

Anyways, my suggestion is to look for backcountry ski packs as they usually feature overbuilt straps due to the fact they are meant to carry heavy skis and boots. I've had success with the Osprey Kode series and the Osprey Variant series. I have the new Patagonia Ascensionist 35L and while it's lighter weight, you can feel the load _*a ton*_ more then the afore mentioned Osprey packs.

Kode 32 and the setup last year on a 3 day research trip in the White Clouds:


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## mikesee (Aug 25, 2003)

I've found exactly the opposite to work best: More weight on the bike/less weight on the back means better handling on tech trails. I can climb and descend tighter, techier lines this way than vice versa. To the point where often I'll clean something loaded then ride it a week (or a month) later and not be able to clean it at all unloaded.

The people I ride with that use a pack-heavy setup are always off and walking first, uphill or down.


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## AlliKat (Apr 28, 2006)

I'd love to put together a multi-day in whiteclouds. I've done 4th of july - ants basin - williams as a solid day. Haven't figured out good 2-3 day routes though.


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## flumphboy (Jan 15, 2010)

Not the first time I've heard that. Nor, I'm sure, it's not the first time you've heard what I'm saying.

I've been trying to understand why different folks use different setups on singletrack. In a bag-system debated, it seems to me there are 3 main variables to consider: rider, bike, and surface. With surface being mostly variable in the Rockies, that leaves us with 2.

For shits-and-giggles here's a completely unscientific hypothesis as why we have come to use different bikepacking bag setups.

First, lets look at the *Riders.*

_Mike_ - I'm going to take a not so wild guess and say Mike is a much better technical mountain biker then Casey is. I'm going to also take a huge leap-of-faith and say that Mike has a better life time mountain bike specific endurance base.
_Casey_ - Casey actually does not ride bikes that much. In the summer he rides 1-2 times per week, but mostly trail runs, and hikes. In the winter he runs, backcountry skis, does indoor bouldering, and only rides bikes to commute.

So, what that tells me is that naturally Mike can pedal a lot more then Casey both on the up, and down, and Casey is strong on his feet and has a strong upper body.

*Bikes:*

_Mike_ - Full-time, full-suspension.
_Casey_ - All rigid, all the time.

There is just no doubt that full-sus is more forgiving, and I don't think it just soaks up the trail. I think it also soaks up the floppy-ness of seatbags and handlebar bags. A rigid bike is less forgiving. A rigid, rim braked, 26in, singlespeed is even less so. Line choice becomes a bit more serious, and walking increases. A subtle shift of a seat bag at the wrong time can be disastrous.

Conclusion - Since _Mike_ rides a full suspension has a huge endurance base, and is a gifted bike handler on both the up and downhills, the best system for him to use is a framebag, seatbag, handlebar bag, and a small backpack.

Since _Casey_ rides a rigid bike, needs to have his bike and gear as solidly responsive to choose as proper a line as possible, and will be walking more, the best place for his weight will be on his back in a larger backpack. Since he is more adapted to being on his feet and has a strong upper body, a heavy backpack will not be an issue.

Now obviously I'm probably misrepresenting Mike a bit, and I'm probably forgetting a few things about myself, but this is great to compare because I think it demonstrates opposite ends of the spectrum, and most folks will probably fall somewhere in between - probably a bit more towards Mike. But, it goes to show that there is no one system that will work for everyone, and people getting into bikepacking singletrack should analyze themselves and their bikes, do some testing, and use what makes sense to them.


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## flumphboy (Jan 15, 2010)

AlliKat said:


> I'd love to put together a multi-day in whiteclouds. I've done 4th of july - ants basin - williams as a solid day. Haven't figured out good 2-3 day routes though.


Here you go: Idaho Hot Springs Mountain Bike Route | Adventure Cycling Association

Check out the White Cloud singletrack option. Using it with the Main Route would be a pretty solid loop. Of course there are a ton of variations off our routing, including Little Boulder.


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## SimpleJon (Mar 28, 2011)

I've been using an Ergon BC1 (12L) for the last 3 years in addition to frame bags. The pack is enclosed in a nylon frame with a ball joint where the shoulder straps frame meets the pack support. This does make the pack heavier but this is more than made up for as the ball joint isolates about 80% of the weight from the shoulder straps and transfers it to the hips via a padded belt that is part of the nylon frame. I have had up to about 4.5Kg in it and I barely notice it, the weight feels significantly less than having 1 litre of water in a camelbak. 
Another plus is as the frame is kept off the back by the nylon frame it increases ventilation and significantly reduces sweat and it has never once clunked me in the back of the head or restricted head movements like my 30L alpine day pack has. I use this pack for technical days rather than smaller shoulder packs. The BC2 and 3 are 20 and 25L respectively.

On the downside I would say the ergonomics / organisation inside the packs are poor. There are a distinct lack of compartments and pockets with zips etc to store stuff. The ball joint is also held together by a single stainless steel M8 or 10 bolt so there is a potential single point failure; I have not had an issue in 3 years though.

As far as Seatbags go my experience with them has been OK on hard tails; packing them properly is key, heavier stuff close to the seat post and lighter stuff further out. 
I have never used them on a full sus but I can imagine why they could be an issue. I have a Topeak MTX Trunk bag and beam rack I sometimes use on my commuter, going to the shops, camp by the beach with the kids etc. I hung it off the seat post on my 26er Epic once with 7 to 8kg total weight it screwed up the balance of the bike a lot more than I was anticipating; the front felt seriously light and started losing traction on even small bump activation of the suspension. Even winding the rebound back and playing with the pressure didn't really help, I had to take it very carefully.

Bar rolls are OK but same again keep them as light and as compact as possible; my buddy hangs cameras and water bottles and all kinds of crap in little pouches off his and then complains that his bike is handling is rubbish


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## pierre meux (Dec 1, 2008)

mikesee said:


> I've found exactly the opposite to work best: More weight on the bike/less weight on the back means better handling on tech trails. I can climb and descend tighter, techier lines this way than vice versa. To the point where often I'll clean something loaded then ride it a week (or a month) later and not be able to clean it at all unloaded.
> 
> The people I ride with that use a pack-heavy setup are always off and walking first, uphill or down.


+1 - Exactly. The swing weight of a big backpack can also contribute to spectacular crashes. Weight perched so high can be difficult to control.

And to the earlier-mentioned issue of panniers on technical single track -- I do it all the time--fronts--no problem; keep 'em tight. To each their own, but panniers and single-track (and other technical terrain) can and do mix nicely.


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## chrisx (Mar 4, 2009)

Exos Series - Osprey Packs, Inc :2014: Official Site


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## tartosuc (May 18, 2006)

Have a look at the deuter futura series...very stable bacpacks.
I use the 28l on my bike commute, its also my do it all backpack for traveling, snowshooing etc... i would give it a try for bikepacking for sure. I also have an osprey raptor 14l! Osprey makes very nice and light backpacks with tons of nice features...but my deuter beats it in confort and stability.


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## dream4est (May 21, 2003)

I have to agree with Mike on this one.
I am running a really light bike, Scott Spark 900 SL. But its a 1x9. So after Tour Divide, where I went no backpack ( but with a camelbak race vest loaded with 1 liter water and full jersy pockets of food)- rear gas tank- front harness- water bottle in front tri, I decided to fiddle a bit as singletrack sucks with too much weight forward. Most of my weight was in the front harness. 

Since I am 1x9 with 32/34 granny gear I figured a backpack and seatbag may work. Keep the bike really light and have a light front end. In TD my dry bike weight was light- 33 lbs or less. With just a seatbag and backpack my bike was like 27 lbs and pack 7.5 lbs dry. It sucked. I felt funny climbing a 12 percent grade road hill I usually kill.

I went back to no pack, with a seatbag and harness and water bottle. Bike about 31 lbs dry. I ate up a 13-15 percent grade trail in 32/34. My practice hill that is loose and rocky and short.

I always am faster no backpack if the kit is dialed and light. Even without real climbing gears. It takes time to get the right weight distribution, but even an average setup works better than a backpack. I ran a Talon 11 in my test and even though the weight felt like nothing, I rode the hill terribly with it on.


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## wickerman777 (Mar 6, 2010)

30 L Boreas Bolinas. A bag designed specifically to convert from a hiking to biking bag. I love mine. Very light and well constructed


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## evdog (Mar 18, 2007)

If you go with a larger backpack make sure to try it out before you take it on a long trip. Some packs are tall enough that you will constantly smack your helmet against it when riding. I have one 30L pack that I can't use for riding because of this. 

I generally prefer to have most of the weight on my bike. I get used to the additional weight quickly and don't find that it affects the handling much, plus I get much better traction. If I know I'll be riding some techy or steep descents then I may leave the big seat bag at home so I can drop the seat. It all comes down to personal preference but for me having a heavy pack is harder on the body, especially on the shoulders if you are having to do a lot of hike a bike.


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## LeeL (Jan 12, 2004)

Self-Supported Bikepacking - A Sample Packing List - Pinkbike

Alpine Threadworks 37l Selkirks pack Alpine Threadworks Ltd.: Selkirk Ski Pack


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## wahday (Mar 23, 2012)

Sometime in the last year or so I came across a European bikepacker who has done a few trips over the Alps. He uses only a backpack as well. I expect he will have info on gear and stats on his site.

And here it is (wasn't that hard to find afterall). His youtube channel anyway. He's a pretty good filmmaker, too, so these are some entertaining productions: https://www.youtube.com/user/gletschersau

Personally, I mix the two. One of my biggest challenges is that the places I tend to ride have no consistent, reliable water. So, I have to carry it all and that gets heavy. It also makes it next to impossible to get everything either on the bike or on my back. There just isn't anyway around it for me - I have to spread it around. But the more I ride and take trips, the more I like to free up my body. Just my personal preference.

I like to have that heavy water weight on the bike plus a 100oz. bladder on my back on a trip. I find having the heaviest weight in the frame pack, down near the bottom bracket works best and causes the least amount of funkiness in the ride from leaning the bike in tighter terrain. Sleeping setup goes on the bars and I have a small seatbag for a few random items. The rest goes in the pack (typically water, food, rain gear and cookware).

This summer I picked up a Camelbak Fourteener as it was being discontinued. So far I like it a lot. Has a great suspension system, weight bearing hip belt and holds 24 liters or space. I rarely pack it that full for bikepacking, but it cinches down nice and small even when almost entirely empty.


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## Quitou (Sep 1, 2014)

You must have sit bones made of cast iron. That much weight on my upper body kills my ass. If not on day one, by day four, seven, eight....ouch.


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## mikesee (Aug 25, 2003)

LeeL said:


>


Looking at that pic made me cringe--partly because I'd be forced to walk almost everything with that much mass on my back, and partly because I know Lee uses it for Chilcotins trips, and I still haven't been in there. Yet...

Casey's guesstimation on why some folks put the weight where they do has merit. And it reminded me of a bikeboating trip I did a few years ago where it was mandatory to be able to do *both* on the same trip, depending on where in that trip you were. I've cut and pasted the entirety of the blog post I did on it way back then, below.

* * * * *​
Anyone that's been watching the explosion of fatbikes and packrafts the last few years and been inspired enough to really think about how to carry multiple days worth of food and camping gear (both on land and water) has surely realized that creativity is needed. All of your various 'stuff' doesn't just fall into place--you need to think critically about what to bring and what to leave, and even once you've whittled your pile down you still need to think harder about gear abstraction. Making one item do the job of many is a skill as valuable as pedaling and paddling. Prior to this trip most of my experience had been on trips where everyone was traveling together yet somehow self-sufficient. On this trip we had several items that were 'community gear' like stoves and tents and tools. Silly to do it otherwise unless circumstances demand it.



Once you've whittled your pile down to an acceptable level, gotten it all packed onto the bike, and rolled away from home, that's it right--it's all figured and you just twiddle a friendly gear til it's time to camp, then repeat day after day?



No way. I hadn't anticipated this when I left for the Lost Coast trip, but each and every time we deployed boats or packed them back up, something would change with the way we repacked. The others seemed better attuned to the changes in the landscape, and would shuffle gear around to get a better weight distribution--more on the bike for easier stretches of rideable beach, more on the back for bashing through the boulders and rainforest. But even then they were making minute changes on the fly as we packed and unpacked--boats in different places on the bike, or in the pack, sleeping bags under bars some times, in packs others, on racks or in seatbags yet others.

Not surprisingly, Eric touches on lots of this stuff in his geek post, and (duh) does a better job of explaining most of the why's and how's. Read it more than once.

Mine looked like this most of the time: soft goods in the stuffsack on the rear rack. Boat and paddle under the bars, camera 1 in drybag atop the bars. Tools and such in the gastank behind the stem. Tubes, spare parts (bolts, chain links, sewing kit, zip ties, super glue) and pump in the bottom half of the frame pack, mid-day scooby snacks in the top half. On my back I had water, a stove and pot, and camera 2 with all camera accessories like batts, intervalometer, filters, cheat sheets for time lapse settings, memory cards, etc...



The above setup was great when riding--balanced and compact. But when making the transition to paddle it had issues, and on the boat yet more issues. And it pretty much sucked to 'shwack.

My boat-to-bike changes were more reactive than proactive--I was often behind and just throwing things haphazardly back together so as not to slow the group down even further. But after a few days of multiple boat deployments a pattern became clear. Having a rear rack was, overall, a bad thing for me. It allowed me to put a too-large stuffsack atop it, meaning I carried more weight in extraneous stuff than I needed to. The rack also got in the way when paddling, no matter how I arranged the bike on the boat. Having that stuffsack on there also meant that each time we paddled I had to unbuckle the stuffsack and find a better place for it--usually lashed and buckled atop the rest of my bike/gear mound on the front of the boat. Then when packing up it added another step in unlashing it and refastening it back to the rack. Totally unnecessary steps.

Later in the trip I put the stuffsack under the bars and the boat on the rear rack--which saved a step in (un)packing. But it was clear the rack needed to go.



Before this trip, I'd never been a fan of the mondo seat bags that have gained popularity the past few years.



They prohibit you from getting behind the saddle on steep descents, and my 'normal' trips have enough of those that I'd simply made up my mind--I wasn't going down that road. But beaches don't have much steepness to them, so that argument fell flat.

My other dislike of mondo seatbags was a perception that all that leverage on gossamer thin seat rails couldn't be a good thing. This was a seat of the pants assessment and as far as I know it hasn't proven true--I know of no one that's killed a seat yet. Still, even after grudgingly accepting the big bags as the clean bikerafting solution, I vowed only to keep light bulk in mine--think sleeping bag and puffy jacket. Not just for my continued fear of rail failure, but because the bike naturally handles better with weight down low. This is what I did on last fall's Lava Coast trip, and with small refinements it's what I'll likely do going forward. More on that trip, and that gear geekery, soon.

Boat size is also worth mentioning. Doom and Dylan's boats were very close in size (Alpacka Yaks) despite being 2 generations apart, but the rest of our boats varied significantly--in inches (tube diameter and hull length) as well as weight. Roman had the smallest, lightest boat by a longshot. When riding or 'shwacking his lighter load was clearly an advantage. He could ride a tighter, more precise line than any of us--partially because he's wired to keep things fun that way, but largely because he didn't have as much mass on the bike to move around beneath him. All well and good until it came time to float, at which point Roman would grovel (usually at Doom's feet) until one of us agreed to take his front wheel. Roman's tiny little 10" tubed boat simply wasn't as stable in the water with our high-center-of-gravity loads. When the wind and waves came up it was clear that Roman was nervous and felt tippy, even with his massive level of skill and decades of packraft experience.





Boat packing--look no further than Eric and Dylan's clean, compact setups as models to emulate. Both wheels off and stacked, both pedals off, even bars off, then strap pack on as counterweight to wheels. Low and compact, easy to manhandle the boat on shore, more maneuverable in swells or surf, with less chance of something catching water and pulling that side down.









Contrast their setups with my ever evolving shitshow below:







Packed high and wide like this my setup was tippy in waves, unstable in wind, and much more likely to 'catch an edge' and flip. The wonder is that I only swam once.

My takeaway from this trip is that 12" tubed boats were muchmobetta than 10", and length of the boat was irrelevant as long as you could pack and paddle without obstruction. I also came away convinced that the newer Alpacka hull designs aren't mandatory by any stretch, but the upturned bows and pointed sterns definitely improve flatwater tracking--it's easier to go straighter in the newer boats, even/especially when heavily loaded. The 'main line' of Alpacka rafts (Alpaca, Yak, and Llama) are their most popular boats for a reason--it's hard to see a compelling reason to choose anything else. Pick the size that fits you and your needs best, don't skip the skirt, and you'll be well sorted.

Clothing and kit for a trip like this are as varied as the background of each participant. The underlying tenet, not surprisingly, was pragmatism. We had lots of wool (hoodies, boxers, tights, socks, hats), all synthetic quilts and bags and puffies, some random fleece, and two mid-style tents. Doom's wool tights and Roman's wool shirt looked like they needed retirement a decade ago--clearly they'd proven themselves to the point that countless holes and runs and tears were of little consequence when faced with taking anything else.

The bikes all were geared pretty similar--all running roughly a 1:1 or slightly easier ratio--except for Roman. He had a shiftable dingle (scroll down) setup that seemed great on paper but still wasn't enough to win him the final sprint. No doubt he's rethinkering that and dreaming up some convoluted way to get a rematch.

I relubed my chain whenever I could--usually about once a day. Contrary to expectations, the drivetrain wasn't dead after this trip--I just lubed it up and kept riding it, including another ~270 or so miles on the Lava Coast. Still going strong on this bike--but it now belongs to my Dad.



Between Lost and Lava I peeled the seals off the hub bearings and massaged fresh grease in. Pushed fresh grease into the King BB and called it good. HS bearings were fine. Peeled tires off of rims to find the baby powder inside still fresh and dry and in need of nothing--so I just aired 'em back up.

Packs. Bigger was better here--at least 50L was needed and even 60 to 65L was realistic. How to achieve that volume was debatable. Doom, Eric, and Dylan all had fairly similar UL backpacking type packs, and their systems all seemed to work great for them. Roman's system was different--essentially a basic harness holding a massive drybag, with the contents acting as the 'frame'.



Set for riding--bulk of load on bike.



Set for shwacking--everything in pack.





Set for a short paddle with (I think) a need to get in and out quick--big current along the far shore? Hence pack on back and bike strapped tight and low.



Load moved to rear rack and back for techy riding--light front end is mobetta.



For several reasons Roman's setup made the most sense to me--it seemed the most versatile (not just for fatbikerafting, but for backpacking and skiraftineering) and adaptable from my limited perspective. I've thrown my eggs into that basket and have been fiddling with and heavily modifying a similar clamshell harness pack for future trips. The best way to sum up here is to say that any pack system (as with any bike, raft, camera, _______, etc...) can work, it's up to you to spend the time finding the issues and solving them on fun backyard trips before going bigger. That I'm aware of, the only turn-key similar harness setups available these days are made by ULA and NRS. Neither of those scratched my itch out of the box, so instead of dropping $$$ and then cutting them apart, I cobbled mine together from the dregs of two older packs--it is an ugly but very functional work in progress.

Food. The thought of the culinary delights on this trip just makes me laugh! We all ate freeze dried stuff to some extent. I had it for breakfast and dinner almost every day--usually recipes of my own concoction like ham teriyaki and beans/rice/sausage/veggies. Doom had a *killer* freeze dried pad thai on a few nights. I sat close to him then. Roman had some really bland meals that no one liked--not even him. I traded him on one night because he hadn't been eating enough--looked a little anemic. He came alive with his best jokes of the trip after macking my mega meal. That'll learn him. Roman's nightcap of powdered milk was a great idea that I hadn't seen implemented before. But the real creativity came from Dylan and Eric, with something like 11 solid pounds of butter and cheese between them. And another 5 or 6 pounds of cookie dough. Livin'!



Nightly, Dylan would heat a ~few liters of water in his pot by the fire, then pour in a pack or two of ramen, stir a bit, then fill in the gaps with dehydrated potatoes, stir some more, then ladle in a quarter pound of some blend of dairy, often seasoning with a blend of hot peppers Roman brought along. The resulting concoction would overfill a 2L pot--only by eating it down as it expanded could Dylan keep it all under the lid. Then he'd work on it in fits and starts over the next hour--seemingly consuming a mass equivalent to his own.



Paddles. Eric and I took AB Splats, everyone else had Sawyers. Splats are indestructible as far as I can tell--follow Eric around and watch what he does to his some time and you'll see. I've since sold my Splat and replaced it with a Sawyer. The Sawyer is lighter but not by a huge amount--not enough to justify the added cost. But it breaks down smaller--5 pieces instead of 4, and the infinitely adjustable length and feather is oh-so-nice for adapting to conditions--wide glide with 30* of feather at ~230cm on flat, windless days, down to ~205cm and 60* of feather when the wind and waves are up. Added bonus that you can adjust tension on your mid with the length-adjustable Sawyer more easily than stacking rocks or sticks or sand beneath the Splat.



PFD's: Eric, Dylan, and Doom all had real-deal USCG approved off-the-shelf units. They used them as intended, sat on them at camp at times, but also had the option to use them as an extra insulating layer had it gotten cold enough. Roman and I both used improvised inflatables. I tested mine by inflating it then walking into a lake and swimming around for a bit to find that it floated me at least as well as something more legit. Not sure how Roman tested his. On the Lava Coast I took a real PFD and used it as part of my sleep pad--and slept like crap most nights. Contentious subject here--do your due diligence and make your own call.

There are a few other random tidbits and misc minutiae in my original 'beach bound' post.


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## Addy Marx (Jul 18, 2009)

For 'road' touring type trips where technical terrain is less or unlikely to be an issue there is no way I'd want anything on my back, sitting, peddling all day. No pack 100%.

For single track touring I've found a little bit of weight, up to 10lbs or 12lbs of food weight in a 15L pack is better than being on the bike where it otherwise would make the bike feel slow and heavy. Your food weight is reduced over the course of the trip so the bike weight is essentially static and the pack weight drops. You could then transfer some light gear if desired into the pack and further reduce the weight of the bike.

Below are a few examples of set ups I've ran for single track touring with the last one being my most recent and favourite/pleasant iteration. 

1) Colorado Trail Thru Ride August 2012 (3x10) no back pack. Felt pretty good although not as 'nimble' as it could have. The no back pack was ideal though and re supply is regular enough if you tour the route, racing it there's a long stretch in there with out resupply but you can read about that else where.

2) Chilcotins June 2014 (Rohloff) 3L capacity hydration pack. This was an experiment for the Chilcotins and a bit of a feeler for a future trip. This set up sucked for all the pushing and h.a.b. The tiny back pack was ok but the goal was no back pack. The bike felt heavy and dead. We've been going out there for 4 years with 'proper' bike packing kits; frame/seat/bar bags and this was something new to try.

3) Chilcotins August 2014 (dingle) 15L back pack with only food and bear spray, rest of gear including shared cook kit; stove, pot, fuel, shared water purification and shared tools/spares on the bike. This is the best bike packing set up I've ever ran in many trips in the last 6 years or so years of doing this. The bike felt agile for the descents, was light for the climbs and pushing and the gear ratio was enough for my legs. We always get looks out in the Chilcotins with our set ups which can spark some interesting conversations especially because I make all my own bags. Most people out there are still using huge packs, in the 30-40L range (cringe) to get out for multi days. Not saying there's a better way, I just know ime there's no way in hell I'm enjoying riding with more than 15 lbs on my back. Not a chance.

For me the ideal single track set up is as light a bike as reasonably possible and then just food on the back up to say 10-12lbs. 

A huge pack for single track shredding doesn't make sense imho. As always though.... each their own.


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## Mark_BC (Sep 19, 2012)

Addy, how long are you out for on your Chilcotin trips? The thing is, I'm usually several days at least on my expeditions. And anything over a week or so requires a solar panel to recharge my batteries (no generator hub yet). It all seems to add up.

I really don't like being cold at night. And I have to stretch out otherwise my legs cramp up so that makes it harder to stay warm.

Here is my rig from last week.









The big backpack had most of my food. The little backpack has my long lens DSLR for taking photos of wildlife. It goes on my chest. It's heavy but I like my wildlife photos!

I was packed for 2 weeks out. I had my packraft and PFD. Also, you will see under the PFD my floor bicycle pump! Duh! I forgot my little mini bike tire pump and luckily brought along this floor pump in the 4Runner. I had no choice but to bring it, which wasn't actually that heavy, just big and awkward. Luckily I did because I broke a valve stem off and had to replace a tube. I would have been SOL without it. Just goes to show, no matter how bad you want to drive out of the garage, always take the 10 minutes to carefully check over your checklist first.

WTMFS!


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## Addy Marx (Jul 18, 2009)

Hey Mark.

Trips out there are usually 4 days looped from the lodge, no flying for us (yet hah). If I was out for say a week or so I would just add the food weight to my pack and be more meticulous with the food planning. Maybe not to a Skurka level but ~2lbs a day would be realistic. If trips out there were any longer than a week I think I would've looped the whole park twice over by then 

My friend lugs the DSLR while I just point and shoot so that's not an issue for me. Other expendables would be stove fuel and batteries, which wouldn't add too much more because I'm already carrying spares for the SPOT and Steripen. For stove fuel adding more for one boil a day sometimes two wouldn't add too much more volume or weight to the existing kit. Toothpaste, bug spray and sunscreen, I've got plenty enough.

My kit has become pretty refined and I'm a weight weenie when it comes to my individual kits so things are pretty dialled in. I also make a lot of my own gear so coming up with ideas and creative solutions and developing the gear my own way I can get away with using lighter materials than many of the commercially available options out there and customize them to tailor to specific trips; Full cuben bag kit, cuben tarp, cuben and pertex bivy, yes even cuben stuff sacks. It's all nerding but it all adds up. The more thinking and preparation I do at home, the less thinking and fiddling I have to do out on the trail. It's fun when it all comes together, when everything is so dialled in and I don't have to think about anything except riding and pushing and the beautiful scenery, which, for me makes for a more enjoyable experience.


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## TheirOnlyPortrait (Dec 30, 2014)

AlliKat said:


> I would rather have the weight on my back than on my frame. I want to be able to ride technical trails and be able to maneuver my bike.
> 
> What packs have people found that perform well? I'm targeting 30-35L. I just completed Durango to Moab ride borrowing my girlfriend's Solomon 30L pack. It is targeted to adventure racing and has no structure but is super light. As such, all the weight was on my shoulders which was not ideal.
> 
> I'd like a pack that is still very light but with enough structure to transfer weight to my hips.


Hola Allikat,

You should try Zpacks cuben fiber backpacks. I think this Arc slim will be the perfect fit 

ZPacks.com Ultralight Backpacking Gear - Arc Slim Ultralight Backpack

Saludos,
Federico


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## TheirOnlyPortrait (Dec 30, 2014)

AlliKat said:


> I would rather have the weight on my back than on my frame. I want to be able to ride technical trails and be able to maneuver my bike.
> 
> What packs have people found that perform well? I'm targeting 30-35L. I just completed Durango to Moab ride borrowing my girlfriend's Solomon 30L pack. It is targeted to adventure racing and has no structure but is super light. As such, all the weight was on my shoulders which was not ideal.
> 
> I'd like a pack that is still very light but with enough structure to transfer weight to my hips.


Hola Allikat,

You should try Zpacks cuben fiber backpacks. I think this Arc slim will be the perfect fit 

ZPacks.com Ultralight Backpacking Gear - Arc Slim Ultralight Backpack

Saludos,
Federico


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