Bushwalk Australia

ok, i am a beginner, you all know that. I got some great info before in my last post about back packs, and i thank everyone for their time. Now i have obtained a Black Wolf Buggaboo back pack which suits both me and my budget. Macpac was the aim but my mortgage supplier told me where my heart truly lies.......

Now this back pack has all the gizmos, buckles, straps, d rings. Now i can see that most of the straps and buckles are for tightening and stopping things from flopping around but there are a few thingos i dont full understand, but will work them out in the long run. If anyone else has one or has seen them, any info or advice would be most grateful.

Now, when i was in the Army, we had what we called basic webbing, which consisted of water bottles, bumpack and ammo pouches. Water bottles were shaped to contour roughly to body shape. All i can find in hiking stores are round aluminium bottles. Are they better than Army plastic ones and where do you put them? i hate the idea of things swinging in the breeze and they dont seem to fit anywhere due to their shape. Speaking of which, they come in all sizes, is bigger better? i have read a few websites about packing backpacks and no-one mentions waterbottles

I am an an ex AJ too. The Army water bottles are very heavy. I use a 600/1.25ml soft drink bottle. Cheap, easy to replace and very strong.
I carry it on the side of my pack attached to one of the side compression straps. Only thing that is on the outside of my pack. The pouch is a piece of denim jeans pants. I attach a drinking tube to it. When it is hot I wet the denim and the water stays colder for longer.
My walking partner uses a bottle holder attached to his hip belt of his pack.
The size of the water bottle depends on the your chances of finding water through the day. On the Overland track a 600ml is adequate but if you are walking along the tops of ranges ie the Western Arthurs and it is midsummer you might want a bigger bottle. Thats why I like coke bottles, dont have to have alot of varying size, expensive water containers lying around.
Hope that gives you some ideas.

Roger

My Pack has two pouches for water bottles, one on each side, in between the hip belt padding and the main body of the pack. If I have to carry water, I can fit a litre in each side using a cheap plastic bottle (either a disposable soft drink or fruit juice bottle or a re-usable aluminium bottle or plastic pop-top bottle).

On tracks I know well, and I can count on water regularly, I don't carry any at all. Have to be very careful about where you get water out of creeks though.

The Black Wolf Bugaboo website says something about "Hydration compatible (RHSide)" but I've not seen these packs in person, so I'm not sure what that means.

Edit: The One Planet website for my backpack shows the water bottle pockets clearly (you need to mouse over the second and third of the 3 small pictures near the top to view the large version of the images). These pockets are ideal for water bottles as it keeps these heavy items low down, close to the body, and balanced (and you don't have to be too much of a contortionist to retrieve/stow the bottles by feel while walking).

Sorry, dont mean to hijack this thread, but in the topic of packs, does anyone have an opinion of Caribee gear? I need a pack but alas my mortgage says no MacPac for me either?

Macpacs are certainly great packs, I have a Cascade which is several years old and have been taking it on day walks when I go fly fishing. It occured to me that in the long run a cheap pack for day walks would be the way to go. I bought a Black Wolf basic pack which holds 60-70 litres of gear and is quite comfortable. Comfort is the really important factor, if you carry a pack for 5-6 hours or more a day, it's important that your pack sits well. So if the Caribee can be adjusted to fit your back and hips, go for it.
Corey, in a previous thread made good sense when he stated that packs are constantly being re-designed and the good features of name packs filter through to the cheaper varieties. The cheaper packs will not last as well though.
Cheers
Keith

Speculator wrote:Sorry, dont mean to hijack this thread, but in the topic of packs, does anyone have an opinion of Caribee gear? I need a pack but alas my mortgage says no MacPac for me either?

having carried the caribee pack of mine compared to the new Eye pack i got from fleabay i prefer the eye...but the caribee i have is a touch old and is heavy as hell...newer ones might be better...but really dood you are best to decide...you carried the pack yourself for a few hours fully loaded, if you found it comfortable then that is all that really matters eh? Its already proved its longevity.

These are brilliant!
http://www.paddypallin.com.au/default.a ... 9&Group=49

Go into a store, get one, put it on the floor, and STAND ON IT.

They are light weight, super strong, we have dropped ours down rocky boulder screes and have not damaged them.

I suspect they would split if you threw it hard enough at a rock boulder, but during normal use and accidents like equivalent to dropping from head high to concrete, no problem.
The size is good, one litre.
I prefer the wide mouth ones because they are easy to fill from a stream etc, take less time. And you can get them against water that flows down a mossy ridge if it's not a fast flow, as I have done.

As for the shape, not much comes in the traditional "army bottle" shape any more.
I normally keep mine in the top of the pack in the pocket for easy access.

Got myself a Vango Fitzroy today. Looks pretty decent. Hoping to give it a try out next weekend!

L8r.

Bigger or more features does not really mean better. The best thing to do is apply some of the practical experience that you should have picked up in the army or otherwise for anyone else. What you should be looking for is something comfortable and durable that will do the job without cpmplications.
Until recently I have been using a 45 litre One Planet Mad dog day pack for 2-3 day walks. The point is that this pack might not have the best harness, but I can pack light to move fast and there is nothing complicated or fancy that will break. On weekdays it makes a good daypack.
On the other hand I just purchased a much larger pack, a One Planet Strezlecki (85 litre), which is a lot bigger but necessary for extended trips. Although this pack has a superior harness system you will also find that One Planet use the exact same harness on a number of the better priced packs. While these generally use a less water proof and abrasion resistant fabric, they are often lighter and if you are sensible you will place anything that needs to be dry in a wet bag. The fabric on my small One Planet pack has held up fairly well to punishment. The on thing I will add is that I previously enjoyed using an older double compartment Berghaus pack. However, I have found that the lower compartment zip on the Strezlecki can be awkward to close. Regardless - when properly adjusted – the harness on the Strezlecki sits well and is comfortable.
Wilderness Equipment (Sea to Summit, http://www.seatosummit.com.au/) is one brand of well made quality packs that have not seemed to receive much of a mention on the forums. I have a Wild Child kid carrier and find the harness very comfortable. Like One Planet, Wilderness Equipment uses the same harness over a range of packs. In particular, a model called the Breakout is a very rugged, very well priced and good all round sized single compartment pack . While it has not got all the bells and whistles it can still be guaranteed to do the job. Even though Wilderness Equipment have avoided the use of zips on the Breakout, as stated these can often be awkward and in the worse case scenario – especially on inferior made packs - can break. I would hate to have to open a caught zip in near or below zero temperatures.
As far as the Macpac are concerned, they are another quality pack but to be honest I find that the harnesses are a bit outdated and they are relatively overpriced .
In summary, have a good think about how long you your average walk will be and stick to a simple but quality design. A good alround pack is about 60 litres, which is too big for day trips, and borderline big enough for extended walks. Of course the best thing you could do is get the sales assistants to load the packs up and see what feels best for you.