Tintin wrote:What's your budget?
How big are you?
I recently bought a Big Agnes Copper Spur UL2 tent and it's great. I'm 6' 3" and can sit up right in it. It's ~1.3kg and can fit 2 people comfortably. It is relatively expensive though.
I'm around 6'1" and my budget is fairly low, I don't really want to be spending more than $200 on the pack and around $250 on the tent.
Gadgetgeek wrote:Budget is going to make a lot of difference. There are some really good tents for what you are looking for, but budget and hiking conditions are going to be big factors.
As far as packs, the best way to find out if that pack is worth your while is to try it on in store with as much ballast as you can get. Since Anaconda don't really do that, you might have to get creative with some water jugs, or something similar. If you can wear it for even a few minutes with 25kg in it, you'll have an idea of how adjustable it is, or if it doesn't do what you need. i would hesitate to recommend any pack without you being able to try it on with weight, but if you stick to more well known brands you will lower that risk, or at the very least be able to sell it for most of what you paid. From the looks of that Scout, its a knock off of a bunch of other packs, the yoke adjustment is a fairly common one, but it relies on that velcro holding well. I'm seeing what look like pretty cheap hardware and webbing, which to me suggests a lot of energy spent constantly tightening and adjusting.
80L is a monster pack, so unless you are hauling bulky but light gear (lots of thermal layers) you'll need something with a very robust suspension.
What is your current set up? what do you like and dislike about it. More info means better advice.
When I went into Anaconda I stuff the Ckayk with 4 days worth of hike gear and had a wonder around the store, it felt pretty good, though I have since talked to a friend and might be able to get a BlackWolf McKinley for a good price (hopefully under $150) so that has gone onto the table.
My current set up is pretty basic, 65L Denali pack (got it for less than $50 so i wasn't too fussed), some cheap bivy tent which is nice and light (1.5kg) but barely any room at all and easily gets condensation, Mont down sleeping bag and I'm about to put in a big order for a bunch of Sea2Summit gear including mat, pillow, jetboil, dillybag, alloy cutlery, towel etc.
As for the size of the pack being monstrous, I like to carry all sorts of things and don't mind having to haul around the extra bit of weight but I guess I should just learn how to pack a bag better
