equitment pros's and cons

**survival scout** · 07-22-2007, 09:03 AM

Every good camper I know prefers the head lamp over a flashlight the head lamp allows you to have light right where your looking and allows you to have your hands free

The ever lasting dabate between internal frame packs and external frame packs for hiking I personally preffer the internal pack you are able to ajust the straps so it's not on your back but on your hips so weight and sweat are not a problem. I have heard that external packs are more reliable for heavier loads. The thing is you don't need that people bring 60lb packs when you can survive on your survival kit for a some time

**Rocky789** · 07-22-2007, 10:42 AM

I work retail for a small chain of outdoors equipment stores and can say that about 85% of our customers in the market for a backpack go with internal frame, in fact most that go for external frame are either boy scouts or girl scouts, because not only are external frames cheaper, they can be adjusted as the scout grows, and it gives the scouts the option of tying their gear on to the bottom or top, which makes it a little easier to pack for scouts who arent very good at using their pack volume.
Personally when I go backpacking id consider my pack heavy if its over 8-10 pounds (with food and water), its because I know my gear so well and because I know I have some good survival skills that allows me to take this little amount of gear, and yes I still have hot meals, a shelter that protects me from bugs and rain, a reallly warm sleeping bag and everything else you probably bring along or really need. How do I do it? Its because my tent weights 1lb and my backpack weighs 1/2lb. Just another reason why training yourself for survival situations can really help your experience outdoors.

**NevadaCarry** · 07-23-2007, 01:21 AM

I bought this pack on a whim a few months ago, before I really got into actual camping/hiking. So far I'm pretty happy with it but honestly haven't used it for extended periods of time. Is this considered a decent pack?

http://www.kelty.com/kelty/products....&cat=all&id=23

**Rocky789** · 07-23-2007, 01:35 AM

Kelty is of course a good name and has been out there for practically forever, materials, and the pack weight/volume ratio looks to be about average to a lot of pack on the market, features are also all fairly standard across a lot of packs, I havent seen kelty's spacer mesh but I imagine its like a lot of other packs that I sell (see it a lot with companies like deuter, osprey, and millet) which seems to be a nice thing to have on a pack nowadays and it does work as promised, main thing to look for is fit as in is the height right so it fits properly between your c-7 vertebrae and your hips without much gap around the shoulders, most of the weight of a pack should be resting on your hips not your shoulders, the shoulders just help keep the pack stable on your body and a good fitting pack ideally should be pretty close to your body and conform to its shape pretty well. Sorry if that seems like a little too much info, but you gotta remember I do this for a living

**NevadaCarry** · 07-23-2007, 01:40 AM

That's the info I was looking for, thanks! I tend to buy things on the spur of the moment but trying to get myself to do more research before hand now.

**Sarge47** · 07-23-2007, 08:12 AM

Originally Posted by Rocky789

Kelty is of course a good name and has been out there for practically forever, materials, and the pack weight/volume ratio looks to be about average to a lot of pack on the market, features are also all fairly standard across a lot of packs, I havent seen kelty's spacer mesh but I imagine its like a lot of other packs that I sell (see it a lot with companies like deuter, osprey, and millet) which seems to be a nice thing to have on a pack nowadays and it does work as promised, main thing to look for is fit as in is the height right so it fits properly between your c-7 vertebrae and your hips without much gap around the shoulders, most of the weight of a pack should be resting on your hips not your shoulders, the shoulders just help keep the pack stable on your body and a good fitting pack ideally should be pretty close to your body and conform to its shape pretty well. Sorry if that seems like a little too much info, but you gotta remember I do this for a living

Like Rocky said! I have Kelty's "Noah's Tarp". Anything with Kelty's name on it is good quality.