Wednesday, February 25, 2009

The Perfect Pack, revisited

Eberlestock G4
A long time ago I was looking at rucksacks, and posted a note about the SPEAR ELCS rig. That is, indeed, a very fine system, but it weighs a ton. (Well, ~17lbs, anyway)

I recently was discussing packs with Danny Lane, and was looking for Kifaru (couldn't remember their name at the time) but found these guys in the process. They have two packs that I really like -- the G4, and the Halftrack. The G4 (pictured above) is a nice, med-large full size ruck. It is not the largest pack, but these days I am a family man who only maintains the barest minimum of physical conditioning. Add a little boy or two, and I would have a difficult time carrying much more weight than this pack can hold.

I had never really thought about having a pack specifically designed to carry a rifle and was not initially favourably disposed towards the concept, but the more I think about it, the more I like the idea. Again, when I hike these days I am usually carrying a little boy or two/holding their hands, etc. It would be nice to have a pack I can shove my rifle into and then be able to retrieve it without opening the main compartment. Looks like the flaps fold and buckle out of the way when they are not needed.
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It has both top and front load access, which is wonderful for ease of accessing and organizing gear. The only thing I don't really like about it is the rather sketchy track record of zippers' durability in field gear. I like my Camelbak's zipper, but even it has its limits, and I don't know that it will be nearly as durable over the long run as a conventional pullcord/buckle style hatch.
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Eberlestock Halftrack
Ok, first a little background info: I bought Kate a Camelbak Talon for our last caving trip. It turned out to be a good pack, but the size is a little off. She isn't used to carrying a load on her back, and it is a little too big for her to carry comfortably for a long time. (She is a very strong girl, so I suspect that the weight wouldn't be a problem for her in a pack with a good frame and belt, but that will have to wait for next trip.) The Talon is, on the other hand, a little too small for what I like to carry around on a regular basis. I use it now for a general purpose carry bag. It goes with us pretty much everywhere, and usually contains some combination of a medikit, diapers/wipes, change of clothes for a little one or two, 2D maglight, headlamp, extra batteries, another medikit, a Goretex parka or poncho, 3L of water, a Gerber folding saw, Cold Steel knife, ear plugs, a bit based screwdriver kit w/ ~30 bits, more miscellaneous medical supplies, 1L of Gatorade, and sometimes an extra 2L canteen of water. It usually weighs around 25-30lbs. depending on the exact loadout.

It has a hard time holding it all, and sticks way out if fully loaded -- especially with the baby stuff and parka. I would really like something just a little bigger, but I don't know whether I really want it to have a frame or not. The things I don't like about the T. are A. the main compartment access is too small; B. it isn't big enough; etc. Other than those two issues, I love the thing. It is very comfortable, rides fairly well for a pack without a frame, and has 3 external pockets that are particularly well laid out.

The Eberlestock Halftrack (pictuered above) is an interesting little framed rig. At ~2300 CI, it is about ~500CI bigger than the Talon (1820 CI), and it looks like the layout is also a little better. Full frontal access to the main compartment, full size side pockets (although it doesn't look like the zippers run all the way down on the sides -- that is not good), a top pocket, PALS webbing all over everywhere, compression straps to keep things nice and tight, and the shape looks designed to keep your center of gravity very close. The straps and back padding all look very similar to my VERY comfortable little REI internal frame pack(which Beth usually carries -- that's why I don't have Kate use it as her primary). This might be a little too big to use as my everyday run-around pack, but it looks like it would be perfect for Kate as a primary ruck.
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These pictures are from a website I ran across called Hardcore Outdoors. The author looks like an interesting guy. He does a lot of equipment reviews, and I like some of his opinions. His language is occasionally slightly off-colour, so I only recommend his website with caution.
Nevertheless, as I am using his photographs, I will include a link to their source:
http://hardcoreoutdoor.com/2008/09/08/eberlestock-halftrackhunting-backpacksmilitary-backpacks.aspx

On a side note, (no pun intended) I also like his choice of additional side pouches for specific extra items: camera, radio, sunglasses, binoculars, etc. I would add a medikit to the front, as well (I always do. LOL...)
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As with the G4, one additional weakness with this ruck is its heavy reliance on zippers. For this size pack, though, I would note that Camelbak, Bug-out gear and most other patrol packs including the MOLLE rig also use zippers.



1 comment:

Anonymous said...

First I've heard of this brand. Went to their site to check it out some more and like it. Thanks for the lead, I'll save my nickles and dimes. Mike Morton