Heavy backpack...

WOW !!! You guys have made me feel better... you're all (or almost all) in a worse position than me... of course, I haven't calculated the weight of other stuff you mention, like food (I'll have my girlfriend carry that !!!)...

Helen, I am not sure what you mean with the word "flippant"... you use the French expression "flippant" that derives from "flipper" (go crazy) ? (C'est flippant, ce que tu dis...)

Thank you all. I'll stop worrying about the 35 pounds of my backpack.

I won't visit the gym (I hate it), but do some more exercise with my bicycle... it might help...

"Helen, I am not sure what you mean with the word "flippant"... you use the French expression "flippant" that derives from "flipper" (go crazy) ? (C'est flippant, ce que tu dis...)"

George,

Here's the Concise Oxford's definition:

flippant /adj.
lacking in seriousness; treating serious things lightly; disrespectful.
flippancy n.
flippantly adv.
[flip + -ant]

They don't think that it derives from the French, oddly enough. I suspect that the French (slang?) verb 'flipper', as in 'to flip', was stolen from the English.

Best,
Helen

Helen B said:

...
They don't think that it derives from the French, oddly enough. I suspect that the French (slang?) verb 'flipper', as in 'to flip', was stolen from the English.

Best,
Helen

Click to expand...

Shhhhhhh, don't tell them that... they'll stop using the word.

Life became much easier for me when I got backpack with a heavy duty plastic zipper down the full length of one side of the pack. Because the heavier objects in a pack should be near the bottom for proper weight distribution, with a regular pack that has a drawstring opening at the top you have to pull out a bunch of gear (sweater, raingear, etc) to get at the camera bag. That can be a real pain if it's bucketing rain or if the light is changing fast. With the zipper I can get at the camera bag in seconds after the pack is off my back, and the rest of my gear stays dry. (I have a small tarp that's long enough to go on the wet mucky ground for the pack to lay on, and gets flipped over the pack to protect it from rain or snow falling from above).

Murray

Murray,

The packs with the zippers that zip around the 3 sides of the packs are generally called panel loading. That is the style McHale pack that I ordered and as Dan says on his website they are preferred by backpacking photographers:

http://www.mchalepacks.com/packs/detail/CMSARC.htm

Rich

Helen B said:

"Helen, I am not sure what you mean with the word "flippant"... you use the French expression "flippant" that derives from "flipper" (go crazy) ? (C'est flippant, ce que tu dis...)"

George,

Here's the Concise Oxford's definition:

flippant /adj.
lacking in seriousness; treating serious things lightly; disrespectful.
flippancy n.
flippantly adv.
[flip + -ant]

They don't think that it derives from the French, oddly enough. I suspect that the French (slang?) verb 'flipper', as in 'to flip', was stolen from the English.

Best,
Helen

Click to expand...

So, you mean Flip as in "Flip, flop and fly" ??

Its heavy stuff, but you can condition yourself to take the wieght---just go slowly at first with short hikes(and make sure your pack is properly adjusted) As a value added feature, think of all those rippling muscles you'll be building---who needs a gym when you've got an 8x10?

My AW Supertrekker typically will hold:

8x10 Deardorff
3 or 4 film holders
filter kit
240mm & 19" lenses
Ries 200 tripod( leave the head at home)
Dark cloth

In my pockets or suspended from my neck I'll have

Silvestri loupe
Lightmeter
Small notebook and pencil
Swiss army knife or leatherman tool
lens cleaning kit

OTOH if I'm doing some serious travelling, I just put the whole enchilada on board a pack mule.

naturephoto1 said:

Murray,

The packs with the zippers that zip around the 3 sides of the packs are generally called panel loading.

Click to expand...

Hi there Rich...mine's actually an older version of this;

http://www.mec.ca/Products/product_...older_id=2534374302699867&bmUID=1154711213937

Murray

Do you people wear bodybuilders' belt to avoid getting a hernia and a fracture in your spine? Atlas would envy you...

arigram said:

Do you people wear bodybuilders' belt to avoid getting a hernia and a fracture in your spine? Atlas would envy you...

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D'OH!!!!

Got a hernia several months ago (moving heavy cabinets) got zippered back up by the surgeon and haven't gone stomping around in the bush with all my camera gear since

Murray

MurrayMinchin said:

Hi there Rich...mine's actually an older version of this;

http://www.mec.ca/Products/product_...older_id=2534374302699867&bmUID=1154711213937

Murray

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Hi Murray,

MEC sells some good stuff. It is too bad that many do not realize that many of the backpacking packs have superior frames, harness, and shoulder and waist straps than the Photo Backpacks. I have several Lowe Pro Backpacks, nice packs, but for long hauls and multiple days with backpacking equipment they do not carry as well.

I know my McHale pack is quite expensive with special fabric- full Spectra, and 440 Hi tenacity nylon; pack is 5500+ cu inch with an extra side pocket to carry the Nalgene 48 oz Canteen (soft). I purchased it to use for backpacking with the cameras. But as yet have only used it hiking for up to about 8-10 miles with camera equipment and backpacking gear- weight of about 40 lbs (including 5.5 pounds for the pack and tripod). Pack carries remarkably well and very comfortably. The harness, shoulder and waist straps, and frame system are great. Also, and what is remarkable virtually no slippage of the adjustments of pack, something I have never experienced with any pack.

Rich

35lbs is indeed heavy if you carry the weight on your shoulders. Strength conditioning and optimism can delay the pain, but it's a good idea to use a pack that puts the weight on your hips by using a conical waistbelt and "load lifters" that pull the shoulder straps off the top of your shoulders. Most extended-trip backpackers would also argue that the weight should be concentrated close to your back and a little above center, if possible.

Another way backpackers mitigate weight is to take an inventory before the trip, then evaluate whether they got good use of each item (excepting emergency essentials, of course). This would be an effective way to cull heavy items like lenses, and might make a case for a lighter tripod, e.g. In short, if you want to pack efficiently, you probably ought to think like a backpacker as much as like a photographer.

In any case, if it feels heavy, you should probably address that at home rather than a day or two out. A hiker could ditch some heavy luxuries in order to avoid injury or exhaustion, but unwillingness to abandon expensive gear, rational as is may be, could set you up for a perilous experience.

Were I to buy another backpack, it would probably be a Dick Gregory Pack, maybe a Anti-Gravity Series ZTM Pack

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Tom Hoskinson said:

Were I to buy another backpack, it would probably be a Dick Gregory Pack, maybe a Anti-Gravity Series ZTM Pack

Dead Link Removed

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Tom,

Gregory designs and makes some very very good pack. Certainly some of the best packs out there.

Rich