Lightweight rucksack?

[corsican dave]

not at all cheap, but ticks all the other boxes. give my mate Andy a call at Backcountry Biking
http://www.backcountrybiking.co.uk/product/hyperlite-mountain-gear-3400-porter-pack-2/

[caorach]

not at all cheap, but ticks all the other boxes.

In my studying of the internet the Windrider version of this pack had attracted my attention and it looks very nice indeed but I could simply never justify the cost unfortunately.

[SoldierPmr]

In my studying of the internet the Windrider version of this pack had attracted my attention and it looks very nice indeed but I could simply never justify the cost unfortunately.

Have you thought about the old Northern Ireland day sacks 35ltr I think we use to use them all the time. Cheap light and not as bulky as a bergen.

[caorach]

Have you thought about the old Northern Ireland day sacks 35ltr I think we use to use them all the time. Cheap light and not as bulky as a bergen.

I'm always keen on surplus stuff as a lot of it is very servicable with no fancy stuff that you don't need and at a reasonable price but I don't think the NI patrol sack is going to be big enough for me.

The Dutch Army Sting that I'm currently using (Lowe Alpine made them I think) is a great rucksack but is simply too heavy when I'm looking to reduce weight. I think the Sting is supposed to be about 4kg and that might not count the rocket pockets. Now the army don't care much about weight as they go the route you suggested of getting fitter so I'm probably going to have to go to the commercial world to get something very lightweight.

[corsican dave]

true story: a well-known british boot manufacturer, now sadly defunct, won the MOD contract for the design of a new boot to replace the dms boot, back in the mid-80's. the MOD loved the design and awarded the contract. then they insisted the cost was reduced by 50%. the result was the high leg boot.

back then the MOD wasn't in the least bit bothered about weight and not that concerned about comfort. training would deal with that. all that mattered was durability (is it "soldier-proof" ?) and cost. hence I was still running around with webbing designed in 1958 when I was doing my thing in the early 80's and using ration packs with 20 year-old chocolate bars.

yes, it's very durably constructed and it's very cheap; but there's a reason why its surplus.....

[Bobfly]

I recently bought a Palm River Gear Bag, which has shoulder straps/harness, for carrying a float tube plus flippers and so on. Just a big heavy duty roll-top waterproof bag with shoulder straps .... I was impressed .... I bought it from North East Kayaks. Very simple, so you do not pay for extraneous pockets and straps and buckles and stuff. Ideal for what I wanted.

[corsican dave]

I recently bought a Palm River Gear Bag, which has shoulder straps/harness, for carrying a float tube plus flippers and so on. Just a big heavy duty roll-top waterproof bag with shoulder straps .... I was impressed .... I bought it from North East Kayaks. Very simple, so you do not pay for extraneous pockets and straps and buckles and stuff. Ideal for what I wanted.

great choice Vaughan. they're virtually bomb-proof too. we use them for rafting and canoeing groups. perfect float tube bag, i'd say

[Bobfly]

I mentioned it here Dave because it is a very lightweight bag for the big size of it. Tough made. Could not be simpler in design !!

[caorach]

I thought to maybe update this a little bit. I think I'm probably going to go with an Exped Lightning 60l rucksack as they are getting very good reviews including from a few people I know of who are out and about quite a lot. The big positive with them is that they have a sort of suspension system (frame type idea) and so are very good at moving the weight to the hip belt.

In the mean time I've been doing some experiments at reducing the weight and am looking at going to a simple gas canister with a very lightweight "stove" for my cooking. I know this will not be as flexible as my Dragonfly stove but I'm mostly just out for one night and on that basis it does all I need and saves around 2lb. I also managed to pick up a Vaude Power Lizard tent for reasonable money and am going to give it a try. The weight saving isn't huge but is probably around 3lb but what I've found is that the saving in volume over my Vango Banshee is very significant indeed. I did some experiments using the Vaude and was able to get it and all my basic gear into my 35l rucksack with enough room for some food. I've also found some much lighter material for my home made footprint and so am probably saving nearly 2lb there as well. With some further thinking and the change in rucksack I figure that I can probably save in the order of 1 - 1.5 stone over the sort of weight I was carrying last season.

Now I know that going to a 60l rucksack seems a bit OTT when I can get almost everything I need into a much smaller one but the Exped has decent facilities for volume reduction plus I will need some clothing etc. plus fishing gear so 35l won't quite do my job.

[Bobfly]

If you have managed to knock off that amount of weight it will have a huge effect (maybe there will be scope for one or two little "Essential Comforts" to find a corner in the new set up)  !!