How to pack your rack

[TrogdortheBurninator]

No matter what I do, I cant seem to find an efficient way to pack my rack in my back pack (lots of rhyming). It seems that hardware, cams especially, are so bulky that getting them to pack nicely is a real pain. Does anyone have any tricks to packing a rack for alpine routes and longer crag approaches (aside from bringing less cams)?

[thelawgoddess]

hmm. curious to see if anyone has a great solution. i always find the rack a bit annoying to pack as well. my grivel pack has gear loops that are nice to hang parts of the rack from and help keep things a big organized, but when i pack it really full like that i get cams sticking me in the back. (ouch!) usually i just lay the rack sideways on top of the rope bag ...

[Dru]

throw all the heavy things like cams on the bottom.

next layer is draws

then harness and shooz, chalk bag

 

rope on top or through flap.

 

it works 4 me

[JackY]

 

Send it to me and I'll pack it up real neat for ya, and, ah send it right back.

 

I put the rack in a stuff sack, it keeps the "package" in place.

[TrogdortheBurninator]

if I dont put something soft like a jacket or rope on the bottom, I kind of worry about the cams ripping through the bottom of the bag if it is rubbed on a hard surface.

[Dru]

why would you rub it on a hard surface while its packed? do you rub it on the thatched-roof peasant cottages on your way to the crag?

[ivan]

chix dig you way more if you put all the shiny stuff on the outside!

[Ryan]

I pack the same as Dru, with all the cams and stoppers on the bottom of my pack. I never really have much of a problem with it being too bulky, the gear seems to settle in rather nicely once I get everything packed.

[Dr._Ben_Krazy]

I put my cams in my spare underwear then in the pack. Always hang your biggest cam or two on the exterior of the pack so chicks (or guys if that's your thing (not that there's anything wrong with that)) will think you are a hotshot super studly boulderer guy and want to tear your pants off and throw you down in the dirt and play with your GPS.

[eric8]

Hardware in bottom, though i tend to put slings and stoppers shit that you can lay down flat in first then cams then something that can fill space between cams like a jacket takes less room that way or just get a smaller pack and rack uup in the gparkign lot

[EWolfe]

BURN THE RACK!!!!

BURN THE PACK!!!!

BURN IT ALL!!!!

 

BWAHAHAHAAHAA!

[lummox]

pathetic rookie.

what you do is pack a bunch of bulky light stuff in your pack. then you say 'ah shit. i dont have room for the rack. dude: can you carry it?'.

got it?

[scott]

for many approaches, you can just wear the rack and harness, and not carry it in a pack at all.

[snoboy]

I dunno, I just kinda throw it in there, it seems to fit pretty good.

 

Depends on the pack I guess, and the rack.

 

[Dru]

prana makes some sexy sport bras you can pack your rack in

[chucK]

Don't listen to him. He's just trying to get people to mangle their cams by packing them wrong. Then he'll rake in the dough fixing all the CC.commer cams.

 

What I do is use one of those vinyl shoe organizer thingies you can hang on your closet door. One or two cams, depending on size, in each shoe slot. Then roll it all up, fold it over like a burrito and slide it inside the pack. Keeps it all nice and neat, and no wires get tweaked.

 

Then I hang all the draws, my harness, helmet and shoes on the outside.

[AlpineK]

Whatever. Just stick the gear in your pack and quit whining.

[catbirdseat]

I don't like to have my rack in the bottom of the pack because it messes up the weight distribution, although lower may be better if the approach is more technical as Dru suggests. Since it is the most dense piece of equipment in the pack, I try to locate it more towards the center by putting extra clothes and slings in first. I just put it in a stuff sack.

[EWolfe]

I agree, CBS, some clothes in first feels more balanced to me.

 

Metolius makes some small wall bags that work nicely for the rack and draws. Plus, you don't have to worry about chafing the pack material.

[Dru]

wtf your pack will carry way better if all the heavy stuff is at the bottom and the light stuff is at the top!

[Dru]

nothing screams out materialistic yuppie more than seeing some dude get out of his chevy avalanche at the extreme smith rock parking lot, grab his monstrous protein-gobbling dog, titanium flick-lock stick clip with trango architeuthis, redpoint beta laser pointer, and MICRO HAULBAG before making the arduous approach to MORNING GLORY WALL to set up the 3-1 hauling system and hanging unequipped bivi on the stairs!

[catbirdseat]

It depends on whether you are hiking on trail or scrambling, doesn't it?

[Dru]

no it doesnt.

[lummox]

you guys overthink everything.

[EWolfe]

nothing screams out materialistic yuppie more than seeing some dude get out of his chevy avalanche at the extreme smith rock parking lot, grab his monstrous protein-gobbling dog, titanium flick-lock stick clip with trango architeuthis, redpoint beta laser pointer, and MICRO HAULBAG before making the arduous approach to MORNING GLORY WALL to set up the 3-1 hauling system and hanging unequipped bivi on the stairs!

 

Nice one, Drool!