Bug Posted May 5, 2004 Posted May 5, 2004 Heavy stuff at the bottom and in close to the back. No brainer. Especially important if you are skiing. Quote
Gripped Posted May 5, 2004 Posted May 5, 2004 you guys overthink everything. Â Yup. Step 1: Buy Lots of cams Step 3: Climb Lots of mountains. Â I like to keep the rack in a stuff sack, all racked up and ready to go. Put it at the bottom if you won't need it for a while, and put it near the top, if you're gonna need it right away. Â That weight distribution shiz is for the longer approaches. It doesn't really matter for most the climbs in the cascades (exept maybe for a trip to the pickets, or similar long, shwack approaches). Quote
mattp Posted May 5, 2004 Posted May 5, 2004 I generally put stuff I'm not expecting to use toward the bottom of my pack - like my raincoat or a sleeping bag that isn't coming out until I reach camp - and the location of the rack within my pack depends on how and when I'm going to be using it more than a consideration of weight distribution. I think Dru is right that you don't want to put the heaviest objects on top of or on the very back (outside) of your pack or it will mess with your center of balance, but convenience is at least as important as weight distribution. If you pack your pack really welll, but you have to mess around for an extra ten minutes loading the rack in and out of your pack while your buddies are ready to go, they'll be annoyed. Â Whatever you do, just dump all that crap in there, one lump at a time (a half of a rack, a helmet, or a rope are example's of "lumps). Then slam your pack up and down to compact it and make it all settle in, check the area next to your back for pot lids or cam lobes poking you in the back, cram some soft item in the voids, and start on the next layer. Quote
mattp Posted May 5, 2004 Posted May 5, 2004 There ARE two general schools of packing: the trash compactor method and the Dewey Decimal system. Or you can just skip school altogether and go for the tossed salad. Quote
thelawgoddess Posted May 5, 2004 Posted May 5, 2004 Heavy stuff at the bottom and in close to the back. not necessarily at the bottom. you want it close to your center of gravity. Quote
Dru Posted May 5, 2004 Posted May 5, 2004 Heavy stuff at the bottom and in close to the back. not necessarily at the bottom. you want it close to your center of gravity.  if you do it right you dont even need a pack  Quote
Bug Posted May 5, 2004 Posted May 5, 2004 Heavy stuff at the bottom and in close to the back. not necessarily at the bottom. you want it close to your center of gravity. OK counselor. Now we have to discuss which brand and model and who is wearing it so we can determine where the center of gravity will be depending on the force of the load in motion. Speaking of a load in motion.......... Quote
Greg_W Posted May 5, 2004 Posted May 5, 2004 [quote Speaking of a load in motion.......... Â Somebody's coffee is kicking in... Quote
fenderfour Posted May 5, 2004 Posted May 5, 2004 I open my pack, drop it in, then stuff the rest of the shit I might need in too. Quote
Bug Posted May 5, 2004 Posted May 5, 2004 [quote Speaking of a load in motion.......... Â Somebody's coffee is kicking in... Â OK, I might be a little jumpy but the Sensitivity Training Manual specifically excludes lawers and politicians. Â Besides, she is in Colorado and can't kick my ass. Quote
bDubyaH Posted May 5, 2004 Posted May 5, 2004 Whatever. Just stick the gear in your pack and quit whining. i second that motion. Quote
thelawgoddess Posted May 5, 2004 Posted May 5, 2004 [OK, I might be a little jumpy but the Sensitivity Training Manual specifically excludes lawers and politicians. Besides, she is in Colorado and can't kick my ass.  look again, bug. i'm just a few hours north of you. and really, i could sue your ass from just about anywhere. just kidding ... Quote
Dru Posted May 5, 2004 Posted May 5, 2004 ya when i am constipated coffee puts my load in motion too Quote
Squid Posted May 5, 2004 Posted May 5, 2004 It depends on whether you are hiking on trail or scrambling, doesn't it? Â I use the newly installed tyrolean traverse. Quote
Bug Posted May 5, 2004 Posted May 5, 2004 [OK, I might be a little jumpy but the Sensitivity Training Manual specifically excludes lawers and politicians. Besides, she is in Colorado and can't kick my ass.  look again, bug. i'm just a few hours north of you. and really, i could sue your ass from just about anywhere. just kidding ... That was sneaky. How is the snow? Quote
thelawgoddess Posted May 5, 2004 Posted May 5, 2004 haven't been spending as much time on the snow as i'd like. last week it was kinda icy in the early hours turning to nice corn later on on certain aspects. typical spring skiing i guess. Quote
ken4ord Posted May 6, 2004 Posted May 6, 2004 (edited) 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)? Â Split the rack on a couple of slings, hold sling, grab gear, wrap gear with sling, place in pack. Essentially just toss it in your pack, but wrapped up. Don't clip shit on the outside of your pack, unless you want to lose all the benefits of bringing your pack. Edited May 6, 2004 by ken4ord Quote
Bill_Simpkins Posted May 6, 2004 Posted May 6, 2004 Rap it up with a sling to tighten it up. I usually put stuff in my pack so I can pull it out in the order that I put it on, exept for shoes and chalk bag, which I put at the top underneath my helmet, in case I want to boulder around a bit. Quote
lummox Posted May 6, 2004 Posted May 6, 2004 i like how cams down deep in a pack will shift so you get jabbed in the back but you are too lazy to repack so you just get angry at all the stupid mutha fukas in this stupid world and shit. Quote
barkernews Posted May 19, 2004 Posted May 19, 2004 If you've got the cash for a new pack... Osprey just came out with a pretty sweet one. It's got gear loops inside for a rack and a rope bag stashed in the fold-out thingy that you zip off. It's pretty damn expensive, though. I've always just stuffed my rack towards the top of my pack. My reasoning: I don't want all my prrrty cams to get smashed. Quote
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