Final Day Packless System

I call the above clip the Nitty Gritty. If you've been following along and perhaps even revamping your external frame, today is the day we put it all together.

It can get a little strange at first, making sure everything is secure, will carry well and fits. Silnylon is slippery, so having the main bag full creates a ledge for the top bag to rest on. This helps when cinching it down.

As you can see in the video, my tent is in a long skinny bag. This helps keep things on as well. If you want, you can add the anchoring loops in the long seam as well to pass the cinching straps through.

You can use bags that are not necessarily waterproof. Just be prepared to cover with a pack cover. You can get ultralight silnylon pack covers at Campmor for a very reasonable price.

Even if all you bags are waterproof, pack covers are recommended. Those three day rains on the Appalachian Trail have a way of soaking everything unless you seriously compensate. I always line the stuff sack which will contain the sleeping bag and sleeping clothes with a plastic bag.

Its good to have this project completed. Write me if you have any questions.

Packless System-Day Three

Today we did a lengthy blog at

http://www.brawnyview.blogspot.com/

on the steps involved in making your own stuff sack to serve as the central, main bag. I sewed a mesh pocket onto the fabric before sewing the side seams. This main bag can be removed and used as a day pack. For that reason it is vertically oriented, instead of horizontal as the other bags will be.

The short clips here are showing how to add anchor points to your existing stuff sacks. As we know, the packless system is all about using what you have and just strapping it securely in place via cordage of some type.

If you've been using an internal frame, you probably stuff your sleeping bag into a stuff sack. Your food would also be in a stuff sack, as well as the tent, the cook system, and hygiene kit. Then, all these various sacks would be placed into an internal frame.

My extensive testing on the Pacific Crest Trail of the Packless System led me to the conclusion that 3-4 stuff sacks properly ordered, were sufficient for a long distance hiker's needs.

Tomorrow, we will put it all together on the pack, and by Friday have a complete video uploaded to my channel at YouTube.

Packless System Conversion-Day One

Taking an external frame to an ultralight backpacking mode is very easy.

External frames last forever, even though the packs bound to them with Clevis pins may be worn out. Many times a pack has zippers, heavy pack cloth with holes, or simply way too much outdated metal hardware which is extremely heavy. The simple procedure of stripping all the old worn out equipment from the pack takes just a few minutes.

Once stripped, the external frame with shoulder straps and cushy hip belt weigh just under two pounds. The silnylon stuff sacks with gear are sacks normally used inside the pack. The method we will employ cinches these sacks directly to the frame. All can be covered with an ultralight silnylon pack cover, if desired, for rain protection.

My pack has a modern custom silnylon pack which I made to accommodate a Garcia Bear Canister for a long distance hike in Montana, grizzly country. Now I am in Appalachian Mountains and will use this pack for other adventures so a packless system is in order.

This week we'll be blogging about that process. Tomorrow, taking measurements and analyzing our stash of stuff sack, we'll begin assembling the system.

Check out http://www.brawnyview.blogspot.com/ for more details.