Winter Pack Suggestions, take 2?

Julie wanted suggestions for a winter pack apparently for day hikes, but how about one for winter camping? My 65 L is too small to hold winter bag, tent, pad and the rest of the necessary gear and clothing.

So what packs, and what sizes, are people happy with? Is 75 L enough, or does one need a big honkin' pack (what Colin Fletcher referred to as a "great bloody sack")?

FWIW, I use a 20+ year old 5000 cu in (82 L), 4 lb 10 oz (2.1 kg) Lowe internal frame pack. No longer available. (Packs seem to have gotten either heavier with time or the design gets gutted to save weight...)

And a friend brought a 7000 cu in (115 L) pack. Was great for carrying the extras. (He was also the strongest in the group and didn't mind carrying a little extra.)

Doug

When I started winter backpacking I was still going alone all the time and so needed a HUGE pack to carry all the needed usual winter overnight gear and to fit the "I am a woman backpacking solo in winter and I am nervous" gear so after much searching I bought a Kelty Red Cloud 6500.

Even with a pack that big, I still strapped the tent to the outside. I love this pack for all its various pockets and how spacious it is. However, it usually weighed about 65 pounds and caused me to keep my trips under 8 miles a day.

I rarely use this pack anymore, because now Brian and I share the gear and I bought better lighter smaller winter gear so my EMS 5500 works just fine these days.

So, the size of the pack will depend on factors such as what kind of sleeping bag you have, will you be solo most often or have a partner in crime. Do you carry 2 pads? Do you get cold easily? How cold can it be and you will still go ??? Do you bring luxuries, etc.

But I'd say, if you have a tent of any size bigger than a bivy, you should have a pack atleast 5500 cu in . . . but that is just my opinion based on how I pack for a winter backpacking trip.

sli74

for multi-day trips you really need a huge pack, imho. i use the gregory massif (6400+ cubic inches) for winter or expedition trips lasting around 5 days, after that i also haul a sled. when you think about how much more volume your winter gear has you really need the space, unless you don't mind strapping a bunch of stuff to the outside of the pack. then you look like a yard sale and you have to be concerned with loosing stuff.

if carrying a big pack isn't to your liking then you really need to get a good, minimalistic system dialed in, it also doesn't hurt if you don't mind a little suffering. this means the right boots, base layer, action layer (softshells), shell layer (goretex), warmth layer (puffy), and glove/hat layer. a really warm sleeping bag (-20 +) is heavy. bring along your +5/+10 bag and wear puffy to bed and lay on your other clothes in the bag, this makes a big difference. do you really need that xtra base layer to sleep in, no. do you really need more then 2 pair of socks, no. drop the tent in favor of a bivy sack, if you can't do that then split it up between the group. that goes for the food as well. but in the end you can only take this so far.

hopefully this was helpful.

Yeah, I use a sled for the big trips like Baxter. I'm thinking of the ones where you can't haul a sled comfortably because of the terrain. I do all the layering stuff, from the plastics on up to the face mask & hats. I'm not too worried about the clothing part, it's the "stuff" that takes up a lot of room. Stuff like my 2-person tent and my -40 (so they say!) bag.

I try to avoid discomfort, but you have to consider the source of that statement. When I was a kid we played outside in -20 temps with wool coats, homemade knit mittens and gum rubbers with lots of socks! We even thought it was fun.

Thanks, everyone, for the suggestions. I'll have to check out the brands you mentioned.

Hmm...I've even gotten by with a 35L pack when using an ultralight tent or bivy sack in winter. Generally, though, I've been using a 4500 c.i. Granite Gear Stratus Access or a sled with a big fat duffel bag (especially on trips where I want to bring a larger tent or my girlfriend is coming along).