SofCookay
climber
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My new ULA Circuit pack in Barney purple, of course. It'll be coming on the PCT with me this year.
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paul roehl
Boulder climber
california
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I've been looking and looking for a red canvas ruck sac with a leather bottom and leather straps like the one pictured on this thread. Love to know where I might buy one! Anyone know?
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Bill Mc Kirgan
Trad climber
Cedar Rapids, Iowa
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LL LL,
Those are some special packs indeed. I understand how they've acquired special meaning and bring the memories back. Memories of adventure and discovery. That's beautiful.
Uncomfortable as hell, not waterproof, carried like crap ...
-- ihateplastic
^^^^ Agreed: Creature comforts are not THE defining characteristics of my 'favorite pack' either. Or is it a haul baggie? Pack, day pack, haul baggie, piglet, whateva...I've had no buyer's remorse with this one.
I'm a FISH addict and absolutely adore the simplicity and functionality of the Atom Smasher (Deluxe), pictured above fresh out-of-the-box the day I received it.
I looked like an absolute n00b the first month I used it, and, well...I was.
I quickly learned that if I load it with soft goods on the shoulder strap side I could protect my back and ribs and be comfortable hiking and scrambling with it fully loaded. Sometimes I use a runner to make a chest strap to keep the shoulder straps from spreading for long hikes.
If I load the thing in a hasty way, as I often do when our party moves to another route, I typically discover something jabbing into my back and then adjust the padded shoulder straps...sometimes just loosen it up and let the pack lie backwards hanging off the waste belt. If that doesn't help then I stop and take a little time to fix it.
After a few years of light use my Atom Smasher is starting to develop some character.
When I visited Devils Tower I was not too surprised to see this is the preferred pack of Frank Sanders (pictured below).
Look's like this one got sick and vomited gear and clothing. Poor piglet.
When I asked Mr. Sanders how long he's had his heavily worn-out-looking-wreckage of an Atom Smasher, he chuckled and said only a year or so. Said he was hoping to score a few more that summer so he would have a reserve supply.
I'm starting to see the wounds on mine now and plan on learning how to sew and mend this thing because as ugly-looking and uncomfortable as it can be it is my go-to pack for any adventure.
Of course the ASD has nothing on the Flextrek Whipsnake upthread...that unit rocks.
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WyoRockMan
Trad climber
Flank of the Bighorns
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Last summer I was walking through the forest and sat down in a group of white bark pines to wait out a hopefully short rain shower. Reaching into my pack to grab some water and a snack and a map and some bug juice, it occurred to me that I LOVE MY PACK.
I think I bought it in 1987, I remember saving up for it. It may have been one of my first “big” purchases. I poured through brochures, walked around all the stores, tried them all on, it was, as Joe Biden put it, “A BIG fvcking deal!” It was one of the first times I made a conscious effort to buy local. A great number of my friends would wind up building them, certainly a prolific if not preferred employer in “6” county Montana.
Hikes to the ridge, up the Gallatin canyon, a winter trip to the Sphinx, Ross Peak, Crazy Peak, a failed attempt at Mt. Moran, across Froze-to-Death Plateau, up the Ramp, down the Smith River, the Great One, Flatirons, Yosemite, Bow Glacier… None of these places are overly crazy or extreme, just enough for the occasional dose of “The Fear”. Sometimes you need an ice axe, sometimes a shovel, maybe a rock hammer or skis, but always a pack.
20+ years of varied use and the pack is still living up to it’s no fail policy. I know this is starting to sound like a sales pitch, but it is too late for that. You can’t get this pack anymore, its not for sale. I’m sure there are lighter, higher tech, superman packs out there, but this one is simple, reliable and made at home. Thanks for the memories and here’s to many more my friend.
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hossjulia
Trad climber
Where the Hoback and the mighty Snake River meet
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The pack on my back! This old Camp Trails pack (Campmor) is a smallish women's specific that weighs 3 pounds. Carry's great, I think it was made to fit bear cans. I carried an average of 40 pounds with it on the JMT and it was maxed out. Could not have fit much else in it.
I need to replace it and shudder at what I'll need to spend, this one cost me $60 new about a dozen years ago.
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Gary
Social climber
Right outside of Delacroix
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SofCookay, spot on! I love my ULA. Carried it 240 miles on the JMT (we did some extra)and it's a great pack. Light, comfortable rugged. Have a couple of friends who carried ULA on a PCT thruhike, the pack finished with barely any wear.
And I have friends who swear by Cold Cold World. I'll have to try one.
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SCseagoat
Trad climber
Santa Cruz
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This pack, because it holds alot and rides well when on skis in the back country. Well holding alot is probably not a good thing because then I take more. But I've gotten so many winters out of this pack. At my age I will probably never have to give it up.
Susan
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TwistedCrank
climber
Dingleberry Gulch, Ideeho
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A Lowe somethingerrather.
Can't recall the model name, it's a 2nd or 3rd generation Lowe. One of the first with plastic buckles. I won pretty big at a poker game and the next day I went into a boutique gear store, slapped a wad of bills on the counter and said "I want that one".
The next day I pawned my old Kelty frame pack for about 15 bucks.
I lived out of that thing for a few years. Since gaining modern maturity, I've rediscovered joys backpacking, approach humping, and wallowing more than a few times under that pack.
It's got a big old stain on the back from "the Parkay incident".
Last year my wife offered up our IRS refund for a new super light, ultra big, all space-age materialed, neon polychrome uberpack. I said NFW, I want to be buried in that Lowe when I die.
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Capt.
climber
some eastside hovel
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WyoRockMan-That's awesome!!That is kind of mutt tho,yeah??Old school Bomb lid.Nice!
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donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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A really heavy one that i can get someone to carry for me.
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TrundleBum
Trad climber
Las Vegas
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BITD I had a 'Chuck Roast, Alpine sack' that I loved to death.
(Any body remember Chuck Roast' gear?)
Presently I most often schlep my schwag to the crag in a Fish 'Atom Smasher' that is now about in the same condition as the one shown upthread.
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LL LL
Sport climber
moving thru
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Topic Author's Reply - Feb 7, 2013 - 08:45pm PT
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Just got home from work.....selling packs among other things:D
LOVE all your pack stories. That's what I was hoping for.
I'm a newbie recreated into a second life in the outdoors. As I get ready for an adventure it seems my pack senses my vibes..... my thoughts and plans and hopes and trepidation's. It also counsels me to pack healthy snacks and my headlamp. That's the purple pack.
Oh man, what a pack :D
Now I have a new friend.
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Jaybro
Social climber
Wolf City, Wyoming
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CMy atomsmasher is my go to pack as well. I was there at its birth.
Like any parent I have photos of its gestation and birth. To be dug out presently.
I liked my chouinard ultima Thule mostly for the name.
I have other favorite packs.... Off to the archives......
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LL LL
Sport climber
moving thru
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Topic Author's Reply - Feb 7, 2013 - 09:07pm PT
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Jaybro Dude,
Get those archive's rolling. Miss you Dude and hope life is well. Will you be able to make it to Tuolumne this summer? If so we must get some of us together and christen lynnie climbing with yo the majors. Cheers, hugs and Peace
SC seagoat, awesome pic.
Sofcooky, we sell the ULA. I'd love to know what you think about it and why you chose the Circuit. What size did you get? Blessing to you on your grand adventure.
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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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My old Sac Millet- untold summits in the Cascades. With the attached pockets it even served on quite a few winter multi-day trips. Hard to believe, but true. Zero padding, no suspension system, inch and a half wide straps; no pain-no gain, right?
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LL LL
Sport climber
moving thru
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Topic Author's Reply - Feb 7, 2013 - 09:13pm PT
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Reilly, true.... some of the best loved have no padding, no suspension. They've been used for years before all the specialized stuff came out. Think the hip suspension for gals is a good thing....we will see when I test my Gregory in a couple weeks.
Julia and QITNL, great pics of packs and rat packs...smiles and good evening.
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Sierra Ledge Rat
Mountain climber
Old and Broken Down in Appalachia
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My favorite pack is the On Rope 1 cave pack. It is very well made, and the removable straps can be rearranged so as to carry the pack in any configuration that you want: over both shoulder, over one shoulder, in front, a hydrid (one strap diagonally around the shoulder and the other strap around the waist, shown here), or even the straps wrapped around your ankle (so you can drag the pack while you crawl).
This photo was taken during a 12-hour trip in Friar's Hole to see the 2nd highest waterfall in West Virginia.
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can't say
Social climber
Pasadena CA
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I haven't worn any of the newer model packs but bitd this thing was the shizz, a Gregory Big Wally. My favorite crag pack by far.
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SofCookay
climber
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Lynne, I know Nomad sells the ULA pack because I work at Nomad's (occasionally) in Joshua Tree. I don't know if you remember, but we met at this last Facelift. I left that Friday before all the partays kicked off (not one for big crowds). Anyway, I got that pack from the Nomad's in Idylwild and I chose it specifically for its functionality, durability, and weight (2 lbs 7 oz). The awesome purple color was just a bonus.
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