How To Load Your Backpack For a Multi-Day Trip
hey guys it's papa steve on the move welcome back hey if you're new to the channel i backpack i hike and i travel i review gear that i use and i review sites and places i visit if you're into that kind of thing go ahead and hit that bell down below and subscribe to the channel now i've been backpacking for years and one thing i get asked a lot is how i carry this 40 pound bag around the woods all day now in this video we'll review how to load your pack for a multi-day excursion we'll talk about what i use how i pack it and if you stick around to the end i'll give two methods on how you can lighten up that multi-day load with a little know-how you can make your pack feel a lot lighter and more comfortable so when i first started backpacking i made plenty of mistakes probably the biggest one was i would just grab my pack and i'd throw all my gear in it and i'd head out into the woods that wasn't really a problem while i was young and just going out for the day but once i started doing multi-day excursions i got a little older a little more sensitive to the weight a little more income for some lighter gear helps too but uh really i found out right away that my back was sore at the end of the weekend and i really felt terrible about carrying that bag around so i started to look at what i was doing wrong i recommend for a multi-day trip you're going to need at least a 50 liter backpack i'm using the gregory beltoro 65 leader the pack itself is about five pounds so it's uh it's gonna it's gonna be some weight all on its own and the more things you have in your pack the more zippers the more tie-downs the more luxury things you have the heavier that pack's going to be now when you're packing it's going to be critical to consider what's going in the pack before you start so what i think i like to do is lay out all my gear in front of me i use a checklist i make sure i've got all my gear i lay it out in front of me and i consider what's got to go inside that backpack the first thing you do is load the bottom now the bottom is pretty critical because you don't want to put a lot of weight in the bottom because it'll hurt your lower back so that's that's where you put your sleep system your sleeping bag your your mat your pad or your your pillow if you're bringing one now i should make a note that if you're using a water bladder for your water uh water bladder something that kind of fits it you fill it up with water you put it inside the pack and you run the hose from the bladder to the to your mouth through the pack it's pretty handy it's great because you don't need to mess around with water bottles but um if you're if you're using a water bladder that's got to be the first thing you put in so fill it up with water put it in the bag you don't want to be trying to mess with this once your bag's full the bag liner is something you can put into the bottom of the bag and it's waterproof so this bag liner goes right in the bag ahead of time and you can seal it up and it keeps all your stuff dry i've got a bigger one this is a smaller one but they make them in different sizes depending on your pack now i always bring this with me this is a great piece of gear but i don't use it as a bag liner i just bring it as a waterproof bag i can put my gear in and leave it outside while i'm unpacking my bag it's a nice to have but i don't use it in the bag because lots of these bags now have access panels on the side like this one i can open it right up and see what's inside if you're using a bag liner you're stuck you're only got one opening and it's at the top we're going to put the sleeping bag in first now i'm using a three season bag it's down it's very compressible you're going to want probably a down bag it's it's lighter and it's smaller and it needs to fit in your bag you don't want to get this wet that's a no-no so the sleeping bag goes right in the bottom i usually turn it horizontal and then i take my sleeping pad and i put that in right beside it i just kind of squeeze that right beside the bag leave that right against my back those are both pretty light and they're pretty soft i bring a sleeping bag liner not for warmth but for cleanliness this is easily washed i don't get my bag dirty it gets oils from your body of dirt from your clothes i like to bring a sleeping bag liner throw that in there i like to be comfortable so i do bring a blow-up pillow it's pretty light and it's small and it fits right inside now next you pack the middle now the middle is where you want to put your heaviest stuff and your heaviest stuff that's because on the middle of your back you're not pulling too hard on your shoulders like you are on the top and you're not putting weight on your lower back like you are at the bottom so your heaviest stuff should sit in the middle of your back and that's generally your shelter and your cook kit now i switched shelters this year i just picked up the nemo two person ultra light hornet it's a lot smaller it is a two person tent but i wouldn't recommend it for two uh when you're buying a tent always think plus one if you're two people by a three person if you're one by a two um i've always been the type to separate my poles and my tent so if i've got someone with me i bring my three person mother hubba i've done a separate gear uh review for that i'll leave that here for you guys to access but um the nemo i keep the poles on the outside we'll get to that tent goes in the middle right against your back again i like to keep everything horizontal so it stacks nicely in the backpack i've reviewed my cook kit plenty of times i can leave that link here for you as well this is my one person kit it's a pot inside there's a titanium mug and a tank and a small stove there's even a cup and a dishcloth in here and that all fits very nicely into this one little kit that goes in beside the tent uh those should go right against your back now there's some space still in the middle to put some other stuff and that's usually where i'll put my clothes now i always bring a puffer jacket does get cold at night and the great thing about the jacket i just put it in loose and i kind of stuff the holes with it but just kind of get stuffed down even if there's a gap around your sleeping bag you can stuff that right in there and it keeps the pack really stuck nicely i bring a bag for clothes i like to bring bags i'm a packet guy i like to pack all these all my gear in little bags and i even color code them so i know which one's which from from afar you don't need the bags you can just stuff your clothes in you can you can put all the items in the pockets but i just find it's easier to find and the extra weight of the bags is negligible so my clothes go in next and that's kind of the middle then you want to pack the top now the top obviously is where we want to keep all the gear that you need to get after this is all stuff that i won't need until i get into camp and start to make camp so i take the other things out if it's raining i'll use that liner put everything in there so it doesn't get wet while i set up the tent and that's the gear i put on the top so i keep a hygiene kit my little blue bag it's got like deodorant dish soap biodegradable stuff toothpaste toothbrush i keep it all in a little kit by itself because it has to go into the bear bag or the bear locker at night keep the scents out of your tent so i keep a hygiene bag i keep a repair kit uh this is all the um pieces i've got a compass in there i've got some clips i've got uh duct tape um all the sewing kit all the little things that i hope i never need and other than fishing a rope out here once in a while for a clothesline i really don't use this but i always bring it and i hope i never need it then on top i put my food my food bag goes in on top and if i've got a bare uh bear container that'll go in on top as well and i'll usually have this stuff the food right inside that i've also got my seat cushion sometimes i bring a helinox one chair and i'll strap that to the bottom of my pack but most the time i'm going ultra light i just bring a cushion to sit on sit on a rock or a log or whatever and i put this right against my back again horizontal so it's just keeps the shape of the bag really nice now as you can see i've got lots of bag left here so i could still put a lot of gear in this bag so this bag may be a little too big but um i'm gonna close it up tie it off that's kind of it that's the bag now most bags have what i call a brain it's this little hood on the top it's usually got a couple of zippers and pockets in it some are removable um usually if your bag comes with a rain cover you'll see this is where they'll you'll find it in this pocket there's even a clip there for your keys you can put your belongings your personal stuff in there and usually i will clip my keys on that hook and i'll throw my wallet in there and a few other things that i just want to keep safe that i uh that i don't need for the trip so in this pocket i usually keep my trail map my titanium spoon and a lighter i bring a deck of cards i do bring this bag and i bring a mosquito net for my head it's uh it's not attractive but when the bugs are swarming around you and you've got to work and you can't swat at them a little mosquito head net is a valuable thing again one of those things i hope i never need it zip those up and i seal up the bag this is at the point where you kind of want to put all your clips together and clip the bag make sure everything's uh settled in there the way you want it but i'm not done as you can see there's still a lot of gear here so there's a stretch pocket on the front i've seen people put an extra pair of sandals or something in there for river crossings i keep my rain gear there so i put in my raincoat i bring rain pants they're about the only pair of spare pants that i like to bring again hope i never need this stuff and of course my uh my pack cover now the pack cover uh again some people keep it inside i like to keep it with my rain gear if it starts raining i cover myself then i cover my pack keep in mind that the stuff inside you don't want it to get wet i throw all that gear in there and that's nice and handy if it starts to rain it's really easy to get at right in that cover now i've even got a couple pockets here on the top of the brain and i use those from time to time again for stuff that i want to pack away so the things i've got here is my fanny pack usually you'll see me wearing this on the trail but when i'm not and i'm just kind of packing to get into the car or whatever it's easily tucked into the top here zipped up as well as you know a bladder if i'm not using that but i want to bring it just in case it'll go up top and i've still got a few items left now these are items that i like to get at when i'm on the trail and i do have two side pockets here pack is very convenient has lots of zippers lots of pockets makes it a little heavier but i i like it it works for me get one that works for you if not load this stuff definitely in the top of your bag so it's still easy to get at number one my water filter uh this one's a pretty big one it's a platypus four liter gravity feed filter it's light but it's a little bulky but i like to have access to it when i need more water it's right there so if i come across a nice uh stream or something where uh the water looks nice and clean and i want to fill that bag it's handy and there's even been a few trips where i've uh my water bottle's gone empty and i've had to stop along the way and just filter some more water now the other two items i've got first aid again hope you never need it i keep some pills some bandages some gloves a few minor things all in this little red bag i'm getting color-coded easy to find my stuff i keep the first aid in the other side pocket really easy to get at now you might wonder what's in the orange bag this is my latrine bag it's got some plastic bags a trowel a little shovel it's got some hand sanitizer and of course uh some paper products um i call it the latrine bag and uh you know when you're heading down to the pit toilet or out into the bush to do your thing i just grab my little orange bag and away i go so i keep that handy when i need it it's right there now most packs again when you're pretty much packed up you've got a few last points around the side and i do lash things to the side some people like to keep everything in the bag and that's cool i i like to make use of their lash poles and that's where i put my tent poles i lash them right out here on the side i keep the stakes in with the poles and i just pop them in there and i use one of these last straps just around the top of the poles and put that around and through it's got a little clip and that's where i carry the poles they're on the outside it doesn't matter if they get wet and they don't they don't get they don't rip my gear or anything that i've got inside and they're they're just out of my way uh the other thing is uh water water bottle most places got a little pocket right on the outside this is great pack it actually uh stashes the uh the water bottle pocket right away if you're not using it so if i've got my bladder out i can just tuck that pocket right away and it's out of my way and when i want it i just pull on the tab and there's the pocket water bottle goes inside i'll usually lash another truck pull i bring two truck pulls and i use one most of the time and the other ones usually strap to the outside here with the other lash points at this point you want to tighten up all of your straps make sure your uh your packs good and tight and everything's kind of tied together that needs to be you can uh fasten the clips at the bottom if you've got nothing to lash there and that's pretty much it there's a couple of pockets in the front and i do use those i keep a compass and a pocket knife in the one helpful when you need them very handy right in front on the belt and then the other one i keep a snack whatever i'm munching on so i don't have to get my food bag out you know a couple bars or some nuts or whatever you want that leaves one thing bear spray i don't go in the woods without it there's always bears everywhere you go even when there's not bears there's still a chance of bears so i always bring a bear spray make sure it's not expired i use a holster but i don't like to keep it on my belt because it gets in my way when i'm walking so i actually lash it right to the strap i use a clip i've got a couple extra clips here i don't always use use this many but i clip it right to the uh the sunglass drop and then i use this uh this little strap that i leave with the uh the holster and i just lash that right around the strap on the backpack and that just kind of hangs out there really handy when i need it now once you're to this step it's very important to try on the pack put it on see how it feels that's the critical thing some people like to weigh it um i kind of know what the weight is already sometimes i'll weigh it i know if i'm bringing too much stuff now once you put it on kind of loosen loosen your straps up get to everything that's comfortable put it on make sure it fits you properly now i'll make sure your uh your belt is tight and it's right on your hips because that you don't even need these straps you're going to carry the weight of that pack on your hips the rest of the pack it's going on your shoulders those straps got to feel good make sure you got a bag that's comfortable there's always a sternum strap now this isn't uh to hold any weight this is really just to keep up this thing shouldn't be tight it should just be like hand loose and all it does is it keeps your straps in the right place so once you've got your backpack on you want to make sure that it feels good that weight shouldn't be on your lower back and it shouldn't be up top your straps should be nice and flush all the way along the back and there are a couple little straps here which can pull the uh the load tighter to your neck or away from your neck depending on how high it is now you'll want to adjust those to get just the right fit and if it doesn't feel right take it off and start over unpack move something take something out move it to a different pocket get get to where you're comfortable wear it around a little bit and you're good make sure you you know get at all your stuff and you're happy with it and and that's really the most important thing be comfortable because uh you're going to be carrying this stuff around with you so that's kind of it now if you stuck around i did mention there would be two tips now the first tip is water water weighs a lot of water weighs one kilogram per liter that's 2.2 pounds for about a quarter gallon that's a lot that's a lot of weight so i i just bring my liter water bottle just one plastic bottle and i filter the rest out there do your research check check before you go know the area you're going into know where the fresh water is and be prepared to filter and treat your water bring tablets or something to uh to filter and uh and bring a filter to uh get get at your water and there's lots of water in north america and most of it's clean so you guys will be happy tip number two clothing don't bring extra clothing be prepared to get dirty it's a dirty business hiking and camping be prepared to get dirty and live with that your buddy's going to be smelly you're going to be smelly i bring off for a weekend trip i'll bring an extra pair of socks extra underwear and that's about it for a multi-day trip you can add a shirt and another pair of socks and other underwear but stay light you don't want to bring clothes you don't wear make sure you got layers but um don't bring a lot of extra clothes that's extra weight and you may or may not use it so just embrace the smell and have a great time so that's it for this week hope you guys uh hope you guys enjoyed it learned something and um as usual if you have any comments or questions leave them down below or reach out on social media i'll leave a couple links down in the comments area till then i'll see you guys on the trail it's pop steve on the move you
2021-04-10 20:07
