What size pack do you climb with?

Funny VAGenius, unfortunatly my time has been occupied with a job and family and oh yea, climbing. So i have not had a lot of extra time to do my usual trolling of the MP forums and just came accros this one. My "reason" for the post is i am curious as to how other avid climbers manage gear. I am always interested in learning more efficiant means. Or learning anything for that matter. Thanks for those with the feedback.

I will admit I am the guy always with too much stuff. If you carrying a tiny pack, are you carrying a larger pack on the approach or racking up at the car?

On longer alpine climbs (1000' + climbs up 14,000' peaks) I'll usually bring my BD speed-40. My partner and I will put all the water, food, extra clothing, and shoes in the pack and the second will haul it. For shorter climbs I use an REI Flash-18.

The 40L pack is great for climbs that have a long approach after a long drive. My personal preference is to do the approach the day / night before and bivy at the base of the climb. I can pretty much fit everything I need for a 1-2 night stay and climb in the 40L pack, and use then use it as a day-pack.

The biggest most uncomfortable pack i can find, as long as it holds lot's a whiskey. Oh, make sure not to fasten the waist belt, that makes it better on sketchy ground.

Dana Design Astral plane. i've been doing this for years and love. It's a little on the heavy side, but it holds EVERYTHING i need.

what size Liter is it? Also do you pack your rack and gear in the pack for approach? thats something I haven't seen much response back on yet. How do others with small packs make approach? do they wear there entire rack on there hips for the hike in and out? I do mostly traditional 3 pitch and better climbs, I have a lot of gear so I carry a big bag. Also i will spend the entire day on a Craig doing multiple routes, so i carry food and more for the day. Curious how the little baggers do it? On Mt. Tammany typically I do a 2 or 3 pitch with a gear haul up with me, and hike out a few miles off the top back to the car. The hike down is like a 45 degree slope down, I couldn't imagine trying that with a full rack on my hips.

You're a hardman for sure. I salute you!

summitpost.org/mount-tamman…

I can't recommend this one highly enough:

coldcoldworldpacks.com/ozon…

It's got ample room for everything including rack, harness, helmet, food, water, a spare layer and a shell INSIDE (I hate having stuff hanging on the outside of a pack) for the approach and descent, but collapses down remarkably well for climbing and is quite light.

Like all CCW packs, it's superbly made, tough as nails, and has no frills or extras. It's a true climber's pack.

Depends on my mission. Massive old Kelty pack full of toprope gear, harnesses, some slings, biners, belays, and usually 2 rope bags inside, for over 50 lbs usually. And haul 2 more rope bags in hands up to set for a group day of toprope.
For my sporty days, just a small/med sized old Trango 'alpine pack', with a big strap on outside pocket. Don't know the liter size of it. Maybe 2200 cu. inches. I don't ever go light. Take draws, harness, 2 pair shoes, rope or two, first aid, emergency gear and clothing if needed, water and food for the day. So it's still gonna be a near 30 lb load for a day of climbing.

Derek Doucet wrote:I can't recommend this one highly enough: coldcoldworldpacks.com/ozon… It's got ample room for everything including rack, harness, helmet, food, water, a spare layer and a shell INSIDE (I hate having stuff hanging on the outside of a pack) for the approach and descent, but collapses down remarkably well for climbing and is quite light. Like all CCW packs, it's superbly made, tough as nails, and has no frills or extras. It's a true climber's pack.

Holy crap Finally, now thats what I'm talking about. great recommendation thanks.

Good to know from Woodchucks description of his day out that I am not the only crazy person carrying everything i "Think" i might need to the mountain for the day. Only my rack for traditional climbing and all gear comes closer to 50 pounds

Adam Winters wrote:you gotta have a pack to carry the beers, duh.

Finally, someone nailed it!

The Bullet is a fine pack, it's generally what I use.

Several people have commented that it only fits one pair of shoes, not if you're using Evolv Cruzers. I love my Cruzers: feather light, climb well, pack small... downsides are durability and comfort on really long approaches.

Jonah Klein wrote: Also do you pack your rack and gear in the pack for approach? thats something I haven't seen much response back on yet. How do others with small packs make approach? do they wear there entire rack on there hips for the hike in and out?

Sometimes having to return to your pack seriously limits how much climbing you can do in a day. Seneca's a good example of this. So I rack up at the car, 15 min moderate approach, and carry an REI 18 pack (mentioned earlier in the thread) for shoes, water and snacks.

I use the Trion for any approaches that are longer (like 30+ min) and everything goes in it. It is excellent at holding tons of gear and compressing down to nothing when empty, and the internal frame design is easy for climbing. Check it out... I highly recommend it. It happens they're on sale at REI right now.

My chunk of the rack, my shoes, harness, chalkbag and food fit in my little pack. Just take what you need, not the entire gear box. Rope either backpack style or slung over the shoulder straps of my bag. Beer stays in the car. BD #4+ cams go on the outside. Hike in a comfortable harness if needed.

Bigger packs if more gear/layers are needed.

Adam Stackhouse wrote: Finally, someone nailed it!

Awww, crap,,I left out the beer,,,there's another few pounds in the monster pack on big outing days! Don't even get me started on my Ice pack loads!...that's even worse when I take along 4 or 5 tools to try out for the day.

The pitch limit on when you are or are not "allowed" to carry a pack is just silly. As a number of people have said, it depends on many variables. I've carried a small pack on three-pitch climbs and gone packless on fifteen-pitch climbs.

I'm not a fan of hanging shoes, a fleece, a rain jacket, a water bottle, a first aid kit, a headlamp, food and other sundries on the harness, tied around my waist, and in my pockets. I find all that crap gets in the way more than if it is in a small pack, and since it is hanging all over the place around and behind you, it is a nightmare to rearrange it while struggling in a chimney or offwidth. If it is all in a small pack, you just hang it from you on a sling (pre-installed) if you are in a confined spot and drag it behind you.

I don't enjoy leading pitches that are hard for me with a pack. So for single-day multipitch rock-climbing, I prefer to carry one pack for two people and make the second carry it. If shoes are going to be carried, I draw the line and we both carry our own shoes on our harness. This means a small pack like the BD Bullet should have no trouble fitting everything else.

As a general rule, I don't think of such a small pack as being destined to carry rack and/or rope on the approach. It is already too big if it can do that. I've almost always found it possible to haul everything in a big comfy pack that is left at a point near where the descent route joins the approach. (If you do this and come back in the dark, you really get to appreciate some kind of reflective detailing on the pack.)

I used one of the early BD Bullets for years until it just plain wore out. I replaced it with the Petzl Bug, which is a better mousetrap. It has a few clever climbing-specific features, and, as mentioned earlier, has compression straps, which makes it carry better than the Bullet when not stuffed. It is a tad bigger than the Bullet, at 18L rather than 16L. If you are going to carry shoes, the rectangular shape is better as well. The only thing I don't like about it so much is that the zipper opening doesn't open very wide, making it seem a little harder than it should to root about inside---the Bullet has a considerably bigger opening. But I think Petzl made a deliberate design choice to restrict the top opening size to make it less likely to drop stuff out of the pack when it is unzipped.

There are problems with one pack for two people when the weather is threatening: the leader may (or should) want to have a rain jacket and/or insulation with them to stay dry and/or warm while belaying, in which case the hanging yard sale approach might be better, because when the weather threatens the one-pack team, the leader ends up with some of the kit on the harness anyway and the second is still carrying a pack (that's where those compression straps help out).

Once the conditions become more alpine, I think most people would opt for a pack for each person. Whether the stuff is split evenly or the leader gets to climb with a light leader's pack is the next thing to decide.