Lots of heavy duty equipment and State employees. Cordova is actually having National Guard troops called in. They have no roads in or out, so you can imagine the logistics.Originally Posted by SLG
Lots of heavy duty equipment and State employees. Cordova is actually having National Guard troops called in. They have no roads in or out, so you can imagine the logistics.
"A good shooter with a weak body and weak mind will lose against one who has the physical ability to crush him, and the mental ability to do it repeatedly"
-Kyle Defoor
I have a MR Big Horn for work and an Arc'teryx Altra 75 for play. I don't think Dana is making the .mil version of the Big Horn anymore. Mine is a shaped like a 3DA but is about 1/3 larger and has an internal frame. It can be run slick-ish for light loads while it's great for scaling up with a lid and side pockets for longer trips.
The Altra carries well and has access to the top and bottom with a novel zipper design. It's got that funky rotating plate for the hip belt that seems hokey until you try climbing over downed trees or boulders. The range of movement is great. It's got fast access pockets around for water and spare layers, too. The only thing I regret about the pack is getting it in black. It's like a black hole inside and out. Total PIA if you're digging around inside for something.
While Osprey makes some really nice packs, I wouldn't give them my money. I had occasion to deal with them at the corporate level. While I won't get into the particulars, it was made clear to me that the owner does not support our military or it's members.
Keep in mind that the USMC pack was designed by Arc'teryx, but produced by Proper for Berry amendment compliance. There were places that Proper strayed from the original design to cut cost and manufacturing time. They managed to find cost savings by doing things like reversing fabrics layers and straps to make access easier for sewers, omitting some bar-tacking and reinforcement points... this happened off and on for the life of the contract. They didn't do it to screw the Marines, they just didn't understand the ramification of some of the seemingly simple alterations in the manufacturing process.
That's a rather long winded way of suggesting Arc'teryx's reputation for durability and performance should be based on products they design and build, not the USMC ILBE. That pack contract was, at the same time, the best and worst thing for them.
Good info about the ILBE. It still wasn't a POS....big improvement over the pure MOLLE packs. I have a few miles on the ALICE, MOLLE and ILBE....I definitely preferred the ILBE. From remembering my experiences, I think this "Hellcat" ALICE/MOLLE frankenstein is going to be a good pack....especially for $55!
"Are you ready? Okay. Let's roll."- Last words of Todd Beamer
I have to say, the Hellcat has really impressed me. I've used just about every pack mentioned here at one point or another. Is the Hellcat as good as the best? No, but it is surprisingly good. The fact that it costs so little is just icing. I will say that my Kifaru rucks still get the nod for work, and are certainly built a lot better than the MOLLE/ALICE stuff. Still, I really like the Hellcat.
Good to know. Thanks!
"A good shooter with a weak body and weak mind will lose against one who has the physical ability to crush him, and the mental ability to do it repeatedly"
-Kyle Defoor
Just back to Alaska, and greeted with a monster of a blizzard last night and this morning. After a half day's effort, was able to break out to the main road.
Wanted to bring this thread back from the dead.
We had talked about the USMC ILBE pack, as you can see a few posts above.
Certainly not the best pack or as pointed out as good as a pure Arc'teryx, but you can get them surplus now. Tony's Tactical has new ILBE packs for $99. For $99, that's a really good deal. I'm not aware of any pack of similar size with similar features for $99.
I just thought I'd let people know in case you want a large, comfortable pack but aren't doing a lot of expedition/hardcore stuff necessitating Kifaru or MR price/quality.
I finally got around to buying a Hellcat from this same shop as well. I also purchased a new MSS.....there's certainly much better sleep systems on the market, but not for $139. You might pay that much just for a gore-tex bivy alone, which I personally am a huge fan of and have slept like a baby through torrential rain storms in the winter using just the MSS and no shelter.
25lbs for a Denali trip?? I can't even get my smash-and-grab kit down to 25lbs... what's your gear list look like?
They once called me bkb0000...
That trip was in 2011, and my gear is put away for the winter right now, but I can give you a run down of what's on the top of my head:
Ruck: I went with an Arcteryx Bora 80
Tent: Mountain Hardware Sprite 1
Sleeping bag: The North Face Cat's Meow
Sleeping pad: Thermarest NeoAir
Stove: Jetboil Flash
That's the bulk of it.
"A good shooter with a weak body and weak mind will lose against one who has the physical ability to crush him, and the mental ability to do it repeatedly"
-Kyle Defoor
Not going to altitude, then... No climbing gear, no weight. Why expedition-size pack? Sounds like you could get away with a 40L, with that load. I've crammed 4 day winter climbs- gear and rope included- into a 55L pack, myself. It's a tight load, but tight loads ride best.
They once called me bkb0000...
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