Why I'm Going Back to an External Frame Backpack
I began backpacking when I was a scout, lugging around a bargain, classic external frame pack that my parent's found on a closeout deal at a local gear shop. It wasn't pretty, or terribly comfortable, but it held my stuff, and what it didn't - easily lashed on the outside.
For two years, I hoisted that thing around and when I was 16, and was working my first job, I saved and scrapped all of my money until I had enough to buy an internal frame pack. Back then, outdoor gear was beefy, made from 1000 denier, kevlar; my new backpack was made to last a lifetime! It even came with a lifetime warranty. And the weight... well, lets just say that my pack alone is near half the weight people are bragging about these days as their BASE WEIGHT.
At first it was hard to justify a replacement backpack. I mean... it worked, albeit a bit heavy. But as my gear got smaller, and lighter... and after packing a full size pillow for a year or so, to fill the extra space in the pack because it could...
Dec 3, 2019