Rosscodj wrote:I recently got an OMM Phantom 25CL - was due for a new pack and it fits my gear for an overnighter. I'm just toying with fastpacking / running at the moment, but I'd like to head down that path for similar reasons (time constraints). It's a pretty good pack, I took it out for a test last week, and it worked pretty well. Inside I had my winter kit: Tarptent Moment DW, -8c quilt from Mike on these forums, Exped synmat UL7S, 650ml Toaks titanium pot with a 110g canister and stove inside, 220g merino thermals (long johns and long sleeve), gloves, beanie, pair of spare socks, down jacket, rain jacket, plus odds and ends (first aid, headlamp, etc) and I can fit about an overnight's trip worth of food inside. That leaves me with no more room inside, so I have 1Lwater bottles in the side pockets. The main mesh is empty If I wanted to use my bladder, I'd be screwed, basically. Summer kit would give me more space for longer trips, given a smaller quilt, and lighter thermals/down vest. If I was to get more in to running, I'd take different kit - tarp & bivy, half bag to work with the down jacket. My tent and quilt take up about 2/3 of the space in the pack.
Can you get to a shop that sells the vest, and see if your gear physically fits? Some manufacturers include all the front and mesh pockets in their capacity. Ultimate Direction might be worth looking at as well.
Yeah I've looked at some of the Ultimate Direction offerings... unfortunately for better or worse I'm wedded through habit to Salomon's "bottle-each-side" harness layout to monitor consumption of electrolyte versus plain water, the Fastpack 25 has bottle pouches either side but the 15 doesn't - missed opportunity there. To be honest the suspension and strapping system on their larger vestpacks seems more 'pack' and less 'vest' too, if you catch my drift. The OMM stuff looks good but I don't know of anyone in Tassie who stocks it... it's either Salomon or UD here, and that's it.
I've had an S-Lab Peak 20 on loan for the past week, did 12km of stairs and hills around Trevallyn in the heat then about 36km yesterday running into Narcissus from the Visitor Centre and back... was supposed to be via the Curvier Valley track, but it's not really navigable at a trot in trail runners and long socks
Anyway, have been really impressed with it... quite cavernous when you open it all up, and all the cords and suspension systems cinch everything down tight onto you for minimum movement and bounce with a decent load. Quite impressive. It does however take quite a while to 'dial it' into your fit and I found myself having to retighten things every so often... not sure if this was due to cord locks slipping or the settling of what was being carried. The other weird omission is the complete inability to carry a bladder in/on it... personally I'm at the point where I'm sick of bladders anyway, and would rather squirrel away extra bottles, but still, a weird thing to not include for the sake of a hanging tag, toggle and tube hole.
I think it is entirely possible to carry a full compliment of UL/SUL gear in it, and be comfortable maintaining a good trail run/hike page... probably your limiting factor will be fitting enough food for more than say 3 days/2 nights.
racca wrote:I'd really love to do this and I've got everything I'd need to do it, but the sad reality is I'm just not fit enough
. Which kinda surprised me, I seem to be able to put in 30k days hiking without to much drama, so I wrongly assumed that I would be up to the task of fastpacking. My aim for this year is to really work on my cardio
Actually the secret isn't cardio but to work on your aerobic pace ie. run slow and steady and a low(er) heart rate... 180 minus your age is the default target ceiling. Took me a fair while to master this (while being constantly badgered by my coach to slow down) as my natural inclination is to run hard and put my HR through the roof (I regularly do supersprint tris with an average HR of over 185 bpm... I'm nearly 38 too, not exactly a spring chicken). As my race distances have increased the need to preserve oneself has increased obviously, and that's where finding that steady, easy effort that you can literally maintain all day (or close to it) is key. Walk the ups, glide the downs. Of course it doesn't hurt to know how to move over rough ground efficiently either... fortunately I have good coaches for that too. It's quite a skill to learn, and takes time to master. I learn more every time I fall over!
But yeah, fastpacking is one of those things where it is probably easier to come into it as a runner first and hiker second, than the other way round. Don't get discouraged though. It was barely 3 years ago I did my first continuous 5km run since probably high school.... if you put in the training, you'll progress quickly.
Cheers, Ben.