Topic: What internal frame pack do you use?

[chubbyhubby]

Got my REI tree bugger coupon in the mail the other day for 20% off one item, thinking about a backpacking pack. Anybody have a favorite? I'm looking in the 75+ liter range. Also, found one from an Aussie company called crossfire, anybody ever heard of it?

[charlie76]

I stick with the tried and true battle tested good ol Alice pack.

[Brother dan]

I'm a pretty avid backpacker and have had many packs through the years.  I started out with surplus army packs, but the civilian internal frames are much better for comfort.  My current pack is an Osprey Aether 85.  85 stand for 85 liters.  It's a great pack, very comfortable and light for it's size. It isn't a cheap pack, but I've found good quality rarely is.   REI carries this model as well as larger and smaller ones.  Good luck, maybe I'll see you on the trails somewhere.

Dan

[ghengiskhabb]

I use a Granite Gear vapor trail. The vapor trail works very well to about 25 pounds. If you are a minimalist, it will work for several days, if you aren't, the pack won't work well at all.

The various packs are optimized for how much weight and volume you want to cary.  More information is needed about what you intend to do with it, how much you wish to carry, how much you wish to spend.

The best resource I've found is http://www.backpackinglight.com/ (But it is geared for whimps like me who don't wanna carry 50 pounds while backpacking.)

[chubbyhubby]

I appreciate the thoughts! I actually tried on the aether last spring and really liked it.

This is going to be a heavy pack. My wife doesn't have the best of backs and I will probably end up carrying a majority of our crap. We're looking for something big enough for more than a week.  I see osprey makes a 110L,    wonder how heavy I could load that thing down and still be able to put one foot in front of the other?