Backpacks We Have Known

A progression of backpacks we have owned over the years:

Rainier

 

Camp Trails Rainier        4.2 lbs
How old is this thing?  Not used very much.  Most notably, it was Wander's pack on a trip to the Guadalupe Mountains in 2003.

Shasta

Gregory Shasta         6.8 lbs
Bombproof but at 6+ pounds it only went on a few trips.

Gust

GoLite Gust          1.2 lbs
A jump to the lightweight universe, but a little too big and not that comfortable to carry.  Used two of these for our first 100-mile trip on the AT.

Breeze

GoLite Breeze          0.88 lbs
Lighter yet, but now a little too small.  I liked the design of one main compartment with two mesh side pockets and one back mesh pocket.  Used it for 700 miles on the AT in 2005.

Pinnacle

GoLite Pinnacle           1.4 lbs
Not too big, not too small, but just right.  Curved shoulder straps a big improvement over Gust and Breeze.  However, shoulder straps are a little narrow and rough on bare skin.  Went for so long wishing it had a mesh back pocket that I finally sewed one on each of our packs before taking them on a 140-mile trip on the Sheltowee Trace in Kentucky.  These were going to be our AT packs for our 2013 thru-hike, until...

Ray-Way Backpack

The Ray-Way backpack             0.6 lbs  (9.6 oz)
This was back to the same design as the Breeze, one compartment with two mesh side pockets and one mesh back pocket.  Only lighter.  And it only comes as a kit that you have to sew yourself.  The Breeze was 2200 cu. in. so I ordered both of ours at 2600 cu. in.  Wander's has an optional hip belt, mine does not.  The packs are custom fit to your shoulder width, and the pack straps are extra wide.  Looking forward to carrying this pack.