Question about backpacking with all those quilts...

[Ramblinrev]

Pack and gear are a balancing act. Some people with short torso length can be stuck with small packs. Large torso lengths are usually larger in capacity but the torso length is what determines how well a pack fits, not it's volume. Too much space and you want to fill it up. Too little space and you need to figure out how to make it all fit. Both the gear and the pack need to relate to each other. But there is always a level of tension between the two.

[sk8rs_dad]

I have managed to get an HH Explorer with the oversized hex tarp, and a JRB nest into a #4 snakeskin. IMHO it is not worth the effort.

I've switched over to a "bishop's bag" arrangment, stuffing the aforementioned gear, plus an JRB hudson river quilt, CPAP machine and battery into an old 11" x 18" cylindrical compression sack that I used to use to hold just my sleeping bag.

If the tarp is wet it stays out but the bag keeping the rest of the gear nice and dry.

[Ramblinrev]

CPAP machine and battery

That sounds like some serious weight there. I was told a battery for my CPAP was like thirty pounds and the size of a car battery. What do you use to power the beastie that fits into a stuff sack on your back?

[sk8rs_dad]

I have a Puritan-Bennett GoodKnight 420G from cpap.com and a 16aH 14.8V Li-Ion battery pack from batteryspace.com. The battery pack weighs about 3 lb. The whole rig adds about 5 lb to my backpack but the extra energy from a good night's sleep is worth it, IMHO.

I get 3 full nights out of my pack and might get 4 before I have to find a way to charge it. Results will vary depending on your pressure setting. Of course, I don't use a humidifier when I'm camping so that helps extend the battery life dramatically.

CPAP.com has similar battery packs and they had a calculator on their website which will give you an estimate of the number of hours you'll get from their battery with your pressure setting.

As for my setup, I put my GK and the battery in separate mesh ditty bags that fit each rather snuggly. The bag openings are tied tight around the battery pack power connector, and CPAP air hose respectively. Each ditty bag has another small carabiner threaded through the mesh at the bottom corner of the ditty bag.

I have an unmodified HH Explorer Deluxe. I've put a small carabiner through the loop at the head end of the HH ridge line and clip both the battery pack and the CPAP ditty bags to it.

I still have to figure out what to do about winter camping with a CPAP. Below 0C (32F) I have condensation problems and I expect that getting down to -10C I might need a way to preheat the air coming in, maybe with some kind of air hose sock and a bunch of chemical foot/hand warmers...

[headchange4u]

I use two packs, one for summer and one for winter.

I do the same thing.

Granite Gear Latitude Vapor for spring/summer/fall and a ULA Catalyst for winter.

[Splat]

I've got a military CFP90 pack that fits everything. I can strap CCF bedroll and sleeping bag to the outside if need be. However, there's a bottom compartment for sleeping bag that I use. I take minimal clothing but everything else fits in just fine. Like Hector wrote, see what you think you can live with and then choose the right size pack, but I always take a little bigger because you never know...

[gunn parker]

I am glad this was brought up, I am packing now for four nights away and trying to fit winter clothes and an underquilt, sleeping bag and all the rest of the gear is a bit of a pain. Does anyone know if a CCF pad left on the out side of a pack will retain water from the rain?

I know it will get wet but will soak through?

[GrizzlyAdams]

I am glad this was brought up, I am packing now for four nights away and trying to fit winter clothes and an underquilt, sleeping bag and all the rest of the gear is a bit of a pain. Does anyone know if a CCF pad left on the out side of a pack will retain water from the rain?

I know it will get wet but will soak through?

I don't think so. That's what the "closed" part of "Closed Cell Foam" is about---tiny little closed off pockets of air.

Grizz

[Take-a-knee]

I do the same thing.

Granite Gear Latitude Vapor for spring/summer/fall and a ULA Catalyst for winter.

Does a ULA Catalyst have more room than the GG Vapor? I have a GG Vapor Trail (toploader) and I'd like a lighter pack with a bit more room.

[headchange4u]

The GG Latitude Vapor is 3800 cu in and the Catalyst is 4600 total.