The backpack alternative

Half Dome – Yosemite Musing
Get or Give permits<HERE>

    If you really like to use a backpack, I discovered this one, bought it and tried on hike #26 in June.

    It’s made by a German company called Vaude. Ran about $70 but the thing I liked was the suspension system that kept the pack off my back. Many brands that claim they are suspension just put ripples in the material that don’t do much. This honestly worked pretty well, and I was happy. It’s basically a nylon bag with a drawstring and one small internal zipper pocket. Nothing elaborate and it was big enough for my day-tripping gear. The shoulder straps are wide enough that they don’t cut in. It has a Camelback bladder pocket and hole for the hose. So I used one but also brought one Nalgene 32 oz bottle. The pack comes with side mesh for bottles, but they are not deep enough so it was a risk that the bottles would fall out. I have a bottle holder with  a Velcro strap that I looped around the pack side strap and it carried fine. This pack not only has a waist strap but a useful sternum strap. This keeps the pack from drooping down. A nice feature. I also carry my filter pump. I load the Nalgene with water then pour that into the bladder since the bladder opening is way bigger thatnthe filter output device.

    Did you see this press release from Yosemite?? You heard about this announcement last week here. Pays to read the MrHalfDome blog!   Click<HERE>.

Unrelated thought worth quoting: “If you don’t know where you’re going, you’ll wind up somewhere else.” – Yogi Berra
*Mr. Half Dome – Rick Deutsch – www.HikeHalfDome.com