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Post by bradmacmt on Feb 17, 2021 14:36:17 GMT -8
Top Lid.
My ULA Catalyst has one. Only 6oz's and a real handy item. Nice thing about a roll top closure is you don't have to use the lid if you don't want, but I'd not want a pack without the option of a top pocket. I unclip from the pack at night (pack hangs on a tree - or wherever) and all the necessities I need are in it in the tent.
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tomas
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Post by tomas on Feb 17, 2021 14:40:01 GMT -8
Top lid fan.
Day's food goes in the top lid as well as any smaller items that I know I will want to get to easily.
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reuben
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Post by reuben on Feb 17, 2021 15:12:37 GMT -8
I like top lids, but could live without them. I plan for my next trip (whenever THAT happens) to be with a pack w/o a lid. Paging Westy, and the info he sent me regarding how he uses HMG lidless packs, but storing handy items inside. I'm not much help, am I?
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Post by zipposdad on Feb 17, 2021 15:22:56 GMT -8
HI Coolkat Pat here in Grand Rapids... What pack are you ordering??? I have the arc blast Love it I ordered one waist belt pouch, holds knife bic, head lamp and compass. I like the roll top very water proof. I ordered the pouch and it rides by the mesh pouch. I use the as my ready bag, in place of the top lid. As far as repairs go, I fell off a bolder on my last IRNP trip, Z packs repair tape works!!!
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jazzmom
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Post by jazzmom on Feb 17, 2021 17:14:29 GMT -8
Used to have a pack with a lid that converted into a lumbar pack. Thought I loved it and couldn't live without it. Switched to my current ULA Circuit without a lid, and truth be told, never really missed it.
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Post by Coolkat on Feb 17, 2021 18:48:05 GMT -8
What pack are you ordering??? Nice to see another Michigander here! The pack I'm getting it the Seek Outside Divide. It's kinda pricey but I'm starting to haul more camera gear and this has the space and is supposedly comfortable with heavier loads. seekoutside.com/divide-ultralight-backpack-olive-green/
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TrailElder
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Something will have gone out of us as a people if we ever let the remaining wilderness be destroyed
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Post by TrailElder on Feb 17, 2021 20:58:25 GMT -8
My go-to pack is a Granite Gear Crown 38. It has a removable top lid that I LOVE. I put things in it that I both want quick access to and that I want to take into my tent. It's kind of the old "dopp kit" approach. Maybe I have my father to blame. But I find I can really stay organized in camp this way.
Because it's removable, I can take it off if I don't need it. But I often find that for day hikes when the pack isn't very full (so the top lid doesn't sit very well), I end up using it as a ditty and just putting it in the pack to keep sundries together.
I use my front mesh pocket for rain layers and other soft items like gloves.
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rebeccad
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Post by rebeccad on Feb 17, 2021 21:44:34 GMT -8
I thought I answered this, but don’t see my post.... I switched the the ULA Catalyst a couple of years ago, and thought I’d miss the lid, but I adapted without much pain. The things I need in the day are either in the hip-belt pockets or my camera bag (depending on what camera bag I use), and the other things I used to keep in the lid are find in the body of the pack. One thing I had to figure out, and which probably ended up being an improvement, was where to put my journal and e-reader, since the later needs to be protected. I ended up using the water-bladder sleeve for those, with the Kindle facing the journal to protect the screen. Any warmth or rain gear I am apt to need during the day ends up in the outer mesh pocket. The reality is that I don’t get into my stuff much while on the trail, aside from lunchtime, when I have no problem opening the pack.
I don’t like lumbar packs, so I’m just as happy to use my ULA as a day pack when needed.
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BigLoad
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Post by BigLoad on Feb 17, 2021 22:46:07 GMT -8
I got all the options for mine: both types of top lids and extended the collar a bit so it will roll up and work well without a lid. The heavier lid is a decent lumbar pack for base camping and dayhiking (or peak bagging), but I go without a lid whenever I can.
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Post by cweston on Feb 18, 2021 5:14:52 GMT -8
I just want to add...
For me, there’s nothing special about the lid being a lid—it’s just a place to put stuff: stuff that can be retrieved without opening the pack. So, would I buy a pack without a lid? Sure. If there were sufficient places to put stuff without having to open the pack to retrieve them.
I did have a pack once where the lid converted to a lumbar pack. I found that it wasn’t really big enough for long day trips anyway, so I never used it a lot for that purpose.
Also, as a few folks have mentioned here, there aren’t very many things that I need to access very often while on the trail. (Having to open the main pack for to access lunch is a feature, not a bug. Lunch = a rest, however brief.)
My current go-to pack has a good-sized front zippered pocket. I use it not so much for things I need access to on the trail, but for small items frequently accessed in camp (head lamp, toilet kit, bag spray, etc) that I don’t want swimming around in the main compartment of my pack being hard to find. If I didn’t have that pocket, I might keep those items in a mesh ditty bag or something which would accomplish roughly the same thing—keeping those smaller items accounted for.
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Post by bluefish on Feb 18, 2021 6:29:23 GMT -8
I used the lid on my Crown 60 for 5-6 years, then went to an Osprey with built in lid. Now use a roll top ULA. The lids were very useful, especially on the GG. The side pockets on the ULA are gigantic IMO, and the hip belt pockets generous, plus the water bottle holders on the straps. Now , I don't miss the lid at all. I strap a Sea to Summit collapsible water carrier on top when I need it for dry camps. I can carry 3 liters up there easily. 3 more go in side pockets. If I still used the GG, I'd use the lid as the stretch pockets just aren't that large, especially the narrow one on the back.
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TrailElder
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Post by TrailElder on Feb 18, 2021 6:57:41 GMT -8
So many ways to skin the cat!
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FamilySherpa
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Post by FamilySherpa on Feb 18, 2021 7:18:55 GMT -8
For me, it just depends on the logistics. If i'm alone, or with a friend and going (mostly) ultralight and fastpacking, I take a pack that has no lid. If i'm hauling the family gear up the trail, The pack has a lid, with the type of stuff we may need to easily access, which in my case, is much more than can fit in a hip belt pocket or any sort of add-on storage device.
My all time favorite pack from ~20ish years ago was the ArcTeryx Roll Top series. Specifically the RT45. And if i hadn't had some financial troubles in 2007, when i sold most of my favorite things, i'd probably still be using it to this day.
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Post by bradmacmt on Feb 18, 2021 7:27:35 GMT -8
The pack I'm getting it the Seek Outside Divide. I ordered a Seek Outside Unaweep 4800 right at the time SO switched away from a forward pull hipbelt (2.5+ years ago). It really ticked me off they did that without updating their website info. I'd never own a non forward-pull hipbelt. I sent the pack back and complained to Kevin about it (he's a really fine person). I noticed about a year later they switched back to a forward pull belt. The forward pull belt was likely one of the finest innovations in pack design in the last 20 years... was mind boggling they decided against it briefly. I'm still toying with owning another SO pack. I'd want it for my fall highcountry backpack elk hunts where it's possible to be packing out 80+ lbs. However, what I noticed about the Unaweep 4800 (and by extension the Divide) is the ci information is a bit on the optimistic side. The Unaweep 4800's main bag is definitely smaller than my ULA Catalyst's main bag. Of course it could be ULA's ci info is on the conservative side. For my uses I'd likely go to a Unaweep 6800, and I'd probably special order it in the lighter "Alpine Grey" fabric (I'd order any SO pack with 2" extensions, lumbar pad, top pocket and hipbelt pocket). While I think it has shortcomings, there's a lot I like about the Divide and just spent the better part of the last hour looking at it. There's absolutely no doubt to me it will handle heavier loads than the Catalyst. It's just not as big.
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Westy
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Post by Westy on Feb 18, 2021 8:11:26 GMT -8
Converted to no-brainer packs going on 6 years now. That's one less zipper to pull, four straps to eliminate and promotes less clutter. In the end, you still need to perform the primary task of taking the pack off for access brain or no-brain. OK, OK! Some will say you can reach back, unzip and grab, but that's awkward as heck and provides a minor risk factor of things falling out and having to be picked up or worse........unnoticed till miles later. Whilst hiking, what is it that you really need access too? Most packs nowadays have side pockets on the hip belt, which can accommodate a plethora of handy items. I have a small mini-pack on my sternum strap. It's iPhone perfect for tune town enjoyment or navigation when applicable. Actually, a mental well-being factor favors no-brainers. The illusion of a smaller and lighter pack as food is consumed is morale boosting. Every day as you roll down the top, inch by inch, more and more you notice the pack gets smaller and smaller. Makes fashion sense too! My broad brimmed Tilley hat doesn't rub up against that pesky pack brain. Field Test Resulting in Conversion - CT '15 Thru-Hike -
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