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Wrong Pack?


jkman82

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I had my first experience with geocaching yesterday and it was a blast. I found all 4 of the sites all by foot, setting up a route with more then 13 miles of running in between. Before I explain my story I would like to explain the bag I used. My brother is over in Iraq, and on his last trip home, he brought me home a BlackHawk Pack. I thought to myself " what better what to test this bag out then take it out for the day, through the woods, and running all over the place" Well soon after I found my second cache, and while I was getting ready to leave a guy (assuming he was also geocaching, there are numerous caches in the park I was in) came up to me and asked me if I was geocaching, I told him I was, and he began to laugh when he looked at my bag and said to me " Holy s*** are you planning on getting lost in the park?" I simply replied with a no, packed my things and kept on walking. It would have been a waste of breath to explain to him that I was running to all my caches, even stopping at a beach for a quick swim in the freezing Li sound. I went out for my second run of caches today, and left the bag home and regret it. Is there a typical type of bag people use for geocaching / is bringing out a big military molle pack too much?

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Just because they can walk a mile without a drink......

 

He probably wasn't doing the mileage you were....well, without hopping in his car.

 

Hiking here in AZ, it's better to have more water just in case...no matter if everyone else around looks unprepared with no water and wearing flip flops. I'd rather be safe than fashionable. I just use a Camelback-type pack.

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I don't think what you had was too out of line. I do use a similar pack if I am on a day trip, and need to pack food, water, a change of clothes (bears, you know) and the usual requirements for geocaching..

For half day trips, or even a few hour long trips, I use a fanny pack, about 2-3 litre size for the main compartment. This one came with 4 more attachments, that velcro on to the belt (and stay on). I use one for my GPS, another for my PDA, another for water and the 4th for a spare GPS. It weighs a bit, but is well worth it. In my main compartment I place some survival materials, spare batteries, swag etc. It works well. The only thing I find a draw back is the snap clip that fastens it to your waist. I find that when you are in tight spots, or bending over the clip releases and there goes your fanny pack. I am thinking of a way to retrofit it with a buckle belt so this does not happen.

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I have a pack about that size and take it out on nearly any cache hunt in the woods. One reason is that I just don't feel like emptying all the small stuff like flashlight, bug repellent, batteries, etc. out of my pack and transferring them to a smaller one. Another is that it's always better to be over prepared than ill prepared.

 

In fact I joked to my wife last weekend when we were only hiking a mile RT for a cache maint run that we were carrying enough stuff for an overnighter.

 

Which is the point. You never know what can happen out there. Getting lost, breaking a leg, twisting an ankle, getting pinned by a boulder (it happens). You should always be prepared to spend the night when you head into the woods. It's better to carry it and not need it, then to need it and not have it.

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I am in the city and generally do park and grabs. I use a fanny pack that holds two water bottles although I have never had a need to bring water. At times I wish I had something with more pockets rather than everything jumbled in one big container.

 

Your pack sounds pretty cool to me and I would also wear it with pride. Hats off to your brother for doing a job that few of us have the b@lls to do.

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The guy sounds like a jerk honestly. Do your own thing, if it was me I would use the pack. And like others said I would do it with pride. It would feel like I brought a little piece of my brother along. I think it would really mean a lot of a relative sent me something from Iraq.

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The image was blocked here at work, but I have owned several blackhawk bags over the course of my military days. Personally, I wouldnt worry what other people think about your gear. Take what you like. I keep enough stuff in my jeep to disappear for a week, or longer, if need be. But, thats me. And, one of the things in there happens to be my blackhawk 3 day pack. Which I will pull out & take caching. Granted, it may be WAY overpacked for a walk of maybe, at most, a couple of miles, but, if I need something, it is there. I also have a smaller maxpedition pack I sometimes cross load stuff to, for shorter runs. I once got "turned around" just before dusk, bushwhacking, less than a mile from my jeep. I REALLY didnt feel like beating bush all the way back, and serioudly considered an unplanned night out. I had my pack with me-would have been a non-issue. I walked out, as I was more concerned with vandalism to my jeep, than staying out. But, upside was, even though I wasnt far, I had that pack, and everything I wouldve needed to spend the night. Yeah, I may overpack for caching sometimes, but, I dont get to go as often as I like, and, when I do, I plan on a full day of it. I like the option of perhaps bedding down for the night, and wandering out the next morning.

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I have 3 packs I use; A Blachawk Phoenix (1st Gen) for the winter for extra gear, a Mountain hardware for longer Spring summer with a CamelBak system; and a CamelBak MULE for shorter hunts/hike close to home.

 

Remember the old saw, "if it looks stupid and it works, it isn't stupid". Fashion shows and style don't keep you warm, dry and fed. But, I could be wrong

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I am in the city and generally do park and grabs. I use a fanny pack that holds two water bottles although I have never had a need to bring water. At times I wish I had something with more pockets rather than everything jumbled in one big container.

 

Your pack sounds pretty cool to me and I would also wear it with pride. Hats off to your brother for doing a job that few of us have the b@lls to do.

 

+1 on the pride angle (Vietnam vet here). Next time tell him I'm with him 100%

 

Seems to me like you met a real sweet cacher.... :blink: creepy.

 

For us, we often use these "fisherman's vests" to keep things separated, but sometimes rather than rooting through a bunch of stuff in one place, with these, you might forget what's in which pocket! Choose your poison.

 

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I might have said that to you, also--but I would have been 1) teasing you since we were in such an obviously urban park area and 2) curious why you were carrying such serious equipment in a place like that

 

Face it, having that pack in that area was a lot like showing up at the fast food joint in prom attire or showing up to the prom in a swimsuit. Sure, you had clothes on but they weren't really the right ones for the task. You deserved a bit of good-natured ribbing. Hopefully that is what the other guy had in mind.

 

On the other hand, only a fool would ever go out to do any serious hiking/caching without testing their equipment first. If you were going backpacking into the mountains for an overnight trip and you hadn't tested your pack to make sure it rode well and you could carry all the things you needed, you might be in for some very serious prolems.

 

I have different types of packs I use, depending on the kind of day I have planned. I have a waistpack that I usually use for short trips into the little woods/in urban areas. It holds things like swag and pencils, and a tiny emergency kit, batteries, cache supplies, and the tools I use to cache. It'll also hold two water containers. It's just there to free my hands.

 

I keep a men's shaving kit stashed in the car with additional supplies such as swag, bandaids, more insect repellant, more sunscreen, cache repair items, batteries, etc that I need to restock as my small bag empties. I keep a few bottles of water in there, too. Over the winter I stock some emergency food and blankets in case I get snowbound.

 

I have a larger pack I use if I plan to go out on a hike of several miles, where I won't be returning to the car between caches. It has just enough gear in it to survive --not comfortably perhaps, but adequately-- a few days if I had to in a pinch. I don't usually go the kinds of places I'd need more than that. Or I haven't in years anyway.

 

If I did plan a trip somewhere I could get turned around and end up staying out for days (or planned an adventure that would last at least overnight), the "survival bag" would go along, too--it holds everything I need to live in the wild for days. So far, I haven't done that kind of caching.

 

It's great that your brother sent you that sweet pack, and terrific that you tried it and liked it. If you always cache the way you did that day--running some distance between caches--you may find that pack will suit you well. On the other hand, too much pack in the summer will be miserable to run under just to grab a couple of caches close to home. So you may also want to find something smaller and lighter for the times you are just doing urban caches in areas where you can't possibly get lost too far from food and water or need a lot of gear.

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It takes all kinds to make the world go round .............. There is no right or wrong when it comes to what someone likes. As long as the person you encountered only gets lost when it is his PLAN, then good for him. Bring what you want - be happy - do not ever worry about others - thats what makes us all unique.

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Personally I carry more that I SHOULD need. But I have spent most of my life in scouts and believe that you should always be prepared. I have also spent alot of time in the field GeoCaching, Camping, Hiking, etc... and that has shown me that sometimes more is better. "I would rather have it and not need it, than need it and not have it." That is the theory that I go on. Even for a day in the park I typically have enough water and food / snacks to last over night if the need should arise. You never know. :blink: Same thing with my dog, she carries enough food and water in her pack to survive through the night if need be. Wear what is comfortable and carries what you need. Just my .02 cents worth!

 

-Axel

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I have several different setups, depending upon the distance, terrain, etc. One of my favorites is an old, surplus fanny pack that fits on a web belt, but the key is that the web belt has web belt suspenders attached. You can load up the small pack with heavy items, and even throw a full canteen and first aid kit on the web belt without it being uncomfortable. If you have the belt size adjusted correctly and the suspenders adjusted to the correct length, you'll find yourself forgetting that you're even carrying a few pounds.

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I might have said that to you, also--but I would have been 1) teasing you since we were in such an obviously urban park area and 2) curious why you were carrying such serious equipment in a place like that

 

Face it, having that pack in that area was a lot like showing up at the fast food joint in prom attire or showing up to the prom in a swimsuit. Sure, you had clothes on but they weren't really the right ones for the task. You deserved a bit of good-natured ribbing.

 

I don't think so. Who cares where the location was? The fact he was traveling 13 miles on foot is enough to use a pack like this. I doubt he had enough pockets and hands to carry everything that far. I think he had the right clothes on for the task. :laughing:

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I think it was Nietzsche that said, "there is your way, there is my way, there is no THE way". Sorry, I couldn't resist. How many time can you use that.

 

Just have fun. Life's too short to worry about the small stuff and what others think.

laissez les bon temps rouler :huh:

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I have several different setups, depending upon the distance, terrain, etc. ....

 

I have several setups as well, including a fanny pack, a small day pack, a larger day pack, one suitable for short overniters and my "expedition" sized backpack. My larger day pack (Mountainsmith Approach II) is what I use nearly all the time (except for overniters). It has everything and I can't be bothered transferring things like flashlights, first aid kit, insect repellent, batteries, compass, etc... to the appropriate sized pack every time I go out. I guess I can buy dups of all that stuff and keep each pack stocked, but its easier just to take my Mountainsmith, even though it might look silly in some suburban parks.

Edited by briansnat
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