hey eugene, i'm with you on this one. i carry them and do consider them very much survival related. there are many situations where a simple piece of paper could make a difference. i don't leave home without a small pad of rite in the rain - along with two golf pencils and a fisher pen.

My favorite day pack is a lumbar (waist) type - the Mountainsmith Day Pack. The problem with any lumbar pack is that it is very easy to make them so large that they become heavy and bulky, invariably slipping down and causing stops for readjustment, etc. Mountainsmith gets around this by offering pack straps ("strapettes") that support the lumbar pack well enough that everything stays in place without encumbering the hiker's upper back. With weight centered at waist level, this unit travels through brush and up rocky slopes very nicely. The pack straps also neutralize the one obvious disadvantage of a lumbar pack - if the waist buckle fails or opens for any reason, the pack and its contents instantly fall away, sometimes with disastrous consequences.

I have been trying one out over the last few months, and I am pretty happy with it. Definitely get the strapettes if you are going to put anything in the back beyond lunch and a toothbrush. With a capacity of 850 cu in, it can pretty well handle normal day hiking requirements. I must admit the "hydration system" is terribly retro - two mesh side pockets that hold one liter containers - you know, the ones where you must pull the container from the pocket, unscrew the lid, and lift it to your lips. Works just fine for dinosaurs like me. At least I can truthfully say that my pack doesn't suck.

The usual disclaimers - I am just a satisfied customer.

Ohh, seeing the picture earlier in the thread reminded me I didn't post one of mine


For a fairly small pack it holds quite a lot. I pulled the Ax out, that was the night I got the saw and repacked. The fishing pole and gear above it and a few extra zip lock baggies above that. Then the Buck 110, mini binoculars, hiking pants and thin gloves. Two 3 AA LED Maglights and 2 pair of hiking socks. GPS, spare batteries next to it. Bottle of quarters, bottle of matches, lighters, match safe, magnesium fire starter. 3 of the 6 zip locks below that have 4 Clif Crunch each (family of 4), one has 4 Clif Mojo bars, two have snacks like trail mix, beef jerky, raisins, peanuts, etc. Then hand sanitizer and sunblock and some more matches above those and finally the PSK. Then there is a digicam in its case on the pack strap.

This pack has 6 pockets, one for the bladder, one for the PSK and sunblock and sanitizer. Then two removable pouches with two pockets each so some of the redundant gear like the two lights, two pair of socks, two pair of gloves and the food bags get split between them so if I want a lighter load I can leave one pouch in the truck and still have nearly the same gear.

Paul810,

What is the name of the Fiskars knife? How do you like it?

Like Hikermor, I use a fanny pack, but reserve it for warmer weather. (Outside of our short summer, I want extra clothes
in my kit so migrate everything into to a short hike backpack the rest of the year.)

Especially with a grouchy back and hip, I find that once I add water, the fanny pack becomes uncomfortable unless it has a strap or two to support the weight with my shoulders.

It's a Fiskars/Gerber Brush Axe. I like it, it's great for clearing out overgrowth on the trail and chopping/splitting branches for a fire or shelter.

The only downside I've found is that it doesn't come with a sheath. Supposedly the newer Gerber version does, but I just made my own, so no big deal.

Nice. My pack is ofter 'food heavy' but that's because I'm often "hungry".

My goal is to make my pack so light that there is NO reason to leave it behind - Ideally 1 kilogram (2.2 pounds) of contents without food/ water. So no axe or saw.

There is never a good reason to leave a pack behind. You pack it, you carry it. Put it down only when you are in camp.

1 kilo = 1 kilogram as in 2lbs? Or does Kilo not mean kilogram here?

Under 1 kilo without food and water can definitely be done, depending on your expectations for the pack.

The little pack I use for short day hikes/trail-running weighs 4lbs 11 ounces with water and snacks, without water it weighs under 2lbs. I started with a Camelbak Hydrobak, which holds 1.5L of water. Then I added the following:

-2 Cliff bars
-1 packet of peanut butter

-Princeton Tec headlamp (no strap, mounted on the pack's own strap)

On a mini quick-link attached to outside of pack:
-BSA Hotspark
-Fox 40 Micro whistle
-Leatherman Style PS [replaced the scissors for a knife blade]

Plastic ziploc bag with:
-Disposable poncho
-Coffee filters
-brightly colored bandana
-Spare headlamp batteries
-moleskin
-package of tissues
-MP-1 water purification tablets
-small plastic signal mirror

It's not exactly an over-night bag, but it's small and light enough that I don't even notice I'm wearing it. Therefore, I've got no excuse not to have these basic supplies with me, even if I'm just going for a short walk in familiar territory.