I have been on the search for a large yet comfortable pack (external frame) to carry safely 40 kg, and have heard about the Norrona Reconpack. I am kind of lost to where I should go now, since it is very difficult to find this pack. Although, the reviews for this pack hinted it has performed superbly in many aspects other packs lack.

I am still looking for a pack, and am always open-minded for different packs, either it being external or internal framed, thanks again

Fishmode,

Welcome to the fire! As for a Norrona Reconpack, I don't have an idea. 40 kg is a pretty massive load. Have you looked at some of the packs designed for elk/moose hunting? They are designed to carry a heavy load through rough country. Cabela's has a large selection of such packs. Some of the bigger hunters on this forum can probably direct you to higher quality packs than the Cabela's ones.

-Blast

I guess my first question is, 40 kilos of what? I ask because the only thing "little" about me in my budget, and I'm decent shape- a 88 pound pack would slow me to a crawl and leave me dead and dieing after a few days. I can not advise too strongly to train up to this load, and even then keep in mind that a pack this big can turn a simple stumble into a serious joint injury due the shift in your center of gravity. Generally, when you see this much volume in a pack, most people are going with medium-to-low density items like sleeping bags, cold weather clothing and so forth as a large part of the volume.

For this much gear, I'd break it into three components- what is on your person, what is in your pack, and what is in your cart. And then I would look to see what just wasn't needed, and what could be substitued for with a lighter or more adaptable multipurpose item. The only time I can think of needing this much gear-weight would be if you were a paratrooper, were packing out part of an large game animal (and then I would NOT recommend something like the Norrona based on the pictures of it on their website) or were about to solo across the desert without a camel.

I know it doesn't answer your question, but the proposal raises questions in my mind and looking at what is going to go IN might help answer the question of what packs might suit your needs if we can lighten your load some.

Exactly. If you're travelling so heavy you made a mistake somewhere unless you really know what you are doing, have the physical and mental attributes to pull it off and the circumstances are highly specific.

I just got back from a 3-day trip in the mountains with the temperature nearly freezing at night and all my gear together didn't weigh more than 15 kilos. That's with 3.5l of water, a big sleeping bag, poncho, LBE, hatchet, mess kit and plenty of food (I packed too much, again ). In warmer weather I would easily reduce that to not much over 10 kilos, mostly depending on how much water I'd need to carry. But a 40kg pack is a serious overkill.

BTW if you have to move a very heavy load (big game etc.) some distance a drag sled is a lot more effective if the terrain is not too rough.

Then the Norrona Reconpack would do you admirably. But as the others have said in the thread, why would you want to carry so much. Even multiday winter hikes shouldn't weigh more than 15-20Kg with modern equipment. Summer multiday hikes shouldn't be over 12-15Kg in weight. Lightweight Hikers can get down to 10Kg and still have a very comfortable camp.

As the Reconpack has a huge 125 Litre capacity, the temptation to pack in everything creates its own problems. In general for winter use you should be able to get everything you need in a 65-75 litre pack and in the summer a 45-50 litre pack should suffice. The Norrona pack itself weighs 4.7Kg and with the 40Kg capacity this makes 44.7Kg (98.4 lbs). With this load I would be surprised if you were able to cover more than a few miles in a day in difficult terrain.

You may be interested in the following packs
http://www.pri.uk.com/ksf/sabre75.html
http://www.pri.uk.com/ksf/sabre60-100.html
it may be a better compromise as it may be a bit more flexible in use.

look at kifaru for that sort of capacity

I can also recommend Kifaru. I recently met the owner (JAck Smith, I think his name was, he also founded Mountainsmith gear), in WA, and they had their complete line of gear. Although, it is expensive, it is definitely bombproof. And their latest models (forgot the name) is totally modular, so you can adjust as needed. Great gear, will last you a lifetime. I picked up a Woobie from them (blanket that is designed to replace the poncho liner), and my brother picked up a non descript patrol bag from them as well. Great folks, great gear.

Thanks to all that replied! I didn't want to start posting with a question and be a troll and all - I'll try to post more... but, this question has circulated in my mind for quite some time.

Yes, something this big is certainly huge compared to what many use. But, IN the case where a situation were to turn ugly around home-front, I wanted something that would provide the stability to cram everything I had in without the thought of resourcing and 'need'. As well as being in conjuction to handle the load range and suffice in distributing the weight comfortably.

And what I meant by "ugly around home-front," was my thought (actually more of an intuition) something home would occur. Such an occurance, in my mind, would be like a terrorist attack on multiple metro-cities simultaneously. I think this will someday occur, its not a matter to me if it's going to occur, only when!

So, I was looking around for a pack that would be large and CAPABLE enough to carry a load around that range. I mean, a duffle pack would surely be able to fit all of my stuff, but to carry it even a mile? Not possible. If I could carry that much weight for at least a couple miles, the pack has suffice in its duties.

But...that was just a thought in the back of my mind that has slowly continued to grow...thanks again guys for your input

Mods, I'll try to post more...

David Nguyen

It's your call and your strategy, just a thought: if you are in a situation when you need to move quickly some distance on foot, do you really want to carry that much stuff? Most people prefer to keep their BOB fairly compact and only take the real essentials (eg. things you can't efficiently improvise on the spot). It's no good to arrive at your destination all exhausted and out of breath. It might be better to conserve your strength for all the other challenges you'd have to face. Unless you are in terrific shape and do these things on a regular basis I guarantee you hauling a 40kg pack will wear you out in no time.

Have you considered a bicycle with touring bags or even a bike trailer? You wouldn't lose much off-road ability, would increase your speed and more effeciently carry everything.

-Blast