One more thing I'd like to add.
I try not to commit myself to any particular combination. Every time I pull stuff out, I try to think if there is a better way when it comes time to put everything back.
For example I pulled much of the gear out to do my little balcony test of my sleep system...but because I did some alcohol stove cooking while I did the test I had to pull quite a bit of gear out of the main section of the pack. When I went to pack it again I thought about what I could do to prevent this and the pack ended up getting put back together in a different way...I also made some observations/discoveries:
- Rebuilt my fire and water kit, moving the Crux stove to the fuel can as it was intended (I've included a picture of it's most recent version). I put the kit into a HD zip top bag and into one of the side pockets of the pack (I now have everything I need to cook/melt on the run without needing to breach the main part of the pack). I moved the straw filter to the canteen kit trading it for the MIOX pen (this reduced the weight of the canteen kit slightly...it's pretty heavy when full of water).
- Lashed the LMF II knife to the outside of the pack so it can be obtained while the pack is being worn and to make room for the above kit. I'm thinking about doing this with the Gerber saw and Gerber machete too...it works well and there's lots of webbing on the outside of the pack.
- When I unpacked I was going to ditch the stainless cups to save weight...don't really need them I thought. Then before lighting the stove on the carpet of my balcony I needed something to put the cooker on to protect the carpet...the cup worked like a charm! The carpet could just as easily have been snow that I didn't want the stove to melt through...the cups stay, so handy! I did ditch the spoon from the 'eat it while it's hot' kit since the fire & water kit has one and is now easily accessed.
- While I was packing up all the bits I came across the idea of putting the tea light candle shown above inside the cooker and using it as a bit of a lantern as it's got a notch in the front to let light out and the high walls around the sides and back keep the wind at bay...that's the theory anyhow.
This sort of thing happens almost every time I unpack and repack anything. It's also the reason why I have a pen and Moleskine...so I can write down observations about what works and what doesn't while I'm out there be it camping, fishing, or whatever.