In this episode, I will be talking about the most used backpacks I take hiking and camping with me.
- Camelbak Motherlode
- Camelbak Mule
- ALICE Pack
- Spec Ops
I own these 4 packs and a few others, however, there 4 are my most commonly used packs when it comes to hiking and camping.
Camelbak Motherlode
I have mentioned this pack in several other articles. This year I have been trying to get into a smaller pack, capacity wise, and I thought this might work. Turns out, it doesn’t fit my torso as well as it could.
The Motherlode… It’s a great pack, even at the 36-37 pounds I ended up with, it still performed better than expected. I have zero complaints about the pack itself, it’s size is great for what I’m doing, it’s quality will hold up to riggers of what I’ll put it through for years to come. In addition, I performed better than expected on my last camping trip, only pausing for pictures and a couple of sips of water. I only had to stop to catch my breath once around the 3/4 mile mark.
All that said… The Motherlode is NOT the right pack for ME. It’s an admiral pack in it’s own right. My only problem and what’s the deal breaker is the length of the pack to my torso. I feel it’s a little short for my torso. To get the pack to ride as close to comfortable, I had to have the waist belt up over my stomach just below my tits, (I am a large guy, I have recently come to terms with the fact that I have man boobs). If I put it around my waist it rode too low and hurt my shoulders. Now I do believe if I was about 100lbs lighter it may have gone better but ultimately with the same end result.
This pack has 3 compartments, a main pouch, a middle pouch, and the outer most pouch. The main pouch which opens from the top, has one partition with an adjustable shock cord to keep things like a tarp, poncho, or water bladder against the back of the pack. The middle pouch also opens from the top and has some pockets and whatnot to help organize what gear you stow in there. The outer pouch really doesn’t have a ton of room, zippers from the side, and is really good for a couple of small snacks, map, compass, etc.
There is a bonus compartment on the back, behind the shoulder straps, but is only really for the “internal frame” which is nothing more than large piece of stiff plastic.
The sides and bottom of the pack do have some MOLLE webbing sewn on allowing you to add external pouches to customize its organization to your liking.
This may be a perfect pack for someone, just not myself. I will be reserving the use of this pack for my youngest child, that is, when I can pry him away from his PS4 long enough. So until you are able to test fit to see if it fits your torso, don’t discount this pack as an option. IF it FIT me better, I’d use it all day, every day. It really is a great pack to have.
Alice Pack
I both love and hate this pack… The ALICE pack is my “ole reliable” pack I can count on to get me where I have to go. I think every veteran has a love/hate relationship with this one.
Why do I hate it? Well it’s kinda bulky. It’s not exactly what I’d call versitle, you don’t have a lot of options as there’s very limited webbing sewn on it. Weighing in at about 6lbs, it’s heavy, and I even have a lighter polymer frame attached to mine at that weight. Being a military pack, you don’t exactly blend in while wearing it, so if the “Grey Man” concept is your thing, this ain’t the pack for you.
So why do I love it? It’s tried and true. It’s reliable. It’s tough. It carries weight extremely well, I barely fell the weight on my shoulders while wearing it. It’s purpose built and does it’s job without fail. It fits my torso like a glove, especially with the polymer frame.
While I’m looking for a better pack for my camping and hiking adventures, I don’t know if I’ll find a better pack for myself.
Camelbak Mule
The Mule is a great day hiking pack. While not extremely big, it does hold enough gear for me for that “in case of emergency” situation. I will sometimes take it on a longer trip as my “light” pack when I leave base camp.
Like the Motherlode, the Mule has 3 compartments, an upper pouch, a lower pouch, and the main bladder compartment. The upper pouch is just a basic pouch, there’s not much really to say about it. The lower pouch has a couple compartments in it for pens, a cell phone, etc that you can use to organize stuff in. The bladder compartment is large enough to easily accommodate any size bladder from none if you choose up to the 3.1 liter bladder.
Spec Ops
What can I say about this one? Well I don’t normally use it for outdoor activities, but I do travel with it every time I fly. I got this one back in mid 2004 and it has become my go to carry on bag when I fly. It has served it’s purpose extremely well over the years.
Like some of the previous packs, it also has three compartments, 2 outter and the main compartment. It is a frameless pack more like a backpack to haul schoolbooks around in.
Final Thoughts
I own these 4 packs and a few others, however, there 4 are my most commonly used packs when it comes to hiking and camping. I started using the Motherlode this year for my camping trips. It’s a great pack in it’s own right, however it’s not the right pack for my body. I don’t know what it is, but it just doesn’t sit on my back properly to be comfortable while hiking.
I always end up going back to the Alice Pack when I try to replace it. It’s comfortable to hike with, it carries the weight extremely well, and it just works.
Links
The following links may not be to the EXACT gear pictured, however, will be to what I could find comparable to what I have and use. Some are a generalized search so you can pick exactly what you want or give you an idea what might be found at that retail store if it applies.
The Wandering Leatherneck 