I recently picked up a BV500 for my JMT trip this summer. The cannister is a lot bigger than I expected (almost got the Solo model, but the full size was cheaper on sale). How do Jam2 users carry this cannister? Thanks!

Edited by RomanLA on 05/29/2009 11:56:05 MDT.

"How do Jam2 users carry this?"

Reluctantly.

I have only used my BV 500 with my Jam2 once and have decided that the next time I'll go with a bigger, and heavier, pack. Basically, I stuffed my bag and down jacket in a plastic bag in the bottom. I then put the BV in vertically. I rolled my tent, rain-gear, dry clothing and such into 12" long cylinders and stuffed these down beside the BV. The rest of the stuff including stove and cook-pot went on top or in the rear pocket. I could barely get the top closed and I carried a plastic trash bag and rubber bands to keep water out if it rained. It didn't.

The pack did not ride as comfortably with the big BV in it as it does with the "weekend" version of the BV; it was sort of like a beer keg with shoulder straps. The whole mess of gear, food and a liter of water weighed over 30 pounds. The BV and ten days of food weighed about 18 lb by itself. As the trip wore on, I was able to move stuff into the BV (mostly cooking stuff) and the pack slowly became more comfortable.

IMO, the extra 1 3/4 lb of a larger pack is well worth the added comfort it provides in carrying the large BV. When I hiked the JMT last summer, I used a GoLite Quest with my big BV. It fit horizontally in the bottom of the pack and left more than enough room for the rest of my gear. If you do this, I recommend cutting a small piece of 3/8" foam to cushion the BV. Otherwise, sharp rocks can easily cut through the pack bottom where it is stretched tight over the plastic.

Perhaps others on this forum have a better solution to the Jam2/big-BV problem than the one I devised. If so, I am really interested in hearing about it.

depends on how bulky your base gear is... The Garcia canister I carried for the forest service is about the same size side by side. Mind you I couldn't fill up a jam2 with my gear anyhow... I just put the sleeping bag and all my clothing in an 8L dry bag and layed it flat in the bottom, put the canister vertically on one side, and stuffed the tarptent w/out poles(i use trekking poles), cookpot, raingear and essentials bags along side it making sure to even out the backpanel for an even carry. 2 - 1L water bladders on the side and I still didn't have to use the extension collar and the zippered pocket is still easy to access for me and had a 2L bladder in it. What are you guys carrying for your base gear that is that bulky or heavy with a frameless pack anyhow?

Edited by rooinater on 05/29/2009 15:11:30 MDT.

Roman,
I use a folded torso length pad against the back of the pack, stuff my quilt into a 7x11 sack and place horizontally in the bottom, then insert the canister vertically. I stuffed my extra clothing down one side topped off with a 1 liter. Platy and my pullover and hood down the other side. I had plenty of room on top of the canister for my kitchen, maps, etc… I put my tarp-tent in a side pocket held by the compression strap. I found that if I didn’t tighten the compression straps too much, the back of the pack wouldn’t ‘round-out’ too much. The pack definitely won’t ride like you are used to, but all in all it is not to bad. I left MTR with a 25lb pack weight and made great time.

When are you doing your trip? I live in Reno, so if there is anything I can do to help, please PM me.

Hey James...end of July...flying into San Fran though. I tried my Vapor Trail and it wasn't much better. The killer seems to be my thermarest z-lite. I cut off some of the sections and I'm using it as my back pad in the pack. I may have to cut off even more to free up some room. I'll play around with it some more tomorrow I guess.

Roman,
These measurements are by memory, but you’ll get the idea. I divided a 42” piece of Ridge-Rest Regular into three sections; 15, 14 and 13 inches, respectively. Between the sections, I cut half-way through the pad and then reinforced the cut with a piece of ¾”
Fiber reinforced strapping tape. The result is a torso length pad that folds into itself, is very flat and is custom sized for the back of the Jam 2. I use the Jam 2 under my legs.

Roman,

On a recent trip that I took to Yosemite, Hetch Hetchy Res, on of the guys that I was traveling with had a great was to carry his vault.

He carried all of the food inside the pack and stored the empty canister horizontally across the top of his pack, using the compression strap to hold it in place.

There is a photo of Bob carrying his bear vault as described in the photo gallery area....Yosemite: Hetch Hetchy trip.

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=20617

Maybe this might work for you?

-Tony

Edited by Valshar on 06/01/2009 11:39:03 MDT.

double post...

Edited by leadfoot on 06/02/2009 04:00:52 MDT.

I thought that areas requiring a canister also state that food must be kept inside the canister even while hiking.

If you have the canister strapped outside, what's the point of keeping the food in the pack?

RomanLa,
I have the same set up. Jam2 and bv 500. Like most I put my zlite in the back to give a frame,bag at the bottom, bv on top of my bag to one side as much as possible. At that point I can get my squall2 next to the bv500 or I can get my squall on the out side in the pocket next to the bv500. Clothes on top. On the side pocket I put my bladder on the far side from bv500 to balance the weight. If that makes sence. Im able to get 7-8 days of food and all that I need that way. And as the canister mt's out I put anything in it to make a little more room. I think a light pack with a frame would be a little more comfy but this seams to work ok for me. One other thought. I also like to put my squall inside and the zlite in the outside pocket, as I do like to have access to my pad to sit on during the day.
Hope this helps somewhat.
Good luck on your trip....