has anyone tried using a bumbag combined with separate small rucsac---and did it work?

I have used a size medium golite breeze riding on top of an old Kelty Moab lumbar pack. I liked it a lot. It rides best with the shoulder straps somewhat snug.

But a single larger rucksack (like a Granite Gear Virga) weighs less than the breeze + moab so I'm trying that out this yesr.

What about a vest + fanny pouch combo(my preferred summer setup)my vest+pouch weigh 3.5oz.(homemade-vest is silk and pouch is cuben fiber) I have found that a vest allows me to distribute the weight out nicely. My summer kit weighs 7.5lb's total skin out(including 3 days food). I think golite makes some nice packs, but they are a little heavy compared to something like a g6 and/or prophet20 or 30(my most loved packs). I have not found any truly ultralight fanny pouches or bumbags, but if you can think of one please let me know. I would be very curious.

http://trailquest.net/dlgcfannypack.html

dancing lite gear makes this one under or around 2 oz - it's pretty nice. only downside is you can't really open & access it well while it is strapped on snugly because the pouch is sewed on with the zipper in-line with the waistbelt. you either have to loosen waistbelt or remove it to have much access for putting things in/out of pouch. but for the price it's pretty nice and is definitely light and well put together durability-wise.

I ran through a bunch of variations and came up with something like the Exped Dry Pack and a smallish fanny pack with water bottle holsters. My idea was to get the weight on the fanny pack and only carry the lightest but bulkiest items in the rucksack. This idea was oreinted more towards helping someone whould couldn't tolerate much weight on their shoulders. As an offshoot, I was trying to make a silk purse from a pack that was just too small and needed more room for water bottles and essentials.

It is barely worth the effort, as the extra fabric and hardware just increases the weight. My conclusion was that a very light pack that could still transfer weight to the hip belt was a better option.

I think there is a tinkerer's appeal to many ultralighters in having a micro-kit that can support a hiker for at least two or three day trips. The first thing that happens is that it becomes a summer-only proposition, with micro-light sleeping bag, minimal pad, etc.

I'm still trying to go there myself, working on getting the bulk down. I mentioned my 5oz kitchen in another post, which is born from this very idea.

So far I'm using a run of the mill UL pack, small cook kit, chemical water treatment, poncho/cape shelter and conceding to a RidgeRest pad and a 32F sleeping bag. Clothes can vary with the season. It gives me as light as compact kit as I can expect and still have some reasonable safety and comfort.

If you want something for day hiking away from your main pack, there are a number of stuff-sack-with-shoulder-strap designs that will work and offer more capacity and comfort than a fanny pack at only an ounce or two more that the lightest fanny packs. The Etowah Outfitters "Town Bag" is agood example:




Integral Designs makes a larger version. See: http://www.integraldesigns.com/product_detail.cfm?id=770&CFID=7378347&CFTOKEN=43005992&mainproducttypeid=1

I am using one of the Etowah bags as my ditty bag and emergency bug-out bag. It only weighs 2.1oz and can carry rain gear, essentials, food and water if I had to drop my main pack and head for home in a hurry or was injured, or just wanted to day hike away from camp.

Edited by dwambaugh on 06/15/2006 22:28:16 MDT.

thanks for replies---i live in england so brand names are unfamiliar---i was asking the question more from a comfort than a lightweight point of view----i often hike with the waist strap of my rucsac undone and was thinking that a smaller rucsac with a fanny pack might distribute weight better----i will google the brand names --thanks

Edited by barryspoons on 06/16/2006 16:23:04 MDT.

I think the concept is the thing rather than the brand name. With UL backpacking, the brands will change over time, but the concepts will remain: packing only what you need, multiple use, finding the most Spartan designs.

Most fanny pack designs are a study in what not to do. Mountainsmith is a good example, making fanny packs dripping with zippers, straps, hardware, and heavy fabrics, until they weigh more than a 50 liter UL backpack. Unfortunately with fanny packs, there are few if any that I would call ultralight that aren't more than an envelope with a zipper and some sort of belt. If they aren't small and very simple, the weight climbs quickly. I think they are relegated to day hiking and use as an extra pocket.

I've done this on 3 trips already. It works great with the waist belt pulled tight and the load levelers pulled tight on the MountainSmith Daylight. I have my sleeping bag, tent, silk sleeping bag liner and my sleeping pad in the RikSak with everything else in my Mountainsmith Daylight.

If I could, I would put everything in the lumbar pack but I can't yet get it to fit. I'm leaving out my stove, cook pot and fuel since I never seem to want to cook any way.

Just over 2 pounds in my RikSak:
Western Mountaineering Highlite Sleeping Bag 16oz
ZPacks Hexamid Twin Tarp with bug screen 11.6oz
Gossamer Gear Nightlight (torso length) sleeping pad 3.65oz
Cocoon Silk Sleeping Bag line - I could stop using this as it warms up. 4.5

2.37 pounds when put in a 2.1 oz RikSak.

I know Jacks R Better makes a sleeping bag that I could wear instead of carry in a RikSak but it still seems like it will be on my upper torso. I use a lumbar pack because I had major back surgery on my lower back in 2008. Keeping the weight low and pulled tight really decreases the torque.

"My conclusion was that a very light pack that could still transfer weight to the hip belt was a better option. " +1

Like my ULA Circuit. No discernible weight felt on my shoulders at all. Too much pressure on the shoulders is a killer for me.

this was a great way to do ultralight on the cheap. i had a large schoolbag ontop a rolled up ccf pad ontop a fanny pack and heavily beefed up the hip belt with foam. heavy stuff was still in the schoolbag, and the weight transfers down. almost no weight was on my shoulders.