Ultralight / Light-weight 75L–80L Pack Recommendations -- hike to Lower Saddle of the Grand

Ultralight / Light-weight 75L–80L Pack Recommendations

I’m planning to climb the Grand (via Lower & Upper Exum) in August.  Camping at the Lower Saddle.  I’m looking for an ultralight or light-weight pack in the 75L–80L size.  I’ve got my gear list down to just less than 40lbs. (food, water, camping gear & climbing kit).  The approach is no joke (same goes for the retreat)—6+ miles & 5,000’ elevation gain—so I’m looking for a pack that carries well.  My current bag really didn’t do the trick the last time, an Osprey Atmos 65—wasn’t big enough.  Plus, it’s nearly 5 pounds.  I’m hoping to trim a pound and a half, maybe two pounds off my pack weight.  I know a lot of UL and LW packs are little more than an unstructured sack which don’t carry well.  I’d love your input on UL or LW packs you’ve used and how they carry.  Thanks.

I’d not cut weight on the pack with all that stuff tbh. If you want to lighten the load I’d look elsewhere.

There’s water in the meadows and at spalding falls, fyi, that should help.

I have the HMG North rim it's really light fairly comfortable with weight.

If you need a pack that big you have too much crap. I have climbed the Grand numerous times, I think the largest pack I have schlepped is around 45l and that was in winter.

Big fan of the BD Mission 75. If you're an AAC member with discounts its pretty reasonable. Its a good balance of light but still comfortable for a heavy load.

Have a look at the expedition light series from Parbat, I'm not sure how/if they're imported into the US but I've given their 30l and their 110l a try and they were both stupidly light and seemed really, really nicely made. I find big packs are often way overbuilt and require way less padding than most of the popular big-volume packs have, it's more about where the structure and rigidity is, paired with the suspension system (which is way less complicated than some brands make it out to be) as opposed to how thick the foam is. You obviously get less adjustability but for a pack thats somewhere around 2lb you can't expect that. I guess it's more if it fits you, it fits you, if it doesn't, it doesn't.

Allen Sanderson wrote:

If you need a pack that big you have too much crap. I have climbed the Grand numerous times, I think the largest pack I have schlepped is around 45l and that was in winter.

I’d love to see your gear list.  We’re camping at the Lower Saddle, so in addition to climbing kit, I’ve got camping gear, including food for two days.  None of my gear is bulky; I’ve got either ultralight or lightweight kit. For example, my bivy bag weighs only 7.3 oz. and rolls up to the size of a soda can.  Down quilt is 900 fill; stuffs into small bag. Cook kit fits in a 550 ml pot, including the fuel canister. For climbing, I’m carrying a single rack to #3 and a set of HB offsets—nothing excessive (partner’s carrying the rope).  Harness is an Arc’teryx, which folds down small.  Clothes are base layer, mid layer hooded fleece, down jacket, shell, and merino wool long johns.  Helmet can go on the outside of the pack.  I honestly don’t see how I can pare down my gear further.  Mind you, I'd love to; if I can get below my weight estimate of 40 lbs., that'd be awesome.  So, again, I’d love to see your list, because there’s no way I could get everything in a 45L bag.  (List updated to include rock shoes; how I forgot these, I have NO idea...)

Scott360 wrote:

I’d love to see your gear list.  We’re camping at the Lower Saddle, so in addition to climbing kit, I’ve got camping gear, including food for two days.  None of my gear is bulky; I’ve got either ultralight or lightweight kit. For example, my bivy bag weighs only 7.3 oz. and rolls up to the size of a soda can.  Down quilt is 900 fill; stuffs into small bag. Cook kit fits in a 550 ml pot, including the fuel canister. For climbing, I’m carrying a single rack to #3 and a set of HB offsets—nothing excessive (partner’s carrying the rope).  Harness is an Arc’teryx, which folds down small.  Clothes are base layer, mid layer hooded fleece, down jacket, shell, and merino wool long johns.  Helmet can go on the outside of the pack.  I honestly don’t see how I can pare down my gear more--mind you, I'd love to; if I can get below my weight estimate of 37 lbs., that'd be awesome.  So, again, I’d love to see your list, because there’s no way I could get everything in a 45L bag.

just with a quick glance if you wanted to drop down to a smallerpack I would take out the summit pack,the Sandles bring a pair of approach shoes and climbing shoes and you could probably drop some of those layers

Zach Higley wrote:

You're looking at the wrong side of my list.  Only the items on the left are what I'm bringing.  The items in the text boxes on the right are for reference.  On the left, you'll see the items I'm bringing, their weight to the right, and then the total weight at the bottom in red--just less than 38 lbs.  Summit bag:  this fits inside the main pack, opened, for the approach, so it takes up almost no room in the main pack (weighs less than a pound).  We're starting the climb around 04:30 to 05:00, so it'll be cold; layers will be good.  Plus, one never knows what weather will blow in.

Ross Goldberg wrote:

Big fan of the BD Mission 75. If you're an AAC member with discounts its pretty reasonable. Its a good balance of light but still comfortable for a heavy load.

Thanks for this.  I'm looking at the Mission 75.  I can get it on a pro deal for around $180.  But if possible, I'd like to go lighter.

Seems odd to me to sweat the ounces for the pack, yet you have;

soap, toothbrush, toothpaste, towel, 5L of water containers, med kit, tent stakes, thermometer/compass, extra flashlight and battery, extra cord and battery for iPhone, extra pillow, extra t-shirt, bug spray, sunscreen, chalk bag (it’s the Grand!), etc etc.  

previously (4x) I’ve always gone car to car to avoid the overnight hassles, but have been thinking about next time overnighting myself, but I would trim the comfort items personally and go with a 45L.   I probably would skip the stove as well myself for one overnight on the Grand in August.

Scott360 wrote:

I’d love to see your gear list.  We’re camping at the Lower Saddle, so in addition to climbing kit, I’ve got camping gear, including food for two days.  None of my gear is bulky; I’ve got either ultralight or lightweight kit. For example, my bivy bag weighs only 7.3 oz. and rolls up to the size of a soda can.  Down quilt is 900 fill; stuffs into small bag. Cook kit fits in a 550 ml pot, including the fuel canister. For climbing, I’m carrying a single rack to #3 and a set of HB offsets—nothing excessive (partner’s carrying the rope).  Harness is an Arc’teryx, which folds down small.  Clothes are base layer, mid layer hooded fleece, down jacket, shell, and merino wool long johns.  Helmet can go on the outside of the pack.  I honestly don’t see how I can pare down my gear further.  Mind you, I'd love to; if I can get below my weight estimate of 40 lbs., that'd be awesome.  So, again, I’d love to see your list, because there’s no way I could get everything in a 45L bag.  (List updated to include rock shoes; how I forgot these, I have NO idea...)

• Get rid of the thermometer. Knowing the exact temp isn't necessary. 
• Get rid of the compass and use the one on your phone that you'll already be carrying for navigation. You are unlikely to need it at all as the trail and climb is so well traveled. 
• 8oz for a cook kit seems excessive. You could easily get stove and pot down to 3oz. What else do you need beyond a stove and pot? 
• Why do you have 2 platypus bottles? A 3L and a 1L? You don't need to carry that much water while up there. 2L will get you from the lower saddle to the summit and back. Below the lower saddle, you don't need more than your BeFree bottle.
• You absolutely do not need to carry 70oz of water at any time while below the lower saddle. There's water every mile of the trail all the way to the lower saddle. Refill using your BeFree bottle and don't carry any more than the bottle will carry. Drink a full bottle and then refill and carry it to the next water stop. 
• Get rid of the beanie and smartwool long johns. Sleep with the buff on your head in place of the beanie and wear your pants to bed. 
• You don't need a trowel. Everything should be packed out in a wag bag. The area gets way too much traffic for anyone to be burying waste up there. It won't stay buried.
• You don't need bug spray. Below tree line they aren't bad and above tree line the wind blows them away. 
• You don't need a chalk bag, it's an alpine climb. 
• A pair of approach shoes, and climbing shoes is all you need. You don't need Chacos, you don't need Evolve Cruisers. You have BD missions AND TX3's listed? 
• Live without desserts. It saves you a LB. If you're going for 4 days, you need 3 dinners max. Why are you taking 6?

If you make those cuts alone, you'll be well under 40lbs and probably closer to 30. I could probably help you cut more but I tried to be generous. 

I carried a smaller pack than yours for a week in the winds, and I’m not any kind of ultralight hiker. I can totally see struggling with the weight - climbing gear is heavy - but I have no idea how you’re struggling to fit it all into a 60L pack. I did fine with a 55L.

You can take a few baby wipes in a ziploc in lieu of soap, and I’d be curious what your gear list looks like. For harder climbs with hikes like that I’ve taken a total of ~8-9 lbs of gear between two people. You’ve got 6+ 5 plus I assume your partner’s got another 5? Maybe see what you can do with a few extra nuts or make do with fewer lockers or backup cord? You can always sacrifice shoulder slings in an emergency, or use them for an autoblock. Etc. 

Nate made some good suggestions too.

Good luck, have fun!

NateC wrote:

• Get rid of the thermometer. Knowing the exact temp isn't necessary.  I get it.  But it's only 0.21 oz. and fits on a zipper pull.  Not heavy or a space killer.
• Get rid of the compass and use the one on your phone that you'll already be carrying for navigation. You are unlikely to need it at all as the trail and climb is so well traveled.  Gotcha.  Might not bring it.  But it goes on the sternum strap and weigh only 0.18 oz.  
• 8oz for a cook kit seems excessive. You could easily get stove and pot down to 3oz. What else do you need beyond a stove and pot?  Stove is an MSR Pocket Rocket Deluxe, which weighs only 3.24 oz.  I tried the BRS stove, which weighs less than an ounce.  However, it doesn't have a windscreen (MSR has one built in), fuel regulator, Piezo igniter, and is much louder than that MSR.  Tried it; didn't like it.  Plus, I've never been in the outdoors where there wasn't at least some breeze to disrupt a stove flame.  Pot is a Toaks UL Ti 550ml; weighs only 2.4 oz. with lid.  Collapsable mug--for my coffee--weighs only 1.87 oz. and fits on top of the pot in the stuff sack.  Whole cook kit measures 3.5" wide/diameter x 5" tall.  Fuel canister fits inside.  It could be slightly more compact if I went with the BRS stove, but then I'd have to bring a wind screen and fiddle-futs with that.  Been there; done that, over it.
• Why do you have 2 platypus bottles? A 3L and a 1L? You don't need to carry that much water while up there. 2L will get you from the lower saddle to the summit and back. Below the lower saddle, you don't need more than your BeFree bottle.  Great point; thank you.  I was thinking I'd filter water the night before and store it in the 3L collapsible Platypus (it collapses flat).  I'll cross that off the list.  Not much weight or volume savings, but one less piece of gear--always good.
• You absolutely do not need to carry 70oz of water at any time while below the lower saddle. There's water every mile of the trail all the way to the lower saddle. Refill using your BeFree bottle and don't carry any more than the bottle will carry. Drink a full bottle and then refill and carry it to the next water stop.  This is really helpful, too.  I'd LOVE not to carry 2L of water.  I live in desert (Vegas) and whenever we climb back in the canyons, we bring at least 2L, sometimes 3L.  Cutting 1L of water is a big weigh savings.  Thank you.
• Get rid of the beanie and smartwool long johns. Sleep with the buff on your head in place of the beanie and wear your pants to bed.  This would probably work, though I really hate sleeping in my pants.  But I'll have my 20-degree quilt, so I'll be warm enough, especially in my bivy bag.  Thanks again; shaves another 8 oz.!
• You don't need a trowel. Everything should be packed out in a wag bag. The area gets way too much traffic for anyone to be burying waste up there. It won't stay buried.  Thanks; I was wondering about that.  I'll probably bring an extra WAG bag (for my summit pack) just in case.  Another piece of kit stays at home.
• You don't need bug spray. Below tree line they aren't bad and above tree line the wind blows them away. Awesome, though I wasn't planning on bringing it.  (Notice no weight is listed to the RIGHT of the item, which indicates those items I was planning to bring.)
• You don't need a chalk bag, it's an alpine climb. If the temps are north of 60, I'll need it.  My hands sweat.  A lot.  If the temps are cooler, I'll leave it at home.  (Pretty sure I used it last time I climbed the Lower Exum.)  Thanks.
• A pair of approach shoes, and climbing shoes is all you need. You don't need Chacos, you don't need Evolve Cruisers. You have BD missions AND TX3's listed?  All those shoes listed in the text box to the right are for reference purposes only.  Was never planning to bring all those.  Bringing my approach shoes, which I'll carry on the climb for the walk-off, and my rock shoes.  That's it.
• Live without desserts. It saves you a LB. If you're going for 4 days, you need 3 dinners max. Why are you taking 6?  Planning to be out two nights, three days.  Will take Pinnacle Foods dinners, which come in about 700-800 calories each.  With the caloric output of the approach, I think I'll need two dinners at around 1,400-1,600 calories.  Dessert would be shared and extra calories.  I can probably get by with four meals.  I think I put down six in case we got held up on the mountain and delayed another night.  Thanks for this.  Trims just a little weight, but more volume, as dehydrated meals take up space.

• If you make those cuts alone, you'll be well under 40lbs and probably closer to 30. I could probably help you cut more but I tried to be generous.  Thanks for your suggestions.  They help.  I've posted the revised gear list.  Got it trimmed to just less than 35 lbs.  Now if I can just trim a couple pounds off the weight of pack itself.

I do plenty of multi-day trips in the cascades and else where with a 55L hyperlite pack or smaller carrying way more food and layers and gear and sometimes 4 pairs of shoes/boots :) 

Unlike others, I'd bring a 1L soft bottle and a 3L bottle for camp use that is shared with your partner. I'd also not carry more than 1L of water for the duration of the hike. Even in the moraine, you can get water. Lots of cases on the hike, I only carry .5L at a time and drink at least .5L when I stop to fill.

There isn't any reason I can see from your list that you couldn't be using a smaller pack. 35lbs for 3 days is a nice weight. My guess is that your method of packing the pack is where you are going wrong. I typically don't use more than a few small stuff sacks. Sleeping bag in a compression sack, food in another sack, smaller stuff sack for snacks and little day items. All extra clothing, bivy sack, etc...is just crammed in to fill voids in the pack. 

What shared gear is your partner carrying? You have the rope, the stove, and at 6lb, most/all of the rack. Giving them the rope or rack cuts 6lb, and puts you at about 25lb of stuff, which seems reasonable for two nights. That should get you down into a 35-40l bag, saving 2-3 lb, and also meaning you don't need a summit pack, another lb.

On a side note, your revised list doesn't seem to have anything to block rain. I would at least carry a jacket, that's a half lb you won't regret.

To answer your original question, the Hyperlite Mountain Gear packs are my choice. I use the porter in a 55L size for 5 to 8 day trips all the time. The most weight I’ve carried with it is 57lbs. Typical load is 37 to 45 lbs.

Also check out Durston brand backpacks. Haven’t used them myself yet, but they seem to be gaining popularity.

I had a buddy pack for a 6 nights, 7 day alpine climbing trip into a 38L Osprey Mutant. He even had a tent in there. I carried a 40L bag that trip. Between three people we had two ropes, a double rack of cams, etc.

If you really want to go lightweight, seriously don’t bring things you don’t need even if “it’s less than an ounce.” That’s how it starts and it all adds up.

practice packing into less volume. 80L and bigger is for Denali expeditions in my opinion. Hyperlite Mountain Gear does make a pack that big though if you want to try it. 

Scott360 wrote:

I hear you and realize you have a reason, or an explanation of everything you're carrying. Nothing weighs nothing though, and things add up quickly. The BRS is loud, and doesn't block wind as well, it will still boil water, and it saves you two ounces and space. The thermometer and compass on their own don't weigh much, but they're just unnecessary stuff that adds to total weight. You don't like sleeping in pants, but luxury comes at a high cost. It's not my trip, and I'm not telling you what you must or must not bring, but up thread you challenged someone that your gear is mostly UL backpacking gear and you don't see how you can make cuts. I made at least 5lbs of cuts if you include water and that was without cutting into much of your luxury. I could easily go at your list for 2-3 more lbs, perhaps 5. And that's without telling you to get rid of the summit pack and take a climbing pack that is able to bridge the approach needs and climbing needs in one. 

Now that you have made those cuts, consider the Blue Ice Stache 60 or 90. They carry up to 45lbs well, and <40 really well. I have a Mission 75 and my Stache 60 carries the same loads just as well, in my opinion. The Stache packs aren't the burliest and most durable, but you'd lose close to 3lbs vs the Mission 75. More durable, but heavier than the Blue Ice Stache would be the Hyperlite packs. People who like them love them. I've had two, but something about my build doesn't agree with them and I find myself wanting load lifters. 

" If you're going for 4 days, you need 3 dinners max. Why are you taking 6?"

The permit limit is 2 nights in either leg of Garnet Canyon. Platforms and Meadows are considered the same as the Saddle. 2 dinners.

The rangers will give you a wag bag as it is included in your permit fee. Theirs are bulky so bring your own.

If you don't have a 0.1 oz accurate scale get one and weigh every single item. Ounces become pounds rather quickly. 

Pare down to 45 liters.

I like my Patagonia Ascensionist 55L.  

I had a Hyperlite pack but didn't care for it.  I got <50 days of backcountry use out of it before it was falling apart.