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Initial pack was Golite Breeze, which was commercial version of Ray Jardine's ultralight pack. This pack had several problems. No sternum strap, so shoulder strap pads tended to slip into underarm area and pick up perspiration smell, which was difficult to remove. I was using pack in Europe then, and stinking was problem due to how I was constantly coming into towns. So switched to Jardine's one-shoulder carrying method, both to reduce smell problem and to allow better ventilation of my back. Unfortunately, placement of straps and fabric was such that pack tended to slip when carried using one-shoulder carrying method. Also, one-shoulder carrying method only comfortable when pack under about 9 kilos (20 pounds), but I often exceeeded this limit due to need to carry large amounts of water in dry conditions of southern Europe. Also, one-shoulder carrying method can't be used when scrambling over rough trail, which was common on trails I was hiking then.
Jardine says sternum straps interfere with breathing. I find hip belt is bigger problem, because mostly I breathe using my diaphragm and stomach muscles rather than with my upper chest muscles. Hip belts also tend to cause hip muscles to tighten up over time and they interfere with digestion of food. So now I mostly use hip belt to hold backpack in place when climbing over rocks, and seldom to carry weight. I keep sternum strap buckled at all times, because I'd rather lose a little lung capacity than stink up my pack straps, as happened to me once when I did not use a sternum strap.
Next pack was Golite Gust medium, which weighed 500 grams after removing various unneeded features. At 50 liters (not including extension collar), Gust was considerably larger than Breeze, which I liked, because my gear is quite bulky. It included hipbelt, but lacked external pockets of Breeze. I added sternum strap to prevent shoulder strap pads from slipping into underarm area. Pack was comfortable for up to about 16 kilos (35 pounds) which is most I normally carry. Because of different placement and materials of shoulder straps, Gust was also easier to carry than Breeze using one-shoulder carrying method. So I experimented extensively with this carrying method, before finally deciding that its main advantage (better ventilation of back) was not sufficient to offset disadvantages (lower weight limit and lack of two free hands for scrambling). Both Gust and Breeze were made of 6 oz/sqyd Dyneema reinforced ripstop, which is extremely strong and moderately abrasion-resistant fabric. Due to lack of abrasion resistance, bottom of pack began to show wear after about 3000 trail miles. Also, fabric's urethane coating was delaminated everywhere after this amount of use. I ran through four of these packs over the years. By the time fourth pack was worn out, Golite was no longer manufacturing this pack and I didn't much care for replacement models, so I decided to try making my own pack.
Current home-made pack is simplification of Gust, and reflects my experiences over years:
Details here. Can be carried as shoulder purse while not carrying backpack. Attached to or inside neckpurse while hiking would be: whistle, smartphone, valuables, clothing items that I want close at hand (poncho, mittens, insulated hat, headnet).
Details here. Large sack, for quilt and clothing, made of silpoly to ensure water resistance. Medium and small sacks of silnylon for organizing items. Medium sack of supplex for insulated pullover/pillow.
Details here. For keeping electronics dry inside backpack. 70 grams.
Modified Eagle Creek Coin Pocket. Modifications: remove see-through cardpocket; add keyring loop to inside of other card pocket, attach cord. Attached to loop on outside of pants and carried in pocket while in city. Carried in neckpurse while hiking. Contains keys and coins. Empty weight, including cord and keyring, is 30 grams.
By Eagle Creek. Hangs inside pants while in city. Carried in neckpurse while hiking. Can also hang around neck while sleeping in airports or other locations where security is issue, and I don't want wallet inside pants because that would interfere with side sleeping. Contains currency, passport, driver's license, credit cards. Passport protected from moisture by 4"x7" aloksak. Possibly carry two hanging wallets, one on each side of body. Put passport, small amount of currency and locked (thus unusable) debit/credit card card in one wallet and present that wallet to robbers. Put drivers license, remaining ATM/debit/credit cards and large amounts of currency in other wallet. Spare wallet can also be used for carrying smartphone at night or other situations where neck purse not being carried. 30 grams empty.
Details here. For carrying sharp and abrasive tools inside toiletries sack and/or neckpurse when walking around city. 20g.
Wild Ideas Bearikade Expedition size (14.8 liters, 9" outer diameter, 14" outer height, 1050 grams). Wrap with blaze orange tape to make easier to find if bear moves canister. Holds about 9 days food, or enough for 10 days travel (240 miles at 24 miles/day), since first meal of first day does not need to be carried, and last meal of last day can be eaten at resupply location.
Details here. Protects enclosed opsak from damage from items in backpack. Close sack by twisting neck and tying shut. 25 grams each.
For protecting paper and electronics from moisture. Much more durable and waterproof than ordinary zip-lock plastic bags. 12"x12" size (30 grams each) for protecting smartphone and papers in neckpurse, 9"x6" size (13 grams each) for storing and organizing papers, 4"x7" size (7 grams each) for protecting and organizing smaller items (passport, spare currency, electronics, vitamins, etc). Printed lettering on Aloksaks can be removed using rubbing alcohol. Aloksaks will typically last entire year of travel if not heavily abused, assuming no manufacturing defect. Most common initial failure is zip-closure detaches from remainder of sack. When this happens, sack continues to provide partial protection by simply folding top over.
Odorproof/waterproof plastic food sack. Primary Opsak typically lasts entire year of travel. 12.5" wide by 20" long. 45 grams each.
For organizing food/trash inside opsak.
For hiking, generic polyethylene water bottles from grocery store: 4 x 1L for drinking water plus 330mL with spigot cap for cleaning. Spigot cap can break, so carry spare caps. Spigot cap can leak, so carry 330mL bottle upright at top of pack and empty before air travel (low air pressure during flight might pull cap open).
For bicycle touring in the United States, 2 x 600ml Nalgene ATB bottles in cages in front triangle of the bike, plus 4 x 6L Dromedary bladders in panniers, plus 1 x 6L Dromedary bladder as spare in pannier.
Bladders and water bottles subject to bacterial growth. For generic polyethylene bottles, judt replace as needed. For Nalgene bottles and Dromedary bladders, fill with some water plus water purifying tablets (chlorine-dioxide or sodium dichloroisocyanurate). Shake, let sit for several hours, shake again, rinse. Bleach (sodium hypochlorite) can also be used, however many laundry bleaches contain perfumes and other additives. MSR Sweetwater purifier solution is pure sodium hypochlorite. All liquid forms of sodium hypochlorite have disadvantage that they degrade within 6 months or less of opening sealed bottle, as chlorine escapes, whereas tablets sealed in foil pouches are longer-lasting. Before putting bladders into storage, clean as just described then let thoroughly dry.
If temperatures will drop below freezing at night, store bottles and/or bladders under backpack/rackbag, which is spread out in front of bugbivy. This works especially well in desert or high sierras in early autumn, when temps are typically well above freezing during day and then fall below freezing at night, so that earth is warm at sundown. Two layers of backpack/rackbag fabric will hold earth heat, to prevent bottles/bladder from freezing. If uncertain if this will work, check bottles/bladder during night for signs of freezing. If so, bring bottles/bladder inside bugbivy and under quilt.
Nalgene ATB bottles of HDPE (high-density polyethylene) plastic, with spigot cap replaced by MSR 3-in-1 cap (more durable and weighs 10 grams less), carried in bottle cages in front triangle of bike. For some reason, these bottles start stinking of plastic after about a day, perhaps because bottles are left exposed to sun. Water in these bottles only used for cleaning purposes (toothbrush, washing hands and bottom, cleaning chain, rinsing salt off face), so smell not big issue. 95g each.
MSR Dromedary (urethane-lined cordura, 235 grams including carrying strap). Nominal capacity 6L, but only able to fill to about 5.5L under field conditions.
MSR Dromedary bladders are only water bladders I trust. I absolutely do not trust Platypus and similar polyethylene bladders. Aside from being prone to cracking and leaking, these polyethylene bladders have sharp edges, which tend to cut other items in pack, and clear plastic promotes growth of algae. Weak point of MSR bladders is seam between hard plastic opening and fabric. This seam is much weaker on MSR Dromlite than MSR Dromedary, due to much lighter fabric. I experienced such a seam breakage on 4 liter MSR Dromlite after about one month of usage. I also heard reports of other backpackers on PCT having damage to this seam on their MSR Dromlites. Dromedaries weighs more than Dromlites (or Platypus and similar polyethylene bladders), reliability more important than weight where water bladders is concerned. Even if using stronger Dromedary bladder, I advise minimizing use of handle while filling, so as to reduce stress on opening to fabric seam, since this is weak point of these bladders.
In addition to failure of plastic opening to fabric seam, pinhole punctures also possible with Dromedary bladders. I have been able to fix three such pinhole punctures so far by drying bladder, then applying thick coat of McNett seamgrip to puncture on outside of bladder. Seamgrip is polyurethane, same as what MSR bladders use to waterproof cordura nylon shell. Bring along several 1/4 oz tubes of seamgrip in repair kit, rather than single large tube, since seamgrip tends to dry up once seal on tube is broken, even if cap is replaced securely. I tried but was unable to fix slow leak due to seam failure between plastic opening and fabric. Another failure is threads on MSR 3-in-1 cap can go bad, so that there is slow leak, especially when bladder is put under pressure. Replace with cap from spare bladder. My current practice is to simply replace one 4 Dromedary bladders after each bicycle tour of about 60 days, versus trying to repair leaks.
By Loksak. Holds 4"x7" Aloksak inside zippered pocket, with straps for securing around lower leg or arm. Thought this might be useful for holding valuables while swimming at beach. Not needed since I only go swimming in secluded places, where securing valuables is not necessary.
Initially, I used a commercial drysack to store food, which worked to protect food from moisture. However, drysack alone is apparently not odor-proof, since rodent of some sort chewed through drysack on PCT while I was sleeping, which is why I switched to Opsaks inside silnylon food sack.
Drysacks can also be used to protect electronics and paper items from moisture. However, fabric in lightweight commercial drysacks typically delaminates fairly quickly, which is why I switched to combination of Aloksaks and home-made drysack of waterproof breathable fabric. Heavyweight commercial drysacks are more durable, but overkill for my needs.