Looking to get educated on packs!

I have a bunch of "tactical" day packs or 3 days packs as they're referred to, but to me they're really day packs.
I have an Eberlestock Gunslinger I'll prob be selling soon, it's a lot smaller than I anticipated and doesn't do anything I need it to do.
I have a MOLLE 2 pack, and I just don't like it, not very comfortable and tends to feel like everything is "loose".

This weekend I went camping and decided to use an old 5.11 72 hour bag I had. I think it's cited as 55 liters. It felt small, and over packed (maybe I did pack too much) but it just didn't seem to hold the weight well.

I'm looking for something that'll hold a weekends worth of supplies, comfortable, expandable (MOLLE), and prefer it to be drab for dual purpose, oh and affordable! I can't spend hundreds of $ on a weekend pack for a few weekends a year and incase the world ends. Right now I'm leaning towards a surplus ILBE.
Throw at me what you got, aim open to ideas.

Thanks.

You're right! ILBE is what you seek!

So I have 9 or 10 packs,  mostly backpacking packs but a few tactical/ molle ones for work.    I would never take the tactical ones backpacking,  I could use the backpacking ones for work,  other than the color.  Backpacking packs perform better at carrying things, not just looks.  Tactical packs are too heavy for what they carry.

You should easily be able to get everything you need into 55L,  now I've been doing it for 20 years and have shaved alot off of what I bring, but I use a 38L pack with no problems for a weekend unless its going to be below 20 degrees.  Then i'll probably move up to a 55L for the extra bulk of heavier down quilts and more food.

You don't need molle on a backpacking pack, you don't need to expand it,  ideally you eliminate carrying  things,  however another option is to get a slightly larger pack and if you don't need the space,  just cinch it all down tighter.  A larger backpacking pack will be lighter than a molle pack, and carry more better.

When starting out, everyone packs too much.  Its not just about being able to carry the weight,  yeah for work I ruck a 50lb pack,  however thats work,  I need ammo and body armor and helmet etc.  For backpacking you will be less tired, feel better at camp, and be able to go more miles with a lighter pack no matter how in shape you are.  You will also be less likely to injure yourself.   My weekend backpack is 14lbs with food and water.

You also don't really need to worry about a pack being tough.  Unless you severly overload the design, (which is hard) you won't have a problem.  I've never had a pack fail on me,  even bushwhacking, and these are thin walled packs.

As for brands,  Gregory, Osprey are great.  If you want something lighter ($) look at zpacks.

Your point definitely makes sense. And I agree 60L should be plenty. Perhaps it's how the 60L is set up in the 5.11 pack that limited it's usability for me?

I filled the main compartment with just a hammock, fleece bag liner, 3 pairs underwear/socks, 2 or 3 t shirts, a pair of light weight hiking pants, and 2 pairs of shorts, and a towel. Seems like very little, but it filled up that space quickly. Doesn't help that larger guys wear larger clothing.

As far as not needing MOLLE, your probably right if I were a trail hiker, but honestly I'm not. We really hike a short distance from the machines to the camp site. I'd LIKE to do more eventually. We hike/camp on private property, so it's not out of the question to pack some rifles for plinking or varmint hunting. So I like the idea of being able to throw a MOLLE pouch on with mags or range finder, etc. Also there's always that voice in the back of my head imagining the world falling apart and needing it to get from point A to point B on foot.

It all depends on what your trying to do,  if you are only going 1-2 miles from a vehicle,  doesn't really matter.  Grab a trash bag, fill it up and swing it over your shoulder.

There is a balance between being confortable in camp vs on the trail.  I usually hike 7-15 miles a day so I care less about camping and more about distance.  for my 3 season clothes for Fri, Sat, Sun I take:   1 extra pair of socks,  1 light tshirt to sleep in, 1 pair of thin thermal tights, 1 down jacket, and a rain shell.  For a hat I use a buff.   Thats it in my pack.  I wear: 1 pair of athletic shorts with liner, one long sleeve hiking shirt, 1 pair of socks.

Everything is synthetic and dries quickly, so no towel.    If I get cold around the fire i use my sleeping quilts or just get in my hammock and go to bed.

Don't pack your "fears"  ie if you are going for 2 days,  pack for 2 days, not 2 days plus if I get stranded.   Especially if you are only a few miles from a car which you can have everything you want.  
I don't bring anything for "emergencies"  if I am injured, i have people with me to go get help,  if all my stuff falls in a river I walk back to the car,  if i'm cold at night i make a fire, or walk back to the car, (none of these things have ever happened to me in hundreds of trips).

Look up some videos on youtube about untralight hikers,  I'm not saying pack what they pack,  but these guys go hundreds of miles a season and are literally experts,  they live on the trail,  I just watch for ideas.   If you want to be uber comfortable in camp, with beer and pizza,  that is fine,  pack beer and pizza,  just know if you go really far your are going to be hurting,  (it might be worth it though)

As has been said, stay far, far away from any military packs for backpacking. They’re way too heavy for anything but combat and not very comfortable.

In my opinion, the Granite Gear Crown2 60l is probably the best value on the market right now. It’s almost as light as many of the Dyneema UL packs that cost 2-3x as much but it has a full back panel, frame sheet, hip belt, and lid. There are no gimmicks (other than the lid in some people’s opinion), everything about this pack is intended to get you and your gear down the trail. I wouldn’t call it minimalist, just no-nonsense. It has 2 large hip belt pockets that you can actually unzip/zip one-handed, an adjustable hip belt that keeps the pockets on the front of your hips regardless of size, and what I think is the best compression strap layout of any pack. It has a simple roll-top closure with compression strap. There are no sleeping pad straps and there’s no zippered bottom compartment for a sleeping bag or whatever.

Now, it is a frameless nearly UL pack (40oz with lid/36oz without), so it’s not going to carry a heavy load very well. I think Granite Gear says a max of either 35 or 40 pounds, and for me that would really be pushing the limits of comfort. But if you experiment with how you pack your gear, and realize how you pack will affect how the back panel and frame sheet transfer weight to your hips, then 30-32lb can be very comfortable.

What I use mine for most often is a winter day hiking pack. Since moving to NW Maine where cell service is very spotty and you’re not likely to see other hikers, I’ve started carrying a tent, sleeping bag, pad, stove, and 1 day food in addition to my usual clothes, water, FA kit, and misc small stuff. Now I often camp out because I have the gear for it anyway. The pic below is my Crown2 60 while on a day hike last December, IIRC total weight was around 26lb. Also IIRC I was carrying a Nemo Sonic 0F bag, Thermarest Xtherm pad, Marmot Hammer 2P4S tent, merino baselayers, 3 freeze-dried meals, 2l water, MSR Whisperlite stove, Marmot Greenland down parka, Western Mountaineering Flight down pants, and Outdoor Research Foray II rain jacket. Plus the usual small stuff and Hillsound Trail Crampons.



Shot of adjustable hip belt.



I like this pack so much I bought a Crown2 38l for May-Sept hiking/backpacking. It’s so comfortable I sold the Osprey Kestrel 38 I’d previously used. I have a few other Osprey packs (50l, 70l, 85l) that have their uses, but the Crown2s are the ones I grab most of the time.

EDIT: Getting from point A to point B if the world falls apart is a perfect reason for having a lighter pack. You’ll want to do it as quickly as possible, it may involve bushwhacking through some seriously nasty shit where a heavy pack can throw off your balance, etc. If you might need to carry mags or stuff put it in a chest pouch that’s easily accessible.

You don't need so many clothes, or a towel.  That's half your problem.  1 spare shirt, underwear and sock.  1 pair of shorts.   Wash and repeat, or just have merino wool, as they hold odors a bit better.

Get rid of all the clothes.

55L is plenty even if you don't have a lightweight sleeping bag that packs down small.

You dont need all those socks underwear and extra pants for a weekend. One pair of underwear and socks. You can wear the same pair of pants for the weekend.
You really done want or need heavy milsurp stuff for this.
You want something fairly cheap and earth tone?
https://www.granitegear.com/outdoor/backpacks/multi-day-backpacks/men-s-backpacks/perimeter-50-unisex.html

This should be more than adequate for you, and its on sale.

Just recently bought a Gregory Baltoro 75... fits great and load very manageable... Stuffing hammock,  tarps, upper and lower quilts, cooking, food and change of clothing... Always thinking winter pack... They had 2022 on sale at a great price, but liked the 2023 for a couple better features...  Wanted to buy the Mystery Ranch, but at my age, didn't see spending more...

I have good things to say about the Granite Gear Blaze60. It holds a lot of stuff.
For smaller day trips I had been using a Camelbak 14’er 24 liter pack. I liked its features, wished for more volume, but it didn’t fit my torso length. I just recently found a great sale price on an Osprey Stratos 44L. Seems a bit big for a day pack/overnighter, but I guess it’s better than being too small. EMS has them marked down from $220 to $88 bucks!  When it arrives I’ll fill it up and check it out. I’ve only heard excellent things about Osprey.

Also on team lightweight. Love my gossamer gear mariposa. At 60 liters it’s a little overkill in the summer but it’s lightweight enough that I don’t really care. You can get them used for a pretty reasonable price.

An ILBE will be comfortable under heavy loads and bulletproof but it’s fucking 9 pounds by itself… I’d rather increase the pace if I want a workout. My summer base weight (everything I carry other than water and food, includes the pack) is 10 pounds. And that includes a chair

This is good advice. Clothing will depend on season, but my best advice is that the only "spare" clothing I normally take is socks. For a longer trip (5-6 days), I may take a spare set of underwear, but often, I'll just pack a pair of "Ranger panty" shorts that I can wear as underwear, but they're normally just what I put on when I setup my camp site or do any hygiene shit. All your clothes should be able to be layered. You heat up trekking and you cool down when stopped.

I wear pants or shorts, merino wool short sleeve shirt and maybe a lightweight long sleeve top for early mornings. Merino wool socks and Ex Officio underwear. Rain gear is usually stuffed in an outer pocket and accessible. Rain pants can go over pants or shorts or worn as stand-alone.

Low temp dependent, I may have a lightweight insulation layer for the evening (if the lightweight shirt mentioned above isn't enough) and maybe lightweight insulated vest. Normally two pair of extra socks, Ranger panties, and a merino wool cap if temps may get below 40 degrees for lows.

I can pretty much layer all the above and it's my typical load plan for backpacking above freezing lows. If the daytime highs are above 50, I will almost always just go with shorts as I hike hot.




My socks worn will be taken off and dried overnight (love merino wool!), I can rinse and wash my underwear, they'll dry overnight as well. My second pair of socks are for swapping out if the trail is wet or it's raining all day and I keep my third pair for nighttime and the last day of the hike out.

ROCK6

I've weekend hiked in and camped with my 5.11 72 bag and it was the equivalent of a garbage bag filled with potatoes.  Fortunately was not a long hike in, so I feel your pain.

I run the exo mountain gear K3-6400 and K3-1800 primarily for back country hunting.  It's a light comfortable pack enough for just hiking and camping on its own.  The real benefit I have found for just camping vs hunting is the expandable frame for packing out meat.  I've used that space for large canvas tents, chainsaw, and stupid kid bulk comfort items when packing in and setting up a longer term base camp.

https://exomtngear.com/

-P

Update to my post

The Stratos didn’t fit either. It’s adjustable for torso length, but only to 21”, I think I’m a 22”, so I gave it to my son.
So now I’m going the other way. Most of my hikes are day hikes. I dug out an old Maxpedition Malaga that I had picked up in the EE. I’m going to strap a water bottle pouch onto it and see if I can fit everything I want to pack.
Otherwise I may pull the trigger on a Mystery Ranch Coulee 30 or Scree 32.

UPDATE #2

It is clear that the Malaga, even with pouches attached to the sides, is not big enough for a winter day pack.  Maybe certain day hikes in the other three seasons.  Bring on Black Friday deals!

Recreational packs are made different than tactical packs. If you are planning on getting intocombat the tactical packs work better. They are tougher and lower profile but they are heavier. Molle attachments work well but add even more weight. Think of it this way, which weighs more, a pound of trail mix in a molle pouch attached to a pack or a pound of trail mix in a ziplock bag inside your pack? Tactical packs carry weight lower. Seeing as going prone is a thing in combat tactical packs allow you to hit the dirt and still keep your head up to fire. Recreational don't worry about that so they can extend upward as far as you want. This makes it easier to carry your weight higher.
I am a bit of a throwback. I like external frame packs. My current general purpose pack is a Kelty Yukon. It does good enough for me. I have used: Large Alice with frame, Large Molle with frame a couple recreational packs both internal and external frames (no idea make or model). I do not claim to be a pack expert nor am I up to date on the latest and greatest in the hiking world. I have learned to cut back on a lot of weight but I still have a bad habit of overpacking food.
I don't know if anyone mentioned it or if you already use them but I highly recommend trekking poles.

ETA, I find 55ltrs is good enough for around a week, 35 ltrs is good for a day or three. Taking time to find a packing technique is well worth the time and effort. I.E. bedding goes on the bottom since it only comes out at night, snacks on top so it is easy to get when walking and water accessible without breaking stride.

You really need to give one of these a try! I find mine to be amazingly comfortable with a moderate load (max ~30lb.) There’s no torso length adjustment but the long covers 21-25”. You could also look for a Granite Gear Nimbus Trace (no longer made so eBay is your best bet. It’s where I got my 70l), which is a heavier, full-featured backpacking pack in the 60-85l range with 4” of torso length adjustment and also 2” of shoulder strap width adjustment. They also have the 50l Perimeter which also has adjustable torso length and shoulder strap width, I haven’t used one yet but I’d like to see how it compares to my Osprey Atmos 50 AG (a pack that’s so comfortable that I keep it for the 1 or 2 times a year I use it.)

I have a Granite Gear Blaze60, very comfortable, but I want a daypack that can handle a quick overnite too.

I found an amazing deal on a Mystery Ranch Bridger 35, so we shall see. (My old daypack was a 24liter, too small in size and volume.)

For up to a week Mystery Ranch Black Jack 50 - it gets all the important stuff right e.g. basically made to measure (they're sized) and have a very good, sensible and simple mechanism for exact adjustment.  There is an 80 and 100 as well.

There are two things to get right, boots and back packs.

From May-Oct my GG Crown2 38 handles that duty, in winter it used to be my Atmos 50 AG but now I use the Crown2 60. I bushwhack 90+ percent of the time so always have a tent, sleeping bag, and pad. I need to see if I can fit my Feathered Friends -25F bag in my Nimbus Trace 70 for colder nights.