How many cubic inches/liters is your pack?

My pack is 2200 cu inches, and it expands to 2800; so I guess that's about 45L.

I've NEVER traveled with less than a wheelie suitcase, so my upcoming trip will be an interesting experiment for me!! (just a 3 week trip, and I'm quite confident the 45L is all I'll need). Cross my fingers.

Cherie,

I wouldn't return your pack assuming you like it and it fits well. Don't worry about size. Size doesn't matter (as they say.) If you return it and get a bigger bag then you'll just fill it full of unneccesary crap that you will regret later. You will take some clothes and then when you get tired of them or need different clothes, you'll throw them out and buy cheap new ones, particularly in Asia.

Joe may have a bigger pack then yours, but Joe needs to because, uh, well...his clothes take up more room to pack.

Stick with small.

Joe uses more soap, too.

quote:

what did you bring for basic clothing.
how many pants how many shirts?

My packlist is something like this:
2 thirts + wearing one
1 short pants + wearing one
4 pair of underwear
swimmig stuff
small packtowel
bar of soap, toothbrush/paste, shaving things, stuff for my contact lenses, chapstick...

in my camera bag i carried a notebook, pen, guidebook, small petzl flashlight, a little bit of ducttape, immodium etc..

things I didn't need:
extra pair of shoes
socks (i wore only sandals)
1 pair of long pants
fleece sweater
sleeping bag


I needed to do laundry every few days, but everything dried very fast overnight. I only packed this light because I was almost 100% sure I was not going to have any rain or wind. I don't know about Africa, but I guess if you're not going during monsoon, it's similar to south and west india at this moment.

Joe E., I use soap!

I'm going to try to pack it up one night this week but I have a feeling that I'll probably need something a tad bigger. I'm going to pack light, but damnit, I'm not low-maintanance.

quote:

Originally posted by cherie:
I'm going to pack light, but damnit, I'm not low-maintanance.

That's so funny! Actually, neither am I, but I'm gonna have to pack light, given the size of my bag!!

This is the pack I got: Kelty Redwing Pack

This is the other one I am also looking at: [URL=Deva 60 Gregory Pack]http://www.gregorypacks.com/prod.php?ID=13[/URL]

I normally am very high-maintainance so am worried about lack of space, but am planning on packing light--just this backpack and a large purse/shoulder bag. I'll be gone for 3 1/2 months around Europe. I want to be sure I have some space in my bag.

Eeek.

I was told to check to see that it fits the contours of your body. Try Tent and Trails in Lower Manhattan, for expert packing help and these are salespeople who know their stuff. 21 Park Place, by Pace U. You'd want plenty of side pockets to get things out of, little things, unless you're going mountain climbing which I assume you're not. 3300 cubic inches is what my friend had

There is REI Mercury which has 4600 cubic inches

Gregory Z Pack holds 3700 CInches

well, I guess you already bought yours but if for some reason you change your mind......

The bigger your pack, the more you have to carry is the theory I follow. I've got a 65l bag that fits my sleeping bag and everything in it. I last used it for a six month trip around the US.

The other thing to think about when buying a pack is if you want a detachable day pack or not. My pack has one and it hasn't been reattached since I took it through the airport for the first time. This may have something to do with the fact that I can't figure out where everything is meant to go but also because 1) I felt really unbalanced once my main pack was full and the daypack was as well. 2) ALL my stuff that I needed was in my daypack - passports, cameras etc. So taking off my main pack all the time was a pain in the arse.

So my advice when buying a pack is think about what you'll really be using everything for - if your not going to go ice-climbing you probably don't need the one with crampon clips etc. Pack light cuz you're the one who will end up carrying it - unless you have some nice friend who will do it all or you.

I just bought one of 55L, it's my first so i hope i won't overpack it.