UKC

Another hopefully not as daft as it sounds question, please...

For those long yomps up to the crag and then scrambling up over rocks and boulders, what is the best way to weight your sac? By this I mean mainly the packing placement of heavy stuff such as ropes, rack, etc., though the water bottle, guidebooks and other stuff tends to add up too.

Should the weight be at the top as per advice in several learned tomes that I have read, but which seems to make me very top heavy and prone to losing balance and toppling over, or as low as possible nearest your COG? Or spread evenly?

Assume the sac is a reasonable fit with hip, chest and shoulder straps.

Opinions seem to vary person to person. Is it whatever you find best or are there any particular reasoned recommendations?

How do people in Rocktalk land tend to pack their sacs for a day at the crags?

Cheers.

In reply to Griz: Depends on the sac. When I first started out (while stroking my beard thoughtfully), I had a sack which name I dare not speak, cheap as a cheap thing, and just threw in the stuff by shape and fit rather than weight. I have also tried to place the weights top, bottom and middle to no apparent difference. Now that I have several decent sacs, I pack the rope at the bottom, then the harness followed by an enormous amount hardware, then helmet which is also used for storing SLCDs and RPs and nutkey. Other bits and bobs like waterproofs and waterbottles get stuffed where they fit. Hope this helps.

In reply to Griz:
I tend to go with the CoG idea.
From bottom to top,
Rope, hardwear, everything else.
And do up the compression straps as much as poss.

In reply to Griz:

I tend to agree with the others, rope, hardware, the rest. Just remember to keep the waterproofs and water handy (easy mistake to bury the waterproof, especially returning from the crag).

In reply to Griz:
For day use, rope (protects bottom of sack from hardware), then hardware, then sandwiches (on top to avoid being squashed). And carry helmet separately to avoid it getting stomped by the Oh God of railways and her prophet, Obnoxious Fat Woman with Huge Luggage.

For multi-days, sleeping bag & thermarest at bottom (as for rope above), then hardware, then food etc slots in where room. Rope or tent or both (depending who's turn it is to provide which) goes in compression straps.

Have fiddled with this occasionally, but have never noticed any effect on stability - apart from the obvious problems of climbing over stiles in the dark while carrying full rock rack, 4-season tent + sleeping bag, and enough food, spare clothes + fuel to be comfortable camping on frozen ground in early February. In the rain. With a headlamp with a flat battery. Through a field full of mud and cowflops.
I hate walk-ins.:-P

In reply to wingnut: Always, always put your sandwiches and biscuits at the top. I think this is self explanatory and makes for a more pleasant lunch time experience

In reply to wingnut: My God, you are nails....

In reply to HarryH: You have LUNCH????

In reply to Griz: because you lean forward as you walk, the higher the weight, the more gets transferred straight down onto your hips instead of backwards and onto your shoulders -- so the load is more comfortable but obviously more unstable. For me that means, rope on top for long easy walk-ins, rope at the bottom for scrambles.

In reply to stonemaster: Afternoon tea if I can manage it too. No need to be uncivilised.

In reply to Griz:

Lots of sensible advice above, but at the end of the day (no pun intended!) it really doesn't matter for single day walk-ins to a crag. for convenience I put hardwear, then harness, then helmet (stuffed with what ever fits), lunch/waterproofs and then rope, hanging across the top as often as not!

For longer trips, sleeping bag, thermarest/stove/food and all the other camping bits, hard wear, waterproofs etc and rope. With hat/gloves and lunch on top.

Basically;

Heavy stuff at top, but balance this with commonsense and convienence.

Do you want your wet weather kit at the bottom? (perhaps if its a lovely day). Do you want your lunch squashed? or your rope and climbing kit at the bottom if the route-in involves scrambling? And if its raining do you want to have to empty your sac to find your tent before putting it up?

What ever you choose you'll make it work and learn what works for you. Enjoy making it up as you go along!

Kev

In reply to HarryH: You have AFTERNOON TEA as well!!!!????