Thank you Dark.I try to K.I.S.S.

Nice morning hike with the kit bag and tara to the top of Pigeon Hill at Kennesaw Mountain Battlefield. 

 

 

I use my Tarahumara on most hikes, since most hikes are not overnight trips. I like to keep a set list of items in an extra large Kifaru pull out that I can use in my Tarahumara for day hikes then transfer these same items easily to my Ute for overnight trips. During the summer, I usually carry this pullout inside the Tara itself. During cooler months, I keep an, Arc'teryx Atom LT, inside the Tara and attach the pullout to the outside using the compression straps and two grimlocks at the top and bottom for extra security. Some of the items I keep in this pullout are redundant items that I keep in my Kit Bag. (I'll do a post on the kit bag in the kit bag thread.) These items are always subject to change. Sometimes I add more. Sometimes I take less. For the most part, I have been pretty consistent with this loadout.

http://hillpeoplegear.com/Forum/tabid/679/ctl/PostEdit/forumid/22/postid/625/action/reply/mid/1637/

 

On The outside bottom, I carry an Arc'teryx Gamma LT Softshell Hoodie. (I'm in the Southwest, so softshell works 80% of the time) For hydration, I use the Pathfinder 32 oz Stainless steel bottle with the 25 oz nesting cup, and the bottle stove nestled to the outside of that. In the other bottle pocket I carry a Nalgene Oasis canteen. If I need more water, I will carry two more bottles on the Prairie Belt, Or one more canteen inside the pack. (The Pathfinder bottle, with nesting cup and nesting stove, will fit in HPG 1QT GI Canteen holster)

">http://hillpeoplegear.com/Forum/tabid/679/ctl/PostEdit/forumid/22/postid/625/action/reply/mid/1637/

 

In The extra large Kifaru Pullout I keep:

-Black Diamond Storm headlamp

-Boonie Hat, and Large Bandanna 

- Two Large ziplock bags. (for various tasks such as water or tinder collection)

- Bacho folding saw

-Knife: full tang, high carbon steel, ferro rod on outside of sheath. (I also keep a knife on my belt)

- Lifestraw

- A couple wheat snack breads (for emergencies, I usually carry other things I plan to eat)

-Boo Boo kit: Small bandages, meds purification tablets. I also have a whistle and lighter in here. CARRY SPORTS TAPE!!

-Small Kifaru pull out with sunscreen, flushable wet wipes, and a lighter

-Small Kifaru pull out with Fish Mouth Spreader (For pathfinder bottle/cup) and a cover for nesting cup. Gorilla tape and electrical tape. Hotel sewing kit. Extra buttons. Lighter

-Small Kifaru pull out with fire starting gear. Lighter, Small tin with Petroleum soaked cotton balls, small tin full of char cloth, a piece of chert, matches in waterproof case, a few cotton disks soaked in candle wax, a small floating candle, and a pencil sharpener for making shaving out of small sticks. 

Medium Kifaru pullout with Bushcraft USA 5x7 Mest Tarp in Coyote brown, with 550 cord for ridgeline and guyouts 

">http://hillpeoplegear.com/Forum/tabid/679/ctl/PostEdit/forumid/22/postid/625/action/reply/mid/1637/

 

I've also come up with a small mod to secure the floppy sternum straps. I realize this is a non-issue for a lot of people, but I like to keep things tame. I removed the shock cords from the shoulder straps. (I thought they were a really cool idea when I first got the pack, but found myself not using them much.) I took the original shock cord (1 piece) and looped it vertically through the buckle the sternum strap attaches to. Tied it off, then cut it down to size. This system is super easy and fast to stow the extra strap length.It is also very easy and fast to take out and adjust. For a skinny person, like myself, you can just fold the strap over and tuck it under the shock cord. For a larger person I think you can just tuck the strap under unfolded. I hope you enjoyed my write up.

">http://hillpeoplegear.com/Forum/tabid/679/ctl/PostEdit/forumid/22/postid/625/action/reply/mid/1637/

 

 

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"To be sure, even though a man rigs up his own outfit, he never gets it quite to suit him. Every season sees the downfall of some cherished scheme, the failure of some fond contrivance. Every winter sees you again fussing over your kit, altering this, substituting that, and flogging your wits with the same old problem of how to save weight and bulk without sacrifice of utility. " - Horace Kephart

Hi Folks - I've just joined the forum but been lurking it for a couple of months now. There's a really nice range of information and this thread in particular has come in very useful, helping me pick a new pack. I've been something of a serial overpacker in the past and in an effort to curb that habit I decided to ask my family for a Tara as a christmas gift. 

I've had it a week and have not long gotten home from its first 'proper' walk, around a nearby country estate. My load wasn't anywhere near as extensive as some in this thread but I thought I'd contribute nonetheless. The location was well populated and all of an hour's walk from my front door, and as such  - I think it'll be a while before I'm happy taking a pack this small out into what passes for real backcountry where I live (southwest England, not particularly wild even at its most remote), but I'll see how I feel when summer comes and the need for extra insulating layers is lessened. This time of year I think packing raintrousers, extra food and a warm jacket that I can wear when not moving necessitate a 30L pack in that kind of territory. My current pack of choice in this line is a Mystery Ranch Sweet Pea but if the Tara treats me well enough maybe I'll consider an Umlindi...

Anyway, onto the contents of my pack:

In the outside bottle pockets I have a Dutch army surplus canteen with a steel cup and 1L Nalgene with a PACELid. The Pacelid is a new thing that I bought kinda on a whim a while ago and I'm still working out if I like or not. I've tried a few different approaches with contents, I currently have a bit of a mix of emergency things and I'll put a bit of an image below. The cup for the Dutch canteen is a very snug fit in the bottle pockets but once it's in it makes the bottle very easy to draw and stow. 

Tied to the bottom of the pack is my fleece hood which was another christmas present that fills the role of a scarf and warm hat when I need it without adding weight or warmth inside my core. As an aside, today I was wearing my Helikon-text softshell jacket. I watched HPG's recent video on clothing selection and I fully agree with what was said about softshells not making great outdoor jackets, but on a day like today which is bright, dry, and not super cold (above freezing but not by much) it's the best thing I have. 

Inside the bag I was carrying my Sealskinz Activity gloves  (I turned out not to need these), my Olivon 7x30 WP binoculars (these got used a fair bit) a couple of snacks and my small first aid kit. As I said the area I was walking around was well served and I think the likelihood of me needing anything more than I had in the altoids tin is pretty slim. 

I have fitted the loop inside the Tara with a grimlok and found this to be a good place to hang my Triple7Gear pouch with my EDC items. This pouch gets grabbed and dropped into my pack every day, regardless of my activity - I hope the contents will be self-explanatory from that point of view. In my Pacelid you can see a few supplementary items including a firestarting tinder, band-aids, chlorine tablets for water. There are sachets of salt and sugar at the bottom also.

As I said, this was only a short walk in the woods. Were were out for a little over 2 hours, covering maybe 14km. My load (as you can see) was not particularly demanding. With that pinch of salt, I'm currently of the opinion that the Tarahumara is a very capable pack in its size, with a very comfortable harness. I hope over the next year this first impression isn't proven wrong - I have plans to pack this in a way such as function as a light summer daypack, but we'll see what comes to pass with that in mind.

Thanks HPG

Jed

 

Four slik clips later and I have a compression panel for my Tara.

[url=https://flic.kr/p/R4pk15]
[/url][url=https://flic.kr/p/R4pk15]2017-01-10_07-04-59[/url] by [url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/47269634@N00/]veriest1[/url], on Flickr

veriest1, that is a great idea!

Nice!!

Grimloc to the two loops on the top of the pack. It will make it top heavy if you set it down but shouldn't matter while wearing it.

Hey Expat - here's my interpretation of what Chorpie is saying. I didn't have grimlocs available so I used two mismatched carabiners.
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I didn't take time to store the harness, and if I had compression straps still on my Tara it would be easy to tuck away.

Personally, I think lashing it to the bottom is a better idea.
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I didn't have my OKB handy, so I used my recon (the small one). There's plenty of room on the straps on the bottom to lash an OKB to it. I'd also add that I took off the compression straps on my Tara, so using those would definitely compress and secure Chorpie's method better.

Anyways hope this helps. I like using the bottom method, for storing the kit bag but when I still want it handy. I don't care much for strapping extras onto the back of my Tara. Just my opinion and preference, for whatever it's worth. Storing on the bottom very handy - lately I've been doing that with a hoodie or a rain jacket.

- J

Thanks. That give me a good idea of some options. I was thinking of mounting it vertically infront of the zipper so I could swing it around and grab something quickly from the zippered section like a wallet or something. Thanks for the idea it give me some perspective on sizing.