Trying the Golite breeze backpack in May-June

[Gina Palmer]

Best of luck and buen camino Frank (and co)!

wow only 6kg -- can I inquire about your packing list?  I'm sure its of
interest to the group as well what you pared down and how you kept your load
so light...

Gina

-----Original Message-----
From: Road to Santiago Pilgrimage [mailto:GOCAMINOaPETE.URI.EDU]On
Behalf Of Frank Metcalf
Sent: Thursday, April 18, 2002 1:45 AM
To: GOCAMINOaPETE.URI.EDU
Subject: Trying the Golite breeze backpack in May-June


In view of the harsh comments about the Golite breeze backpack in another
April thread (by good people who haven't used the packs), it will be an
interesting experiment when my wife and I set off from Roncesvalles around
May 15 with these packs. It's our first Camino, and the packs are new too.
However, with our full loads of about 6 Kg each, the packs feel wonderful on
our backs, and our shoulders feel fine. We tested them against a traditional
pack, the MountainSmith Specter, on back-to-back 24K days over big hills,
and there was no contest. Walking felt much more comfortable with the
breeze. Based on our dozen or so 3 to 5-hour hikes with loaded packs, it
seems that, for light loads, we don't need a hipbelt, and walking feels
better without one.

However, I could be wrong over the long haul. Time will tell, and I promise
to report our findings after we've returned to Vancouver on June 30. I do
get a kick out of the dead-sure tone of certain posters, as though hipbelts
were carved on stone tablets, or those who carry only what they really need
must drill holes in their toothbrush handles and be nutty. Life is not all
black and white, and received truths may or may not be true for all.

Please wish us luck--I'm sure that for some of the time we'll need it!

--Frank (Vancouver BC Canada)