Belize & Backpacks .....

[TUSK]

I'm going to Belize for 2 weeks in February and I'm thinking of backpacking it...

Any advice on good carry-on backpacks (I travel light) or the country of Belize would be GREATLY APPRECIATED....

Thanks, Guys!!!

Tusker

[viverlibre]

For hiking, Osprey is the standard, but I'd go by REI and get measured to ensure what you buy fits your torso. I'm 6 ft 2 in and a standard pack doesn't adjust long enough to ride on my hips verses bearing the weight on my shoulders. Also, start breaking in your boots now, Salomon is the best.

[BeastMan]

For hiking, Osprey is the standard, but I'd go by REI and get measured to ensure what you buy fits your torso. I'm 6 ft 2 in and a standard pack doesn't adjust long enough to ride on my hips verses bearing the weight on my shoulders. Also, start breaking in your boots now, Salomon is the best.

Great advice. Haven’t back-packed since I was a teenager. Maybe when my lil dude gets bigger it’ll be something to try.

[Prediction? Pain.]

For hiking, Osprey is the standard, but I'd go by REI and get measured to ensure what you buy fits your torso. I'm 6 ft 2 in and a standard pack doesn't adjust long enough to ride on my hips verses bearing the weight on my shoulders. Also, start breaking in your boots now, Salomon is the best.

What he said. I'm also a fan of Gregory packs. If the carry-on size is absolutely required, though, I'm guessing that you're going to be looking more at day packs that backpacking backpacks. I haven't backpacked in forever, but the 55-liter pack that I still travel with is definitely not compact enough to be a carry on, and I consider it to be on the smaller size.

Re: footwear, my advice is to go with what feels good. Plenty of dudes I know have backpacked big chunks of the AT or Pacific Crest or trails out in Glacier in a whole range of shoes, everything from old-school Vasque or Danner boots to cushy-as-hell trail runners. If you're going fast and light, you probably have a little flexibility on that.

Good luck with the trip. Sounds awesome.

[Prediction? Pain.]

Great advice. Haven’t back-packed since I was a teenager. Maybe when my lil dude gets bigger it’ll be something to try.

Just pack him up, man. I've got one of Osprey's kid carriers (https://www.osprey.com/us/en/category/kids-packs-and-carriers/child-carriers/) and I used it plenty back when my kids were smaller. Now, they'd usually either conk out or start complaining before I went too far, but I still got to go out on the trail. Plus, I used it a ton when we went on our first legitimate multi-kid vacation last year. I carried my then-10-month-old son all around swaths of Jekyll Island in that thing. It's got a sun shade and everything.

[BrunswickDawg]

What he said. I'm also a fan of Gregory packs. If the carry-on size is absolutely required, though, I'm guessing that you're going to be looking more at day packs that backpacking backpacks. I haven't backpacked in forever, but the 55-liter pack that I still travel with is definitely not compact enough to be a carry on, and I consider it to be on the smaller size.

Re: footwear, my advice is to go with what feels good. Plenty of dudes I know have backpacked big chunks of the AT or Pacific Crest or trails out in Glacier in a whole range of shoes, everything from old-school Vasque or Danner boots to cushy-as-hell trail runners. If you're going fast and light, you probably have a little flexibility on that.

Good luck with the trip. Sounds awesome.


Just pack him up, man. I've got one of Osprey's kid carriers (https://www.osprey.com/us/en/category/kids-packs-and-carriers/child-carriers/) and I used it plenty back when my kids were smaller. Now, they'd usually either conk out or start complaining before I went too far, but I still got to go out on the trail. Plus, I used it a ton when we went on our first legitimate multi-kid vacation last year. I carried my then-10-month-old son all around swaths of Jekyll Island in that thing. It's got a sun shade and everything.

Old school Vasque's are my favorite boot ever. I had a pair last 10 years of almost daily wear.

The important question is - did you make it thru a hike around Jekyll Island without crashing into a banana spider web? Those buggers are everywhere on the trails there. Glad you and the fam enjoyed my old place of employment. I actually planned some of the trail network out there.

[Prediction? Pain.]

Old school Vasque's are my favorite boot ever. I had a pair last 10 years of almost daily wear.

The important question is - did you make it thru a hike around Jekyll Island without crashing into a banana spider web? Those buggers are everywhere on the trails there. Glad you and the fam enjoyed my old place of employment. I actually planned some of the trail network out there.

No gnarly spiders that I remember. But to be honest, we didn't get to do many legitimate trails on the island. The trail system there looked awesome, but I wasn't really geared up (mentally or physically) for anything like that with my kid strapped to my back. Instead, me and the lil duder trekked up and down Glory Beach (which is super cool), the Driftwood Beach (which is amazing), around the grounds of the Island Club Resort, and then a few little nature trails around St. Andrews Beach. Good times. Good, humid times.

A friend of mine in school swore by his Sundowners, too. I always loved the way they looked but never got my old-man feet to get accustomed to them. Plus, I think mine my have had a funky thing with the toe crease that ate into my foot more than it should have. I've got some Merrell boots that look more rugged than they are, but even then, I only hike in them occasionally. Most of my hikes over the past 15 years, long or short, have been in trail runners. Initially some fairly sturdy North Face ones, but I've gone for cushion over ruggedness lately. Brooks Calderas now and previously in Saucony Xoduses.

[BrunswickDawg]

No gnarly spiders that I remember. But to be honest, we didn't get to do many legitimate trails on the island. The trail system there looked awesome, but I wasn't really geared up (mentally or physically) for anything like that with my kid strapped to my back. Instead, me and the lil duder trekked up and down Glory Beach (which is super cool), the Driftwood Beach (which is amazing), around the grounds of the Island Club Resort, and then a few little nature trails around St. Andrews Beach. Good times. Good, humid times.

A friend of mine in school swore by his Sundowners, too. I always loved the way they looked but never got my old-man feet to get accustomed to them. Plus, I think mine my have had a funky thing with the toe crease that ate into my foot more than it should have. I've got some Merrell boots that look more rugged than they are, but even then, I only hike in them occasionally. Most of my hikes over the past 15 years, long or short, have been in trail runners. Initially some fairly sturdy North Face ones, but I've gone for cushion over ruggedness lately. Brooks Calderas now and previously in Saucony Xoduses.

You would know those spiders if you ran thru one of their webs. Huge webs, and giant spiders. I've spent a lot of times with kids in packs, kids in slings, and kids in jogging strollers in all those spots. Not a bad thing having it as our "backyard". A lot of the trails on Jekyll are historic, and have been there as either as trails or roads for a long time. Some as early as the 1740s. My favorite trail runs from St. Andrews thru the woods to the Spanish American War gun emplacements. It runs along a dune ridge that was "beachfront" in the 1890s but is 100 yards inland now. It's a short trail, but cool environment and history.

[ScoobaDawg]

I'm going to Belize for 2 weeks in February and I'm thinking of backpacking it...

Any advice on good carry-on backpacks (I travel light) or the country of Belize would be GREATLY APPRECIATED....

Thanks, Guys!!!
Tusker

Tusk, depends on how nice you want. I can tell you I use my Goruck bag as my every day carry and it comes with a lifetime warranty and made in America and designed by former Special Forces members
They aren't cheap but damn durable (they are designed to stand up to the toughest conditions) and they pass Rule #1 Always look cool.

I personally have the GR2. But I'm also rather tall. If you are under 6' go for the GR1
https://www.goruck.com/rucksacks/shop-all-rucksacks/


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izJnXQThijc