EXOTI™ BOG BACKPACK

Super comfy! Light enough for ultralight trips, but expandable enough to swallow a bear canister (GARCIA BACKPACKER CACHE 812 - vertically) and full kit (well, if your kit is ~40L.) Love having the frame to add straps (ultralight tent cord with plastic tension lockers salvaged from an old tent.)

I'm old school and cut my teeth with external frames. In the last 15 years I've owned many internal frames and like them also,But I bought a ext. Frame (not sure who makes it) about 8 yrs ago and stripped it down to about 4 1/2 pounds. It was my go to pack for long trips and winter camping. I always wished I could have a hybrid of external and internal frame pack, for 3 season lightweight backpacking. This bog pack is the closest I've found. Its light, stiff but still flexes, waterproof, so no rain cover or pack liner. Its comfortable, with its exceptional hip belt. It transfers weight on your hips better than my 2 other light weight internal frame packs. It modular, and has most of the modern attributes of modern lightweight packs. I just did an 8 mile day trip with it and one overnight. It was very comfortable. I took my granite gear crown 38 on the same 8 mile trip and the bog was more comfortable. Not as cool looking as the crown 38,(which is also a good pack, especially for the money) but was much happier with the bog. It fills that sweet spot in between. I can cinch it down and have it tight against my back and it feels, flexes and handles like my internal packs. I also can loosen the upper straps and it comes away from your body a little and will move or sway slightly like and old school external frame. Great for long difficult trails where the attributes of both kinds of pack shine. I'm mostly happy with the weight and size(my other ext. Frame is too heavy and big about 65 liters for modern ultra light gear I've been upgrading to) but there are some things that would make it perfect. Such as better stretchy fabric for the side water bottle pockets and outside overflow pocket. They are ok. Need to be stretchy and bigger. Same goes for the waist belt pockets. It's nice to have them, I just wish they were better and waterproof instead of netting material. I put my phone and snacks there and they will get wet. Daisy chain on the chest straps would be good also. Had to rig something up to hold a water bottle, since it's so hard to get water bottles out of the back side pouches without taking the pack off. Would have given it 5 stars if those few items were different. I would definatly recommend this pack, even though it's not as sexy as and internal frame. I think it's going to be my go to pack for 3 season backpacking.

I liked the Bog as opposed to the other two due to the flexibility it provides. I replaced the 40 L bag it comes with a Sea to Summit 65L Big River Dry bag (420d as opposed to the 70d this backpack comes with). My weight with 6 days of food and 3 liters of water comes to 30.68 lbs. (Base weight is around 14 lbs). I have tried this backpack with 36 lbs as well and didn't have any shoulder or waist issues. The waist belt is very good - it is not hard and does not bruise like some other backpacks. The shoulder straps are also very soft - again no issues as I have not had any shoulder pain or soreness. After trying myriad of backpacks, I am going to start using this and see how it does. I used the Flex Capacitor on my JMT hike in 2018 - but, somehow the fit was not that great due to lack of torso adjustment - it is a a great backpack nevertheless. I like the Bog better as I can keep changing dry bag color/capacity etc. I had to carry a day pack for Whitney ascent during JMT. With this backpack, I can just leave my 65L dry bag and have a smaller 14L dry bag in the cradle and this backpack becomes a day pack with pockets for water and everything else you need - while typically cheap/light daypacks for ascents do not have side pockets for water bottles. So, lots of flexibility. Bear canister can fit inside the 65L dry bag easily. No issues. I have also tried keeping the sleeping bag at the bottom with a small dry bag and then the 65L dry bag on top of it. Works great with that setup as well - I use additional straps to compress the bag and keep it secured to the frame in addition to the compression straps they provide. I have also tried putting my rain jacket on the yellow compression straps and they stay there fine - can be useful to dry it when wet.

The most important quality for a backpack is its carrying ability and this backpack does it beautifully. I have carried 36lbs comfortably. Though my PCT section hikes are going to be done with 30 to 31 lbs which is what I am training with. I have a Litespeed titanium bike and believe in titanium's unique ability to be stiff and flexible at the same time - better than carbon. I think this titanium frame is helping dampen the shocks of climbing down or walking on rocks etc that it makes the carry comfortable with no pain on hips or shoulders whatsoever.

One thing I am worried about is the 70d material used on the cradle etc. I may just put a cuben fiber 5oz/sq yard cap at the bottom to protect the 70d cradle. This way I have a the cuben cap, then the 70d cradle and then the 420d dry bag! I can keep replacing the cuben cap as and when it gets destroyed. Buying a yard of cuben is not that expensive.

You can strap a large bear can to the top part of the frame. A Bearikade Expedition fits perfectly. The straps are retained by the 45-degree brace in the corner. That leaves you with 40L in the drybag for all your gear, which is plenty. The drybag is bomber. The frame, shoulder straps, belt, and back pad are all perfect for supporting a good load. With 30lbs on board it feels very comfortable, and you could put way more than that. Really pleased with it.