Tyler TJ survival survival dispatch I want to talk a little bit about Backpacking backpack selection and how To load your backpack I've been trying to focus on a lot of The basic skills in the beginning Because we all could use Refreshers and It's such a large channel that there's a Ton of people that are coming here for First time information A lot of people ask questions like what Knife should I buy or what backpack Should I buy what they're really asking Or what they really should be asking is What knowledge set should I have in Order to make an informed decision on The backpack that would be the most Appropriate for me so what I'm trying to Do is to teach a little bit about the Packs the attributes how to make a Decision so that you can decide what's Best for you and your situation your Geographical location instead of just Going and buying the backpack that I Have Okay I've got a couple of options of Backpacks that I use it's not all of my Bags it's just the ones I have in the Garage and I've got an ultralight one Here this is a seek outside ultralight Backpack this is a military rucksack That I use which is made by tactical Taylor a gray ghost This was a caramar SF backpack they're
Kind of military type backpacks Um Let's talk about military versus Civilian for a second Civilian tends to be lighter weight more Colorful and less robust military tends To be more robust heavier and a Variation camouflage so if you're Looking for a bug out type of bag this Is kind of the direction I like to go it Is a military bag but it's an OD Green So that it's still camouflage but it Doesn't look camouflaged so it's still a Green type of color I like to use OD Green Um Coyote tan those type of colors because You'll you'll you'll be more camouflaged But you won't be walking down the street In a city camouflage if that makes sense So it's a good trade-off in the middle There the rucksack I've got I'm going to Talk about briefly Um But we're not quite going down the Military path so the one that I used the Majority of the time is this guy right Here Oh You watched any of my hunting videos I Did this last month I was using this Backpack this backpack is the seek Outside backpack it is extremely light It's a lightweight backpack but that
Makes it extremely expensive as well Um This one is very robust for an Ultralight pack or a lightweight pack But it's still a lightweight pack the The problem with removing material is if You remove enough material it's not as Robust I don't plan on throwing this out Of the back of a Blackhawk while I'm Flying and then jumping on it and Floating on it down a river I could do That with this rock rucksack here but This one is also substantially heavier Than this one this is the one that I'm Going to be Backpacking in the uintas with a minimum Minimal amount of kit that I can take my Tent and sleeping bag out and then Tighten this down and just use it as a Day pack which is what I did this last Month so this is because the majority of The things I'm doing is that this is the Type of pack that I like to use Let's talk about the military one for Just a sec So this one is a military frame pack It is it has a frame like the old Alice Pack the reason why we use frames is That there's twofold one of them is it Gives your your backpack frame the frame Gives it rigidity it gives it strength It also separates the load off of your Hips a bit and kind of carry some up What that does is it gives you air so
That you can breathe like these were Jungle packs that's that's what they Were used for you can take the frame out Of it but then you've got this Material up against your back making you Sweat Um the other thing about a frame too is That when you put very heavy or very Awkward shaped loads like a five gallon Can of water or rocks or whatever Craziness that you're carrying when you Have a frame that pulls that load off of Your hips what it does is it puts the Load on your shoulders and cams them Against your hips instead of slopping Down your body and you can more Comfortably carry a heavy load the other Thing when you're carrying a load you Don't ever want it to be sloppy you Don't want it to flop around or shift so If you have a frame you can lock it down Tight and hard and then as you move It will be more steady and stable the The body input that you give to your Backpack will be more steady and it Won't flop and slap and hit and knock You around Um I'm going to talk about adjusting a Backpack in a minute but One one way to tell if your backpack is Adjusted properly is to run with it if You run and it slams you because it's Slopping or it whacks you because it's
Sloppy in the back you need to tighten It up you need to lock your load down so That After you've walked 20 40 50 miles the The sloppiness doesn't beat you to death It doesn't mess up your joints hurt your Back cause blisters on your hips so it's Extremely important to load it properly Load it tight keep it from slapping Around and keep it from flopping Uh the military backpack I've got here Like I said Captain Taylor Gray Ghost It's a very large rucksack that we use In the military I have it for military Purposes I added this uh high speed gear Liner piece here it's Um there's this is basically just like An internal strap that goes on to your Uh your frame that still has aeration And it just makes them more comfortable And it adds a couple of bags into the Side of it it's a little strange but the Reason why I like these bags is because It's a good place to stick uh your rain Gear it's a good place to stick a wool Jacket a wool sweater whatever you're Wearing so that you have quick access to It you can pop it out and throw it on Real quick and it's just a more Comfortable way to carry the leather Like you see because this is military We're going to be carrying heavy Batteries we're going to be carrying Tripods lasers all sorts of random crap
Radio sets and our personal gear and Ammunition and we just keep loading that Up and if I have body armor I take this Piece off because my back plate will Just fit right in here in the void that This is currently filling against the Frame so Military packs are great if you're going To abuse the crap out of it if you want To put a waterproof bag inside of it you Can float on the pack on a river you can Throw it out of a slide it down a Mountain or whatever it is for the most Part they handle that kind of abuse But they're heavy and uh They become a blood tick if you pack Them down too much thank you So if we take it from military and we Dial it down a level to Half military half civilian That's when we run into a situation like This Um Caramore SF back Um the main reason I use this bag Personally is for winter stuff The problem when it comes to exposure is You really just need more clothes you Either need more clothes or heavier Tents or a stove that kind of thing so If you're carrying more you need more Space this one this bag has side zippers That will ex that will just make it Expand and expand and this thing will
Get so big that I can take way more than I need to take Which in the winter time especially when It's extremely cold is a positive Situation because then I can put a a Double layer winter huge sleeping bag in The bottom I can put an extra insulation Layer for top and bottom in the side of Here and then I can throw my tent and my Stone got my tent sitting right here This is a eight man TP It's uh seek outside eight man TP This is two fire stove kits it's an Ultralight titanium stove it's the one That I used in the uh The hunting uh video we did last month I Have a couple variations of it uh this Is a little bug out tent that I had in The hunting video Stakes poles that kind of stuff but Because it's primarily just a cloth It'll fold up right small and tight And the only concern I have is the stove Pipe for these seek out side tents It's round right and you don't want to Crush it so my solution to that is just Leave this on the outside and again it's Not super heavy but that's the way to Carry the stove here's my shelter this Right here is the uh Um This is the poles but the rest of this Just com compresses Down super super Tight
In the same way that a sleeping bag does So that's what I use for winter A lot of food a lot of stuff Um It's going to be a lot heavier but I'm Not going to freeze that's why I have That one so going back to Civilian if you will Ultralight this was multicam because it Was a prototype they come in different Colors I don't really care what the Color is so much it's just when I've got Uh this is the when I'm packing this Pack I will load my sleeping bag Randomness heavy stuff on top quick Access stuff uh in the Middle with my Randomnesses where I'll put my tent or a Hammock or whatever I'm going to use and Then this external bag I will put the The the stove that I use and then close That shut So we've talked about military packs Kind of military packs civilian packs With military colors Okay Um I want to talk about this one if it's Summertime I use this more than any Other backpack Um and I have a A waterproof bag that I keep inside of It so that When it's time to go I can just drop What I need in this waterproof bag and It will slide down simply inside of here
And then if I'm in the canyons or by the River or whatever I don't need to worry About a water crossing or falling in the Water or dropping in the water because All my Um All of my sleeping stuff that covers me At night will stay dry my clothes will Be dry when I was in the jungle I had Three Uh dry bags inside the large compartment And I would put like my sleeping clothes Inside of there I would put the internal Workings of my hammock and my one jungle Sleeping bag in the dry bag and then on The three dry bags I would put food in Another one a couple stuff that I wanted To stay dry and then I would put stuff Like the tarp that is constantly wet Goes in the outside pocket My wet walking clothes that you swamp Every day they go on another outside Pocket and then that way if I tripped And fell on a river or what whatever if It starts to rain heavy and I don't have Time to put a poncho on The outer stuff can get wet I'm not Going to sweat that and then that inner Dry back stuff can just stay dry no Matter what the situation they make a Couple different variations of dry bags I'll talk about that real quick these Are orderly They they sponsored me in the jungle
This is a thin very lightweight dry bag It is made for the purpose of being Inside of a backpack they there are Heavier dry back there are heavier dry Bags Um this is a dry back backpack which is A little Overkill I'll use this for Canyoneering or rafting and stuff Um but as you can see it's thick thicker And heavier I don't want to slam this Down inside of that one Um but just kind of some quick Information on if you want to carry the Dry bag as a backpack they make a Thicker heavier version of it if you Just want a dry bag that goes inside of Your backpack Get the lighter weight one because it's Just there to keep your material dry not To take abuse and abrasions so moving up With this one What I will usually do If I'm teaching in a survival class or Help them teach a survival class or Whatever I will have Um a medical kit on top in the middle I Will have a giant tarp that I can throw Out that will be a rain stopper for Multiple people with cords already Attached to it so that if we're walking Along and even though it's summertime a Hail storm decides to happen or a quick Snow rain nastiness moves in we can just Pop this thing out real quick put
Strings up all huddle underneath it Start a fire and have a little a little Micro climate that'll keep us dry Of course that medical kit is on top Because when you need a medical kit you Need it right now And then the things that I'll strap to The outside are the things that I need Constantly or the things that I need Quick Right here I've still got um these are Kind of permanent there's two lighters With Tinder in the form of a Rubber bike tire so that and they're Clear so that I can tell much fluid's in There so if we need a fire quick I can Chop a piece of that off hit it with a Lighter and just start throwing sticks On and have a fire quick you can add wet Fuel if you want however you want to do It and sometimes I will throw a third Lighter inside the dry bag in the back The reason why I'll throw that third Lighter in the dry bag in the back is Because Um it's just an extra spare you know Makes your problems go away I'll put Some sort of food in here I'll put a Satellite texting device for emergency Use and a knife that's really about all That I'll use on the front this is a This backpack is Ultimate Direction fast Pack for running so I really like the Ability to lock everything down and if I
Want to jog for 5-10 Miles that day to Get to my location I can jog without a Slapping or wrecking me so that's Probably the lightest fast packing Version that I've got Um I'll talk about this real quick People are always wondering what these Straps are for they're for an ice ax so What you'll do is you'll run the ice ax Through here and then just bring it Right up to the top you can use them for Running pulse two or trekking poles These are running poles you can use them For running trekkings skiing whatever You'll basically put your basket through The loop on the bottom and then put your Strap on the top and then you've got Quick access for them the ultimate Direction packs Come with straps that you can do on the Outside on the shoulder straps as well Some running backpacks have some ultra Marathon backpacks have the ability to Carry the straps right there as well It's basically this this strap right Here and that strap on the bottom I Don't use poles often the reality is if I'm using poles like this it's because I'm hiking extremely steep terrain Carrying a heavy load or I'm skiing Um some people use them with when they Run I just don't need to do that so That's the lightest weight version that I'll use if I know I'm going to go into
Some really inclement weather when I'm Using this lightweight one I will either Put a hammock with an extra large top on It so that I can just put everything Underneath it or I would get one of my Uh if I'm going to be on the ground Because there's no trees in the desert Sometimes and I still need a stove or a Micro climate I'll grab my seek outside Uh I'll grab my sink outside little bug out Shelter with the stove and I'll carry That in this and then the smallest Sleeping bag I have is The Snug pack Jungle Pack it's only this big it weighs Less than a hammock so a hammock and a Jungle pack in this bag and you're Sleeping in Comfort wherever you go as Long as you have trees if you don't have Trees you got to be on the ground you're Going to want to use a baby shelter or Uh ultralight tent of some sort I like To seek outside ultralight stuff and That's what I use in the hot hot summer Okay let's talk about how to load the Pack and then how to adjust it Appropriately I'm going to start with This one because it's right here on top So Loading the pack is pretty Universal There's only really three things you Need to remember heavyweight things Medium weight things and lightweight Things and then really in addition to
That you don't want anything stabbing You in the back through your your bag And you need everything to be tight so If I'm going to load this I'm always going to put my sleeping bag In first that's going to go on the Bottom it's the most fluffy and the most Voluminous stuff if I'm if I'm not Bringing a sleeping bag my tent will go Down there okay Yeah or my clothes if I have extra Clothes or packages of food I'll write Down in the bottom Um the more heavy items you're always Going to want them to be loaded In the middle of your shoulder blades or Up here on top okay The reason we want to do that is because You don't want heavy weight slapping you In the hips as you walk okay you want it In the middle part where it's pulling You your shoulders back to make you Stand and that frame even if it's an Internal frame will push against your Hips you really want as much load on Your hips as humanly possible the way That that happens is you put the load on The top of the frame and the frame Pushes it down to your hips and takes That load off your shoulders if you're Wearing heavy load on your shoulders Every day it pushes your spine and it Exhausts you it wears you out it takes a Lot of work to carry stuff on your
Shoulders even though that's where we're Putting the load so again put the load At shoulder weight width so that the Frame will transfer that weight to your Hips Okay and then the last thing if I've got Something Like a sleeping pad or a poncho that is Either awkwardly shaped and light or Something I need to access quick that's Going to go right here on the very top So right there in the middle so recap Sleeping bag Soft items boots or water or heavy Batteries or whatever all last right Here on the top and then what's Happening is that weight is going to Pull against these straps and push it to My hips okay so let's talk oh then also Right here on the very top this is the Place that I'm going to put stuff that I Want quick so if I don't If you've ever been in really deep snow You don't want to step off the trail and Sink up to your waist just to pull your Bag off and grab that Snickers bar or Whatever right so if you want something Quick or you need some access without Digging it that's what you're going to Put on the top I'll put a GPS device up There a cell phone a battery I'll put Food I'll put Uh a lighter just all those little Jangly things right up on top and one
Thing that is super helpful is just to Get a little ultra light bag full of all Your junk and stick it in that in that One little bag This right here is a perfect example of A little ultra light bag to carry all The junk this is a cooking kit I like to Say real survivalists just bring ways to Season the meat Okay so what I have in this little bag Is salt Um different ways to season Meats some Caffeine sources Um and olive oil for cooking and then Just some jangly stuff like if you want To throw a lighter in here Um I don't know maybe you've got some Medication or something and it's just Kind of all over the place You can put deodorant in here whatever You've got if you've got Pocket litter or that random stuff Sticky in one little bag And then you can just slide that bag Right in that top pocket or put it Wherever you want if it's for cooking You can stick it deeper in the bag in The the backpack Um the value that we should mention of This is I got multiple backpacks I don't Want their pockets to be full of You know a lighter for this bag and a Lighter for this bag and a lighter for This bag
Because it just gets a little bit nuts So put one or two letters in here put Your food in here all you have to do is Pull this kit out of here and put it in There that way if you do have a bug out Bag you don't need a knife for each one Of them you don't need a whatever for Each one of them you need a kit for each One of them so I can take my medical kit Out and I can stick it in here I can Take my cooking kit out and I can stick It in here so super valuable have those Little Ultra Light bags and they're Transferable to another bag okay making A backpack fit your body super important The first thing that you need to do is Before you put it on a lot of these Shoulder straps will be adjustable up And down You don't want this thing pushing in the Back of your neck So adjust it down until it's right below The muscle part of your shoulder right Here okay Then what I will do is I will loosen up The shoulder straps on both sides Okay they're loosen it right here in the Front And it will be nice and low and I will Pick it up Put it on my hip I'll usually lean Forward so that I can hold the weight Forward Okay and what I'm doing is I'm attaching
And then tightening these up Okay now as I was saying earlier all the Weight is being held by The hips all right So now what I want to do Is attach the chest strap this has come Loose and you'll adjust this a little More often than not depending on how Much you're breathing So I'll attach the chest strap and I Will usually get as heavy I'll pick it Up and then slam that down and if you Notice it's not really pushing down on My shoulders currently because it's not A lot of weight in it but when there Becomes weight it'll start holding it Down and if there's a little bit of Gap Up here that's okay because the frame is Holding the weight on my hips a lot more So than all the weight being held down On my shoulders if we start to add Weight to it right I'm pulling down on It it starts to come down on my Shoulders but the majority of the way It's being held by by my hips so it kind Of feels almost like a spine board Pushing from front to back and more so Than pushing my shoulders down Put that nice and tight now On here I'll usually inflate my lungs All the way Make it that's where you want to be For women Move this up above
Right on top inflate your lungs make it Snug exhale if you find that it's too Loose because these are sliding off your Shoulder socket right because there's a Little pocket right there Then tighten It up if it's too tight loosen it up So recap on that is Loosen everything up Tighten your hips get them nice and snug Tighten your shoulder straps And then adjust this to your lungs the Very last thing if you adjust these Upper straps right here okay now is the Time to lock them down it'll pull that Load up on top of these poles right here Which are either in an internal frame or An external frame the majority of your Weight bearing and it will bring your Load forward okay so that's how I adjust It to me now we need to talk about how To adjust the load to the pack So what I've got When I've got the load right now this is A this is a no load right so if I've got A load I need to lock it down So we'll use this even though there's Nothing there If I start tightening up these external Straps Right zip this up And do that on the other side Okay now even though there's nothing in This bag
It's tight right when you twist and move It's not going to slap all over the Place so what I don't want to do is put My water on the outside of this because Then it's going to be slapping all over The place it has a lot of force as I Turn it swings like a pendulum right Um What I'll we use this external bag for It's quick access items or that Lightweight stove that water can go on The inside right against my spine right As tight as can be because it's the most Heavy item so if it's closer to my Center of gravity as I turn it's not Going to swing me if it's further on the Outside of my center of gravity like Some people will strap the water bottle Out here a Camelback out here as you Turn the inertia initiates and it Continues to want to make you turn and You have to slow it down you have to Speed it up and slow it down That's not bad in the short term but After two or three days it wears you Down more and it makes it harder to Function so whatever you've got Tighten it all the way down make it Super snug lock all of those things down Just show you with another bag This guy right here if I had a lighter Load in it what I would do is close These expanding vents On the side
Now that takes the whole bag and Tightens it and then I would lock down All of these side straps So this this one has a removable these Large removable Side Pockets If I don't need them I'm going to take Them off if I've got them I'm going to Zip it up and I'm going to lock them Down tight and then once you've got it All locked down tight and the top slot Down tight same principles loosen up Your straps put your hips on first make Sure so Loosen up your straps adjust this Appropriate to the height of your spine Tighten up your hips nice and snug first Tighten up the shoulder straps and then Lock down these top ones as tight as They'll get because that brings your Load up and on top of you where it Belongs and then you're good to go We talked about summer packs fall packs Winter packs the volumes of packs how to Adjust them what to look for in the bags Hopefully that was valuable to you I've Had a lot of questions about all sorts Of topics I'm going to try to address Those topics try to do some Gear reviews Try to do a lot more primitive uh skills And if you have any questions leave them Down below thank you for watching Yeah Foreign
