Michael: Under my Belt

Lazy fly swatter
Swishes like a frazzled rope
From the cow’s rear end.

Monday, June 22, 2015

This past weekend I tested out the Osprey Talon 6 as a fully loaded over night running pack. I loaded up the pack with a change of clothes, toiletries, food, water and a few other essentials totaling about 4 lbs. of weight and away I went to join a group of about 20 ex-pats on a special hikers club weekend at the Totumas eco - lodge; about a 2 hours run from our cottage.

As far as lumbar packs go, the Talon 6 works better than any of the previous waist packs I’ve owned, though it still has the one critical shortcoming that turns me away from ever using a lumbar pack again as a trail running option.

I’ve never enjoyed the feel of a waist pack sitting around my waist. I tried for about 15 minutes to keep the Talon 6 on my hips and away from waist. But, like every lumbar pack I’ve tried, the Talon 6 wants to ride around the waist. After giving in and letting the Talon 6 sit where it wanted to, running with it wasn’t really much of a problem and, after shifting about half the water weight from the bottles to my stomach, it was even less of a chore and I could run with a little more verve .

But for trail runs I’ll reach for the Osprey Rev 1.5 vest every time. My belly button and I just prefer the feel of a vest.

But as an overnight pack the Talon 6 was a near complete success. In fact in August I plan on using it as part of a two pack fast-packing system. On that trip I’ll carry my light weight camp supplies in a Gossamer Gear day pack and water and other essentials in the Talon 6. That way I can do a long lollipop loop, hiking in one day and setting up camp at the end of the stick, and the next day or two, run loops from my base camp only carrying what I need for the day in the Talon 6.

Outside of the capacity, comfort and convenience of the Talon 6, I really appreciate that the bottles stay out of my way when I run. I’m a pretty skinny dude at 5’10” and 140 lbs. so it was a bit surprising that even fully loaded, my elbows never clashed with the bottles. I do wish those bottles could stand up-right and be filled, but if that’s the trade off I’ve got to pay for elbow room, I’ll live with it.

The Talon 6 has the perfect carrying capacity for long day hikes, over night trips that don‘t involve camping, and hopefully as one pack in a 2 pack fast pack system. It’s not perfect, but it does work very well in situations where a vest pack is too small and a full blown backpack is too large.