Light, self-supporting backpack?

[seedlings]

Have a buddy who broke his back and has recovered to the point he's cleared to throw again. He uses a DD Trooper and wanted to know if there was another lightweight backpack that was actually solid and self-supporting. I don't have experience with many bags, and I use a Fossa Skinny 2, which is way heavier than the Trooper.

 

[elmexdela]

there was this thread a while ago but not really useful like some forums where they weigh everything

https://www.dgcoursereview.com/forums/showthread.php?t=32472

 

[uncle pennybags]

Upper park shift is pretty light and carries well. It usually stands up on it's own too. Biggest downside is only one bottle holder.

 

[jupiterboy]

Most of the weight is the discs. Might want something that can buckle around the waist and transfer weight to the hips.

 

[Rastnav]

The Prodigy BP1v3 is quite light and is designed to stand up. Only issue is that it's designed to carry a lot of discs. The divider insert for the Innova super hero pack will fit in it, though. so for 10 bucks it can then carry fewer discs and still work well.

It has a chest strap, too, although on the one I have that didn't actually last.

 

[seedlings]

The Prodigy BP1v3 is quite light and is designed to stand up. Only issue is that it's designed to carry a lot of discs. The divider insert for the Innova super hero pack will fit in it, though. so for 10 bucks it can then carry fewer discs and still work well.

It has a chest strap, too, although on the one I have that didn't actually last.

Bp1v2 is 2.5# heavier than the Trooper (advertised weights).

 

[Brockness Monster]

A cart is also an option, I find my back feels way better after a round with my cart.

 

[Keith H]

I will agree with the Upper Park Shift.

I have broken vertebrae in my back, spent several months in Physical Therapy working to get walking again and some years on some form of a cane.

Shoulder bags are a no for me, they pull my back crooked.

Many backpack are too heavy and or too big for me.

The Upper Park Shift can carry from 1-18 discs easily.

It rides easy on the back and does not lose stability if you use a few discs.

There is a bit of a learning curve on assembly & loading, but it's not hard.

 

[ru4por]

A caddy.

 

[Rastnav]

Bp1v2 is 2.5# heavier than the Trooper (advertised weights).

I was a little surprised by this, so I went and grabbed and weighed the unopened one I have waiting to replace the one that is starting to show its age. It is indeed 4.5 pounds and the old Lat64 bag I replaced it with was only 2 pounds.

I was really surprised, because my recollection was that the BP1v3 felt way lighter than the Lat64 bag when I started using it. I'm going to guess this is simply down to how the bags are constructed and where the weight sits. The BP1v3 uses the design of the straps, rigid panels, and the back padding to keep the weight from solely hanging from the shoulders.

Basically, I think I'm just agreeing with jupiterboy and Keith H that the design of the bag is much more important than the specific weight, because what's in the bag is going to weigh much more than the bag itself.

 

[seedlings]

I was a little surprised by this, so I went and grabbed and weighed the unopened one I have waiting to replace the one that is starting to show its age. It is indeed 4.5 pounds and the old Lat64 bag I replaced it with was only 2 pounds.

I was really surprised, because my recollection was that the BP1v3 felt way lighter than the Lat64 bag when I started using it. I'm going to guess this is simply down to how the bags are constructed and where the weight sits. The BP1v3 uses the design of the straps, rigid panels, and the back padding to keep the weight from solely hanging from the shoulders.

Basically, I think I'm just agreeing with jupiterboy and Keith H that the design of the bag is much more important than the specific weight, because what's in the bag is going to weigh much more than the bag itself.

Thank you for actually weighing them! Advertising is sometimes not so accurate. My buddy originally asked about my Fossa. I also had to double check, because it seemed lighter than the Trooper, but it isn't.

 

[ray1970]

Most of the weight is the discs.

While I didn't doubt this was true it did make me curious how much of the weight of my bag was discs.

Doing some rough math based on the number of discs that I carry and the average weight of each disc I'm humping around about 6.5 pounds of plastic.

Now I'm curious what my whole load out weighs. Might have to break out the scale to satisfy my curiosity.

 

[ray1970]

Now I'm curious what my whole load out weighs. Might have to break out the scale to satisfy my curiosity.

Yikes. As per my officially uncertified home scale my bag (with my usual hydration on board) tips the scales close to 17 pounds.

 

[armiller]

Another vote for the Upper Park Designs Shift. It carries a lot so I've found it can get pretty heavy if I've loaded it with 18 discs, plus all the water and other gear/snacks I want to carry for a full day (e.g. at a tournament or long day on the course). You can mitigate this by doing something like just filling up the side pockets (at least 8 discs) and the lower central pouch, while also using a full or half full 32oz Nalgene. The bag will stay pretty stable with that setup and shouldn't be too heavy.

(No, I haven't weighed it.)

 

[jupiterboy]

Yikes. As per my officially uncertified home scale my bag (with my usual hydration on board) tips the scales close to 17 pounds.

^does that include the discs?

If I recall from my backpacking days, water is around 8.6 lbs per gallon, but nobody needs an over-designed bag or too much water. I have a smaller water bottle to cut weight.

Couple of backpacking insights nobody cares about:

Shoulder straps are to keep the load close to your core, but they should not support weight.

Everything counts if you want to go light. In the 80s, lightweight gear was less of an issue, but if you wanted to stay out more than a week, you had to make hard decisions.

Gear now, including backpacking backpacks and hiking boots, is much less over-designed. I think disc golf bags are still in a more-is-more phase with little consideration of weight.

My bag with water, sunscreen, towels, etc. is 5.45 lbs. My discs, including two minis are 7 lbs.

 

[seedlings]

Yikes. As per my officially uncertified home scale my bag (with my usual hydration on board) tips the scales close to 17 pounds.

Every three discs is about a pound. I use a cart for leverage! BUT! I've scaled back quite a bit.

Is there like a … 10 disc backpack … a shoulder bag, but a backpack?

 

[ray1970]

^does that include the discs?

Yeah. That's my full, play anywhere bag. 17 discs, a retriever, a couple of towels, a very light windbreaker, a small first aid kit, and probably a couple of small items I might be forgetting. Also, I had two, 20 oz water bottles that are both about three quarters full when I weighed the bag. The bag itself is a Grip BX2 which probably isn't a light bag either.

 

[uncle pennybags]

This almost makes me want to pull out the Mahal and see how much that weighed when I was carrying it fully loaded.

 

[txmxer]

I'm guessing that I'm carrying about 15# total in my bag.

 

[gooberau]

Upper Park Shift for up to 16 discs. You really need to put at least 12-14 in their or it loses stability. But … fantastic bag.

I also picked up a SIGR bag by Guru out of Norway and it's very light. Good for 20-28 discs, with two bottle carriers and much more space for "stuff" (brollies, retrievers). That's also a fantastic bag. Incredibly comfortable to carry around.