Running with Climbing Gear

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Hey UKC,

Been a while since I posted but wondering if any of you wise people can answer a question I've been wondering about for a while.

I'd like to start combining running and climbing days, but not sure which pack I should use for this type of trip. Looking at distances over 20km and due to carrying hardware and rope it'll have to be large and comfortable.

A quick google brings up the Grivel Mountain Runner 20Litres and the Montane Via Dragon 20, but has anyone got any first hand experience?

I'm male, 6'6 tall if that helps. Thanks in advance!

 wercat 03 May 2021
In reply to The Green Giant:

ha! - I thought this thread was an adjunct to Crag Swag, how to achieve a getaway

 ianstevens 03 May 2021
In reply to The Green Giant:

Salomon X-Alp 23 works nicely for a light scrambling rack/rope - presume it would do the same for heftier kit. 

In reply to The Green Giant:

Once upon a time I was quite young and quite fit, even then I wouldn't have contemplated runninng 20km with half a reasonable sized rack, a half rope, harness, shoes, clothing, food etc. What's that going to be 10kg? But then I hate running with anything haevier than a 5kg mountain marathon set up.

Could be closer to being enjoyable if you are well within your comfort zone on the climbs and are traveling with a light rack and one rope between the two of you.

What are you contemplating?

 Neil Williams 03 May 2021
In reply to The Green Giant:

You're not going to get an awful lot of climbing gear in a 20 litre sac, I guess you mean soloing?

Personally (and I'm 2" shorter than you) I go for larger sacs for the longer back even if you don't fill it.  I had a Berghaus Arete Pro 45 (sorry, corrected, was confusing it with the Freeflow 30 in my cupboard) a while ago which was quite decent for running with a heavy load, indeed I did run to the wall wearing it a few times with harness, shoes and rope in.

Post edited at 19:22
 John Kelly 03 May 2021
In reply to Neil Williams:

You can just about squeeze a 50m skinny rope, half a rack, boots and a thin down jacket into 16 ltrs ( lowe alpine illusion) pain in the backside trying to put it back in. It's probably 5 - 6 kg - it's not for running just getting to the crag

Post edited at 19:40
 Suncream 03 May 2021
In reply to The Green Giant:

One thing I've found to work really well is running with alpine coils. It distributes the weight of the rope nicely, though not without a bit of neck chafing (a well placed buff helps).

Then a smallish rack and a couple of litres of water can easily fit in a 10L running pack

Post edited at 19:46
 Derry 03 May 2021
In reply to The Green Giant:

You wanna talk to the guys who did the Portland Olympian a couple of years back. Run, climb, run, climb, lunch, run and so on and so forth.

https://www.papercutmedia.co.uk/ourwork/adventure-film-production 

Removed User 03 May 2021
In reply to The Green Giant:

You're looking at maybe 7kg of gear on your back, able to take on/off easily and sitting nicely to climb with so I'd be thinking more about an alpine pack that cinches well for the lumpy load. Salomon Out packs might fit the bill, being an overlap of alpine and running and pretty light. A few versions of sizes and things like lids.

Post edited at 22:42
 George Ormerod 03 May 2021
In reply to The Green Giant:

Done this a couple of times and I found that a 30 l OMM pack was OK.  I wouldn't like stuff festooning he outside of a smaller pack, like a miserable D of E participant, when running.

 redscotti 04 May 2021

Jenny Tough runs with camping gear in high mountain ranges using a Montane Fastpack. With food for several days, I'm sure her loaded weight would exceed yours..  

 PPP 05 May 2021
In reply to Removed Userwaitout:

> You're looking at maybe 7kg of gear on your back

That’s no different from a fast packing weight, really. I had a quick look and I did 20.7mi with 4.3k ft of vert gain with a pack of 6.4kg base (+ water/food) in 5hrs. It slows you down a lot but can still run flats. I was less fit back then though. 
 

FWIW I have used Ultimate Direction Fastpack 25 for that trip. Montane does Trailblazer series which are also quite comfy and I have hiked up hill and run down with a camping gear for the night. 

 galpinos 05 May 2021
In reply to The Green Giant:

Depends how much climbing gear you intend to carry but with a slim rack and short skinny single I doubt your pack will be too heavy. I'd look at mountain marathon style packs, 20-35L.

I do mountain marathons with an OMM 25L and it'd be fine running with 8kg. Worth bearing in mind the back padding as a lot of light running packs don't have much and might require quite careful packing. (I take the padding out of my OMM sac for races but would keep it in if I had climbing gear in)

 TobyA 05 May 2021
In reply to The Green Giant:

What kind of climbing are you envisaging? On Sunday I did a bike and climb combo - we went to 5 sports crags in the Peak, riding mountain bikes the 50 kms between them all - doing as much off road as possible. We took about 45 mtrs of 9mm triple rated rope that weighed 2.5 kgs and one belay device with 12 ultralight QDs. Shoes, harness and chalk bag each as well of course. All that went pretty easily along with food, bike spares and repair kit, and enough clothing for a cool at time rainy day into our two little rucksacks - mine is a 20 ltrs Osprey cycling pack I use for commuting. So if you are thinking of sport climbing it's surprising how small a pack you can get away with.

Good luck!

 StefanB 05 May 2021
In reply to The Green Giant:

> A quick google brings up the Grivel Mountain Runner 20Litres and the Montane Via Dragon 20, but has anyone got any first hand experience?

I use a Grivel Mountain Runner 20 for combining my running with photography. It fits, a small camera with a zoom lens, a small drone and an extra layer to cover up when standing around. Water and food go onto the shoulder straps, so the setup is comfortable enough. I just don't expect to break any strava segments and end up walking a bit more on the uphills.

I think the bulk of a full climbing rope would be too much to go into the bag, so you would have to find a way to attach it to the outside somehow. 

Post edited at 13:31
 Aquinn 05 May 2021
In reply to The Green Giant:

Have done a few run/ climbs recently and a rock climb/ gully bashing  using a black diamond distance 8. I only manage to get a couple of layers, climbing shoes and harness inside it with 500ml of water and some food upfront. It has a dedicated rope strap that holds a skinny triple rated securely enough you don’t notice it too much whilst running.  My partner uses a distance 15 and he usually carries the rack, I’d probably recommend the 15 over the 8 as it’s just a bit too small.  It’s well built and comfortable and I find myself leaning towards using it more than a pack on easier climbs


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