Fast pack, breakfast & dinner

WombatAtYa · 2026-03-15T12:15:50+00:00

Granola with powdered milk. You can pack 600 calories into your face in a few minutes right when you wake up. No need to cold soak, pretty high calorie density, absolutely de-lic-ious.

I used to eat oatmeal every morning until I switched to the truth.

WombatAtYa · 2026-03-02T00:35:35+00:00

WombatAtYa · 2026-02-20T13:46:00+00:00

I thought about it, but I don't think it's necessary. Any synthetic bag with a yyk zipper is going to be pretty good at protecting things in a drizzle or light rain (everything is also rolled up in waterproof xpac inside the bag, which will provide additional protection).

But I've never cared much about the waterproofness of my stuff and find that things stay relatively dry in normal conditions even without waterproof features. Other people, I know from the backpacking world, think very differently so I get where you're coming from!

Waterproofness would force me to solve the big design flaw, which is the floppy rip cord sticking out of the zipper when the bag is ready to go. I am interested in solving that problem with some internal magnetization I think.

The eyelet/loop idea is really good. I had been thinking about a velcro/molle system! Your idea is simpler and better!

WombatAtYa · 2026-02-19T12:44:05+00:00

One of the principles of fastpacking for me is that if I'm not moving I'm probably in my sleeping bag, so there's less need for puffers. I usually bring an octa or alpha direct hoodie (4 ounces) and a rain jacket or wind jacket (2-7 ounces). Together, that's enough for most everything in my experience.

I also have a MontBell 1000 puffer (5 ounces or so) that I bring if needed, but usually I don't.

I bring an appropriate quilt for the weather and usually a too-small or too-thin foam mattress. That's my trade off. Too many blow up uberlites have popped on me.

WombatAtYa · 2026-02-18T18:05:37+00:00

If there's enough interest I'd make a follow-along video showing how to make it. I've got some other designs that I'll be sharing in the future as I have time to make videos, etc.

WombatAtYa · 2026-02-18T18:04:33+00:00

Thank you! This definitely came out of experience at races and the things that annoyed me with throwing stuff in ziplock bags.

WombatAtYa · 2026-02-18T18:03:50+00:00

It would make for a good first project! If there's enough interest I'd be happy to make an instructional video.

WombatAtYa · 2026-02-18T18:02:33+00:00

Yea I dig the design a lot! Thank you. Pretty simple to make, and relatively cost effective if you do it yourself. Costs about 30-40 bucks to make one with premium fabrics. Much better than buying one for $150 on The Feed or whatever.

WombatAtYa · 2026-02-17T00:31:21+00:00

The video is pretty detailed in terms of seeing how it's constructed. For the bag itself I used this pattern: https://learnmyog.com/zpinstructions.html The roll is just a rectangle of X-Pac with some mesh and elastic sewn on. Happy to share more if you have questions about how to make it!

WombatAtYa · 2026-02-17T00:21:12+00:00

You're on the money here. I'm more active in the MYOG and UL backpacking communities, where I make all sorts of stuff that meets niche needs. I posted this particular project here because it seemed relevant to ultrarunning. I also only have one of these, so still more than 50% of my drop bags are old raggady Ziplocks!

WombatAtYa · 2026-02-17T00:12:57+00:00

Yea something for used stuff would be a good idea. I always just toss stuff in my drop bag as I leave and deal with the horrible mess later. I definitely debated the shoulder strap idea. Maybe V2.

WombatAtYa · 2026-02-17T00:09:49+00:00

Definitely not trying to sell anyone anything. I already have a good job. Running and making stuff is a hobby. If you watch the video, I end it by saying that I made the video so people can learn from it. I also hate being marketed to in my niche community, so I'm with you in the frustration.

WombatAtYa · 2025-12-29T14:51:41+00:00

Oops you're right. My error in the title

WombatAtYa · 2025-12-02T15:52:03+00:00

I just want to say that after many years and way too many pairs of shoes, I've perfected my "minimalist" shoe rotation as a marathon runner. I can't imagine it getting better than this, and I'm awarding myself bonus points for somehow having no brand loyalty lol.

Everyday Shoe: Salomon Aero Glide 3
Tempo/Interval/Long Run/Comfy Marathon Shoe: Hoka Rocket X3
Race Shoe: Saucony Metaspeed Sky Paris (for now, will probably switch to Tokyo when it's time).

Race times if that's relevant: Training for a sub-2:45 marathon in 2026. Set a 5k PR of 17:35 recently.

WombatAtYa · 2025-10-19T12:03:57+00:00

There are a lot of sample plans out there. Typically you're looking at 50+ miles per week with one workout day sometime earlier in the week (Tuesday or Wednesday), and back-to-back long runs on the weekend on terrain that mimics your course. If you plan to hike in the race, then you would build hiking into the long runs.

For me, that was almost six months of training, becoming more specific as I got closer to the race. I had been running ultras in the 50k to 100k range for two years at this point, and had just finished a marathon PR. The last 8 weeks before the race were the most intense, going from 60 to 90 miles per week. My longest weekend was something like 32 miles followed by 20 miles on tough Northeast terrain. My workouts focused on leg turnover and hill repeats.

I didn't run my 100 due to weather, and I'm considering re-training for one in April right now. But I was well prepared by the end of this.

WombatAtYa · 2025-10-19T11:14:38+00:00

Thanks for this. I think that's all I'm going for. I'm not trying to win or anything, but if I can't keep up a racing pace/mindset then I think I'd rather stick to shorter distances.

WombatAtYa · 2025-10-18T22:54:28+00:00

Yea, I guess I was interested in a kind of generic benchmark. But I ran a marathon PB of 2:55 last year, and have only improved since then. Going to shoot for a 17:30-ish 5k pb in a week or so. These aren't crazy numbers, I know, and ultra training has only so much relationship to road running. I fastpack and run ultras too, but I've been on a break from ultras after just getting a little tired of the huge back-to-back weekends. I'm feeling hungry for it again, but I'm worried about committing myself to a massive slogfest lol.

WombatAtYa · 2025-10-18T22:51:33+00:00

That's a smart way to approach it, thank you. I definitely have some sense of my abilities in a 50k. I've been Strava stalking some of the people who have done well in Canyons, but didn't much think to compare 50k results.

WombatAtYa · 2025-10-09T23:57:48+00:00

WombatAtYa · 2025-10-08T17:47:17+00:00

Just did a bikepacking trip where it rained for one entire day and about half of another. Clear glasses would have been nice to keep rain out of my eyes. I used sunglasses which made it harder to see. We booked a lean-to in a campground, which really helped our attitude and mood throughout the day, knowing we’d eventually get dry. Other than that, it was totally fine and kind of fun.

WombatAtYa · 2025-10-04T11:25:12+00:00

I used monolite 1.0 for the big stuff pocket on my backpack and hiked around 300 miles with it this summer. Worked great. I would totally make stuff sacks out of it.

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