I collect rocks. Lots of rocks. Like probably way more rocks than I need. But when I'm in the middle of a dig site and I find a nice specimen of agate, or obsidian, or petrified wood, and then another, and another, and another, it can get really hard to stop. I admit that I am powerless over my rock collecting! The challenge with rockhounding often isn't so much finding the material as it is getting it home. Collection sites are often hundreds of yards from where you parked your car, sometimes much farther, and lugging a bucket full of rocks, with the handle biting into your hands, is unergonomic at best, if not outright painful and exhausting. Fabric backpacks are often too small for the quantities of rocks I gather on a given outing, and they run the risk of being torn open by the sharp rocks placed in them. I recently went to an agate dig site with my gem club. The location was around a half-mile or so from the parking area, and other club members had recently found single agates weighing between 10 and 20 pounds, so I knew regular buckets and backpacks weren't going to work for me. I needed a combination of both, so I bought a Peregrine Venture Bucket Pack. OMG! It was just what the doctor ordered! When I left my car, I had two bottles of water in the pack's insulated pouches, most of my dig tools stashed in the 5-gallon bucket inserted in the pack, and a small crowbar strapped to the outside. Altogether, it weighed about ten pounds, and my gear alone was enough to fill a small knapsack. Hoisted on my shoulders, the Peregrine pack was barely noticeable, and I still had a LOT of capacity available for my agatey finds. Better still, because I didn't have to carry a bucket by hand, both of my hands were free, making it much easier to negotiate several extremely muddy portions of the trail in, as well as crossing a couple of small streams. When I arrived at the dig site, an extremely steep and rocky slope, I set the bucket pack down in a central location while I searched for a place to dig. While I was looking, another member of my club accidentally bumped my pack, sending it tumbling about 100' down the slope. When I recovered it, it was dirty, but otherwise completely undamaged. After several hours of digging, I collected around 45 pounds of agate and common opal, include one 7.5 pound black and red agate. Now for the real test. The total weight of the pack was now around 55 pounds. I'm not as buff as I once was, so I couldn't properly lift it over my head to get my arms through the straps. Instead, I set the pack on a largish boulder that let me put on the straps while already halfway standing. Straps on shoulders, I snapped the connecting clip between the shoulder straps together, and stood up. My first thought was, "Wow, this is surprisingly comfortable." With 55 pounds of rocks and equipment on my back, I had been concerned that the pack would dig into my spine. I needn't have worried. The pack was well padded and caused no discomfort. With a slight adjustment to the shoulder straps, the bucket settled comfortably on my mid-back, feeling very secure and well-balanced. The hike back out was slow going because another member ahead of me had young children, and when I finally reached my car, the pack still felt comfortable on both my back and shoulders. Honestly, I was a bit surprised that this worked out as well as it did. It was designed to carry game, not rocks, after all, but it turned out to be the perfect tool for hauling out large amounts of additions to my collection. The Peregrine Venture Bucket Pack has totally enabled my rockhounding addiction! One last thing: Although I didn't need to do it on this trip, I REALLY like that you can swap out the bucket in the pack for another one. That means I can take one load of rocks to my car, take out the full bucket and replace it with an empty one, then go back for another load, all without having to worry about straining my hands or shoulders through carrying buckets by their handles. This pack really makes hauling large amounts of rocks and minerals easy. It is a must-have for any serious rockhound!
