HyperliteMountainGear - OLD

Pros: 1) Well designed: I thought I wouldn’t be a fan of having to open my pack every time I needed something, although I find the simplicity of having what essentially amounts to a durable stuff pack refreshing. It forces you to pack intelligently and efficiently. That in itself has lightened the load as you begin to remove items that you strategically put towards the bottom of the pack because you don’t use them frequently. 2) Super light: Speaking of weight, the pack itself is super light and compact, so I rarely feel like I’m carrying a pack in the traditional sense. 3) Nice aesthetic: The bag looks pretty great, although the white Dyneema fiber leads us to the first con. Cons: 1) White stains easily. I climbed Fujisan the other day and packed out a piece of garbage (empty grape juice box) I found. I had strapped it to the outside of the pack, but unfortunately something like five drops of grape juice squeezed out of the box and onto the pack. Of course it stuck out like a sore thumb. Dirt also seems to collect onto the pack towards the bottom, although it cleans better than juice. 2) Suspect stitching? The stitching of the straps onto the pack looks a little suspect. I’ve put close to a hundred miles on the pack and its held up so far, but an eye inspection reveals a not so tight threading, so I’ll keep my eye on it in the future. Hopefully it just looks weak. 3) Waterproof? The first climb I did with the pack, it rained for four hours straight. In general the pack was solid, but the inside pocket seemed to have a small leak? I think that maybe the water leaked through the stitching and dripped down the inside of the bag. So I think the water proof pods or stuff packs are almost necessary here to help avoid damp gear. That being said, the pods are awesome and you should get them anyway.

Love this pack. So light, sturdy, and best of all, simple. Not a thousand little straps and cinches floating around adding extra weight. I think it's pretty close to waterproof as well. I got the black version and I'm happy that I did. Have used it on two weekend trips in mountain terrain and think it will work great on longer thru trips and small desert trips with abrasive sandstone. The hip belt and shoulder straps are simple and comfortable, instead of bulky with an excess of padding. The hip belt pockets are plenty large enough. I put sunglasses and my newer Samsung S9+ (with case) in one pocket and small things like lip balm and headlamps in the other. Could have fit a bar or two in there as well. The only reason I'm giving it 4 stars instead of 5 is because I'm 5'6", 115 lbs female and the smallest size hip belt was still slightly too large. I can basically cinch it all the way down and the hip belt is almost touching itself together. This was a problem I had with my last pack and was the reason I bought a new one. I did buy this pack and another brand at the same time to compare... the other brand had an XS size and technically fit me better but I chose the Hyperlite because of overall more comfort-ability and simplicity. Other things to think about with this pack that are not necessarily "negatives" but just may be different for you if you are used to a very compartmentalized pack... the roll down/cinch down top is awesome and packs it down into a nice size. However, there is no internal storage and you will definitely have to be organized packing. I use a water bladder with hose because otherwise I won't drink enough water. My 2 liter bladder usually gets me through the day. However, it was hot when I was using the pack and I went through my water. To get the bladder out (or rather, back in while full of water), I had to take out almost everything. The roll down top compresses everything nicely -- but makes everything very jammed in there. I started to see why they market a stuff sack system... which I have never felt the need to use before. That being said, the outer pockets are great for things like a rain jacket, maps, snacks, water bottles, etc. Overall, a great little pack and my husband is jealous and wants to upgrade his pack to a Hyperlite.

Just used this over the weekend for two nights. Love it and hope to use it for many weekends and longer through hikes in mountains and desert. Loved the simplicity and tough material. The ONLY reason I am giving 4 stars instead of 5 is because I'm 115 lbs, 5'6" and the smallest size was still a little too big for me. The hip belt is basically touching itself together which is one reason I was looking for a new backpack as my last pack was similarly too big. I ordered this backpack and another brand at the same time. The other brand technically fit (had an xs option) better but had bulkiness in the belt that rubbed my hip bones and had other uncomfortableness. The Hyperlite, while slightly too big was sleeker and was overall more comfortable. Another minor thought would be to move the water exit port higher up close to the shoulder. Overall a great pack and I'm happy with the money spent.

Very comfortable setup. Belt pockets take some fiddling with to open but are adequate. Big upgrade from my 44 year old trailwise.

The pods fit great in most backpacks - but the zipper are to sensitive when the pod is fully packed (but not overpacked)... I bought 4 pods and all of them have the same zipper weakness/fault/error