In This Issue

• Klymit Motion 35 Pack
• Sili-Dripper Coffee Brewer
• Elemental Horizons Accessory Pocket

Klymit Motion 35 Pack

The Skinny

The Klymit Motion 35 is a small volume panel-loading backpack that utilizes an inflatable framesheet for stability and load control.

The Specs

• Weight: 1.53 lbs (695 g)
• Volume: 35L +3L pocket
• Waist Size: 28-40 inches
• Torso Length: 16-20 inches
• Fabric: 210D Nylon Base and 150D Silicone Impregnated Nylon Upper
• Features: YKK Aquaguard zips and Hydration Compatible

My Take

About 10 years ago, I had a sordid affair with panel loading backpacks: the Mountainsmith Ghost and the GoLite Vision were the two that stood out to me the most for their load carrying support, compact size, and clean and simple aesthetics.

The primary advantage of a panel loading pack is the ability to quickly access gear that is organized in the upper half of the packbag, rather than just near the top of it (as is the case for top-loading rucks).

This feature makes a panel loading pack useful for those who might access lots of different gear while hiking: photographers, hunters, backcountry skiers, and fishermen come to mind.

Many packs poorly implement the panel loading feature – their panel’s side zippers simply aren’t long enough to provide access to the majority of the pack’s interior, and they are effectively as functional as the typical top-loader.

Now, a panel side zipper need not go down all the way – I certainly don’t have a need to access stuff down in the lower third of my packbag, like my sleeping bag and pad. But a panel side zipper that doesn’t extend down at least halfway sort of defeats the key benefit of the panel loader.

That brings us to the topic at hand – the Klymit Motion 35 Pack. It has two key features: a panel loading design, and an inflatable framesheet. We’ll get to the framesheet later, let’s discuss its panel loading prowess first.

The Klymit Motion 35 is about 24 in (61 cm) tall when loaded, and the panel zipper extends downward for about half of that length. I can easily access everything in my pack above the stuff in the bottom (quilt, bivy sack, sleeping pad, and food bag) – the stuff that I never have to access on the trail during the day.

Compression straps across the panel zipper on either side are essential for allowing the pack to be stuffed to its gills without unnecessarily straining the zipper. Two side mesh pockets, which I loathe, are snaggy when bushwhacking. One of the benefits of a panel loader this size is its compact profile – it would be a fine pack for bushwhacking without the side pockets. That said, I won’t hack them off, because this will be a trail pack for me. It’s just not durable enough to handle brambles and limestone – the fabric is a little too light.

A zippered, bellowed rear pocket holds a small water bladder or jacket, which I like. An x-bungee crosses the lower half of the rear of the pack, which doesn’t interfere with the rear pocket zip, but otherwise makes it too small for strapping large and bulky items to it, like a foam sleeping pad. This, I’m tempted to remove just to clean things up. It detracts from the aesthetics.

OK, so back to the suspension.

The Motion 35 has a full mesh back panel, along with wide, thin, and flexible shoulder straps and hip belt. The pack fits snug, close to the body, and lots of contact surface area make it extremely comfortable as the load weight increases.

The internal framesheet is inflatable, with the inflation adjustable via a little hand squeeze pump and one-way valve. A little button valve deflates the pad. When blown up firm, the pad provides the support to hold a 35 pound load without collapsing the back panel. However, the framesheet seems pretty stiff at very high inflation pressure – it was too stiff for my comfort, and it doesn’t mold to the contours of your back as nicely as it does when it’s deflated a bit.

Deflating the framesheet causes a little bit of collapse and buckling of the hip belt and upper shoulder strap attachments at heavy loads, so you’ll have to find the balance between the level of air pressure in the framesheet and the load you want to carry. For me, the pack is comfortable at 25 pounds with the framesheet inflated at the maximum level of air pressure that feels comfortable to me, which is just a little bit less air pressure than what can be achieved at maximum inflation.

I have to admit that I do like the concept of an inflatable framesheet with stiffness that can be adjusted on the fly as the load weight decreases during the course of a trip. However, it feels unecessarily complicated, and I feel that it’s only justifiable if you can integrate the framesheet into your sleep system. It makes for a very small pad (its dimensions are only 25 in x 10.5 in x 0.75 in) so is really quite impractical as a component in anyone’s sleep system, except perhaps as a little extra padding for the hips or shoulders of side sleepers.

I find it useful to compare this pack to what I consider a few standards in this category (ultralight panel loaders of 35-40L volume) – the now-discontinued ULA Camino and a McHale P&G Panel Loader.

The Camino is twice the weight, with a main packbag volume only slightly larger than the Motion 35, but carries more weight comfortably. The Camino is more durable, stitched to a higher standard of quality, suffers from somewhat complex aesthetics, but makes up for it with voluminous storage outside the main packbag (again, defeating the purpose, perhaps, of a panel loader in the first place?). The McHale, on the other hand, has a very clean design, can carry weight more comfortably (owing to custom fit and a proven harness-and-frame system), is manufactured to an extraordinary high quality standard, and can be specified with more durable materials. Of course, a custom McHale is not without its disadvantages relative to the Motion 35: cost and build time.

All in all, the Motion 35 is not an exceptional pack, but it’s certainly not a bad pack. It doesn’t stand out as an ultralight pack in terms of its weight (but it is light!), it doesn’t stand out in terms of its durability or manufacturing quality (but it’s well-made and durable enough for plenty of miles of trail use!), it doesn’t stand out in terms of its suspension performance (but can carry most of the loads we care about), it doesn’t stand out in terms of its feature set (but offers plenty of features and flexible outside storage options), and it doesn’t stand out in terms of its aesthetic appeal / clean lines (but it’s cleaner than a lot of other packs on the market!). However, there seem to be no glaring problems with it, and it has been designed and manufactured with care and attention. It seems to address all of these issues well enough, and when taken as a collective whole, I think it’s a good pack at a solid value that I would recommend for trail hikers looking for a panel-loader suitable for typical starting loads of less than 30 pounds.

More Info

• Support Backpacking Light, Buy Now from Amazon.com: Klymit Motion 35 Backpack
• Manufacturer Website: klymit.com

Sili-Dripper Coffee Brewer

The Skinny

The Sili-Dripper Coffee Brewer is a 100% silicone, collapsible pour-over brewer that uses #2 paper cone filters.

The Specs

• Weight: 2.8 oz (80 g)
• Style of Brew: Pour-Over
• Material: 100% FDA & NSF food grade silicone (BPA-free)
• Collapsible to 4.25 in (dia) x 0.5 in (thick)
• Dishwasher safe

My Take

You’re going to hear a lot more about my approach to coffee, as a lifestyle choice, in my forthcoming article Craft Coffee for Wilderness Travel. For now, suffice it to say that a pour-over brewer may offer the best opportunity to create a quality brew of coffee at minimal weight.

That said, the Sili-Dripper isn’t the only pour-over brewer on the market, but it’s one of the better travel brewers that I’ve used. Its collapsibility to a pancake form allows it to stow nicely into the bottom of my 1-liter cook pot. A minimal number of holes in the base (5 holes, each about 3/16 in dia.), a fine grind (a little finer than typical drip), enough coffee (I shoot for about 20 g), and a pre-wetted filter allow for enough residence time of the hot water in the brewer to extract a full flavor profile without releasing a lot of bitters. Other “travel” style cone brewers that I’ve used seem to make weak coffee (not enough residence time).

The Sili-Dripper cleans well with an easy rinse in the creek and can be more thoroughly cleaned up with a dip in a boiling pot of water or a dishwasher. It’s primary disadvantage is its weight – at 2.8 oz, it’s a bit heavier than many other travel brewers and coffee methods, but may certainly be one of the lightest opens available for creating a good cup of craft coffee.

More Info

• Support Backpacking Light, Buy Now from Amazon.com: Sili-Dripper Coffee Brewer
• Manufacturer: Tim Johnson

Elemental Horizons Accessory Pocket

The Skinny

The Elemental Horizons Accessory Pocket, offered in two sizes (0.4 L and 0.8 L), provides zippered access to minor essential, and mounts to virtually any backpack hip belt or shoulder strap.

The Specs

• Weight: Large – 1.4 oz (38 g); Small – 0.9 oz (26 g)
• Dimensions (LxHxD): Large – 6 x 4 x 2 in (15.2 x 10.2 x 5.1 cm); Small – 6 x 4 x 1 in (15.2 x 10.2 x 2.5 cm)
• Volume: Large – 48 in³ (0.8 L); Small – 24 in³ (0.4 L)
• Material: Urethane-coated ripstop nylon
• Zipper Style: Dual zipper pulls

My Take

In the old days, the notion of a hip belt with pockets was ludicrous. Why on earth would we want to keep our packs on to access gear when we had the opportunity to take them off, relieve our sore bones, kick our feet up, and rest?

Now, many packs offer hip belt pockets. The concept was borne primarily out of the adventure racing community in the 1990s. Racers would wear front-facing fanny packs under their pack harness to maintain easy access to calories on the go. Eventually, manufacturers of adventure racing packs added pockets on the hip belt fins themselves, which looked a bit less touristy than the belly pouch solution.

Cottage manufacturers of ultralight backpacks picked up on the concept, which eventually went mainstream over the past ten or so years. Now, most backpack manufacturers offer at least one pack with hip belt pockets. They are most commonly found on the small-and-light packs that still appeal to adventure racers, fastpackers, and ultralight backpackers.

But hip belt pockets suffer from a significant problem: usability.

When a pocket is attached directly to a hip belt, its volume is limited (by the hip belt dimensions), it’s sometimes difficult to access (because the fins are too far back and hard to reach), and its entire volume isn’t always usable (because the back panel of the pocket aligns with the curvature of the belt).

These limitations are overcome by adding external hip belt pockets. One example is the Accessory Pocket by Elemental Horizons.

The pocket slides onto the hip belt through loops sewn into the back of the pocket. Additional loops with included clips allow the pocket to be attached more securely to webbing or loops on the hip belt itself, which keeps the pocket in place and makes it easier to zip and unzip with one hand without the pocket sliding around.

The pocket comes in two sizes: Regular and Large. The size Regular is best suited as a shoulder strap accessory pocket for small items such as a mini-camera, or perhaps the usual tiny essentials (e.g., water treatment chemicals, compass, sunscreen). I recommend the Large for your hip belts – it can fit about 1,500 – 2,000 Calories of calorie-dense lunch snacks, or even a decent sized compact camera, such as a Canon Gxx or Olympus Pen with a pancake lens.

I like that the pocket is made of reasonably durable ripstop nylon instead of flimsy silnylon, which improves usability by making it stiffer and thus, easier to access. The coil zipper works well, but I’d be OK with a stiffer waterproof zipper to protect contents a little more. I also wish the pocket had a drain hole, but I’m undecided on this feature for a hip belt pocket – I tend to find myself more than waist deep on river crossings here and there…

What I really want, however, is a pocket made with bright fabric. Spunky yellow or orange would feed my inner French heritage, but I’d be fine with white Cuben Fiber, too. It would just make it a whole lot easier to find little things inside the pocket, like black lens caps. Too bad a robust nylon isn’t available that has a black outer face and a bright yellow inner coating.

These are minor nags, though. The Elemental Horizons Accessory Pocket is a simple, precisely-executed, quality-manufactured product that will fit the hip belts of most packs. Well done!

More Info

• Buy Now: Elemental Horizons Accessory Pocket
• Manufacturer Website: elementalhorizons.com

What are “Flash Reviews?”

Welcome to Flash Reviews, a new column at Backpacking Light.

Flash Reviews will feature short, introductory reviews of selected products that may be new on the market, have not yet received “official” press at backpackinglight.com, or may be just outside the scope of our core product review program to warrant a full review.

This column will allow us to feature more gear than ever before in a unique context – actual user experience from a wide variety of authors. The source of the gear may come from different places – the gear may have been submitted for review by a manufacturer (either solicited or unsolicited) or purchased by the author. In any case, you’ll get our honest and sometimes frank opinions about how this gear works for us.

Flash Reviews, in all cases, will represent gear that is new to the author writing the column issue. Our hope is that the author could provide their fresh perspective on gear that is new to them, and review it in the context of their kit, how that new gear might find a place in their kit, and what the new gear might replace for them.

We hope this column provides value and interest to the reader, so please leave your feedback in the forum below as we allow you to help us evolve this column.

If you are interested in writing a Flash Reviews column, please submit your proposal via our Story Submission Form.

Issue No. 2

Deuce of Spades

In preparation for our upcoming Ultralight Potty Trowel Gear Guide, we have a number of interesting little scoopers to try. The Deuce of Spades by outdoor industry vet and designer Mike Cecot-Scherer is one of them, and a thoughtfully designed one at that. In true engineering fashion, Mike saves weight by using thinner metal (7075-T6 aluminum) and compensating for strength with a smart structural design. The weight is 0.6 oz (17 g, verified!), and offers as perhaps its most unique feature the ability to use it either right side up (wide blade down, for soft soil) or upside down (narrow handle down, for hard soil). Thin gauge metal makes for a thin blade that digs well, but at the sacrifice of some palm-of-hand discomfort when pushing down on the handle in either regular or goofy (inverted) mode. It’s an ultralight and small (2.5 in x 6.8 in) trowel; combined with its thin metal construction, don’t expect it to be suitable for heavy duty use as a root-cutter or mini-crow bar for leveraging rocks out of your poop hole. Better to spend time scouting your potty view instead. Available in your choice of five anodized colors for about twenty bucks, and targeted, as Mike says, to those who “would be damned to carry around those dorky orange plastic thingys.” Learn More: The Tent Lab

I like the “Deuce” for soft duff soils, like what I found in this whitebark pine forest at 9,000 feet on the Beartooth Plateau in Montana.

 

Helinox Ground Chair

Don’t you go judging me. All you sneaks. I know your type. You stuff your pockets full of gear that never registers in the pack weight column on your gear list, instead hidden behind the theological exception called “items worn or carried”. Or you guys who add that Platy full of whiskey at the trailhead “after” everyone’s hung their packs on the fish scale. Yeah, well, how about this: I’m thinking about adding a camp chair to my gear list. There. It’s out there. I’m still an ultralighter*, OK? Because let me tell you what, after a hard day of trekking, and you melt into a chair that keeps you off the wet ground, insulated from a layer of fresh snow, or supporting your back in a reclining position, you’re like … mmm … while all you’re chairless pals are like … unghhh … And you know that guy that takes two 6 inch squares of blue foam (one for each cheek) cut out of a worn out old pad and tells you “it’s totally fine” (he’ll be posting in the forums below, just you wait…)? HE’S LYING. The Helinox Chair One is a legendary chair among outdoor enthusiasts, well known for its comfort, durability, ease of setup, light weight, and portability. Unfortunately, for backpackers, it still suffers two key problems: it’s not that light (29.5 oz / 836 g), and you sit high enough off the ground that you have to bend over quite a bit to fool around with the on-the-ground-tasks we’re accustomed to performing, e.g., cooking. Enter the Helinox Ground Chair. Sitting height (from the ground surface) is reduced from 12 in (30 cm) in the Chair One to less than 5 in (12 cm) in the Ground Chair, and with the latter, it’s now quite easy to reach the ground surface with your hands without contorting. The Ground Chair weighs 21.5 oz (610 g), which puts it in the same league (within fractions of an ounce) as the Crazy Creek Hex 2.0 chair (a popular option with backpackers). The Ground Chair features a shock-corded aluminum tube frame, a mesh seat, and folds down so compact (12 in long x 3.5 in wide x 3.9 in high / 30 cm x 9 cm x 10 cm) that I can fit it into almost every overnight pack I own sideways. I’m trying out a number of chairs for an upcoming Gear Guide, and this is one I can recommend. I suffered a broken back in 2005, and have been plagued with weakness since. Back support is important to me, and the Ground Chair delivers it. Learn More: Helinox

I used the Helinox Ground Chair on this recent trek to an off-trail alpine lake in the Beartooth Range of Montana. Here I sit, rather contentedly I might add, after a long day spent bushwhacking more than 2,400 feet in elevation. The chair was welcome relief to my aching back.

Vargo Titanium Pot Lifter vs. MSR LiteLifter

In my quest to handle pots while cooking over fire, and otherwise using pots without handles, I’ve tried a number of normal, and less-than-normal strategies for lifting pots: leather and wool gloves, cotton bandanas, silicone grabbers, and a variety of conventional pot lifters.

My needs for a pot lifter are focused primarily on handling pots in the fire, and my handle-less fry-bake on my stove.

At 0.8 oz (23 g), the Vargo Titanium Pot Lifter is just slightly lighter than the popular MSR LiteLifter (1.0 oz, 28 g), and a little less secure in its pot-gripping ability. The MSR LiteLifter has better ergonomics, which make it more comfortable for pots loaded with heavier volumes of water.

Here are the head-to-head specs, along with my highly subjective comfort ratings when paired with a light pot containing water volumes between 0.5 L and 3.0+ L:

Learn More: Vargo Outdoors or Cascade Designs / MSR

What are “Flash Reviews?”

Welcome to Flash Reviews, a new column at Backpacking Light.

Flash Reviews will feature short, introductory reviews of selected products that may be new on the market, have not yet received “official” press at backpackinglight.com, or may be just outside the scope of our core product review program to warrant a full review.

This column will allow us to feature more gear than ever before in a unique context – actual user experience from a wide variety of authors. The source of the gear may come from different places – the gear may have been submitted for review by a manufacturer (either solicited or unsolicited) or purchased by the author. In any case, you’ll get our honest and sometimes frank opinions about how this gear works for us.

Flash Reviews, in all cases, will represent gear that is new to the author writing the column issue. Our hope is that the author could provide their fresh perspective on gear that is new to them, and review it in the context of their kit, how that new gear might find a place in their kit, and what the new gear might replace for them.

We hope this column provides value and interest to the reader, so please leave your feedback in the forum below as we allow you to help us evolve this column.

If you are interested in writing a Flash Reviews column, please submit your proposal via our Story Submission Form.

Issue No. 1

ZPacks Challenger Rain Jacket & Pants

Until 2012, my rain pants of choice have been old pairs of Gore-Tex Paclite pants (various brands) trimmed below the knees with a pair of scissors to make “knickers”. This makes getting the pants on and off easy over shoes. In 2012, I upgraded to a simple Cuben Fiber version of the same style (also knicker-style) from ZPacks. I wore the knicker-style pants on about 2/3 of my trips, but I always kept a full length pant in the quiver, which provided better protection and warmth in the fringe and winter seasons, and for packrafting.

In addition, I’ve always kept a quiver of rain jackets for various purposes and seasons. However, over the years, I’ve found myself grabbing one style above all others: a simple, full-zip, highly breathable rain jacket with a single chest pocket. It was time to minimize the number of choices there as well.

In an effort to reduce the quantity of equipment that I own and use (and thus, to make trip preparation easier through simplified decision-making), I am exploring the idea of using a single set of raingear for all trips in all seasons. For my choice, I opted for the ZPacks Challenger Rain Jacket (5.6 oz) and Pants (3.8 oz).

Made with a 1.6 oz/sq. yd. waterproof-breathable Cuben Fiber material (a laminate of Spectra fibers, eVENT, and ripstop nylon), the Challenger garments are compact, lightweight, breathable, and have a stiffer hand characteristic of much heavier fabrics. In addition, they fit well, offer high quality trim (e.g., waterproof YKK zips), and don’t skimp on design features important to backpackers (e.g., room for layering, long sleeves and pant legs, articulation, adjustable cuffs).

I’ve used the pants for a year and they have officially replaced all other rain pants in my kit. I’ve worn the jacket for just a few trips in 2014 so far, and I foresee the same future for my other rain jackets. I’ve experienced their effective breathability and comfortable next-to-skin feel (e.g., when worn over shorts or a short-sleeved shirt); I love the fit, finish, and manufacturing quality of the garments; and have been impressed by their waterproofness and durability when bushwhacking, sitting in a packraft all day, and sitting and kneeling on wet ground.

As for as long term durability, the jury’s still out on this particular fabric. However, for now, they have edged out at least six other jacket-and-pant garments from my closet, and I’m expecting those to find their way to other owners soon.

Learn More: ZPacks.com

JepPak Custom Pack

Over the past few weeks, I’ve been working with a new backpack manufacturer, JepPak, to build a custom pack and review their process. I’ve now received the finished pack and have used it on a short overnight backpacking trek in the Gallatin Mountains.

My primary pack is a 2.5-lb full Spectra version of the Hyperlite Mountain Gear Porter 4400. Mine is actually a bit bigger than 4400 ci, with a heavier-than-stock harness and suspension, for carrying the heavier loads required of my longer expeditions, while guiding clients, and carrying packrafting or climbing gear. I was hoping to use my HMG pack for all my trips, but I found it to just be too much for short trips. So, I’m looking to add one pack back to my quiver.

The specs I sent to JepPak were simple: build me a mostly waterproof pack with a top lid, rear pocket, and robust enough suspension to carry a heavy-ish load. The pack was to be durable and simple. Volume was to be compact – in the range of 35 liters – without sacrificing the length required for a nice long torso.

Sam Jepson, the owner and maker, built a little beauty of a pack with these specs:

• Cuben Fiber CT5K.18 2.9 oz/sq. yd. 50d polyester-laminated, main body fabric (1.5 oz/sq. yd.)
• Aluminum tubular “U”-shaped frame stay
• 37L of volume in the main body (verified by me)
• Compact dimensions (10.5” wide and 7” deep)
• Torso length to fit me (23.5”)
• Roll-top closure
• Fully taped inside seams for waterproofness
• Double layer bottom (reinforced with 210d Dyneema grid)
• Twin rear daisy chains
• Removable top pocket with waterproof zip closure
• Removable back pocket with waterproof zip closure
• Removable hip belt that can be used on top pocket for fanny pack
• Dual daisy chains
• Stripped weight (pack bag with shoulder straps): 13.8 oz
• Total weight (pack bag, hip belt, frame, top pocket, back pocket): 29.7 oz

I’ve tested the pack to about 35 pounds and am thrilled with its comfort at this weight. This is about as dense as I’ll pack it – on those winter day trips where the pack is filled with carabiners, ice screws, and rope. The combination of wide padded shoulder straps and a wide padded hip belt with an aluminum frame immediately set this pack apart from floppy ultralight sacks that require some manifestation of a rolled or folded sleeping pad for a frame.

The pack is well made, aesthetically pleasing, and has a narrow profile that’s fun to wear in tight spaces. It’s comfort is outstanding, in part because it’s a custom fit for me, and in part because Sam pays attention to how loads should be carried, and builds harnesses accordingly.

I don’t have a lot of experience with my custom JepPak yet, but if first impressions are good predictors of the future, I can recommend one to you.

The most enjoyable part of owning this pack has been getting to know the JepPaks family and working with them through the process of designing and building the pack. Sam has a great attention to detail and pays careful attention to customer needs.

I’ll be writing a complete review of the process used by JepPaks, and a review of this pack, as I get more experience with it.

Learn More: JepPaks.com

Zebralight H52Fw Floody Headlamp (Neutral White)

In addition to a goofy name, there are other unique features of this interesting little headlamp.

First, the highlights:

1. Its LED is a Cree XM-L2 – which outputs a whopping 266 Lumens (Lm) at full power. To the layman, this can be translated to mean: “really freakin’ bright”. I can light up the side of a mountain several hundred yards away with this thing;
2. It uses a single AA battery;
3. The lamp is detachable from a headband so it can be used as a conventional flashlight, stood on end as a table light, or clipped to a belt/pocket;
4. Current-regulated in all lighting levels/modes;
5. Waterproof (IPX7 – 2 meters at 30 minutes);
6. Very powerful customization options;
7. A wide variety of lighting modes and runtime options:

In addition to these modes, the H52Fw offers two beacon strobe modes (4Hz and 19Hz), both at level H1.

Did you see the asterisks in the above table? Those modes indicate so-called “sub-levels” that you can select via custom programming.

And that leads to the primary limitation of this light:

1. You have to read the instructions to get the most out of it!

My preliminary experience with the H52Fw is that its operation is not as intuitive, as say, a Petzl. Read the instructions to understand what is happening when you click the button through various modes, or hold the button down through various mode cycling.

Second, I’m discovering much shorter battery life (even with the manufacturer-recommended Sanyo 2000 mAh Eneloop AA battery) at the suggested outputs than what the manufacturer is claiming. This is based on circumstantial field observations, and not on a controlled test environment, so take this observation with a grain of salt.

Stay tuned for a more in-depth review of this light to come. My experience is limited with it, but I’m looking forward to spending some time studying its performance. For me, this light competes with my old standby – a Petzl Tikka+ XP, which weighs about the same but uses 3xAAA batteries. I like the Zebralight’s superior manufacturing quality, maximum light output, and utility when removed from its headband. But I like the Tikka+ XP’s simplicity, reliability, and runtime predictability…

Learn More: Zebralight.com