ZPacks Arc Haul

It's funny. You want what you can't have. As soon as I saw your post, I was going to call ZPacks and have them change my order, but after reviewing, I think I like the stealth black of my current set-up and with the custom dyneema front pocket, it'll look super fly. ;)

it'll look super fly LOL, I love it! :^) Haven't heard that phrase in a very long time… thought it was dead n gone!! However, see my next post about the lumbar pad….

So I've done some day hikes, first couple were only 1.5 and 2 hours. No problem. Did a couple more longer ones carrying typical trail loads plus a few pounds to get it up to almost 20lbs total. Got some lower back pain! Uh oh. Ordered the lumbar pad and while waiting for it to arrive I mulled over the issue. No problem with the Arc Blast or with my Zero, so I can only conclude that the bottom cross-bar in the frame was the problem. Lumbar pad in, do 2 more short day hikes of about 1.5hr each. Seems a-okay now, so I think it was the cross-bar pressure. I will be giving it its first "real" outing this weekend with a quick overnighter and expect no problems.

Just did a one-night out-and-back along the Foothills trail from Oconee State Park in NW South Carolina. Total weight was 23 lbs. I did a total of 30 miles and honestly can't imagine how the pack could have worked better. No lower back pain, no shoulder pain. I know some people have said things like "I forgot I had it on…". Well, I will NEVER say anything like that :) It felt exactly like 23lbs on my back but that's what backpacking is supposed to feel like….call me when the anti-gravity pack becomes available. My previous go-to was a Granite Gear VC 60 and I loved everything about it except how carefully it needed to be loaded to shape the frame sheet properly but if packed correctly it is a very comfortable and darn-near bomber pack. But the Arc Haul is every bit as comfortable, is lighter, has a higher total weight capacity and is much more waterproof. It's a keeper. Bob – glad your solution was a simple as adding a lumbar pad. I can definitely see how that would help *if* you find the stock belt uncomfortable. I guess I'm lucky (so far) in that respect.

I have wondered about how that lower cross bar would work for different people and how well you can get the hipbelt to fully wrap around with it, hopefully the lumbar pad will help.

There is a chance that the bar would be an asset if the pack is worn a tiny bit higher or lower. But you could also consider losing the bar instead of adding the lumber pad. The bar may only be helpful above 30 lbs anyway.

I lost weight thru hiking the AZT recently and had to have a lumbar pad sent to my resupply point. But I've got a flat lower back and butt to start with. The pad fixed the problem perfectly. I will add I was also carrying the max weight they recommend. Other wise the pack was awesome.

I just got back from backpacking in Utah canyons… great trip. Have used my Arc Haul for on several trips for a total of about 130 backpack miles. On this last trip BOTH of the carbon fiber stays punched through the bottom supports. BOTH! I haven't had time to look at the problem closely or talk to ZPacks about it, but my initial thought is they need to strengthen the bottom supports somehow to prevent this. The pack still carried well, but now without the 'arc'. Billy

Hmm…really sorry to hear that Billy. I've only got ~30 miles on mine (I have the flat vertical stays) and just inspected both the top and bottom stay pockets…I cannot find any sign of wear or stress. Do you have the flat or round vertical stays?

I had a similar problem with a different vendor/pack where one of the stays punched through the stitching of the OEM pocket. First I repaired the pocket, with a "fix" in mind. Using 1/2" webbing, I sewed a small pocket/cap to fit over the end of the stay, and then inserted the stay and cap into the stay pocket. The webbing spread the force and eliminated any further problems. I'm sure Joe will address this, but in the meantime this could be a fast and simple solution.

Same here regarding the Lumbar pads. I have to use two (2) of them on all of my zpacks backpacks. I almost threw a third onto my Arc Haul ZIP when I got it up into the 25+ pound range. This is one of those things that I would really love to see zpacks change up things… away from the padding they use now, to something with a lot more plushy comfort. With the new full-wrap hip belts it should be a lot easier for them to do. Granted it will add a bit of weight, but added weight in exchange for a better ride is sometimes worth it. After all, that is what Gregory, Osprey and such pretty much make their money from… the "lets see how much padding we can put onto a backpack" syndrome.

Update: After the overnighter with about 18.25lbs and 18 miles there was zero problem in the lumbar region for me with the optional pad. Super comfy. Lisa at Zpacks emailed me that the grosgrain loop on the pad was for other packs and was not needed to "anchor" the pad with the Arc Haul, but I found it sliding up a bit on my test hikes so I sewed in a simple tack stitch to secure it to the main hip belt to keep the pad exactly in place.

the stays in my Arc Haul are round; not flat. John, when you say 'flat stays' are you talking about an Arc Haul Pack or an Arc Blast Pack. The Arc Blast pack has flat stays as far as I know. billy

Bob M. – "Lisa at Zpacks emailed me that the grosgrain loop on the pad was for other packs and was not needed to "anchor" the pad with the Arc Haul, but I found it sliding up a bit on my test hikes so I sewed in a simple tack stitch to secure it to the main hip belt to keep the pad exactly in place." If you get the opportunity, an annotated photo would be much appreciated.

Billy, did they punch through the material or rip the stitching of the stay pockets? @Greg, will do on th ephoto

the stays in my Arc Haul are round; not flat. John, when you say 'flat stays' are you talking about an Arc Haul Pack or an Arc Blast Pack. The Arc Blast pack has flat stays as far as I know. I have an Arc Haul. The vertical stays (in fact, ALL of the CF stays that compose the frame) have a rectangular cross section. Apparently the vertical stays have recently been changed to a round cross-section. MammothCodger (on page 4 of this thread) mentioned the round stays "popping out" of the anchor pockets. Others who have the rectangular cross-section stays say this doesn't look to be possible. I guess the question now is, do the round stays have issues, or have 2 owners been unlucky?

Any idea when they changed over to round stays? I received my Arc Haul mid July. billy

"Billy, did they punch through the material or rip the stitching of the stay pockets?" They both punched through or cut through the material… I notice that the cut edges around the perimeter of the cut have not been rounded and are pretty sharp. My initial theory is that they cut through the bottom of the pockets after many miles of small movement in the pockets. billy

I received my Arc Haul around June 20th. The first I heard about the change to round stays was MammothCodger’s post on July 28th. John Abela subsequently pointed us to a Zpacks youtube video published Aug 4th wherein Joe talks about the new stays. Take a look at the photos MammothCodger posted to see if the ends of your stays look like his.

JohnH, To clarify my situation of the round stays popping out (posts back on Page 4), it turns out that my pack had the stay anchor pockets sized for the older flat stays with the rectangular cross section…but my pack received the newer round stays. So, there was extra space for undesirable lateral movement of the stay that allowed the stay to pop out (as shown in my earlier picture. Zpacks had me ship the pack back to them and they sewed the anchor pockets tighter along the sides of the stays. Now my stays are pressure fit into a narrow channel. Seems super snug now. I should point out that the edges of the stay ends have been chamfered to round them out to eliminate any sharp edges. This is visible in my earlier picture. Unfortunately I haven't had sufficient opportunity to test them in the field, but the "fixes" look much improved. Given Billy's experience, I'm thinking that I might dip the stay ends in that liquid plastic (used for tool handles etc.) and then reinsert them. Hope this sheds some light on the issue. Brian

PlastiDip :) I would think that if you have any concerns about the stay ends, simply doing a good job of sanding them round and smooth would be sufficient. The material used on the anchor pockets looks to be pretty tough stuff. Based on Billy's description, I suspect his issue is simply that the rod ends are not sufficiently smoothed off. Regardless, we all know that Zpacks will make it right.

@Greg M, here are the photos of the tack stitching I mentioned above:

@Bob Beautifully simple solution. I've been mulling over the fact that my experience thus far has been with lighter loads, and could see that upwards of 30lbs the lumbar pad might be very nice, if not required. Thus I will probably order one up, but suspect I would only want it on the pack in those situations. Your previous mod posts have proven you to be a very resourceful guy…have you considered how one might create a removable attachment method?

John, I didn't think of anything yet to make it easy to swap in and out. I plan to leave it on mine, so I was not motivated to try something else, although I suppose one could sew another small loop onto the pack bag itself (sealing the stitch holes with Cuben repair tape) and then use some very small cord to connect the loops. I emailed Zpacks about that loop because I thought perhaps I was overlooking some clever method they had figured out for doing just that. Unfortunately, I wasn't, lol.

Bob, Very interesting… From the Zpacks website (emphasis mine): "The pad slides on or off your existing belt and is held in place by two bands on the back. It is also tied in place at the bottom center so that it can't ride up or down." I assume you found this not to be the case :)