Is the Zpacks external carbon frame durable for a thru-hike?

In general, the answer to the question is 'how rough are you on your pack?'

Cheers

Yes

Joe Valesko is a thru hiker with lots of miles under his belt. All of his stuff is made for the trail, but you can't thrash it-like any ultralight equipment.

If you want a review by a thru hiker get on YouTube and look for videos by
Will Wood. He just completed the AT, and has a video about his pack post hike-among many others.

"In general, the answer to the question is 'how rough are you on your pack?'"

Amen.

On the AT last year there were a handful of people I knew rocking those packs – only 2 of them, a couple, were actually ultralight, thus within the base weight recommended for the pack. There packs are reportedly in pristine condition and they intend to use the same packs on the PCT in 2016.

Two other people I knew were carrying closer to 15 lbs I would guess, if not more, and were over-stuffing them. One's frame was having issues in North Carolina, the other didn't have issues till Penn.

Generally, if you base is 10 lbs or less, a Zpacks is great. If its more but still less than 15, consider something else such as an ULA, HMG, or SMD pack.

HERE is what a couple of members have to say about the Arc Blast on the PCT.

Very good recommendation by Diane, I forgot about Will’s review… HERE is the pre hike video and HERE is his post hike review .Joe’s new Arc Haul looks very nice and more rugged.