MLD Burn

This is now my go to pack for most trips. Ron dialed in the design perfectly IMO.

I have my Prophet for when more volume is required.

I just put in my order for the Burn on Monday. It's going to be a loooooong 7 weeks! Hopefully we can get some more feedback on the pack from members who have some trail time with the Burn. Thom, did you order a stock Burn or did you add any custom features? What are your impressions? I know Christopher Graf ordered one with the Prophet wings and load lifters and I'd like to hear more from him too.

Eugene,
My Burn is stock but for having Ron add Prophet style haul and tool loops. I also opted for a removable 1" web belt in place of the standard belt with padded wings.

Gotcha Thom, excellent. Nice call on the 1" removable webbing. With your summer gear list you're packing pretty in the Burn.

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Eugene,
The belt wings on the Burn are standard and if a removeable web belt is desired it must be noted when ordering. This may be somewhat confusing as the original prototype description and pictures posted by Ron on Facebook showed a removeable belt.

I am waiting on mine to arrive.

I requested the Prophet hipbelt wings on the Burn I ordered. The necessity to tank up on a couple liters of water on dry stretches of trail may bring loads carried in my Burn closer to 20-24lbs. occasionally. At that weight I personally find I prefer more than a webbing strap on a pack if I'm going to be hiking for several hours, it'll give my shoulders a rest.

How many of you who ordered the Burn also fly fish? It's sounding like the Burn is a go-to pack for short overnight/weekend summer fly fishing trips where a nimble and streamlined pack that hugs the body for moving along streams is required.

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I'd also like to hear from anyone using any pad (rolled, folded, whatever) in the Burn.

Lastly, what are you carrying for shelters with this pack?

I know volume is tight. I'm wondering if one could pair a Duomid with this pack………

anyone?

I was a very early adopter when Ron first announced the Burn. I had been looking for a smaller volume pack for some time now as most of my trips are 3-day or less. I basically ordered mine the first day he had them listed and recieved it that week (happened to have a few in stock).

Overall, the pack has been great. I'd agree with someone above who stated one's gear list needs to be well sorted. The pack is slim and minimalistic. I found the large size perfect for my 6'3" frame. Load carrying is solid and 20lbs should be zero issue.

Breaking the pack down further, the pack is made with dyneema gridstop. Those familiar with ULA packs will be happy to know, this is the same material. Tough as nails, seems to handles some level of rain/snow pretty well and wears like iron. It's impressive such a "heavy" material can still produce such a light pack.

Layout wise, the front panel mesh is a heavier version (again, similar to what ULA was using). It's a nice expandable pocket that can handle a lot of gear and due to the packs profile, I never find issue with snags or getting hung up. We were in the White's this winter right after they picked up like 60" of snow over 3 days and there must have been 20-30 blow downs of various density and I just plowed through them without issue. Pack is seriously tough.

Ron has integrated a nice closure strap from the top of the pack to the top of the mesh pocket. I would have prefered if the anchor point on the back panel of the pack (between the shoulder straps) was possibly sewn to a larger section of webbing to better distribute the pressure that strap places on the pack when cinched. Right now it's a .5" piece of webbing just anchored into the seam where the extension collar is sewn into the body. When tight it places a fair amount of pressure on that point. I'm really nit picking here but figured I'd point it out. Std draw cord closure for the top of the bag.

The Burn uses nice heavy (higher tension) bungi cord that actually does it's job and holds things solid. I used the supplied bungi to make a criss/cross compression matrix across the mesh front panel as well as a triangle compression cordage similar to what's shown on MLD's site for side compression. This allows some load control keeping everything tight.

Shoulder straps are nice items. Fairly thick padding but the straps themselves are pretty narrow. That being said, I haven't found any issue with them digging in during use. Ron intergrated nice finger loops on the end of the shoulder adjustment strap which aids in adjustment as well as providing a nice place to allow one to rest their arms/hands during hiking.

Waist belt is a simple 1" webbing attached to non-padded wings. I was concerned this would be semi problematic depending on load weight but at least thus far, hasn't proven to be an issue. If your a cincher, I'd probably recommend adding a little ccf padding there. I still might do it myself but as mentioned, haven't had any issues thus far but that's during winter months were your clothing provides some level of padding. Time will tell.

Pack volume is pretty small. As mentioned, you need to have your gear list well sorted. To answer the previous posters question, for winter use I load my stuffed WM Versalite vertically in the bottom and then stuff my cuben duo right along side. Perfect fit and utilizes pack space nicely. I think/thought I tried stuffing the Versalite horizontally along the bottom of the pack and if memory serves me right, it was a real tight fit and pulled the pack out of shape some.

So packing wise, I fold my neoair into thirds and lay that in on the back panel, then goes the Versalite and duomid into the bottom. Next goes sleep clothing/spare draws/socks, then food generally, then common use stuff up top. Depending on time of year this can range from an outer shell, down jacket, fleece, gloves, microspikes, hat, wicking shirt, etc. From there I put my medic kit, toiletries, tent stakes/gc, alchy stove into the front mesh pocket. If I'm pulling gloves on/off or a hat or shell, I'll also stuff that into the mesh for easy access. Water in the side mesh pocket (sometimes alcky stove) and I'm ready to roll. I've also added straps for carrying snowshoes as well as used the bungi to lash supplemental ccf sleeping pads to the bottom of the pack.

For summer use with a quilt and tarp, my load volume goes down even more and space opens up nicely.

Overall a great pack. I'm sure given some careful planning and pairing of gear based on condtions, one could get 5-days from this pack.

Thanks for the great review.

I have decided I am going to order one, but I can't decide on what if anything I should customize.

What have people been ordering and liking?

Load lifters?
Prophet hipbelt?
Straps for snowshoes and extra CCF pad for winter?
Anything else?

Eric, than answers so many questions for me!

I see that say you pack your WM Versalite already stuffed…about what size is that?

Is the Duomid in a stuff sack as well? or are you using that to fill the rest of the bottom space of the pack?

Any air in the NeoAir at all?

I really like your set-up!

Zack,

My pack as delievered is stock. I might add a lash point or two to supplement things like snowshoe use but otherwise, mine's all stock. I don't see any need for load lifters with this pack. Just not enough body to it to provide any benefit.

Stuff size wise, I'd rate the WM as fairly large with a stuffed size of 8×15". I stuff both the duomid and bag in their respective stuff sac's. Even with both stuffed, there's about zero room in the base of the pack once those items are in there. lol

As far as the neoair, I don't inflate it at all. If the weather is good, I'll leave the valve open but I don't actively inflate anything. Comfort is still very good.

Again, sounds great…not to take away from the thread, but i'm not sure if i follow you about the weather being good and the valve being opened?

I cant wait to see more reviews of this pack…possibly pics…anyone?

I have used/use insulated self-inflators for sleeping pads prior to the neoair. For that instance, I'll leave the valve open if the weather is good (no rain) so the pad sort of inflates/creates a softer back pad. With self inflators, it allows the fill to breath as well so you don't trap moisture for your breath. Probably not required for the neoair. I don't like actually inflating the pad because it usually distorts the back panel and makes the pack round.

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Thanks for the pics of the custom work but also for the comparison shots!

Thanks Mike. The comparison pictures are great in order to easily visualize the differences. I have the Exodus and had the Ark hipbelt added to it….for the larger padded wings and webbing. Is that what you had added to both your Exodus and the Burn?

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I've wanted one of these since I first saw them on MLD's site. I can't seem to find the original thread about them though. Does anyone have the link handy?

Reminds me of this:
http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=21755

Therefore I approve of it whole heartedly.

Just put in a order for mine not too long ago. Should be arriving around the first part of June. I ordered a Super Burn with the Prophet hip belt.

Finally a pack that will work for the majority of my needs. Pics will follow. Excited :D

What I find most interesting is how almost everyone who either possesses or is in limbo awaiting the arrival of their Burn, has made personal adjustments and requests on their pack. Custom requests such as: compression straps, removable belt webbing, Prophet hipbelts, tool loops, "Super" dyneema upgrades, sternum strap adjustments, load lifter additions, etc. etc. As far as I'm concerned no one on BPL has a standard Burn. We are a finicky bunch and it is going to be cool hearing and seeing feedback on the Burn in the next couple months as we get out and see how the Burn compliments our individual UL forays on the trail.