MLD Burn Users

[Hiking Malto]

I am looking to get a Burn on order for my PCT thru. It's nice to have my gear volume small enough to fit in this pack! A couple of questions:
1) Are you able to access the side pockets without taking the pack off. The pack looks a little narrow so wondering if it takes gymnastics.
2) Did you get the hip pockets? If so, are they large enough to be usable and are there any negatives that you found?
3) Same question on the shoulder pockets?
4) Are there any other custom options that you ordered. I now about the Super Burn already. Any others?

[Eugene Smith]

Greg,

FWIW, I own the Burn, but it's my summer pack when I'm packing really light and taking very little (ie. overnights-weekends). Do you plan to use the Burn for the length of your PCT thru? Have you considered the Prophet or Exodus?

Here's a picture of my pack with my typical summer kit, after everything is loaded there is easily room for up to 5 days food, but that would be pushing the volume a touch:

The only "custom" feature I added to my Burn was I had Ron sew on the Prophet style padded hipbelt which in hind sight is borderline unnecessary with the weight I've carried in the Burn, but may be welcomed when I push the packs volume- I've yet to do so.

I've never been able to reach back and grab items from the side pockets of any pack, but I think this is more of an issue with me than anything else. I know some people have no problem and I don't think the Burn would be an exception if you're able to reach back and grab items or water bottle typically. The Burn is very narrow and streamlined, it doesn't extend out beyond my sides so for me I found reaching back to be difficult, but like I said, I'm horribly inflexible.

Hipbelt pockets are optional and removable, well constructed, nothing fancy, but they offer me room for a days worth of snacks, a tiny point and shoot camera, liner gloves, Aquamira drops or tabs, etc.

Shoulder pockets are functional, good for a water bottle and odds and ends like chapstick and sunglasses.

* edit- I checked your gearlist, great list!

Fitting everything on your list in the Burn should be a non-issue for you, but your Ridgerest is bulky and is going to take up quite a bit of room inside the Burn. If you can fold it up into 1/3's for a framesheet you should have enough room, rolling it up might be difficult. I think the Sierras is going to be tight, I don't see how you're going to fit a canister inside.

[Levon Jensen]

1) i have Long arms, and it still takes some gymnastics to get my water bottle out.
2) i have a hipbelt pocket, they are the perfect size for random goods/ snacks. no downsides as you can take them off if needed. big enough even to fit a point and shoot and snacks.
3) no shoulder pocket
4) No custom options seems perfect as is.

Hope that helps some. Mostly day hikes/snowshoeing with the pack so far.

[Eugene Smith]

Greg,

This is an old thread from last year, but there are some pictures and descriptions in the thread of the different options people have had done to their Burn. Might answer some of your ?'s:

MLD Burn member feedback, options, and pics

[a b]

I know you asked about the Burn specifically but i thought it might be helpful to note that my Bear Vault 500 fits inside my Exodus vertically. I can also just barely squeeze it in horizontally but it is really stretching the extension collar to do so.
Of course you could strap the bear canister on top of your Burn. I saw a couple of hikers do this on the PCT in 2009. You would want some extra strap materials sent with your bear can though as the top strap probably would not be long or strong enough to hold the canister alone.
I had two medium hip pockets with my Exodus. I found them a little to floppy on my hip belt for my liking so i hung them from the compression straps on the sides. this turned out to be the perfect rig for me. All my little crap stuff went into them and I never lost a thing.
As for reaching the water bottles I got real good at pushing the bottle from below the mesh and then catching it as it dropped out. The other trick I used was to take one arm out of a shoulderstrap and pivot the whole pack around in front of me and grap stuff from the mesh pockets while still hiking.
I debated about whether i would rather have mesh pockets that were easier to retrieve my water bottles (ie.Golite Pinnacle) or the taller pockets of the Exodus. I have decided since not one single thing fell out or was lost from the side pockets even after sliding down snowslopes, I like the side pockets the way they are.

[Hiking Malto]

Eugene,
Should have mentioned that I'm also switching to a POE Elite whenever they are actually sold. The Ridgerest deluxe is WAY too big for this pack but I have so much room in my jam that it wasn't an issue.

[Brad Fisher]

1. You can reach but not real smooth
2. Hip pockets are great
3. don't have shoulder pockets
4. nothing

I'm don't think you will be able to get the bear canister in the Burn. I haven't tried, but I just don't think that would work or be a good option. Others have commented on the Exodus. Might be able to make the Prophet work.

I used a GG Gorilla last year for a week in the Sierra's and it worked great. The large bear vault fit vertically inside the pack and it carried very will. Some strap the canister on top of the pack, but I didn't have any trouble getting it inside the pack.

I really do like the Burn and I carry it on all my trips except for when I must carry a canister or in deep winter.

Hope this helps.

Brad

[Mike W]

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[Ryan Linn]

One of my hiking partners through the Sierra last year carried a bear canister in his MLD Prophet, but it was pretty tight and the extension collar was maxed out. If you can find a way to make it work with the Burn, good on you! Of course, I don't think it would be too much of a problem for the rest of the trail.

I can barely reach things out of the side pockets of my Exodus, but one option that I really like is to have a pair of 20 oz gatorade/vitaminwater bottles attached to the shoulder straps with loops of stretch cord. All it takes is about a 6-8" piece of stretch cord with a cord lock strung through the daisy chain on the shoulder straps. They hold really well, although the cord has to be replaced infrequently as it wears out. I don't have any good close up pictures, but here's the best I've got for an idea of what it looks like. Best thing, the pair of bottle holders weighs less than an ounce.

I used one small hip belt pocket to hold my camera. Perfect size, easy to deal with, and no downsides that I can think of. Toward the end of the trail I mostly stopped using my hip belt, and I may try putting the belt pocket on its own webbing belt so I can wear it without the pack (kind of like GG's new Hipster pouch).

And finally, my Exodus is still in fantastic condition despite the miles I've put on it, and without the Super option. In case you're debating it, I'd say the Super option is overkill for the PCT.

Food for thought. I'd be interested to hear how using such a small pack like that works on the through-hike. Enjoy!

[Chris Benson]

"This is an old thread from last year, but there are some pictures and descriptions in the thread of the different options people have had done to their Burn."

Thanks for this link Eugene. I am also about to buy a burn and am figuring out what I'd like. That thread is very helpful.

"The pictures below will give you an idea of what the various pockets are like and you can also see the compression straps that I've added."

Mike, I really appreciate your descriptions and pictures. They sealed the deal for me in terms of the side compression straps. What length straps are did you order? They might be a bit longer than I'll need.

Fwiw, I'd like to try using the burn as a winter daypack, a 3-season weekend pack, and even extend it up to 5 days. Since I'll be pushing the weight a bit at times I'm asking for the prophet 1" padded hipbelt, two side compression straps on each side, and axe loops. I also ordered hipbelt and shoulder pockets to give me options I can configure as needed.

[Mike W]

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[Chris Benson]

The straps will primarily be used for my tent and possibly a pad, so I shouldn't need the length you have.

This Burn will be my first MLD product. Having been on this forum for a while, I know it's money well spent. I have a bunch of overnight and weekend outings already planned this year, as well as some multi-day trips where the burn will work nicely.

[Stephan Doyle]

1) Are you able to access the side pockets without taking the pack off. The pack looks a little narrow so wondering if it takes gymnastics.

> No. Like some other posters, I'm never able to access side pockets.

2) Did you get the hip pockets? If so, are they large enough to be usable and are there any negatives that you found?

> I didn't get them.

3) Same question on the shoulder pockets?

> I don't have these either.

4) Are there any other custom options that you ordered. I now about the Super Burn already. Any others?

> Load lifters. Surprisingly, they help the carry a fair bit more than I expected. I'd recommend them.

The Burn *is* that great small pack. For any trip it everything fits, I take it. For every other trip, I wish I could.

[Hiking Malto]

Ryan,
Did those 20oz. bottle move around a lot. f not then that is a very simple idea.

[Ryan Linn]

Greg– They don't move around much at all. I was pretty happy with them. The ones on my ULA circuit ended up moving a bit, but it was a matter of where the holders were placed in relation to my shoulders. If you experiment around a bit with where to put them, you can probably get them to sit quite still. For me, having the holder just below the center of my shoulders balanced them perfectly.

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