SMD Swift ’11 Pack

[Jason McSpadden]

I recently bought a SMD Swift on Craigslist without the pockets hipbelt and the hoop frame. It just came with the strap hipbelt. Those of you who have this pack do you use the pockets hipbelt? Do you use the hoop frame frequently? What might be the circumstances that I would need or want to use the hoop frame?

Thanks for any help.

Jason

[Michael Levine]

Hi Jason,

I have that pack. I use the hip belt pockets because I use running shorts and a shirt that does not have pockets and for longer hikes I like to keep lip balm, a snack, water filter drops, sunscreen, and bug repellent handy. They're an extra four ounces that on my two week trek I appreciated. If I went for a dayhike…. I don't think I'd care. If I had some pockets on my clothing…. I don't think I'd necessarily care unless I wanted empty pockets.

The hoop frame adds rigidity in cases where you dont use a coiled closed cell foam pad or other "straightening/strengthening" pad or something to keep it up and stop it from sagging. I like it for use with my bear can when I use an inflatable pad. If you use a closed cell foam pad, I don't think you want it.

Also the webbing hip belt IS the standard option when buying a hip belt. It's a good choice. I like the batwing pocket hipbelt a bit better though because I feel the straps don't dig into me as much with loads of about 20-25lb (hey I had a lot of food). With loads of like 10lb, 12lb, I don't think that'd be an issue.

Hope this helped

[Author]

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