What’s your light or UL internal FRAMED pack?

HMG Porter 4400 (formerly "Expedition"). Great pack that carries very well. I use it when I need the capacity to haul bulky winter loads, or for longer trips. No complaints at all.

I use this MYOG frame pack:

here

Yes Eric, Nimbus Ozone or Meridian without the lid dialed in on my 19" torso. Super comfortable.

I recently had a chance to use the GG Leopard AC58 and it was very comfortable. The Crown varients simply don't fit me…mind you neither did the Vapor Trail. I was between toro sizes.

These are the pack I tried:

GG Gorilla
ULA OHM and Circuit and AirX
MLD Exodus
Granite Gear Nimbus Ozone
Osprey EXO
HMG Windrider
and others

But now I only have:

Zpacks Blast with stays and
hmg porter

and I'm very happy they put the weight on my hips, my Total pack weight
for most trips is about 18 lbs including food and water and these packs
handle it with ease.

Currently using the HMG Porter 3400. It is a pretty fantastic pack and hauls a load surprisingly well. My only complaint? I just wish I could have a color other than white!

"I just wish I could have a color other than white!"

Email HMG. There's a small upcharge, but they may still have some black available.

@James>

I actually have a Tough Traveller given to all Olympic Nordic ski patrollers when I was a patroller at the '80 Lake Placid Winter Olympics.

It's all Cordurea and has a top flap made to hold a sleeping bag. I modded it (natch, it's an affliction I have)) by cutting off the webbing belt and adding a Camp Trails belt. Sometimes I use it for backcountry skiing but I mainly keep it B/C it has the '80 Winter Olympic emblem sewn on it.

EDIT: Some packs like the Mountain Laurel Designs Exodus are nice packs but I do not want my back against WP pack cloth like the Exodus and several otehr light internal frame packs have. The mesh trampoline of an Osprey EXOS 58 ia the ideal for me.

My old REICruise UL 60 at least has mesh covered open cell foam. AND it has an adjustable harness with 5 inches of torso length adjustment, unlike the current REI Flash 65 with its sewn-on harness. It's just that damn hard waistbelt I don't like.

That orange porter is indeed good lookin'.

I think I'll wear out my white porter before doing anything else. Here's hoping it gets enough use that it ends up black anyways!

I've heard that since cuben can't be effectively dyed, that the color will start to bleed. Can't confirm this, however.

I'm using an Exos 58 without the top pocket to cut down about 5 oz. The pluses are the air suspension and the ease with which I can stuff my bear canister in it. Downsides are the waist belt and weight (there are lighter options). I've carried up to 30 lbs in it comfortably, but wouldn't want to go beyond that. It really shines in the 20-25 lb range.

I am just in the process of selecting my first UL pack. Was looking at Gorilla, Blast with stays, or Jam 50; or possibly Hornet 46, Porter 3400 or Kalais though I suspect they are too big. Andrew, you seem to have used nearly all of them – how do you compare them?

What do people recommend for the following? (I'm not keen on shipping stuff back over the border to the US so buying a few and then returning them isn't too attractive!) Base wt currently about 11 lbs w/o pack for Canadian Rockies and Monashees (I likely still have too much extra clothing), so I suspect about 20 lbs common wt and 25 lbs max. (nice to be comfortable with 30# if need be but I'd like to know if people with experience think that is asking too much of a UL pack – framed or not). Base volume in a box is about 1900 cu in. I use a neoair but may also carry a torso pad in shoulder season.

p.s. My internal framed pack is an ancient TNF, about 70l by my calcs, only 1.65 kg – looks very much like the Porter with a lid.

I've settled on Granite Gear packs, at least for the time being. For my "heavy" winter and/or long distance loads (17lb base, 35lbs max) I love the GG Blaze AC 60. At 2lbs 14oz not exactly ultralight, but definitely "light" and I love the suspension.

For my light loads (12lb base, 25lb max) I recently got a Crown VC 60. Not sure many people would call the super flexible frame sheet a suspension, but I think it works great. Pack it tight and it sure feels like a suspension :)

Both of these packs fit me perfectly, carry weight comfortably and with lighter loads almost disappear on my back.
For the performance, design and cost, I don't know of anything I would want to replace these with. Super satisfied.

Jebus I want one of these stinkin packs. and I DONT need it….. 7yr old daughter is going to have to get a job to buy daddy Cuben fiber gear for fathers day.

I am a UL hypocrite and proud…Either that or a gear junkie.

Sorry guys – I forgot to say that I do NOT want a Cuben pack. Don't like the look or feel of the stuff.

After looking over all the suggested packs here I'd say that the Osprey EXOS 58 is the heaviest I'd buy. I'd get it for the comfort IF it fit me.

Eric,

I have the Osprey Exos 46, and i think it's great. The back panel is the best feature. For me, it means a very comfortable fit against my back, and a pretty dry back. I would not want to use a Exos 58, as i believe the hipbelt wouldn't be beefy enough for the mass of gear the pack can digest.

I've used my 46 comfortably up to 16kg. If i were going to haul around +16kg a lot, i would not use this pack.

FWIW, i think the perfect pack doesn't exist premade.

Good luck!

The Elemental Horizons Kalais is by far the best pack I have ever used. Its not a true internal framed pack as the frame is removable. With the frame in, the load transfer to the hips is excellent and the hip belt is very comfortable. Have used it several times this spring on desert trips. When I stopped and loaded up on 4L of water, I noticed the additional weight when lifting the pack, but did not notice the extra weight once the pack was strapped back on my back. I don't think I have had a load as heavy as 32 lbs but probably was close on one cold trip when loaded with water.

My wife and i run the Osprey Exos 46. For heavier loads, I use my ULA Catalyst.

"Sorry guys – I forgot to say that I do NOT want a Cuben pack. Don't like the look or feel of the stuff"

Just FYI in case you didn't know already the hybrid cuben used by hmg and zpacks looks like woven polyester not traditional cuben.

I am a big fan of Gossamer Gear's packs. The Gorilla so far is my favorite, but I'm carrying my new ULA circuit on every trip this year to make sure my shoulder/arm problems don't crop up with it. I've not tried the gorilla with more than 20 pounds or so, but I can't imagine it carries very well with more than 25-27 or so. The hip belts are about perfect in terms of beefiness…although I do admit that I miss the mesh of the osprey exos I used to have. It was very nice….

I just picked up a MountainSmith Haze 50 and so far I am impressed with it. It is very well constructed and the hip belt is extremely comfortable. It may not be the lightest or the fanciest materials but it looks like it will be durable.

It also weighs in at a full pound lighter then my ULA Catalyst with more internal capacity. It was also $150.00 less.

"Normally, I wouldn't post anything on this forum until it had been used enough to evaluate, and then only if it worked well."

Famous last words. After replacing the hipbelt tightening system with the pulley type used by Osprey, loaded up the Bean's AT55 with about 15 lbs, 18 lbs including the pack, well distributed, and discovered that pack has a tendency to slip down, right behind the small of the back. With the Osprey system, the belt can be severely tightened, so did so, and found that to stabilize the pack, the belt has to be tightened so much it gives whole new meaning to the word, "squeeze."

So, back to the MYOG pack also mentioned in the earlier post that uses one of the old Osprey heat moldable hipbelts. The belt is a little on the heavy side, but it locks the pack onto my back with no slippage. A few small repairs and the pack is ready to go again.

May try sewing a high friction lumbar pad onto the AT55 to see if that eliminates the slipping, but later for that.

Wasn't sure whether to post this here or on MYOG, but the earlier post was on this thread, so this one is also.

I kept my Granite Gear Vapor Trail (the older model, before any changes) just for this reason. Alas, it sits sadly in the garage waiting, waiting.

McHale LBP 36
79L with roll top extended. Otherwise 59L. Weight depends upon which options I include on a trip. Weight goes from just under 3 lbs up to 4 lbs 9.5 ounces with all options including the P&G frame extensions and by-pass harness. It can comfortably carry as much stuff as you can fill it up with. Full Dyneema, so it is virtually indestructible.

McHale Bump 32
49L with roll top extended. Otherwise 33L. On most trips it weighs less than 3 lbs. If I add all the options it is 3 lbs 5 oz. Made from 3/16" Dyneema X-grid. Bottom, staps, and hip belt made from full spectra. Most I have ever carried was 35+ pounds, which was no challenge for the pack.

Both packs were custom made, meaning they were built to fit my body exactly.