SMD fusion 65

It would be interesting to find out for sure. My ULA Circuit, which had a slanted cut on the water bottle pocket was fine carrying a water bottle. But the Plays would fall out when hiking. One of the reasons I got rid of the pack. I like a pocket where most of the bottle is inside.

Another note: the side pockets on the Fusion 65 are larger than those of the 50. Brian said that the 65's pockets are big enough to hold two 1L Smartwater bottles side by side.

Here is a shot of a 1L and 700ml Smartwater bottles in side pocket of the Fusion 50. It certainly maxes out the pocket, but I have not had an issue yet with them falling out.

"My ULA Circuit, which had a slanted cut on the water bottle pocket was fine carrying a water bottle. But the Plays would fall out when hiking. One of the reasons I got rid of the pack. I like a pocket where most of the bottle is inside."

A mystery for the ages: Why on God's green earth doesn't Chris put the Ohm pockets on all his packs? They are flat out the best pockets I've ever seen. and used.

Little update since the initial review.

I returned the Fusion 65. I wasn't completely happy with my initial review and have since sent it back to SMD. Its a great pack and I understand what the pack brings to the light weight options out there but it wasn't for me.

Since then I have purchased a ULA Catalyst. Its huge. Possibly to big for my needs but I'll figure that out when I have two or three week long trips under the pack.

I can say though that I really like this pack. I am sticking with the Catalyst for now!

They had XL shoulder straps for me that fit which was a problem with the SMD pack

Their water bottle pockets are very functional and pretty big.

It offers a lot of the same features of the SMD pack minus the adjustable torso.

I liked the hip belt on the fusion better, but this one is a very close second.

One thing i wish it had is lower compression straps for the body of the pack. not a problem.

Yup, so i'm pretty happy with the catalyst.

VALERIE It will DEFINITELY fit your bear canister with room to spare. I think you would really like it.

I was worried when the volume of the main compartment is smaller than the fusion on paper, but…i think its actually bigger! (it could be wider, and the fusion could have a more narrow but taller compartment)

Its great.

Thats my update! if you have any questions please feel free to ask. but i do not have the fusion in my possession anymore.

Nathan,
Just curious, why did you decide to go for the Catalyst over the Circuit? Considering your comments about the size of the Catalyst, I wonder if the Circuit might not be a better choice?

i originally thought the circuit was going to be too small… I now think that it would be perfect, but i'll keep the catalyst for now and get some use out of it. Its basically a bigger version of the circuit. I know the frames are different, but the features are alike.

I bought the Six Moon Designs Fusion 65 because I was interested in the hip belt, the suspension and the pack weight. When I received it, the harness (what they call the "yoke") did NOT fit at all — it was clearly made for the male anatomy.

I didn't even want to try putting weight in the pack with a harness that fit me that badly, so I developed a MYOG hack that replaces the SMD harness with that of a women's pack.

Details in a separate MYOG forum thread…

The one thing I'm really not liking about this pack is the material used for the water bottle pockets. That is prime area for getting torn up while doing even mild off trail hiking, let alone using it in slot canyons, etc. The rest of the pack looks pretty durable but that stretchy material just doesn't look like it would hold up well.

For those that own the pack, do you feel the same way or is it not an area of concern?

Nathan I would love to hear what you think about the load carrying capabilities of the catalyst compared to the fusion. I plan to carry on my next trip around 30lbs (inc a week worth of food).

I got back pain when carrying this weight with my old pack and decided to order the catalyst. Will reach me in about 4 weeks when someone brings it over to Europe.
Now reading about how well the Fusion carries I have 2nd thoughts.

Thanks,
Dieter

I've just received my SMD Fusion 65 backpack and haven't taken it on a trip yet. My Expedition Bearikade fits inside just fine, with some room to spare all around and even more on the sides of the bottom. The roll-over top is really tall, so there's plenty of room left over for standard backpacking gear, plus Amateur Radio stuff. I enjoy Summits On The Air, an Amateur Radio program where hams talk to other hams using portable radio gear from qualifying summits. See .

Since there are two water-tube openings, I have in mind criss-crossing water tubes connected to bladders in the elastic side pockets. My biggest concern is that the two lower outside straps for carrying a mattress horizontally are too short. I'm trying to locate matching buckles so I can make extension straps. I haven't received a response from Six Moon Designs to my email and telephone inquiries about this subject — maybe a short-term glitch. I've made a temporary fix which allows me to carry the mattress vertically.

I'm most impressed by the robust design and construction quality for such a light weight pack. There's no such thing as lightweight water, so a pack needs to carry significant water loads comfortably. Until now I've been using an excellent pack made by Dan McHale which is beautifully engineered for carrying heavy loads, but for my current uses, the pack itself is too heavy.

Bruce Prior
Amateur Radio N7RR

SMD is having a half-off sale, so I was reading these reviews from earlier this year. Curious why the discount is so steep – almost too good to be true.

GoLite has a 65L pack for even less, but good luck getting warranty support.

I'm willing to spend more on a good light pack, but don't have much experience lately. My last new pack was a Mountainsmith Ghost, which is still serviceable and I still like the panel loading aspect. My Son just joined the scouts and we're gearing up for some backpacking treks in the new year, so we could use something new, and ideally adjustable for growth, and for Dad to try a new pack. Is the SMD fusion a great deal at $115, or should I look more elsewhere?

Thanks for the help and feedback.

Bob,

For $115, I would probably go with the Fusion. That's a good deal for almost any pack at that size especially one that carries weight as well as it does. Try it out and return it if you don't like it. Can't say that for the Golite.

Why the steep discount? My guess is that the packs haven't sold that well, but who knows. Most of the reviews state that the pack carries well if you can get the yoke dialed in, but seems everything else about them hasn't been well received.

Ryan

The Fusion packs are likely going through a redesign next year. (Maybe better pockets, hopefully a better color scheme) You might get a marginally better pack if you wait, but at this price I'd go for it now. If I weren't so happy with my Circuit I'd be picking one up.

I know almost nothing about these packs.

Why?

Although the design may be good, SMD webpage is really, really, really bad at showing them well, or illustrating their best points. Basically no information, no zoom pics, just a statement thay it can carry whatever you want it to. Hmmmm….

And color schemes are not even attractive imo.

But sale price is really good now.

I've used the Fusion packs and overall they are very well designed packs but with a couple of features that haven't been well received. Lots of comments about the material and design of the side pockets. I agree that the design of the pockets is not great. I've heard the design will change with version 2. I did a modification to the pockets (added a flexible draw string along the top) that has worked well. The material of the pockets seems sketchy at first look but has held up well for me with use.

I don't care about the color of my pack in the slightest if it performs well and these packs perform exceptionally well.

The version 2 will probably be slightly better but this is a great deal for a great pack.

As far as their website not having any info, there is a five minute video on the bottom of the description page that is informative and thorough.

Any recommendations on whether this design works better for the 50 or 65?

I stopped by an REI today and didn't realize how big 65L is. I have an old 3000 cu in MS Ghost, and thinking about backpacking with my son I may have to carry a little extra, but not permanently. If the 50 can carry the load I need, I think I might prefer the lighter pack, but not knowing, and at an impasse.

Advice welcomee

I own a 65 and wish I would have bought a 50 for most of what I do. My BPW is about 10# and for 2-5 day trips the 50 would have plenty of room. If you are doing longer trips or packing lots of water the 65 May be best. That being said the Fusions have a great compression system. One of their best design features. I can cinch down my 65 with a small load and still be very stable. The compression system also pulls the sides of the pack away from your back allowing air circulation and cooling. I really don't like packs that contact my whole back and most packs do. Except for very large loads the spine on the Fusion is the only contact on my back. SMD has this dialed in. Few other packs compress as well. Because of the the Fusions yoke/spine/hip belt system there is little difference in comfort and stability between the a 50 and a 65

Because of Valerie E's comments above, when we went looking for a pack for my wife we didn't even try on the Fusion before multiple other packs. GG, Hyperlite, Deuter, ULA, Granite Gear, ZPacks. She is thin and tall. Nothing was really exciting her. Others were just disappointing. When she tried the Fusion 50 it was all good. Just shows that it is a very personal choice. Now the Fusion 50s are $105 so it's a no-brainer. When we go together she'll have her 50 and I'll use my 65. When I go alone I'll switch out the belt, adjust the yoke, and use her 50.

Old thread, I know….

…as a MYOG pack builder, the design of the 2014 Fusion 50/65 would not be that hard to recreate, meaning, it would not be difficult for a U.S. cottage manufacturer to, either.  The adjustable yoke is pretty simple, so that’s not it.  In looking at my 2014 Fusion 50, what I see are possible reasons for offshoring production are:

1.  The panel pieces and yoke would cause a lot waste of fabric.
2. The needle punched through the fabric, padding, and HDPE sheet where all three are used.  SMD may not have been willing to thrash their own sewing machines and/or other U.S. producers with the industrial capability either didn’t want to and/or are not set up to do packs.
3. Those he found agreeing to the order may have offshored themselves.

Anyways, great pack that is one of my favorites.  BTW, each side pocket can carry two pint-sized bottles (12oz. would be a better fit) with ease although some serious scrambling might cause one or two to pop out.  Why people measure these pockets with 1 liter Smart Water bottles is beyond me.