Does anyone have experience with SMD’s flight 30 or 40?

[Daniel Babin]

I'm interested in using it for trail running and shorter trips, no longer than 3-4 days. I am aware of how much the pack weighs, but am curious as to how well their vest harness system works and how truly comfortable it is. I trust Brian and Ron's work, but the models are so new I haven't been able to find any reviews of it! I am also considering the MLD burn.

[Aaron]

I've been using the Flight 30 for quick weekend trips that are a mix of trail running and hiking and I'm pretty impressed. I personally prefer the vest harness to regular shoulder straps, and most of the time I haven't bothered using the supplied hipbelt for weight in the 15-17 lb range.

Not sure about long term durability yet, but so far it has held up quite well.

[Daniel Babin]

Thanks so much for the insight Aaron. Do the harness and back breath well and do a good job of stopping the pack from bouncing around?

[Ito Jakuchu]

Nice to read a bit about that Aaron. One question if I may.
Does the hipbelt carry any significant weight, or is it more for stabilising the pack?

Any photos you would be willing to share, just for scale and to see how it rides?

Cheers for any thoughts/comments.

[Adam Sloan]

The pack did not bounce at all for me. The hipbelt transfers some weight to the hips thanks to the foam back, but it's nothing special. Incidentally, I have mine for sale in Gear Swap: http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=92470&skip_to_post=786385#786385

The capacity was a but small for me.

[Aaron]

Regarding carry and the hipbelt: I've found that the vest harness does a great job of stabilizing the load if it's packed well (tightly). The light hipbelt on the 30 is more about stabilization than weight transfer, but I haven't been pushing the weight limit of the pack. The Flight 40 has a delrin loop and the stiffer hipbelt, which may be the route to go if you're looking for better weight transfer.

These packs fall into a bit of niche market that a lot of BPLers may not subscribe to, which is probably why there hasn't been much talk about them. I've really been pleased with the 30 so far and am considering ordering the 40 for longer trips with more weight, as I really enjoy the vest harness (which admittedly, is not for everyone).

[Aaron Sorensen]

I'm loving the Flight 40.
It doesn't take much to dial it in just perfect.

Once you do, you can unclip the hip-belt and it still holds the gear on the shoulders so nicely.
You can also loosen up the shoulder straps and it still doesn't budge with it's amazing hip-belt.
Since I’ll only ever have a maximum of 20 pounds in it, it holds that 20 pounds with the greatest of ease.

The Flight 30 does sit low on your back but not low enough to transfer the weight to the hips.
For this reason alone, I feel the 40 is a far better pack.

I go up in the mountains with my dogs, so I need that extra storage space for them.
I will also be hiking the Sierra High Route next month. This is the perfect pack for this.

A few cons.
As with all their new packs, the side pockets are garbage. They're wide and shallow and are worthless when the pack is loaded, making it a tug of war to get a drink in and out.
If they went with a corrugated holder that wasn't so wide, they could have added a pocket in the back.
I am just going to make my own and sew them on.

I would say it depends on the size you need for which pack to get.

… my thoughts after I use it some more…

[Aaron Sorensen]

John,

Ha ha,
"The daisy chain between the pockets on the back perplex me – as does the huge ice ax loop – which I am tempted to cut off."

I don't understand why there isn't a pad holder instead of a ice ax loop?
Without the back pocket a pad holder would be perfect as it wouldn't get in the way of the pocket.

I am going to do this to the sides of my Flight 40.

3

Seems as an Ultraspire Fastpack would work perfect for your lighter weight 24 hikes.
Lighter and fits the way you like.

I know the only thing I wouldn't like about the Fastpack is that there is only a single strap across the front.

1

I own the Kinetic and the left pocket bounces and beats you up when running.
The chest strap also does not stay tight so you are constantly tightening it.

2

@Aaron,

I have had a few people tell me about the Ultraspire Fastpack. Like all of us, I only got so many packs at the $200 range that I can afford to buy. Not to mention give an honest use of throughout the year. I have almost bought their UltraViz Spry a number of times for midnight runs around town.

As for the sleeping pad idea rather than the loop… how about this?

[Ito Jakuchu]

Thanks Aaron and John for the very insightful first impressions. Really like that you described both good and bad, openly.

"It is, in my opinion, getting close to that 'missing piece' between the small vests… …and the larger 'small' backpacks that some are trying to use for running/FKT…"

This is exactly what I'm looking for. I just bought an Ohm 2.0, but for way longer trips.
Why I'm looking into the Flight is I want something bigger than a race vest, and smaller but with good support, little bounce. The race vests don't work well for me because I'm not in a supported race, and fast packing alone would like to bring just a bit more than gels and a shell. I also need to carry more water if I'm out on the trail for 10 hours (with sourcing/filtering very often not an option).

I hike/run/fastpack once or twice a week, from 25 on a quick day to to 55Km on a longer day. I would like to give this a try but it's hard when you can't try it on and send it back so easily. I think I'm interested in the 40's shoulder/belt system, but with the 30's volume to be honest. I need to carry a lot of water even on the shorter days.

One thing I feel is lacking is good product photography from Six Moon's side. Until John posted the above photos I had no idea of the shoulder straps mesh like quality (not a bad thing I think).

Pity to hear about the shoulder pockets. Looks almost as if they were thought of as gel pockets, not any other use, which is a shame/missed opportunity. I think I like the compression system, but only from what I can see of course. No idea if it actually works well. I think a two compression cords on the bottom of the pack would have been nice to either hold a pad, or just compress the bottom to keep the load higher.

e.g. (from http://yamatomichi.com/?mode=cate&cbid=1154128&csid=0)

[Aaron Sorensen]

Shoulder pockets on the Fight 40 are great.

Just remember, even though we both disgust the little minor things, they are still both great packs.

[Ito Jakuchu]

Thanks Aaron –
I think it is quite clear the points of critique are meant as just that – points that can be improved upon, in some cases should be improved upon – but that are not a statement on the pack as a whole.

[Roman Vazhnov]

Instead of asking about SMD flight 20, you just can buy Montane Dragon 20.
http://www.montane.co.uk/range/packs/dragon-20

Hey All,

Kind of late getting my review of the Flight 30 published but life has been crazy the last few months.

Anyway, for anybody interested I just got my thoughts on the Flight 30 published yesterday.

As has been said previously, including by SMD, I do not think the Flight 30 is really the pack for most BPL'ers, but if you are into moving fast and not have a pack that is bouncing all around, and need more volume than a vest, I am thinking the Flight 30 is going to be at the top of the list for packs to consider.

Happy to try and answer any questions about it.

[Author]

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