Klymit/Elemental Horizons Motion 60 Pack?

I knew Matthew was designing some packs for them but did not know that they were out yet.

Not too many details on the website and the pictures are hard to see but I am not sure I like the looks of compression but it is hard to tell.

The "sexy lines" and "going hard in the backcountry" sales pitch is interesting.

i'm definitely interested to hear more about this pack.

does it have four way hipbelt adjustment?

"The waist belt has double straps with one buckle.."

from:
http://www.hikelight.com/klymit-motion-60-backpack.html

I'd be very interested in any pictures of the pack (especially the belt)and you thoughts on the pack and how it handles a heavier load after you get a chance to use it some. Let us know how the Exped Synmat UL7 works out – My wife and I have them and the schnozzel.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7CNcsJrWNkM

Price is nice. It doesn't say if the torso length is variable, but there apparently are two torso sizes for the 60L. If I was going to carry that much weight I'd probably want my torso length dialed in, not 16-20 inches, or 19-23 inches. Still pretty nice for the price. I'm a EH fanboy.

Well, so far we haven't heard from anyone who has used this pack, but some folks seem interested, so I'll post some first impressions and some photos.

Sizing: I got the S/M; it also comes in a M/L. My torso is a midget-y 15", but somehow, this pack fits me just fine. The Elemental Horizons "small" is supposed to fit down to 15", and the aluminum stay is the same, so maybe it fits a bit on the smaller side. The shoulder straps are sewn in place, with no adjustability.

Features:
Capacity seems to be accurate for a 60L. (Note my BearVault BV500 in there, with tons of room left over.

Water bottle pockets are made of stretchy nylon, with no pleats or gathers, so they are of limited capacity (still, I was able to get 2 bottles in each, despite the pack being fairly full. IMHO, the pockets could be a bit bigger, but they are functional.

Decent sized back zippered pocket — again, I would prefer if they had given it just a little more depth (I used to put my big 'ol coffee mug in my Dana back pocket, but this one would not be deep enough). I will be adding a MYOG cuben/mesh exterior lash pocket onto the back of the pack.

Top pocket (aka "brain") — Very happy to see one of these, as they are no longer the fashion, but I really like them for organization. The major flaw with this one is that it's not removeable (I know, they did that to save an oz or two, but it would be SO much more practical if it were removable). I *may* try to do a MYOG fix for that, but you'd have to be decently skilled to do it (I think I could manage).

Shoulder Straps: Well-padded and fairly beefy; just *slightly* S-shaped (not as pronounced an S-shape as Osprey's Women's packs, for example — so I think these would work well for both men and women.

Lots of side compression straps (4!). I like.

Back bungee cord: I'm not a fan, but you may like these. The supplied cord is WAY too "beefy", but it would take about 15 seconds to change it out for a thinner/lighter one.

Waterproof zippers — I guess they used these to save a fraction of an ounce by not having to put a flap of material over each zipper, but — since the pack fabric is not really "waterproof", it seems a little silly. (This is a very minor quibble.)

Single ice axe loop — the loop is huge, not sure why. Easy fix for me.

And now for the really important stuff:

Suspension system: The back of the pack has 3D mesh, but virtually no foam padding. There is an interior pocket down the center of the back of the bag, which contains an aluminum U-shaped stay (round tube) that looks identical to the one that comes with Elemental Horizons packs like the Kalais. It is a really, really good stay, and it seems to transfer weight very well! The aluminum stay is removable. Inside this same pocket, you find the Klymit Airbeam frame. I removed that, and I'll be using my folded Synmat UL7 pad (with just a teeny bit of air left in it) instead. The fact that the pocket is interior will also keep my sleeping pad clean and unabraded. I really like the fact that an item I would be taking with me anyway will now become an integral part of the frame. Even with my bear canister, the sleeping pad provides very ample cushioning for my back.

Hipbelt: The design of the hipbelt is quite nice (in theory), with 4 cinch straps for "dialing in" your preferred fit around your hip bones. The integrated pockets are quite large. My beef with the hipbelt is the wimpy, cheap-feeling foam that was used to pad it, and the fact that, unlike ULA/SMD hipbelts, there is ZERO stiffness to the belt. YMMV, but I don't like it, I believe that it would hurt me by mile 5 of my hike, and I'll be replacing it with one from another manufacturer. Seems like they could have used a better foam and raised the price by $5-$10, and it would have been a better pack. Maybe I'm being too picky, but I like a well-padded hipbelt that has some stiffener in it.

The pack is rated to 60lbs, but I will probably never put more than 30lbs in it, and I think the suspension will be more than enough for my purposes.

Overall, I'm pleased enough with the pack that I'll keep it and make changes to most of the things I don't like about it. BTW, I paid $125, so I think it's well worth it!

Thanks Valerie for your first impressions of the pack and great pictures. The pictures show a lot more detail than Klymit's website. It helped me decide to order one also.

This interesting. I have the Elemental Horizon Aquillo and between your description and pictures you can tell this is a derivative of the Elemental Horizon packs. For lightweight loads up to 30 pounds I find the Aquillo great so I'm assuming this will perform similarly as it looks to be the same suspension overall. It does look like they beefed up the padding a little bit in the hipbelt and shoulder straps.

I took scissors to Abela's smaller cousin of this pack Monday. His was a prototype, with some differences from the ones they are selling. I really liked the shoulder straps. Construction looks good too. A little overbuilt perhaps.

Valarie, Thanks for the detail post. Its wonderful to have a detailed description on something this new. Now I'm getting pretty interested.

I assume it has fixed shoulder straps – non-adjustable torso length. Could I trouble you for a couple of measurements. The hip belt looks very similar to the Kalais w/lumbar pad. Could you measure the width. Also for the s/m that you have what is the distance from the bottom of the belt to the shoulder strap attachments measured vertically.

Thanks for all the pictures btw. I've never understood what internet storefronts don't just have a ton of them, and many times it seem like they deliberately leave you guessing.

Where did you buy yours?

Where I Bought it: Left Lane Sports, on sale for $125. I think the MSRP is around $175.

Measurements:

Height of hipbelt = 5 inches
Vertical height of pack's back panel (from bottom of hipbelt to shoulder strap attachment point) = 19 inches

MYOG modifications done:

1. Replaced hipbelt with one from ULA. [Fits perfectly; all you need to do is reverse the velcro on the ULA belt — MYOG level = easy.]

2. Removed the sewn-in top pocket and made it into a removable "floating" top pocket (so I can use it as a daypack). [MYOG level = intermediate/advanced — you'll need to rip all the stitching holding the top pocket to the pack, then carefully re-sew everything back into place; then you'll need to add a piece of fabric to the back of the original top pocket and sew/finish seams; then you'll need to add 3/4" ladderloc buckles to the back of the top pocket; and finally you'll need to add 3/4" webbing to the back panel of the pack to attach the floating pocket.

Photos of "floating" top pocket and ULA hipbelt on the pack:

Thanks Vallerie! Perfect on the torso length for me so I went ahead an bought one since I'm already a EH fanboy. It seems only a few days ago the super deals were easier to find. The one I bought today was on sale supposedly ending today. I wonder if the low price is to get the chatter started and will disappear shortly.

OK. Now that made me sound like a plant. :-(

Oh well, At $135 (what I just paid) and even at $175 it seem like a decently good deal for what it is if you happen to like EH style packs. A nice alternative to the a ULA pack as a lightish heavy hauler. Plus the nice price seem to give us leave to mod away, which I never can resist.

That color scheme, however, is begging for a dye job.

Valerie and Marko – I am very interested in this pack, but Klymit provides scant information about materials and sizing. could you answer the following:

Any idea which size pack is best suited to my 18.5' torso length?
How do you adjust for torso length? Is it similar to GG, i.e. move hipbelt connection up or down?
What type / weight material is the main body of the pack made from?
The side pockets look to be made from a stretch fabric similar to the big front pockets on Gossamer Gear packs. Is this the case?
Marko – do you also find the waistbelt padding flimsy? It looks fairly substantial in Valeries original photos.
Does the pack have load lifters?
Is the front pocket also made of stretch fabric?
In a youtube video, the demonstrate the airbeam pad with what looks like a permanently attached squeeze pump. I assume this can be removed. Can the pad be blown up by mouth?
What are the dimensions of the hipbelt pockets?
Any attachment points on the shoulder straps?

Wish I could see one in person. Would like to order one but hope you can help me know what to expect before I do. Thanks.

I don't have one – I just ordered one today as I been more or less hoping Mathew would come out with a heavier hauler on his own company website for a while. I do have the Kalais, a lighter weight pack designed by the same guy, so some of the features look very similar, but can't help on the details yet. But there are two sizes and 18.5 (same as me) you should get the s/m since the large is 19-23 if I remember correctly. But even that I would probably want to confirm after trying it on.

By the way several of your questions can be answered by looking at Valerie's posted photos above.

I was guessing at answers from the photos, but hoping for verification.

Marko — I, too, am not fond of the white fabric! I'm thinking of doing something wild with it (zebra stripes? tie dye? hand-painted floral pattern?).

OK Stephen, I'll try my best to answer your questions.

– Your 18.5" torso length should be best with the Small/Medium size… but if you like to wear your hipbelt low (as I do) you could probably get away with either size.

– There is only minor adjustment possible via moving the hipbelt up/down by 1-2 inches; the shoulder straps are sewn in place. (See photos)

– The main body of the pack is a medium-thick ripstop nylon. Their website might have the exact fabric (denier, etc.).

– The side pockets are a good-quality fairly thick stretch fabric; similar to (but a bit thicker than) the pockets on the SMD Fusion packs. I'm not familiar enough with GG packs to know what fabric they use.

– The waistbelt padding definitely photographed better than it feels. My issue with it is that, in addition to the thin padding, there is ZERO stiffener in the original hipbelt. Maybe this will not be a problem for you, but I need a comfy supportive hipbelt! (ULA and SMD both have some kind of plastic stiffener in their hipbelts to make up for the relatively thin foam, but Klymit omitted it.)

– Load lifters? Yes.

– The front pocket is not stretchy — it's a zip pocket made of the same ripstop as the rest of the pack. There's a bungee that crisscrosses on top of the pocket.

– The Airbeam's squeeze pump can be removed, but I was not able to inflate by mouth (maybe you could, but maybe not — ask Klymit).

– The dimensions of the hipbelt pockets are 6"W x 4"H x 1.5"D

– The attachment points on the shoulder straps can be seen in the photos I posted with the update (the top part of the shoulder straps appears in the first photo; the bottom part in the second photo).

Hope this helps you decide!

Would you say the hipbelt is the same on as on the Kalais? I though you mentioned you had one.

If so, then yeah, I think it could be characterized as pretty thin if you REALLY intend to try 60 lbs – or 40 for that matter. I think the Kalais one is near perfect(for me at least) for under 20lbs total, and probably fine for up to 30 lbs. The fact that a pack will not totally shred is just one of the things that are important for heavy loads. Fortunately, as Valerie already pointed out, that aspect you can actually change. In fact my old ULA pack may be persuaded to contribute a hip belt in a pinch.

I was a bit disappointed when the purple Kalais I ordered came and it was indigo. Maybe this will be a second chance for royal colors. :-) But maybe brown too.

Marko — I don't have a Kalais, so I couldn't opine on whether it's the same hipbelt on the Motion 60. The Kalais hipbelt looks different on the EH website, but I don't know from personal experience.

Again — others may not mind the lack of stiffener in the belt that comes with this pack; I did, so I changed it.

Valerie – appreciate your responses. Using a GG Mariposa, but my son keeps commandeering it. This might be a good inexpensive alternative.

I have the lumbar pad and two large sized EH belt pockets on my Kalais, and with these one it (very similar to the motion 60), the Klymit pack only weighs about 4.5 oz more after removing the inflatable stay. It has much thicker shoulder straps, but only a little thicker belt. Still I think it would carry 30 lbs more comfortably. It has exactly the same Al stay, but the stay pocket has a different design – the Al stay nests in the inner (part closest to center of pack) side to the pocket so anything you put in the stay pocket is additional padding between your back and the Al stay. I like the lid on the Klymit pack OK, even though in a perfect world I'd rather have a closure like the Kalais – elegant and simple. The separate pocket on top makes up for this a bit, but it also has a "wallet pocket on the inside (bottom) of the lid. On a long trip it is very nice to have an inviolate place to stash you articles of civilization such as cash, ID, credit card. I have been pondering adding one to my Kalais, but haven't been able to figure out a good place since space is so spare. The main thing I don't like about the Klymit pack is there are no mesh pocket to dry things in. I can rectify that by making one myself out of noseeum mesh.

In short, I still like the Kalais much better, but one of my legs on the JMT starting in a few weeks I will have to carry 9.5 days of food, and for that reason alone I may go with the Klymit. With the Kalais I think thing are going to be hanging off the pack for several days just south of MTR. When I go on a typical week long trip in the Sierra I will probably happily switch back to the Kalais.