Experience with SMD Fusion 65?

I just received mine last night and am very excited about it. I have as well read all the disparaging remarks and was a bit worried in ordering it, but what I have seen from my initial inspection is only good. I love the way feels based on adding about 16 lbs and walking around the house. Very snug and firm – the multiple compression straps are great. It appears that SMD has resolved the lightweight pack sag issue with this design. The frame system is semi-rigid and can be molded to fit your back. I really like that the main contact is along the spine which should be great for breathability. The waist belt is really nice in its ability to be adjusted to get a comfortable fit. The side pockets on the bag are more than deep enough to firmly hold a filled 20oz water bottle – I do not see any way that they would slip out. Maybe a taller bottle would need to be secured on top, but I do not carry those so this is not an issue for me. The robic fabric appears to be much more sturdy and should take the abuse of trail better than their dyneema predecessor packs (I have the Starlite pack as well). I think the new roll top entry is much better than the prior velcro closure system. I did like the ability to store my sleeping pad and sit pad in the back compartment of the Starlight pack, but I think this new support system makes this tradeoff more than acceptable. Their are a pair of adjustable straps on the lower back of the pack which will hold your pad or you can put it in the main compartment. Overall I think this is a much better pack than the Starlite and I hope that when I do take it out on the trail that it is as good as I think it will be. I bought this to take on the JMT this summer. The Fusion should easily handle the 25-30lbs I plan to carry. I think it will be great but based on interior compartment measurements I think that getting the Bearikade Weekender into it sideways may be a tight fit, so this is my only worry right now. I may send a PM to SMD to see if they have tried it.

Hi Chris,

Thank you for taking the time to outline an initial review. I'm a bit worried that it might not fit me all that well as i'm 5' 7" with an unusually short torso even for my height, but i have a 40.25" or so in chest with decent sized shoulders for my size. Originally i thought i might want to go with the short yoke, but after talking to Ron he recommended that the regular should probably work better.

If it does fit well, it should carry pretty well, and i'm hoping it could handle even more than 30lb if need be.

Hey Chris,

Thanks for the helpful post.

Do you know how the 65 would compare to a pack like the GG Gorilla in terms of volume?

Does the 65 compress well? Any point in getting a 50 to save only a few ounces?

have you noticed a "bump" that others have mentioned? where the hipbelt connects to the spine, that is.

Good to see your positive initial reaction.

Mike

Not the 65 but here is Paul’s review of the Six Moon Designs Fusion 50

I used the Fusion 65 for an 8 day trip in the Sierras this year and loved it.
The capacity is larger than the GG Gorilla and smaller than the Mariposa.
Their is a bump on the back panel where the shoulder harness connects to the pack. It is in the center, and for me hits me just below the shoulder blades. Their is pressure there and in the lumbar area. It feels great to me and is the most comfortable pack I have had in years.

Thank you Anna for the link.

Thank you Jim, glad it's very comfortable for you.

Hi Mike, Regarding the 'bump' I will say that I can see how someone would notice this issue. But given that you can mold the back panel to fit the curvature of your back I am wondering if these 'other' folks realized this is possible? Certainly before I adjusted mine it did not fit the curvature of my back. Once adjusted it felt much better!

Regarding compression I think the roll top feature and the 4 compression straps will give you nice compression. I honestly was surprised that the 65 weights 39oz as it feels so lightweight to me. But I did put it on a scale and verified that the listed weight is accurate. Since I am a big guy and have big stuff I cannot go to the 50 myself, but possibly you can if you are UL or using it for shorter trips.

Chris

I would not call it a review, more of an extended test drive.

My wife did not care for the pack as it did not fit her very well. But pack fit can be difficult. (oddly enough, however, she has been using it as a "heavy hauler" in town for bike commuting and likes it quite a bit).

I've been using it as a ski pack the past few weeks and a climbing pack a couple of times this fall. I plan on taking it overnight in two or three weeks depending on my on-call/husband/social schedule (Mrs Mags has a funny week of sneaking in things for me to do)

I don't think I will, personally, use it for three-season backpacking esp solo. But I am liking it when have to haul more weight and or bulk (climbing rope, ski gear and winter gear, possibly overnight with the wife this coming spring/summer).

I still miss a bigger front stash pocket!

Probably write more next month.

Thank you Paul, look forward to the further write up, though by that time i will already have it and it will either stay or go back.

http://www.tgomagazine.co.uk/gearreview/review-fusion-65-backpack-from-six-moons-design

Thank you Nick. That was a fairly glowing review from Chris Townsend.

del

Rick M,
I think you basically nailed it. The terrible pocket design/size is a deal breaker for me, and the hideous color scheme doesn't help either.

It's such a shame too because the suspension on this pack is really impressive. Why on earth SMD made these basic (and seemingly obvious) mistakes is beyond me. IMO, these important details are preventing an otherwise great pack from selling.

I hope version 2.0 addresses these issues while keeping everything that is great about the pack (i.e. the suspension system).

I too suggest larger side and front pockets, impossible to adjust sternum strap without unstitching some of the webbing ends, offer different color schemes,. The lumbar bump doesn't bother me, the pack carries very well with 22 lbs. I was really surprised also about the 50% price reduction.

SMD plans on coming out with a re-designed version. Many people, myself included, did not like the front stow pocket and water bottle holsters.

More subtle colors will be coming out as well.

I suspect that is why the fusions are currently on sale.

I've been enjoying my Flight 40. The hipbelt is great. The pack is shaped well. I don't know if I will ever use a Fusion 65 since I got my Exped Lightning 60.

Some better marketing would help SMD. They are selling packs and equipment which can mainly only be found online and they have ONE picture of the Fusion 65 on their website. Their video is also quite unhelpful. Close-up pictures of the suspension, the torso adjustment, the hipbelt, overview photos of the pack, and the pack being modeled by someone would help a lot.

It seems like a good pack with a lot of thought and hard work put into its suspension, but SMD doesn't advertise that well at all.

Received the pack Monday. Course, tried it on and all that, but haven't loaded it up yet. I don't want to say too much before actually trying it out for a least a weekend trip.

But, some initial impressions, i think it will fit more or less well to decently despite my odd proportions.

I actually like the main color in general, but not so much in a pack/being in the woods sense. Some of the issues folks have, like the pockets, etc, i can easily mod though it would add a little weight.

Like the well adjustable and solid hip belt.

One of the reasons why i bought this pack, was because in semi recent times we've found out that my spouse has major back problems, and so i've decided that for both backpacking trips together and for our bug out bags, i will carry all the heavier stuff so as to not put any extra strain on her back. Previously having two Jams wasn't going to work in light of these issues. We use to more or less split half and half the weight, which the Jams were ok for, but now i think it should be more like 30% her and 70% me.

I tentatively "think" this pack will help me be able to do this and MUCH better than the Jam. Plus, i would like to get into more serious winter backpacking, hopefully for more extended periods.

Just last week I said that you should sell your 70L Jam and jump on that half price
Fusion.

Good for you!

I hope the pack works put well. Due to your unique torso length ,you may gain some insights into the Fusion's suspension adjustability that others here may have overlooked.

If you decide its a keeper,given your propensity to mod gear,perhaps you may explore the option of dyeing the pack body a different shade? I"m tbinking something like a Medium Carhart brown that would darken the white and cover that Ochre yellow might look cool. A classy earthtone that did not show dirt easily and would belie it's workhorse status in your quiver…

I know Jimmer, your reply to me then was a catalyst of sorts, which i needed at the time so thank you (i actually do listen to advice…). I ended up selling the Jam for 70. I'm trying to sell my MLD Newt for 50 but haven't been any serious interest so far.

Regarding dyeing it… I think Robic is silicone coated/impregnated? If so, it will be very difficult to dye i think. Silicone has very low surface energy and pretty much only silicone bonds to silicone from my limited understanding. My best bet would be to "wall paper" it, using the lightest silnylon i can find and some silicone adhesive.

However, this would definitely add a few ounces at least, so not sure i will go this route or not. Upside, it would be super waterproof and super durable for a long, long, long time. I need to make a decision soon, because i would need to do this before any use of the pack (would need it as clean as possible to do this).

If Robic is water proofed,it would be impervious or at least very resistent to overdyeing it..

Is the Fusion 65 color scheme more attactive in person than in the pics?

"Is the Fusion 65 color scheme more attractive in person than in the pics?"

Not in my opinion. It's really bad.

Why make a pack ugly when you don't have to? I'm at a loss on this one…

They were designed as more of a fastpacking/ultra running pack,so the sporty "rally stripe" effect with the bright red and blue on white seems to suit them..Still, choices without the white would have been nice. Afterall,I refuse to wear white on the trail after Labor day…lol

The Fusions,on the other hand, are serious load haulers and should have had more conservative colors given their purposes.

The fabric panels on those packs were designed for proper pack structure and load distrubution.
The problem is the panel designs lines dont work well as high contrast color blocks. The center design really makes placement of a large front pocket problematic. It's going to be really interesting to see how SMD solves the color/pocket issues.

Packs color choices were not picked out for American consumers. Many of us at the GGG questioned Ron about the choice of white in a pack, and the bright colors. Were told that they would look great and really pop out in a showroom full of packs.

Pretty hideous, IMHO.

SMD can do better, and I hope they do.

Wonder how the sales in Japan are going?

Can the fabric be dyed?