Backpack recommendations between 28-32lbs

The Seek Outside packs have the highest carry ability in their weight range so if you ever need to do an extended water carry it would do well.

The SWD Long Haul 50 should do well at 30# as should the Osprey Exos.

I don’t have any direct experience with the above packs and fit is just as important as the suspension.

I have an Ohm and Circuit, and I think either would be enough for your list, as far as I can read it.  Catalyst seems like overkill unless the synthetics are a lot less compressible.  I know the catalyst will carry a few more lbs than an Ohm (according to Shug) but you don’t seem to be anywhere near the weight limits for even an Ohm, which is my favorite.  We always hike with water in SoCal – I dream of those trips where I only need 1 liter.

How much water will you carry?. I just picked up a SO Divide for a Philmont Trek this summer, so I can’t confirm today, but fully believe this is the pack if you’re weight will be over 35#.

There’s a lot of other packs in the class of ULA, but you picked the two vendors I’ve invested in.  I would go with the smallest that fits your normal carry.

I’ve carried 30# in a Circuit and Catalyst. The Catalyst carried it much more comfortably for me.

Your quilt stuffs relatively large (I used to have one) but the rest of your gear is looking relatively compact. You probably won’t need the volume of a Catalyst.

I’ve never even seen a SO pack in person so I can’t speak to the differences between their packs and ULA. They do seem to have quite the loyal following…

Elemental Horizons Kalais, the new suspension is amazing and carries up to 45# easily.  I too do a lot of desert hiking and the only other possibility is the Seek Outside packs.  Here is my piece on just such packs with all the major contenders.

I have a circuit.  Great at 30 and less.  Okay at 35.  At 40 it collapses and really sucks.

so depending on what your max water is and how often you’d go above 30 for if you’d want something more beefy than a catalyst.  I still use my circuit for playing Sherpa taking my kids out and start at 42lbs but at 6 mile days it’s very manageable albeit not comfortable.

The Seek Outside Divide will carry weight much better than the other packs mentioned, however below 30 pounds there are packs that carry well enough that are lighter. If you carry 28 pound more than 30 plus, I might look at lighter options, but if you I was carrying 30 pounds plus I would get the Seek Outside and not look back.

One thing to consider with the SO Divide is that it can be quite hot to wear, because it has such a huge and thickly padded hipbelt/harness. I was surprised how warm it was, the one time I used one. I switched packs for a while with another hiker and the Divide was strikingly hotter to wear. I haven’t used one in the desert, but this aspect of it seems sub-optimal.

IMO, there’s lots of packs around 30-35oz that can do everything you need (ULA Ohm/Circuit, GG Gorilla, HMG Windrider, Hanchor Marl). It’s true the Divide isn’t that much heavier, but it’s still wasted weight if you don’t need the capacity, and there are other downsides like extra bulk/insulation.

I’ve owned the Catalyst, Ohm, Windrider and Marl and used them all on at least several occasions at 40+ lbs. I do have a high discomfort tolerance, but I’ve always been content at those weights. These packs are ideal if you normally carry 20-30 lbs and get to 40 lbs once in a while. I wouldn’t go with a heavier, warmer and bulkier pack like the Divide just so it’s slightly better in rare cases when you’ve got a huge load. Select a pack for what you’ll be doing 90% of the time, not for a worst case scenario.

I also think weight carrying ability is a bit of a red herring when choosing a pack, in the sense that a lot of packs will be able to carry the relevant weight plenty well, so teasing out which one carries it best is less important than other attributes of pack selection like the right features and materials.

Check out the Hanchor Marl. Same beefy and waterproof fabrics as the Divide, better craftsmanship, lower price and a plenty good suspension.

Why not the Osprey exos? It carries 30 pounds with ease.

How about the Six Moon Designs Fusion 65:

https://www.sixmoondesigns.com/collections/backpacks/products/fusion-65

It was re-designed in 2015 and is fairly light (52 ounces) for what it can carry.  I have had mine for two years and it has quickly become my go-to pack for pretty much everything.  It is very versatile, as it can carry both light and heavy loads easily.  I have also found it to be very robust and haven’t been able to damage it at all, despite what I have put mine through.  Very comfortable pack, even when loaded up to the gills.

Lots of useful information posted above.

Paul – The SWD Long Haul 50 and Osprey Exos likely won’t fit all my gear. Don’t underestimate synthetics occupying power! The Exos hip belt is a tad short for my hips as well.

Matt – That helps out a lot that you have owned both. My trailhead weight will likely we 32 lbs, so I’m thinking the Catalyst…. My worry with the Circuit is the main compartment’s volume. Your thinking I can fit all the gear inside the Circuit if I keep 2X 2L platypus on the side pockets with 1gal in the interior?

Alex –  The Elemental Horizons Kalais looks great. That said, my torso length is about 18.5″, which puts me in the medium category of sizes. The Kalais in a size medium seems to only be 49L.

Greg – Thats good to know. My Trail weight is about 32lbs, however the length in time for me to drink 1L of water should be rather short. Is the Circuit really comfortable at a constant 25-30lbs or strictly manageable?

Brad – Thats just what I was looking for. Im thinking that the ULA will likely better serve me well for my weight.  The Divide sure is nice though.

Dan – Im glad so many people on here have experience with the ULA packs. The Catalyst seems like their load lifter are at a more optimal angle than the Circuit judging from pictures, which leads me to believe the comfort should be superior to the circuit in 30lb+ loads. Matts experience leads me to believe this as well. I am leaning toward the Catalyst at the moment. Does it pack or compress well in your experience for those smaller loading “water available” overnight/multi day hikes?

The Hanchor looks like another good competitor. Interesting as I’ve never seen the pack before. That said, I’m liking ULA’s color and front mesh compartment better.

Rob – The SMD Fusion 65’s suspension looks questionable to me. The load lifters don’t look like they are at an optimal angle for handling worthy loads for its weight. For such a robust pack you would think this would be addressed.

Garrett,

The suspension system on the SMD Fusion 65 is actually one of my favorite features.  I have found it to be very comfortable.  It is pretty much the most comfortable pack I have used, with the exception of my old Dana Design Bomb Pack (which I still love, despite it weighing as much as a compact car).  I obviously can’t guarantee you will also find the SMD Fusion 65 as comfortable as I do, as personnel preference and body size/type differences play a huge factor.  However, I can say that I have put in excess of 60 pounds in my SMD Fusion 65 for training purposes and found the suspension system to be more than adequate.

Rob

Oh wow.. Ill dig into it a little more. That was really my only concern with the pack, however googling images doesn’t really give justice to a hands on inspection either.

My $.02 is that ULA packs other than the Ohm don’t compress well down to smaller volumes. I believe they advocate for just packing everything loosely when you don’t have a huge load and this makes sense to me.

How long is your torso? I believe the main compartment size changes a bit on ULA packs. Your question about capacity with a gallon inside the main pack may be dependent on torso size. Also, isn’t a gallon ~4 liters? Assuming space efficient storage, 4 liters isn’t a ton of volume…

Matt,

My torso is 18.5-19”. I plan on customizing the top with a drawstring closure so this might help with the volume. Packing loosely likely won’t be as big of an issue with the weights being thrown around here. I prefer tall/narrower packs.

Is the Catalyst that much wider than the Circuit?

Would you consider the Circuit enjoyable at 30lbs or just manageable? I’m thinking I can make the volume work as long as it a carry the weight comfortably.

At 25-30 for me the Circuit is very comfortable for long days at good pace.  My 7 day starting pack weight is 28-30 lbs including 2L of water.

I don’t feel the pack affects my comfort at this weight.  On my Sherpa trips it’s somewhere between day 2-3 that I become comfortable so that is in that 33lb range based on food consumption estimates.

For me there are two inflection points for comfort.  40lbs is the break between tolerable and makes hiking less enjoyable.  Then somewhere slighly above 30 where I go from tolerable to not needing to adjust it at all throughout the day.

The Catalyst is significantly wider than the Circuit.

It’s been a couple years since I carried 30# in either pack, so I feel uncomfortable trying to get more specific about comfort at a particular weight. I’ve since sold both of them and moved to smaller frameless packs as my baseweight dropped.

I strongly agree with your decision to get a drawstring rolltop. It makes it so much easier to get in and out of the pack. My current main pack (a ULA CDT) has the drawstring top and I love it. My son’s Ohm 2.0 has a drawstring and he agrees.

Garrett- I think you could get your gear into a Kalais but then you could move up to the Aquilo and it would hold it for sure.

Well…. I was leaning toward the Catalyst, but now after taking a look at the Aquilo XT I think I’ve had a change in heart. It appears like it would provide me with a tall and narrower fit, which I prefer.  The Aquilo XT seems to be exactly what I’ve been looking for. Now I just have to hope that it fits me right. Thanks Alex!

Garrett- communicate with Matthew, he is really great to work with and will steer you to the right size and components.