Fast Kumo

[Matthew / BPL]

Gossamer Gear released a Fast Kumo.

My 2017 (2016?) Kumo is the best fitting/carrying small-volume pack I have ever carried. I’m pretty sure the secret sauce is the fact that it is only 4.5″ thick and a little wider at 10.5″ (I think mine was listed as 11″ wide when I bought it). I believe this improves my center of gravity and reduces the moment arm (I think that is the correct term?) by moving the load very close to my body.

The shoulder straps are nice and cushy and I like the exterior pad pocket. My old hiking partner used to borrow mine as well and had similar comments about how comfortable it always felt.

Anyways, I’m intrigued by the shoulder harness setup on this new version. I like the idea of moving a little more weight up front to improve my center of gravity even more. The pockets look well thought out. The InReach loop on the top of the shoulder strap makes sense. I don’t love the idea of the stretch side pockets but the front entry might be great.

I have publicly mentioned what seems like a crappy build quality on the Kumo. The fabric is so thin and the plastic buckles feel very soft. It feels like a really low-quality build. The counterpoint is people do entire through-hikes with Kumos without failure all the time. I don’t log that many miles a year so the build quality is likely a non-issue.

I hope someone sees this post, buys one, and reports back.

[Mike]

I always recommend Gossamer Gear as a starting point for people more serious about backpacking. Great prices and gear. This Kumo looks amazing.

[Murali C]

I see that they have stopped mentioning what kind of fabrics they use…and they don’t mention the  total height of the pack – like how long is the extension collar is. Otherwise, yes, it does look interesting.

[Matthew / BPL]

I reached out to GG to see what the materials are.

Capacity including the extension collar looks like it’s the same as the current Kumo. That doesn’t directly answer your question about the length of the extension collar but it makes it look like it’s the same as the current standard Kumo.

[Bill in Roswell]

I’ve owned 3 Kumos (2 were stolen). Needed a replacement 2 months ago, was very tempted by the Zerk 40 based on vest type shoulder strap setup. Got another Kumo as I was happy with it. This new Kumo has very similar shoulder strap setup as the Zerk! Well heck, I want to try the new Kumo but not buy another pack!

[Matthew / BPL]

Response from Gossamer Gear:

The body and boot material of the Fast Kumo are the same as the original Kumo 36. It is made of custom 70D Robic Nylon on the main pack body and custom 100D Robic Nylon on the boot. There are a few different meshes on the harness, one is the power mesh we already use and the other is the non stretch that is on top of the foam for breathability.

The Fast Kumo is a Kumo, scaled down for a running fit, with a running vest type harness and stretch side pockets to hug things closer to the pack to reduce bounce.

[Murali C]

Cool – thanks Mathew!

[baja bob]

28L doesn’t conform to the maths for the dimensions provided.

[Monte Masterson]

I like the new Fast Kumo. Dual water bottle pockets definitely make it worth the 1 ounce weight penalty and $20 higher price over the Kumo.

Considering it has a substantial belt, the weight isn’t bad really. Great dimensions too where its shorter and wider than most other 35 to 40 liter packs. However for the same volume (and with belt) you can get an MLD Burn made with much more durable Ultra material and weighing 16.5 oz. Of course the Burn probably isn’t as good as the Fast Kumo for running, but who really runs with packs over 25 liters anyway? Some I’m sure, yet the vast majority of adventure/ultra racing packs are smaller.

For same volume you can also get a Zimmerbuilt Quickstep (11.5 oz) or ZPacks Nero (10.5 oz) made with better materials, albeit without a belt and water bottle holders. So we’re talking about half the weight of the Fast Kumo.

[Matthew / BPL]

Shout out to older Kumos for having the best UL hip belt ever: I love the 1.5” wide seatbelt material without any pockets or padding. I feel like this helps carry some load (unlike a 1” belt) without the weight or bulk of a padded setup. I wish more packmakers would use 1.5” webbing belts. I think Palante might be the only folks building packs with it today.

[Matthew / BPL]

I see the Fast Kumo is on sale for $142.50 (25% off) at the moment.

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