McHale Backpacks — Long Term Review (Bump 32 and Little Big Pack 36 Compared)

Nick  – that’s a great review. A goldmine for anyone interested in pack design.

Thanks for posting the link…

Good stuff Nick. Thanks for posting.

Thanks, Nick!

Thank you, Nick. Incredible review.

Excellent review—probably the most exhaustive McHale review on the Internet.

My McHale is a big load hauler made for 24 day trips with no resupply so it’s designed to carry alot of weight with some comfort—and it’s very comfy—most especially the hipbelt.

Here’s my behemoth in action somewhere in the mountains of NC.  The load lifter straps (what he calls the Bypass Strap System) is noticeable in this pic as these straps run the length of the shoulder straps down to the base of the pack so in effect there are two straps on each side—and both attach at the bottom of the pack.

The top spectra lid on my pack can be used either as a butt pack or when carrying heavy water weight as an over-the-shoulder bag which is easier to put on.  It’s great for dayhikes out of camp or carrying water on long-distance water runs from camp.

I convinced my backpacking buddy Hoppin John to get a McHale and he decided on this smaller version at around 5-6,000 cubic inches—all in spectra.  A back spectra pocket (I think Dan calls it a Kangaroo Pocket) holds alot of stuff and a detachable bottom pocket covers his sleeping bag compartment.

My pack also has a detachable spectra pocket on the back but it is much bigger!!  And attached with 8 webbing tabs to daisy chains.  I had it made long enough to hold my 20 inch tent poles—tent stakes—water filter—pack cover—third food bag and extra clothing.  It’s huge—but can be removed for shorter trips.

Oh and btw—I went with bright colors to be seen during hunting season in the TN and NC mountains.

Nice job Nick!  I also have two McHale packs:  A Merke and a Bump 32.  The quality and comfort are second to none.  Worth the price and effort.  I have a lot of other packs and there is no comparison in value for the money.  I’ve had them for about 5-6 years and there are no signs of wear.

That is an excellent write up. Thanks for putting that together.

Awesome review!

Great review and summary of McHale Packs in general, Nick. Well done!

They aren’t the packs I use on *every* trip, but the two McHale Packs I have (a large expedition full Spectra SARC w/P&G and bypass harness, and a little 2000 ci pack), are the most comfortable packs I’ve owned and used in my life. Dan McHale gets it.

Thanks everyone for the kind words.

Although I’m a big fan of McHale packs, I realize everyone isn’t going to make that initial investment. What I tried to incorporate is how a backpack should work, and hopefully that will help others.

And the opportunity to get a McHale might be coming to an end as he ages out of productivity.  Had I known about him 40 years ago I would’ve done everything in my power to get one of his packs—so I tell young backpackers to make the plunge now and get a McHale pack.

Oh and he’s still making incredible packs—as of July 2020.

I greatly appreciate the focus on how a pack should work.

Within that context I want to ask about the horizontal stay situation; there isn’t any?

You mention that internal framed packs are essentially cylinders and you show a BV500 packed vertically in your bump32 and say it fits well.

In theory I thought that frames in packs are, in part, meant to hold an ergonomic shape compared to frame-less packs which ‘barrel out,’ allowing items to poke the back and causing the pack to sway. A bv500 vertical in most frame-less packs would cause them to ‘barrel out’ right? Isn’t a horizontal frame structure of some kind needed to prevent barreling? I’m getting this perspective from threads like this one where people discuss HMG packs barreling.

Nick, thanks for sharing your amazing review and all of the “how packs work” details. I have to admit, I “window shop” at McHale’s site maybe once a month to see what new packs he’s built. I really like the newest one he has up here, that looks like stonewashed denim. His work has been very influential on me as a MYOG hobbyist, especially since I’m not going to (ever) be in the market for a McHale pack. It would be awesome, whenever Dan McHale decides to move into retirement, if he would run backpack-building camps. Not sure if he has someone working with him these days as an apprentice, but, man, what a craftsman.

Within that context I want to ask about the horizontal stay situation; there isn’t any?

You mention that internal framed packs are essentially cylinders and you show a BV500 packed vertically in your bump32 and say it fits well.

In theory I thought that frames in packs are, in part, meant to hold an ergonomic shape compared to frame-less packs which ‘barrel out,’ allowing items to poke the back and causing the pack to sway. A bv500 vertical in most frame-less packs would cause them to ‘barrel out’ right? Isn’t a horizontal frame structure of some kind needed to prevent barreling?

That’s a good question.

To say the pack is a cylinder is somewhat of a misnomer in actual use. The Bump’s front is a single piece of fabric, but there are side seams where it is sewn to the back of the pack. There is a foam pad inside the pack, plus the frame stays, and the mesh material on the outside of the back of the pack. So the back of the pack is somewhat flat, even with my bear canister in it vertically.

Also, the canister is 27 1/3 inches in circumference versus the Bump’s 32 inch circumference. 32 inches is a pretty small pack. We rarely fill up our packs to capacity with big cylindrical hardware. Most people aren’t going to carry a BV500 in a small pack like the Bump — I almost never do.

The stays at the bottom of the pack will have to spread to full width because the hipbelt and its stabilizer strap will pull the frame against the lower back and the bottom of the frame stays will have to align with the hip belt. Same for the top, when the shoulder straps are adjusted so the pack hugs the back, it will force the stays to their designed horizontal spacing. Remember, with the proper length frame stays that are adjusted to the curvature of the spine, you want the pack snug agains the back.

I took some pictures to demonstrate.

Below I didn’t put anything at the bottom of the pack, so the curvature of the bear canister can be more noticeable on the X-Grid portion of the pack. The mesh part isn’t bulging out like the front of the pack, in fact, the mesh is fairly “loose.”

Below, the pack still conforms to my spine. The shoulder straps are a little high because there isn’t anything else in the pack and I tried to show how the pack is flush against my back. Keep in mind, that the curvature of the top of my spine is much more exaggerated than the average person.

Another thing I have noticed is people just stuff their gear in their pack and then tighten the compression straps, if they have them. My Bump doesn’t have compression straps (at my request to Dan). With my LBP, I always lay my pack on its back and use my knee to compress everything, distributing the gear from top to bottom, then I pull the compression straps to snug up the load.

I have to admit, I “window shop” at McHale’s site maybe once a month to see what new packs he’s built. I really like the newest one he has up here, that looks like stonewashed denim.

Yeah, there are some pretty wild colors people order with the full Dyneema or full Spectra packs. The material is actually white and Dan has figured our how to “dye” it. No one else does this.

When I ordered my LBP and we were done with the Demo Process, I had to choose colors. I told Dan just to dye it something that was subdued and would blend in with the desert. He said, “No,” I had to pick my colors. So I chose gray with a light brown bottom. He dyed a couple swatches and sent them to me before he started construction.

I had a long discussion on pack barreling with Dan on both the 5,000 cubic inch blue demo he sent me and on the final pack.  The aluminum frame system is robust although it is essentially—on my Demo and final pack—one big horseshoe config—a bottom shaped aluminum stay with two long parallel stays.  These two vertical stays are attached on the bottom horizontal stay with two bolt—and the hipbelt is attached with 2 more bolts on the same bottom horizontal stay.

As mentioned—this creates a “big duffel bag” effect—and I mentioned the Demo pack barreling out in the back—causing the shoulder straps to put pressure in the “deltoid pocket”—where the straps rest in front by the arm/shoulder sockets.

This slight barreling can be seen here—

Dan makes a special point on his fitting video to place a knee against the back panel and push in this bulge—something we discussed at length.  I’m used to a stiff frame sheet on the back panel so whatever I pack won’t ever be noticeable.

On my final pack he agreed to put in a stiff horizontal aluminum stay to counter this back barreling—as seen in this pic—blue circle.

The only real problem I noticed was the unprotected section between the top of the hipbelt and the bottom of the foam back panel—when I stuffed in a couple fuel bottles low just above the sleeping bag and these dug into my back—see yellow circle—

Point is—don’t stuff hard objects low against the back of the pack.

Tipi’s pack is more than most of us here will want for backpacking.

It is a Critical Mass II, thus the reference to the bolts in the Critical Mass hip belt. The smaller McHale packs use the Guide hip belt as shown in my review. Tipi’s pack is designed to carry over 100 lb. comfortably, and most of us here won’t be doing that. Comfortably means the frame won’t collapse, there won’t be excess weight on your shoulders, and your hips won’t hurt at the end of the day. But you legs will still feel the heavy load at the end of the day.

Tipi goes on 24 day hikes in the midst of snowbound winter without re-supply, so his pack works for him.

Wow! Thanks for such detailed, informative responses! The pictures are super helpful

The technical differences between the critical mass and guide hip belts are very interesting too.

Nick, Thank you for the great, long write up! Yours are about the only real reviews with details and lots of photos on the web.

I am working on my first myog back and keep going back to McHale’s (messy) website for ideas and inspiration. I love his complete focus on comfort and function (and to heck with the jelly bean esthetic and shelf appeal).

You answered a few questions I had (e.g. how the tops of the shoulder straps were attached). Still I’m left with a few unanswered questions, if you don’t mind. (If some are too finicky, please say so!)

The point of wider seams is that he double and triple stitches them, correct?

Do you know what version of Evazote he uses? And where we can buy it?

Do you know what material he uses on the inside of the shoulder straps and hipbelt? And where to buy it?

So, with lower pack weights you don’t miss using the stabilizer straps (and P&G system)? Not too much weight coming down on your shoulders?

I like stabilizer straps to allow a bit of space between my back and pack for ventilation at times. Your thoughts?

How is the hipbelt attached to bag? Is it two pieces (left and right)?

He says he started out with the idea of using a conical hipbelt that wraps around you—hence the type Tipi Walter has (Critical Mass).

Does the kind you have create a “full wrap, conical” feel even with the lumbar pad sewn onto the bag? (I wonder why he doesn’t use the original belt design on most of his packs.)

Doug,

I demoed a bump to use as a daypack but decided to follow some different ideas and make my own pack instead.

I will send answers to all your questions by PM. I feel protective of Dan because I feel like he is a purist in a fad-driven industry. I feel like it would be easy for people to rip off the design or materials and say “see it’s just like a McHale!”. But the difference of a McHale is not (just) in the flashy materials and features. The difference is in the supreme attention to fit and carry and functions, and nobody else is going to match that unless they have a similar commitment to purity.

Maybe it’s dumb to feed a cult around one manufacturer. It would be a good thing if more packs had better hip belts, better suspensions, or a lumbar arrangement, shoulder straps that rotate more freely. But there’s so many small details that Dan gets right, and at the end of the day a pack is a single (successful) object rather than just a collection of its features.

If I’m wrong let me know, I just don’t want to be the guy who shared the secret sauce.

Nick I loved your write-up; I like to  to see your appreciation of the hidden genius that lies in these simple contraptions.

Yair—Fair enough. And thank you for the PM.

It would take a lot for someone to reproduce a McHale pack that felt as good as his, I bet. And if they wanted to copy his designs, all they’d have to do is be a customer and buy one.

I don’t backpack very often and don’t have tons of extra money or I’d get one myself. I just admire and am fascinated by all his innovations.

I’ll be interested to see the results of your myog efforts…and one day I’ll get mine done and share it too!