MLD Cuben Burn, Prophet, Exodus

I like what I see, but at those prices, I think I would have Chris Zimmer build me a cuben pack.

The weight of the cuben versus regular version appear to be only an ounce or so different – am I missing something?

Probably the only real advantage with the cuben is waterproofness.

That picture with the pack lid – my eyes!

http://www.mountainlaureldesigns.com/shop/popup_image.php?pID=231&image=4

I am on my second burn and love MLD packs. But I don’t understand the appeal of this pack. As far as waterproof ness, would you bet your quilt or bag on cuben, especially after a second thousand miles, being waterproof enough that you wouldn’t use a pack liner. I have seen worn cuben packs, duct tape and all. I wouldn’t make that bet. My belief, good for shelters, bad for packs.

Also, I don’t like the white fabric. It would look really bad after getting dirty for a bit.

So a contrarian point of view – I actually like this pack a lot.  I’ve always like the ascetics of the HMG packs, but they’re too big and heavy for my use.  Combine that with the fact I’ve been trying to justify adding a Burn to my kit for when my Prophet and Exodus are too big, but not really excited about having another black or Wasabi (which I  LOVE) pack, so I was really excited when I saw it.

It’s now sitting in my gear room and will be going out for a long day hike tomorrow.  Like all things MLD, the craftsmanship is SUPERB.  If you don’t own MLD, it’s difficult to believe how serious his attention to quality and detail is, and I’ve owned a lot of cottage pieces.

I should also note I ordered on Wednesday of this week (as soon as it hit the site) and it was delivered yesterday, Ron is really on top of the workload and shipping fast.

I second the shipping speed.  My pack shipped the day after I ordered.  Big change from when I ordered in 2013 and had a six week wait.  It seems that Ron has worked hard over the last few years to get his turn around time down.  I appreciate it.  I decided on the Wasabi Burn over Cuben.   I am happy with my choice though I think the Cuben pack will be great too.  don’t think you can go wrong either way, MLD’s craftsmanship is near perfect.