Need Higher-End Pack Recommendations

Take a look here……

http://www.mchalepacks.com/

McHale would be well over $600. I’d look at Zimmerbuilt packs.

K2

ULA Catalyst or Circuit, Zpacks Arc Haul…..

Really depends on where/when/how long you plan to be out. And anything that can comfortably haul 40 lbs is going to be overkill for shorter trips. BUT the heavy-hauler can of course handle small loads while a truly UL pack cannot handle large loads, so if you can have only one the choice is made simpler.

I have several packs ranging from MLD Core to Arc Haul (with 2 Arc Blasts and a Zero in between!), and also an old REI Flash 62 loaner and an old Dana Designs Bomb Pack for times when I need something I can drag over rocks without worrying about it.

I certainly considered McHale, but it’s hard to leap at a price tag that huge. If I wanted a pack built up to my dream standards, it’d probably be $1000+.

I was leaning towards a woven Dyneema 2400 Porter, but that’s pushing the upper end of my budget. It’d be sub 2lbs, and the woven Dyneema sections would probably outlast me. But it felt sensible to shop around before leaping at a purchase that large.

I suppose a custom Zimmerbuilt would be an option. Didn’t think of that route. And I’ll reconsider a Zpacks and ULA, but I was hoping for something of burlier fabric than what they offer. Would like at least Xpac. I can baby my gear, but I’d rather not if I didn’t have to. Or at least I’d rather not baby my pack (much less concerned about the gear inside of the pack).

Thanks for the advice so far, and keep it coming, if willing. I like food for thought.

Have you considered Elemental Horizons? They have Xpac as a fabric option.

They are on my wishlist, many fans here.

I’ll second the Circuit as something that’s pretty light for what it is and is the most comfortable pack I’ve ever owned by a country mile. It’s plenty versatile as a pack for both weekends and longer trips, and carries heavier loads beautifully. (I’ve never REALLY pushed the weight, but there was a point in my 2015 PCT hike where I was stunned to find that the fully-loaded pack was about 36 pounds- I’d barely noticed the weight on my shoulders.)

That said, I did recently pick up an MLD Burn that’s going to be my “general purpose” pack for this season, having really cut down my kit in recent years. So far so good, but I’m keeping the Circuit for bigger/heavier loads as well.

I’ve used or tried a fair number of packs in that general price/size/weight range (Circuit, Elemental Horizons Aquilo, HMG, various Granite Gear and Osprey offerings, suspension-modified MLD Exodus) and the Circuit wins by a long shot for me.

I wish I had that budget.  Was considering several sizes of HMG’s pack and decided on the 2400 Windrider, which is NWT in my garage waiting for my next trip.  At the time, I decided if I needed a 35+ lb pack I would look to the larger HMG packs or the Seek Outside.  The Divide looks really interesting as a load hauler – under 3 lbs and Xpac fabric.

I think I’ll be pulling the trigger on a Divide soon. Most of the time, I’ll likely be carrying 15-25 pounds, but this gives me the option of going way higher for long hikes, dry camps, or carrying climbing equipment. It’s meant to be super comfortable, particularly with load, yet weighs less than 3 pounds. I expect to be carrying up to 60 pounds during a 13-day Grand Canyon hike in April. It looks like a great all-rounder.

Another pack to consider is the SMD Fusion 65, which can also haul a load if need be. I tried it but it didn’t work well for me. Others swear by them.

I’ve owned and used HMG, Seek Outside, and Katabatic packs. The Katabatic Artemis is my favorite by far and the only one I still have. Beautifully made, carries well. Excellent fit for me. Try ordering several different packs and be prepared to return them. There’s a lot to like about all the packs you listed, and I think it will come down to your personal preferences and fit

I have a Seek Outside Unaweep, HMG Porter, and a stripped down McHale LBP, and have used packs from ULA, SMD, Gossamer Gear, Golite, Osprey, Gregory, Mountainsmith, and Zimmerbuilt.  Fit is the most important thing and is very personal, but I will say that to me, the Seek Outside is the best load hauler and an excellent pack, though can be a bit unrefined.  I haven’t used the Divide, but it looks like it might be a bit more refined for us backpackers.  It is a pretty big pack though, so it may not be the pack for you if you are looking at a Porter 2400.

I do like the weight and a lot of the features of the Porter, but the shoulder straps and hipbelt aren’t up to the same level as the Seek Outside.

The McHale is by far the most refined, but isn’t big enough for trips over a week (mine is 2884ci) with a bear can and heavier than my other options.  When I bought it, it was going to be the last pack I would ever buy, but the need for a larger pack got me to try the Seek Outside and I really really liked it.

As far as fabrics go, I have the XPac X21RC and if you are wanting bomber, I would go with the X42 or X51.  I don’t think the X21RC or the 150D Hybrid Cuben is as tough as 210d Dyneema Grid, but of course nothing is going to beat woven Dyneema, but at a cost.  The XPac is waterproof though.

I have no experience with Katabatic packs, so I can’t comment on them.

If you want a large load hauler, the Seek Outside Divide in X42 (or custom X51), or the HMG Porter in Dyneema (if you feel the normal hybrid cuben isn’t tough enough for you) are hard to beat.

If you want a smaller pack, I would add in a McHale Bump which is $700 with accessories.

In the end, fit is king, so get what fits you.  I might even buy a Porter on gearswap and make sure it fits before you spring for a full dyneema one if you go that route.

I think the HMG packs warrant a serious consideration. After using MLD, Golite, CCW, Cilogear, Arcteryx, and others, HMG is a spot on fit, and blend of high quality, but stripped down.  I have a Porter 3400 in dyneema and it is a great pack that will be around for years of use to come, and multi use ready.

Just want to throw out, as my by buddy has recently purchased a new ULA, that they now have an option of replacing the 210d robic material (bulk of pack body) with 500d cordura nylon. pretty toughstuff and not too heavy.

I think you’d be happy with the HMG.

Thanks for the suggestions so far!

Reading back on my posts, I should probably clarify a bit. I’d like the pack to carry 40lbs, but I will typically be far under 40lbs. The vast majority of the time I’d probably be under 20lbs. So I don’t need a load hauler; I’d simply like a pack that enables me to carry two gallons of water if the need so arises or enables me to disappear into the woods for a week or more. Such needs would be rare, but possible. I’m trying to minimize my gear, so a one-pack-fits-most solution would be ideal.

Everyone’s been quite helpful! I’ll have to mull over what everyone wrote and try to determine the best course of action. I’ll probably poke around the internet, reading reviews and experiences with the options mentioned. I’m sure the chaff will eventually blow away.

Oh, and regarding the budget, it’s pretty easy to make a small chunk of money when one minimizes their belongings. I decided that I use very little of what I own, so I’m simply selling off everything I don’t use or could not imagine me using anytime in the foreseeable future. Really, the only things that are sticking around are my books and my backpacking gear.

Katabatic are really nice, their construction quality truly blows other manufactures away.

I own a bunch of packs but needed one that was capable of serious bushwacking and also had good back ventilation so I went with the Katabatic Artemis. As far as load carrying, it’s a 10/10 under 20lbs (total weight), 9/10 under 25, 7.5/10 under 30 and more like a 5/10 in the 30-40. It can be done but it’s not a heavily padded belt so not exceptionally comfortable. In truth, I haven’t tried any packs under 40oz that are with those weights. I really love the pack, it carry’s well even in rough uneven terrain, ventilates great, is mostly waterproof, is crazy durable and doesn’t hold stink nearly as bad as many of my other packs (I have one my wife won’t even allow in the garage without being washed first it smells so bad!).

I like it so much that I’m considering getting the Helios in cuben for a fast trip on the PCT across Washington this summer. It’s pretty much the same pack but almost 1/2lb lighter in my size. I’d lose durability but that’s not really an issue on the PCT. Of course I should really go very light with a Zpacks but the idea of relying on those ties and bent carbon rods isn’t very appealing to me so it’s not as clear as just deciding on weight.

With your budget, I’d personally get a Helios 55 and put the other $250 into a trip.

I’m definitely leaning towards the Porter or a Katabatic pack, and it’s good to hear that the latter is fairly durable. There are very few true wilderness backcountry camping areas in Oklahoma, and the closest and most convenient area to me is Charons Garden Wilderness in Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge. It’s pretty scrubby. It’s a lot of this:

Lots of briars. Lots of boulders.

You might lean to the Artemis or the Helios in V40 then, that looks pretty “pokey!” The only issue I’ve had is that the super stretchy material on the belt pockets can get caught in the scrub but that’s a pretty minimal issue. Similar is used on the sides of the outer pockets but the pack is actually narrower than it looks in pics so I’ve yet to catch that part on anything.
I forgot to mention that the Artemis is one of the few packs that I can easily get water bottles into the side pouches without missing a step. Here’s a pic on my last day on Wonderland, you can see it sits close to the back for stability but the pad they use allows for good airflow.

Shoot a email to zimmerbuilr, tell him what you want, and bam, custom built pack just for you.

If you can stretch for a McHale you will not be disappointed.

Lots of good advice here so far. A few quick comments:

– I imagine the Seek Outside Divide is too large for your needs but they are designing a smaller pack close to 3000 ci and 2 lbs which might be out by fall.

– Take a decent look at CiloGear if you like alpine style packs. Their 45L worksack – available in woven dyneema – is a nice alpine pack.
http://www.cilogear.com/45lws.html

– Also take a look at the Hanchor Marl. The design is similar to an HMG pack but it’s a bit more fully featured (e.g. load lifters, horizontal frame stay) and ~25% lower cost because it uses XPac instead of cuben. It’s also slightly bigger (2550ci) than a 2400 HMG pack so it could fit your niche well.
https://www.hanchor.com/products/Outdoor%20Series/MARL_Hiking_Backpack?locale=en

– I have no experience with Katabatic packs. They sure look nice. A single stay makes me a little nervous but Aaron puts a lot of thought into his stuff so it probably works.

Like Dan said, lots of good post on here.  I cannot comment on what is best, because I’ve only used a handful of packs.  I do have a Helios 40.  I bought the Helios about a year ago after discussing it with a number of kind people on this site.  I was looking for a pack that would comfortably carry a 10 day load during the shoulder seasons.

The first trip I used it on was a hike of the Border Route and Kek trails in the Boundary Waters the first week of May.  Some snow still on the trail and some lakes still iced in, so it was a shoulder season trip, not a winter trip.  Lots of snowdown from winter blocking the trail, which meant the pack got a lot of abrasion from climbing through, over and under downed trees and through what seemed like endless brush bent over the trail.  The pack held up great to all of the abrasion and carried great too.  I think I made the right choice for my needs.

I should point out that most of the advice I received pointed me to Helios 55 as a more versatile choice than the Helios 40 for very little weight penalty.  The Helios is not my go to pack, as I have other packs that are lighter for shorter trips where I’m carrying less weight and don’t need as much structure, but for trips with a little more weight I’v been very happy with the Helios.

“Also take a look at the Hanchor Marl. The design is similar to an HMG pack but it’s a bit more fully featured (e.g. load lifters, horizontal frame stay) and ~25% lower cost because it uses XPac instead of cuben. It’s also slightly bigger (2550ci) than a 2400 HMG pack so it could fit your niche well.
https://www.hanchor.com/products/Outdoor%20Series/MARL_Hiking_Backpack?locale=en”

Dan, Are you able to compare the Hanchor Marl’s harness, frame, and carry to HMG’s? Does the Marl handle a heavier load (>30 lbs.) better? Thanks.

I cant speak on the seek outside packs, though obviously there is a lot of love for them. I used a dyneema hmg ice pack for a couple of years though, and now I’ve used my katabatic artemis for a couple of years and I definitely prefer the artemis. The design is more refined, with a better contouring harness. While I’ve carried 40 & a little beyond, thats not its strong suit. The comfort, durability and liveability (access) are its greatest strengths. I dont think the porter makes much sense for moving efficiently over the course of a day, with its one big compartment design. Transitions are noticeably slower, fiddling with the roll top and finding ways to lash and unlash layers to the outside of the pack. Every pocket on the artmis is pretty ideally designed and easy to use, making for much smoother transitions. I sort of understood the appeal of the basic ruck design when i got my ice pack, but now I think there is no practical advantage for backpacking. My artemis has been no more snag prone then my ice pack when bushwacking, but a lot better in every other way.

I hate the stretchy material that seems to be all the rage for packmakers to use for pockets nowadays.  Not only do I find it hard to use on water bottle pockets, I find it not very durable.  I much prefer a solid non-stretchy fabric or leno mesh.

I do like my water bottle pockets, and though the ones on my SO Unaweep aren’t a marvel of design, they work just fine with 32oz Gatorade bottles.  I hear the ones on the Divide are improved.  McHale has by far the best water bottle pockets, modular in design, and are what the HMG water bottle pockets should have been.  If you end up going with a Porter and want water bottle pockets, I would look at the Zimmerbuilt option (google as they don’t show up on his website).  The removable Porter stuff pocket on the other hand, seems like a good, modular design.

Zimmerbuilt was mentioned, and I agree Chis does excellent work (his sewing is impeccable), but I am not sure his frame is as good as the others – unless he changed something lately he used the same U shaped stay as Gossamer Gear.

I will reiterate my thought that while pack design is important, fit is the key.  Before dropping big money on a full Dyneema Porter or Cilogear, I would do my best to make sure they fit, otherwise you will have a bombproof pack that you never want to use.