Super Wilderness Designs Long Haul

[Alex Willows]

Hi all,

I’m currently in the market for a new pack for a 6-10 month backpacking trip next year, covering South America, the US (JMT woot!), India and Nepal. I’ve done lots of walking here in Australia, predominantly in Tasmania, where conditions are extremely rough on gear, meaning most of what I have is very tough and heavy. I’m sure some of you would cry seeing some of the stuff I take. Oh well!

However, given conditions shouldn’t be so uncomfortable overseas, I’m looking to get lighter, and a pack is one place where I definitely could lose a few pounds (or, you know, kg for the rest of the world). I had originally settled on a Zpacks Arc Haul, as I think it has roughly the feature set I’m after: lightweight, framed, waterproof materials, claimed to be comfortable carrying 15+kg, interesting colours. However, after reading lots of reviews, there were enough concerns about what looks like a complicated frame system to make me quite hesitant.

In looking for alternatives, I came across the SWD Long Haul:

http://superiorwildernessdesignsllc.bigcartel.com/product/the-long-haul-pack

It’s a 62L total volume pack with a simple frame, (aluminium stays), made of a waterproof material that comes in cool colours, and is probably slightly more durable to boot. It weighs a little more than the Arc Haul, but also comes with a number of features (belt pockets) as standard that are add-ons for the Zpacks. Claimed comfy carrying weight is 30lb/13.5kg, but the section hiker review claimed up to 35lb/15kg, which would likely be enough for most things I’ll be doing. I aim to have a base weight somewhere around 6kg, including camera gear, and will probably be doing up to 10 days at a time, but will be sharing with my partner.

So after that long-winded introduction, I’m really looking for any opinions of people on here who have used one of these packs. At face value, it looks like it ticks just about all the boxes for me, but there is a relative dearth of information out there, especially when compared to other more established UL packs. If you have used it, did you find it comfortable? To what weights? Any particular features you liked or didn’t like? Customisations you would make? Issues with the fabric?

I understand that they are a relatively new, small brand, so experience may be limited, but this seemed a good place to ask. I have read every review on the net I can find, but am looking for more feedback before I place an order for an expensive, custom bit of gear. Anything you can provide is useful :) .

Cheers!

[Alex Willows]

…And I spelled the company name wrong. Nice job. It’s Superior Wilderness Designs, though I’m sure they are indeed super.

[Alex H]

You might also look at the Elemental Horizons Kalais, colors seem to be important to you and you can have Matthew make it out of Ripstop, Gridstop or XPac in multiple colors.  Excellent feature set and carries 35#+ well.

[Claire S]

Hey Alex!

I recently bought a customized long-haul from SWD.  I haven’t been able to get many trail miles in yet (I bought it around xmas time, so it’s still too cold for me to get out), but I can tell you that the construction and the customer service are amazing.  Brandon answered a TON of questions for me and tweaked the pack to my specifications.  It’s definitely a relatively economical way to get a semi-custom pack.

So far, I’ve only put about 20lbs in it to walk around the neighborhood, but it felt great.  I did have an issue getting it to fit just so, but I emailed Brandon (again) and he gave me some very successful tips on getting the pack to ride a bit more like I was used to with my Osprey.

The fabric looks like it’ll hold up just fine, and Brandon was able to talk me through various options to help me pick the one that would best suit my backpacking needs.  For customization, I added a high side pocket, roll top closures, 4 way stretch front pocket, and dual adjust belt (this was before they started adding the hydration sleeve, which I would add now if I could).

Overall, I highly recommend them, and can’t wait to get this pack outside.

[Alex Willows]

Hey guys, thanks for the replies! The Kalais does indeed look like an interesting pack.

Great to hear you’re happy with yours Claire, hopefully you’ll get to try it in anger soon! I actually ended up biting the bullet and ordering a pack for myself and my partner last week. We went with pretty much the same feature set: roll top closure, xpac front pocket, dual adjust hip belt, normal sized bottle pockets on both sides. We also got rid of all the water bladder kit, as neither of us use one. Opted for VX42 on the bottoms too for extra durability. Funky colours too, mostly teal/purple (my partner opted for pretty much the exact same colours as their recent purple/teal number, looks cool!).

I must admit that I’m kinda nervous. I’ve never ordered anything custom made before, and whilst they are indeed reasonably priced for what you’re getting, it’s still a fair chunk of change to lay down for something one can’t try on, or even see beforehand. Such is the way with small manufacturers I guess! Now I’ve just gotta hope I’ve made a good decision :P From what most people have said though, I’m hopeful that I have. I’ll make sure to post some photos/some sort of review on here once I get a chance to use it!

[Matthew / BPL]

How about a bright wasabi green Prophet or Exodus from MLD with the Airbeam suspension upgrade? It might be easier to deal with on flights that a framed pack and MLD is known for reliability.

[Monty Montana]

It’s a little late for you Alex, but for others interested in a SWD pack, they’re available at 20% off through Garage Grown Gear starting today.  I only wish they would accept my REI dividend!

[Michael Schlesselmann]

@matthewkphx, Ron just said he discontinued the suspension upgrade on the MLD facebook group. Super bummed about this since I’ve been drooling over a Prophet for a while and it would be nice to have that option (hooray for SoCal water carries).

The SWD 35 with full suspension looks promising though. What are people’s thoughts on packs without load lifters?

Edit: Wrong Matthew tagged…

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