SWD SL40

[Nicholas P]

https://www.swdbackpacks.com/product-page/sl40-internal-frame

New offering from SWD , I may be wrong but this seems like their  response to the Kakwa.
looks pretty compelling with removable tubular frame , sewn on hip belt, ultra x 100/200 fabric and coming in at around 22 ounces. Now if you could get Brandon to add a bottom pocket which I’m sure he would do, this pack  is looking pretty sweet! I wonder if they will also offer it in a larger capacity given the claimed 40lb maximum load carry.

[Nicholas P]

Maybe another pack one might compare this with would be the Outdoor vitals Ks40, I believe Ryan is working on a review of that one which should be interesting .
Another thing I noticed while perusing the SWD site is that the long haul , Big wild and wolverine packs now have adjustable torso lengths within there standard size ranges.

[Nicholas P]

The Pilgrim Ultreia is another capable seeming ultralight framed pack coming in at around 22 ounces that  is probably the most  comparable to the  new SL40 that I have seen and it has that  bottom pocket that I’ve grown quite fond of.
It’s cool to see these framed packs coming in almost as light as some frameless packs while quite possibly maintaining all  the capabilities of other heavier full framed packs.
Ryan Jordan , if you are reading this  a comparison review of these packs seems like it could be prudent. Just some food for thought.
-cheers

https://pilgrimul.com/product/ultreia-40l-framed-ultralight-backpack-copy/

[Dan @ Durston Gear]

“I may be wrong but this seems like their response to the Kakwa….looks pretty compelling with removable tubular frame”

Their website says “two tubular stays” so it sounds like they are taking advantage of tubing (rather than flat barstock) to provide frame stays at a lower weight. That’s great because it’s more weight efficient (likely stiffer and lighter than barstock) but not that similar to the Kakwa. The Kakwa also uses tubing but as a part of a tubular frame with both vertical and horizontal components rather than individual vertical stays.

It looks like a nice pack though. I had a chance to see a few SWD packs this summer for the first time, and they looked super nice.

[Nicholas P]

Dan you are right, I did look again after my original post and noticed the “two tubular stays” as opposed  to a full tubular frame with with Horizontal structure such as the Kakwa and yes I had initially and wrongly assumed that was Also the case with the SL40 . So I would like to walk back my statement about it possibly being SWD’s response to your  kakwa, but I do think it holds true that all the packs I mentioned while they do have many differences they fall into a similar niche and warrant some comparison which would be of interest to the demographic of hikers looking to cut as much weight as possible in a mid sized pack without sacrificing a higher load carrying ability and certain other features.

What’s your take on that Pilgrim pack I linked too ? They are using carbon stays to get the weight down I’m assuming they are going to be less robust than the tubular stays in the SWD pack , Any thoughts on that?

[Terran Terran]

I wonder if the load carrying capacity may be just a wee bit overstated.

[Dan @ Durston Gear]

“What’s your take on that Pilgrim pack”
I gotta be a bit careful commenting on gear from other companies because I may not be that familiar with it and even if I am, I have a conflict of interest along with disproportionate influence, so even a genuine attempt at a balanced take may not sit well with the company or some readers.  Here, I’m not familiar with the Pilgrim packs.

Generally though, the weight of these packs is mostly the sum of the features as long as the designer doesn’t get caught up in adding too many bells and whistles. The Kakwa 40 is 27 oz in the standard spec which is fully featured. The SWD SL40 looks lighter at 22 oz but once you add hipbelt pockets and shoulder strap pockets (as many would) then it’s similar at about 26 oz, and also for the Pilgrim: It is 22 oz in the basic configuration but if you add common features you’re back around 26-27 oz. So there’s not a lot of weight separation between these packs.

For the frames, I like having horizontal structure at the shoulder because it keeps the pack against your shoulders and prevents it from rounding/moving back. I think it gives a better carry than the ubiquitous dual frame stay design, but I also don’t want to overstate this because at an ultralight load either style is going to work pretty well. With the Pilgrim it looks like they’re claiming 35 lbs load limit. I find these limits fairly subjective because some people are going to tolerate a lot more discomfort/poor weight distribution than others so it’s not really a black and white thing if they are overstating it. If the carbon stays are quite flexy then 35 lbs won’t work too well, but if they are stiff enough to not bend then I could see it doing that.

[Nicholas P]

Dan, thanks for sharing your thoughts ,your assessment is pretty much exactly in line with my own but I do find that with a bottom pocket which the pilgrim pack does come with I have less of a need for hip belt pockets especially if I add a small fanny pack , I think mine only weighs about 2 ounces if I  felt  I even needed it , but I would for sure add a pocket to the shoulder strap.

Interestingly enough Hyperlite just dropped a new lower volume framed pack today that they’re calling the Waypoint 35 it has a single aluminum frame stay  plus wider shoulder straps (wider than their other packs)  with pockets on them .  It  comes in at around 23.5 ounces and uses their standard hip belt (so hip belt pockets  as well) and they are claiming a 40lb  max carry which I’d take with a large grain of salt  but  who’s really gonna carry near 40lbs in a 35 liter pack anyway ? Between this and the SL40 I think the SL40 is the more attractive pack but Pilgrims smaller High line pack is probably a better direct comparison even though it has a much lower stated load carry.

https://www.hyperlitemountaingear.com/products/waypoint-35

https://pilgrimul.com/product/highline-framed-ultralight-backpack-ultra-200/

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