"I purchased this pack on line for $110. I was replacing a Lowe Alpine Contour III lost to Hurrican Katrina. With so much to replace, a new backpack left very little in the budget. Well, was I pleasantly surprised. This pack holds a lot of stuff. Since the Lowe Contour did not have much in the way of pockets, I was pleased to have all of the pockets for organization. The pack was easy to adjust to get a good fit. I used it for 5-day trip and found it to be very comfortable. The construction of the pack seems to be very sound.
So far no complaints. I will have to see how the bag holds up over time and see if future use show any warts."
"I bought this as my large (6,000 cubic inches) pack. It was on sale for $110, and was under 6 lbs (5.6 lbs). I also knew Mountainsmith to be a reputable company, so I thought I was in for a steal!
Well, you get what you pay for. The single buckle (as opposed to the normal 2), sucks, and the side pockets that double as ciches to stablize the load don't work as well as normal cinches. Also, the hipbelt buckle broke, so I had to replace it with my buckle from my old Kelty pack.
It is light, and after getting used to the above shortcomings, isn't too bad for the price. It is worth the money, as long as you don't spend more than I did.
Ratings:
Quality - 3
Price - 5
Comfort - 3.5
Ease of Use - 3
Weight - 4
Durability - 2.5"
"I had purchased this backpack in February. It was on sale for $130.Since I was looking for extended trip pack. I have found that besides the side pockets that act as cinches(works alright)i love the pack.It rides well on my hips and off my shoulders nicely.the water pockets work well. The front panel pocket is a little small. Over all I really like the pack. As for toughness we'll will see. It loks like it'll stand up to anything"
"I found the pack to be exceptional. For only paying $100, I think it's a great pack for the price. I didn't give in to the myth that was getting a $500 backpack for a $100 backpack price. I was getting a $100 backpack, plain and simple.
Overall I liked the pack very much. It met some of my expectations and surpassed some others. Example:
I liked the belt and how it is designed to fit varying waist sizes. I liked the fanny pack. I thought the hydration compatibility was fantastic. The side pockets were the right size, especially since I wasn't planning to bring the kitchen sink. I liked the back and top pockets. I liked how the pack was so adjustable to give the "fits likes a glove" kind of feel. Overall I give the pack an above average score.
A con to the pack would be it's bottom or sleeping bag compartment. I wish it was a tad bit bigger. But if it was any bigger I guess it wouldn’t be considered a 6000 cubic inch pack now would it?"
"First time out this mammoth bag fit like a glove, thanks to the adjustablity of the pack frame. I was able to "Steal" this bag on sale for $45.00. (I think it was a mistake but the store didn't clarify.) The detachable lumbar pack, with the clear map window is a cool extra feature I can't see myself using this alone but it's kinda fun.
The hip belt is suprisingly comfortable, most people would enjoy a little more padding but I like the extra aero-dynamics of the thing.
I can see the Shoulder straps use a little more padding for a fully loading 6000c" bag, but was not unbearable with a 40lb load over rough terrain, bag did not shift a great deal either thanks to the well placed stabilizer straps.
There are more comortable and fancier bags out there, with even more bells and whistles, for my money you can't beat this bag."
