Aug 282010
 

We both used Mountainsmith backpacks during our December 2009 backpacking trip in Costa Rica’s Corcovado National Park.  I used the Circuit 3.0 pack, and Jen used the Boundary pack. 

Neither of us liked our packs, the primary problem being the waist belt, which rubbed large raw spots on both our hips.  In my case, the skin was still repairing itself two months after the trip.  The waist belts are simply too large for people with our waist sizes (I have a 29-inch waist, for example), causing the load to ride too far down on the hips.  I called Mountainsmith about this, asking about obtaining a smaller waist belt, but they only have one size available for a given pack.  I guess I could have cannibalized Jen’s pack for her smaller waist belt, but that isn’t exactly a real solution from the manufacturer.  And it was not the overall size of the packs that was the problem, as they both matched our torso lengths. 

Other problems were that the detachable lid kept pulling itself aft and over the frame, to the point of allowing rainwater to pool at the top of the pack and flow into its interior (and the tops only have a single closure — not the double draw-string closures found in many packs); and the bungee cord on a water bottle pocket pulled free of its stitching on the second day of use.  My old, Vietnam-era, military issue, large ALICE pack is a far-superior product.

In August 2010, we gave the Boundary pack another chance, this time with me using it instead of Jen.  I do like the thick material and heavy stitching in this pack, but it still suffers from having only two exterior side pockets (I like at least one more exterior compartment for organizing the small stuff), and not having a double closure for the top of the main compartment.  And then there’s that nasty habit of the detachable lid sliding aft over the frame, which continued.

These packs are just not winners.

 Posted by at 6:48 am