Hello All

What feedback do you have on this pack?

Thanks Jim

This is now my go to pack for most trips. Ron dialed in the design perfectly IMO.

I have my Prophet for when more volume is required.

I just put in my order for the Burn on Monday. It's going to be a loooooong 7 weeks! Hopefully we can get some more feedback on the pack from members who have some trail time with the Burn. Thom, did you order a stock Burn or did you add any custom features? What are your impressions? I know Christopher Graf ordered one with the Prophet wings and load lifters and I'd like to hear more from him too.

Eugene,
My Burn is stock but for having Ron add Prophet style haul and tool loops. I also opted for a removable 1" web belt in place of the standard belt with padded wings.

Gotcha Thom, excellent. Nice call on the 1" removable webbing. With your summer gear list you're packing pretty in the Burn.

I received mine last week but had to send it back to MLD for further customization.

I did however have it long enough to pack up a typical short trip load into the Burn and I have to agree with Thom, I think Ron really nailed it on the design of this one. The pack's slim profile hugs my back so closely that I can hardly feel the pack weight. I can hardly wait to hit the trail with this pack!

Mine has been customized somewhat (which is the second best reason to buy from MLD... quality being the first). I have added the padded waist belt wings and a 1.5 inch belt. I've also added 2 compression straps on both sides to allow me to carry fly rods (or a tent if I needed the pack space on longer trips).

This pack fits me perfectly. I really like the long slim profile and all of the pockets are highly functional. I can fit my cook pot (pot, stove and gas can) easily into one of the bottle pockets and the draw string closure keeps it secure (why don't all pack manufacturers use this feature?). My rain gear fits nicely into the large back pocket.

My only (very minor) complaint is that the sternum strap is attached to a very long, free floating webbing strap on the shoulder strap and I found it slipped slightly to the side when I cinched it tight. This just might be me because I tend to cinch up the sternum strap pretty tightly sometimes. I've asked Ron to tack the strap down so we will see how that goes. The picture below shows a slightly exaggerated view of the sternum strap problem (it doesn't deflect quite this far but it did slide slightly off the padded strap).

Eugene,
The belt wings on the Burn are standard and if a removeable web belt is desired it must be noted when ordering. This may be somewhat confusing as the original prototype description and pictures posted by Ron on Facebook showed a removeable belt.

I am waiting on mine to arrive.

I requested the Prophet hipbelt wings on the Burn I ordered. The necessity to tank up on a couple liters of water on dry stretches of trail may bring loads carried in my Burn closer to 20-24lbs. occasionally. At that weight I personally find I prefer more than a webbing strap on a pack if I'm going to be hiking for several hours, it'll give my shoulders a rest.

How many of you who ordered the Burn also fly fish? It's sounding like the Burn is a go-to pack for short overnight/weekend summer fly fishing trips where a nimble and streamlined pack that hugs the body for moving along streams is required.

Edited by Eugeneius on 04/22/2010 06:24:54 MDT.

I should have mentioned that I test loaded the Burn with a standard weekend load of 16 lbs (total pack weight) and it was easily handled by the standard (unpadded) hip belt wings. I did have the 1.5 inch belt which helps a bit IMO.

I also loaded the Burn with water and raised the weight to 26 lbs and the pack actually felt OK at this weight even with the unpadded hip belt. Since I was only wandering around the house with my load tests, you can take that for what it is... trail use may prove to be a different story but I'm impressed with the initial load test.

Another thing I would mention is that the Burn may be a challenge to load with 25 pounds of gear unless your load is extremely compact. I was able to test load to that weight because of the additional side straps that were added that allowed me to offload my tent to the outside of the pack. I also had my rain gear, some water and cook set in the pack pockets (which an uncustomized Burn handles nicely).

I would also think that those of you that roll your sleep mat inside the burn to form a tube might not have much spsce left to stow gear since this pack has a very slim profile. I'd be interested in hearing from anybody that has packed the Burn with a rolled pad as I use a Neo
Air, so I don't pack like that.

I'd also like to hear from anyone using any pad (rolled, folded, whatever) in the Burn.

Lastly, what are you carrying for shelters with this pack?

I know volume is tight. I'm wondering if one could pair a Duomid with this pack.........

anyone?

I was a very early adopter when Ron first announced the Burn. I had been looking for a smaller volume pack for some time now as most of my trips are 3-day or less. I basically ordered mine the first day he had them listed and recieved it that week (happened to have a few in stock).

Overall, the pack has been great. I'd agree with someone above who stated one's gear list needs to be well sorted. The pack is slim and minimalistic. I found the large size perfect for my 6'3" frame. Load carrying is solid and 20lbs should be zero issue.

Breaking the pack down further, the pack is made with dyneema gridstop. Those familiar with ULA packs will be happy to know, this is the same material. Tough as nails, seems to handles some level of rain/snow pretty well and wears like iron. It's impressive such a "heavy" material can still produce such a light pack.

Layout wise, the front panel mesh is a heavier version (again, similar to what ULA was using). It's a nice expandable pocket that can handle a lot of gear and due to the packs profile, I never find issue with snags or getting hung up. We were in the White's this winter right after they picked up like 60" of snow over 3 days and there must have been 20-30 blow downs of various density and I just plowed through them without issue. Pack is seriously tough.

Ron has integrated a nice closure strap from the top of the pack to the top of the mesh pocket. I would have prefered if the anchor point on the back panel of the pack (between the shoulder straps) was possibly sewn to a larger section of webbing to better distribute the pressure that strap places on the pack when cinched. Right now it's a .5" piece of webbing just anchored into the seam where the extension collar is sewn into the body. When tight it places a fair amount of pressure on that point. I'm really nit picking here but figured I'd point it out. Std draw cord closure for the top of the bag.

The Burn uses nice heavy (higher tension) bungi cord that actually does it's job and holds things solid. I used the supplied bungi to make a criss/cross compression matrix across the mesh front panel as well as a triangle compression cordage similar to what's shown on MLD's site for side compression. This allows some load control keeping everything tight.

Shoulder straps are nice items. Fairly thick padding but the straps themselves are pretty narrow. That being said, I haven't found any issue with them digging in during use. Ron intergrated nice finger loops on the end of the shoulder adjustment strap which aids in adjustment as well as providing a nice place to allow one to rest their arms/hands during hiking.

Waist belt is a simple 1" webbing attached to non-padded wings. I was concerned this would be semi problematic depending on load weight but at least thus far, hasn't proven to be an issue. If your a cincher, I'd probably recommend adding a little ccf padding there. I still might do it myself but as mentioned, haven't had any issues thus far but that's during winter months were your clothing provides some level of padding. Time will tell.

Pack volume is pretty small. As mentioned, you need to have your gear list well sorted. To answer the previous posters question, for winter use I load my stuffed WM Versalite vertically in the bottom and then stuff my cuben duo right along side. Perfect fit and utilizes pack space nicely. I think/thought I tried stuffing the Versalite horizontally along the bottom of the pack and if memory serves me right, it was a real tight fit and pulled the pack out of shape some.

So packing wise, I fold my neoair into thirds and lay that in on the back panel, then goes the Versalite and duomid into the bottom. Next goes sleep clothing/spare draws/socks, then food generally, then common use stuff up top. Depending on time of year this can range from an outer shell, down jacket, fleece, gloves, microspikes, hat, wicking shirt, etc. From there I put my medic kit, toiletries, tent stakes/gc, alchy stove into the front mesh pocket. If I'm pulling gloves on/off or a hat or shell, I'll also stuff that into the mesh for easy access. Water in the side mesh pocket (sometimes alcky stove) and I'm ready to roll. I've also added straps for carrying snowshoes as well as used the bungi to lash supplemental ccf sleeping pads to the bottom of the pack.

For summer use with a quilt and tarp, my load volume goes down even more and space opens up nicely.

Overall a great pack. I'm sure given some careful planning and pairing of gear based on condtions, one could get 5-days from this pack.

Edited by itbvolks on 05/05/2010 07:22:02 MDT.

Thanks for the great review.

I have decided I am going to order one, but I can't decide on what if anything I should customize.

What have people been ordering and liking?

Load lifters?
Prophet hipbelt?
Straps for snowshoes and extra CCF pad for winter?
Anything else?

Eric, than answers so many questions for me!

I see that say you pack your WM Versalite already stuffed...about what size is that?

Is the Duomid in a stuff sack as well? or are you using that to fill the rest of the bottom space of the pack?

Any air in the NeoAir at all?

I really like your set-up!

Zack,

My pack as delievered is stock. I might add a lash point or two to supplement things like snowshoe use but otherwise, mine's all stock. I don't see any need for load lifters with this pack. Just not enough body to it to provide any benefit.

Stuff size wise, I'd rate the WM as fairly large with a stuffed size of 8x15". I stuff both the duomid and bag in their respective stuff sac's. Even with both stuffed, there's about zero room in the base of the pack once those items are in there. lol

As far as the neoair, I don't inflate it at all. If the weather is good, I'll leave the valve open but I don't actively inflate anything. Comfort is still very good.

Edited by itbvolks on 05/05/2010 08:03:27 MDT.

Again, sounds great...not to take away from the thread, but i'm not sure if i follow you about the weather being good and the valve being opened?

I cant wait to see more reviews of this pack...possibly pics...anyone?

I have used/use insulated self-inflators for sleeping pads prior to the neoair. For that instance, I'll leave the valve open if the weather is good (no rain) so the pad sort of inflates/creates a softer back pad. With self inflators, it allows the fill to breath as well so you don't trap moisture for your breath. Probably not required for the neoair. I don't like actually inflating the pad because it usually distorts the back panel and makes the pack round.

Edited by itbvolks on 05/05/2010 10:37:30 MDT.

I just got my Burn back from MLD after a few adjustments were made and I thought I'd post some pictures just to tease those of you that haven't received your order yet.

Ron made a few customizations for me that have resulted in a pack that is as close to my dream pack as I can imagine.

I've added the padded hip belt wings and a 1.5 inch waist belt strap as well as multiple side compression straps. The compression straps allow me to carry my fly rods or to attach my tent to the outside of the pack to gain some extra space for consumables. I've estimated that the addition of the straps will allow me to carry at least 6 days of food in this little gem. The penalty for all of my customizations is 4 ounces and brings the total pack weight to 13.9 oz.

Here's a shot of my Burn fully loaded with my weekend gear (all gear including my Fly Creek UL 1 fit nicely inside the pack).



MLD tacked down the webbing on the shoulder strap to resolve the problem I mentioned earlier in this thread regarding the sternum strap slipping to the side. It holds perfectly now.



Here's a photo of my Burn with my Fly Creek UL 1 attached to the outside of the pack with the custom compression straps. This frees up a lot of valuable pack space.



Here's a photo that compares the size of the Burn (left) with my Exodus (middle) and my Vapor Trail (right). All packs are long torso sizes.

Thanks for the pics of the custom work but also for the comparison shots!