I am trying to choose a new pack and have a trip in 3 weeks, my current one is not exactly light weight, an old North Face Alpha Aura and I finally have my base weight down far enough to pick something light. I have been looking at the GG Maripossa, HMG Porter, or the Zpacks Arc Blast. I will primarily be using the pack in the north east and typically for 4 or 5 days at a time, I want something flexible that I will be able to use in a multitude of situations (possibly even some winter trips). I like the idea of the water resistance of the cuben fiber, but am worried about the durability of the arc blast (one through hike of life as noted in their FAQ), I don't know if the porter suffers the same short life? Any thoughts opinions or wild conjectures would be greatly appreciated, and if you think I missed a pack I should be looking at I would also love to know that!

Zpacks might be cutting it close if you need it in 3 weeks. What is your base weight? I would have no issues buying a cuben pack if everything fit in it comfortably. Just treat it well.

If my specs are correct, all of your gear and consumables should fill half of your current pack at a maximum if you want to comfortably use the porter pack or the arc blast. If not, then the larger mariposa would be the better choice. I didn't care for the gossamer gear pack I had. Great construction and design, but the shoulder straps are too wide for my frame (I'm 6'2, 175lbs, 40in chest if that helps for comparison).

I am down to about a 12 or 13 pound base weight without the pack. I am definitely wider then you at 5'10" 200 pounds and 44 inch shoulders. As far as availability the only company that said there might be an issue is GG

I've also been in the hunt for a new pack with a similar capacity, and here's what I've found. Keep in mind that I'm a totally newbie when it comes to lightweight packs.

Current Pack:

Granite Gear Blaze AC 60
Pros: Best suspension, adjustable for fine tuning torso fit, bought at REI-convenient if there's a problem, 60L for lots of storage, all around great load hauler.

Cons: Heavy - mine comes in at 48 oz with added MLD hipbelt pockets, no hipbelt pockets included, mesh pockets prone to snagging.

The following are the packs I have so far tried. Don't take too much stock in my opinions, as I never tried any of these packs in the field, mainly so I could return the packs while only eating the shipping.

Gossamer Gear Mariposa 2012

Pros: Excellent fabric, most comfortable back panel(sit-lite pad), lots of great pockets and storage, very comfortable with light weight (~20 lbs), comfortable hip belt, looks great, found the pre-bended stays to contour nicely with my back.

Cons: aluminum stays are not very sturdy at all, hip belt is only connected to pack by single strip of Velcro - leading to serious weight transfer problems with heavy weight (30 lbs), didn't like top closing pocket (too much fabric without much purpose), had an odd problem of the hip belt buckle constantly loosening, load lifters seem to serve no purpose - they are not connected to the frame but rather some fabric on the hood.

Conclusion: The suspension problems were really too much for me to overlook. When loaded (>25 lbs) the pack did not seem to move with me (very bad sagging at the hip belt) and pretty much put all weight on the shoulders. I would guess this pack works for someone who keeps weight down and takes extra care to pack the bag properly with a rigid sleep pad.

ULA Ohm 2.0

Pros: Excellent fabric, awesome hip belt, connection between pack and hip belt is solid, great pockets and overall lots of excellent features, load lifters actually connected to frame.

Cons: I again found the stays to be very flimsy - the suspension was overall much better than the mariposa - but does not have the innate rigidity that I'd like - tried cutting a ridge-rest to replace the foam backpad but didn't find much improvement, don't like the top closure cinch mechanism.

Conclusion: The suspension problems were lessened, but still ultimately a problem for me. I would think this pack is awesome for approximately 25 lbs or less.

HMG Porter

Pros: The best stays of the lightweight packs - much more rigid - nicely bent to back shape, the fabric seems durable, best suspension due to sewn in belt and straps between belt and pack, very comfortable hip belt.

Cons: the least amount of features (by design of course), backpad is not removable - not sure if the fabric will be uncomfortable if sweating a lot. Definitely the most expensive, even more so if planning on adding pockets (at what point does one just go for a Mchale?).

Conclusion: I'm going to keep this pack as it saves me roughly 16 oz and appears to have superior load hauling capability, not sure if it will be as good as the Blaze. I like the dry-bag simplicity, but will probably add the back pocket and bottle holders should they become available.

Well that was pretty wordy, I would prefer to try out the zpacks before making my final decision, but the money spent shipping back and forth is starting to equal a pack itself!

Edited by mikehaf on 08/09/2012 16:00:27 MDT.

For the record, I have my base weight at around 14 lbs and am 5'11" and 180 lbs, so the testing of 30 lbs was a little unrealistic for right now. However, I've been aching to get into packrafting and find that I end up carrying lots of group gear when going with the girlfriend. Fully loaded for a 5 day trip with low water availability, I find 30 lbs to be a reasonable upper bound that could be achieved at some point.

I was going to mention the lack of features on the porter. It seems more suited for packrafting, which it sounds like Mike is intending to use it for such.

The arc blast is more comparable to the smaller HMG packs. Arc blast has 2400 cu in of space in the main compartment vs the porter which has 3400. An HMG pack is definitely on my wish list. However, I think external storage for bottles, rain gear, etc is better suited for general backpacking.

I had a GG Gorilla, it was a great pack but didn't feel right on my back so I sold it.
The wide straps were ok.

I love my Zpacks Exo but the material does need to be babied, I had some fraying at the hipbelt from sitting with the pack where it rubbed on the rock but since my baseweight is light I just don't sit or if I do I take the pack off. It patches well with ducktape. The Zpacks Exo can definitely work in winter, it's suspension can handle 30 lbs so I would think the Arc Blast would be similiar. The Zpacks EXO takes a bear canister veritical, not sure if the Arc Blast will.

I also have an HMG Porter, the material is heavier and more durable than the zpack but it's also more double the weight. I don't like the hipbelt as much. You can hang pockets on the outside easily enough. It's a very fine pack.

I also have a GG Nimbus Ozone, none of the above packs are as durable but several times I've loaded the Nimbus up and walked it around the block and then done the same with the other packs and I find the zpacks Exo to be the most comfortable, The Porter has quite a bit more room and to my surprise the GG Nimbus just felt heavy and all the cushion of the hipbelt is not enough to make me want to switch back.

" I like the idea of the water resistance of the cuben fiber, but am worried about the durability of the arc blast (one through hike of life as noted in their FAQ)"

It seems you've taken ZPacks statement re: "One through hike" life of pack as an indication that the pack is not very sturdy.

I didn't understand it that way. For most people (PCT or AT) "one through hike" is 120 or so days on the trail and 2200 to 2600 miles of wear.

Just how often do you get out a year? I'd venture to guess that for the average active backpacker a lifetime of "one through hike" equates to a pack lifetime of at least three or four years, perhaps many more than that for "occasional" backpackers. I'm skeptical that the other packs have lifetimes much longer, or that you'd go that long without wanting to buy a new backpack anyway.

That is an excellent point about life span, though I have had my last pack 15 years.

It seems like you are misreading the ZPacks FAQ. My interpretation was that it was the traditional 1.42 oz/sq yd cuben fiber packs (Blast) whose lifespan was limited to a single thru-hike. The Arc Blast uses more durable 2.92 oz/sq yd fabric, which is much more puncture and UV resistant.

FAQ states:
"The new Exo backpacks are made from stronger hybrid Cuben Fiber material and they should have an easier time holding up for a full thru-hike and longer." (the Arc Blast is made from the same material as the Exo)

While this doesn't specify an exact lifetime, I imagine that is because this is a modest statement, reflecting the fact that, as the hybrid cuben fiber is relatively new, no one has lived out the full life span. This is my own speculation, however.

If your concern is durability though, I would go with a dyneema pack, such as those made by MLD. Additionally, the comment about "one through hike" being a lot of wear above is well-warranted; I don't know how much use you are intending on doing with this pack, but if you are not planning a through hike, even if you hiked a 40 mile weekender every other weekend, 2500 miles would last you well over two years. And this is only using the most modest estimate of the Exo/Arc Blast's lifetime.

Edit:
Another note is that it seems like from HMG's "Technology" page (http://www.hyperlitemountaingear.com/technology), HMG uses the same CF-Nylon hybrid ZPacks uses.

Edited by riemannia on 08/09/2012 14:57:33 MDT.

I decided to pull the trigger and get the HMG Porter. Ultimately I chose the porter with an added hydration port because of its slightly bigger size, stream line shape (no Mesh) and the use of more resilient materials in the shoulder straps and hip belt. I decided again the maripossa simply because of potential availability issues (not worth taking the risk), though I really liked the pocket layout and removable padding (wanted to try it with an air mattress). I do like the ark blasts trampoline back and load lifter option (though I am not sure they do anything), maybe in a couple years if I do some really warm weather hiking or if this whole global warming thing pans out it will be the next pack added to my collection.