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| Biographical
Information |
Name:
|
Mark
Wood
|
A Brief
Introduction
I grew up camping with my
parents and had taken a few short backpacking trips, as well as a
couple of 10-day trips before I got married. While my wife and I have
enjoyed car camping and day hiking for close to 5 years, this year we
have decided to make backpacking a permanent part of our lives. Our
trips are generally shorter (2 - 5 days) over rocky, hilly terrain. My
general pack weight for a 3 day trip is around 35 lb (16 kg) including food
and water. |
| Age
/ Sex: |
25 / Male |
| Height: |
5' 11" (1.8 m) |
| Weight: |
240 lb (109 kg) |
| Email
Address: |
woodmark0 at yahoo dot
com |
| Location: |
Chenango County, NY,
U.S.A. |
| Product
Information |
| Manufacturer: |
Eastern
Mountain Sports (EMS) |
 |
| Year of Manufacture: |
2005 |
| URL of Manufacturer: |
http://www.ems.com |
| MSRP: |
$89.00
US |
| Listed Weight: |
3
lb 7 oz (1.56 kg) |
| Weight as Delivered: |
3 lb 6 oz (1.53 kg) |
| Advertised Volume: |
2200
cu in (36 L) |
| Listed Dimensions: |
25
x 10.5 x 6 in (64 x 27
x 15 cm) |
| Materials: |
330-denier
double ripstop
nylon with hypalon accents and a 1000-denier Kodra nylon bottom. |
The EMS Ridgeline pack is a
rugged pack designed for hard use. Its capable of carrying skis,
snowboards or snowshoes as well as store enough gear for a day outside.
The sturdy construction with a single aluminum stay and hip belt
are designed to carry a decent load for the pack's size.
For a more detailed description, see my initial report here.
|
| Field Report |
Admittedly, when I first saw
this pack, I was very impressed with the construction and attention to
detail. This pack is built just as sturdily as a full size hiking
pack but in a smaller size. Throughout the last couple of months,
I have put this pack through the paces and it has performed admirably.
While this pack has been taken on numerous trips, I will discuss
only the relevant trip types here as well as the type of load carried.
Easy Dayhike (<10 miles)
In general, my wife and I like to hike at least
every couple of weeks on some sort of short afternoon or evening hike.
These hikes are usually close to home and are very leissurely with
lots of picture taking. However, I like to make an effort to
carry all necessary gear whenever we head off the pavement.
During these short trips, I usually carry snacks, a map, an extra
layer of clothing for myself and my wife, some form of rain gear for
both of us and enough water to drink. Load averages are around 10
lb (4.5 kg) including the pack. These shorter hikes are usually
over well maintained trails.
I have found the Ridgeline performs very well under these loads.
While the pack is somewhat overkill for easy day hiking, I
still found myself enjoying my hikes more with the Ridgeline than with
a less sturdy pack as the Ridgeline's suspension system really makes
the pack disappear on my back. On these shorter hikes, I really
would appreciate if the side pockets were large enough to fit a full
sized Nalgene type bottle. As it is, it fits fine but the pockets
are not deep enough to hold the bottle in and therefore, I had to chase
my water down the trails a couple of times. Smaller bottles
seemed less of a problem.
Strenuous Dayhike (5 - 15 miles)
Once
in a while, my wife and I enjoy a more strenuous hike over less groomed
trails. While these hikes are not always longer than our easy
dayhikes, they are over rougher terrain and usually are a full day in
length. For these hikes, bushwhacking and some scrambling are
encountered. Normally, my wife also carries a daypack for these
hikes. Also, since we are out longer, we like to stop in the
middle of the day and enjoy a full lunch. Usual pack load for
these types of trips is comprised of snacks, water, GPS and maps, extra
layers of clothes and raingear for myself, stove and a hot meal to
prepare, survival gear (emergency food, shelter, water purification,
rope, knife, etc...). The average weight of this load is close to
20 lb (9 kg) including the pack.
On these more rugged hikes I came to appreciate the Ridgeline even
more. The suspension glued the pack to my back, making scrambling
and bushwhacking much less problematic. With all the flaps and
webbing on the outside of the pack, I expected the pack to catch on
things when bushwhacking, but this proved not to be the case.
Again, water bottle storage proved to be a problem and I often
found myself keeping my water in my pack and reaching for my wife's
water. When it would run dry, I would simply pull out a full
bottle from my pack and replace hers. Granted the Ridgeline is
designed to hold a water bladder, but I really prefer bottles to
bladders as I can see the amount of water remaining very easily.
Light overnight (15 miles round trip)
One of the
ideas I had proposed to try during the testing of this pack was whether
or not it would suffice for a very light overnight trip. After
using the pack for a few dayhikes and being very impressed with the
suspension, I decided to give it a try. For this hike, we picked
a short stretch of trail with some beautiful views. My wife and I
split a normal load and since I could find no maximum weight limit for
the Ridgeline, I packed as normal. I believe I managed to fit a
tent (old and somewhat bulky), sleeping bag, water filter, extra
clothes, food and water all inside of the pack. On the outside, I
hung my air mattress. Overall, I think I had close to 35 lb (16
kg) worth of gear including the pack.
I must say, I am impressed. The pack worked out very well and
handled the load with no problems. The aluminum stay was
sufficient to transfer a decent portion of the heavy load to my hips
and I was never uncomfortable. I did find one issue with this
pack when loaded this full which was that the back panel of the pack is
not very stiff and it tended to bow outward if not packed carefully.
While this was experienced with a lot of weight in the pack, I
really think that it was more a matter of volume and not of weight.
Once I re-arranged my load to eliminate this problem, the
Ridgeline rode very comfortably. Another minor comment revolves
around the shove-it-flap. When I lashed my air mattress to the
lash points on the front of the pack, the shove-it-flap was no longer
easily accessible.
General Comments
I must say that this pack has worked out very well for my uses.
The suspension has allowed this pack to ride very well on my hips
and I have had no chaffing or other pack irritation issues while
wearing this pack.
Overall, throughout the testing period to date, I have managed to answer several questions from my initial report:
Materials and Workmanship
- Are the chosen
materials
sufficient for their particular functions?
- So far, I have found no problems with wear on this pack. All materials have held up well.
- Are the materials used
in the
construction of this pack going to fade quickly with exposure to the
elements?
- I have exposed this pack to rain and sun and have not experienced any fading.
Comfort
- How comfortable is the
pack under trail conditions?
- I
believe comfort is where this pack really shines. I have had no
fit issues and the pack has remained comfortable during both long and
short hikes.
- Do the aluminum stay
and
frame sheet transfer the load to my hips while on the trail?
- I have carried light and heavy loads in this pack and have always felt that the load was transferred well.
- What is the maximum
weight I
find comfortable in the pack?
- For
me, I would have to say that around 35 lb (16 kg) is the maximum weight
for my own uses. I have found that unless I was packing very
heavy gear, the pack filled up long before it achieved its maximum load.
- Do the wicking back
panel
and
Brock foam hip belt allow the pack to breathe on my back?
- The materials of the
back panel and the hip belt have breathed rather well. The design
of the back panel really worked well for me. I did notice a
decent amount of moisture building up under the hip belt, but it seemed
less than with other packs I have tried.
Size and Features
- Is it possible to fit
a very
small overnight load in this pack?
- I
was able to fit a very small overnight load in this pack and carry it
comfortably. However, attention must be payed to the bulk of the
gear as the pack tends to fill up very quickly. I did make use of
the external lash points and found them to be sufficient to extend the
capacity.
- Do the compression
straps
properly contain a load of any size?
- I
found the compression straps to secure loads very well. I noticed
no shifting of loads when the compression straps were snugged down.
- How well does the pack
shed
water?
- I
hiked with the pack in only a couple of light rains, and all my gear
stayed fairly dry. However, I would not count on the Ridgeline to
be waterproof from my limited experience.
- Do I find the layout
of the
pockets on this pack convenient to use while hiking?
- I
found the stuff-it-flap to be great for stashing rain gear and outer
layers while hiking. However, it is covered up when gear is
lashed on the front of the pack. Also, I would really like to see
the side pockets made a little deeper to hold a full sized Nalgene
bottle.
|
| Field
Conditions |
Recently, I have managed
to go day hiking almost
every other weekend in areas surrounding my house. During the next four
months, I plan to continue this schedule. Living in the Upstate New
York area, I have access to many trails in the Catskills and
Adirondacks as well as numerous state and local parks. Elevations will
range anywhere from around sea level up to 4000 ft (1220 m). Current
temperatures in this region are quite warm and humid. It's
been
relatively dry this summer, but rain is quite common come fall. By the
end of the four month testing period, it would not be unreasonable to
expect cold and snowy weather.
|
| Continued Test
Plan |
During the Long Term testing phase, I will look further into the following:
Materials and Workmanship
- Does the pack continue to hold up to my normal use?
- Does the pack begin to fade with continued exposure to the elements?
Comfort
- Does the pack stay comfortable as fall approaches and more layers are worn?
I also plan to report on anything else of significance that comes up
during the testing period. |
| Summary |
My initial impressions of this pack are very positive. The
load transfer and comfort of this pack are very good and I truly feel
that this pack will fit well with my style of backpacking.
Likes:
- Very comfortable
- Good load transfer
- Lots of external attachment points
Dislikes:
- Side pockets are not quite deep enough to hold a Nalgene type water bottle
|
I
would like to thank Eastern Mountain Sports
and
BackpackGearTest.org for the opportunity to participate in this test!
Read more reviews of EMS (Eastern Mountain Sports) gear
Read more gear reviews by Mark Wood
|
