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Reviews > Packs > Frameless Backpacks and Day Packs > Equinox Kathadin > Michael Lissner > Field Report (right
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Field Report of Equinox Katahdin Backpack By Michael Jay Lissner 30 July 2004 Contents of Review: 1. Tester Biological Information 2. Backpacking Background 3. Product Information 4. Product Description 5. Conditions of Field Testing 6. Results of Field Testing 6a. Loading 6b. General Comments 7. Plans for Further Testing 8. Current Conclusions 1. Tester Biological Information: Name: Michael Jay Lissner Trail Name: The Chemist Age: 22 Gender: Male Height: 201 cm (6' 7") Weight: 88 kg (195 lb) Email Address: yourmothership at hotmail dot com City of Current Residence: Berkeley, California [back to top] 2. Backpacking Background: I have been backpacking for the greater part of my life. I started with heavy weight packing with the Boy Scouts, but my current style is a highly minimalist one relying on more skill and discomfort and less on creature comforts and toys. Although my backpacking style is an evolving thing, at this point I usually clock in 27.4 k (17 mile) days with a base weight (without food or water) of about 5.4 kg (12 lbs), including my tarp, frameless pack and down quilt. My usual stomping grounds are any of the terrain within three hours from wherever I find myself living. [back to top] 3. Product Information: Manufacturer: Equinox Ltd. Manufacturer's URL: http://www.equinoxltd.com Product's Name: The Katahdin Color Tested: Blue/Black Year of Manufacture: Presumably, 2004 Suggested Retail Price: 120.00 USD Advertised Weight: 624 g (22 oz)* Measured Weight: 720 g (25.4 oz)** Advertised Volume: 55 L (3350 cu in) Measured Volume: 57 L (3461 cu in)*** *The advertised weight has come to be a bit of a recluse number. On the Equinox website, the weight is not given, but on the hangtag that came with the pack, the weight is given as 22 oz. **The weight of the pack was measured by taking it to a supermarket and using their digital checkout scales, which are accurate in ounces to three decimal places (sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do). ***The volume of the pack was measured by filling all of the pack's pockets with packaging peanuts, and then dumping them into a box. By then measuring the inside dimensions of the box, and the height of the peanuts in it, the volume of the pack was determined. [back to top] 4. Product Description: This is an ultralight frameless pack made of Coolmax fabric, 1.1 oz silnylon and nylon webbing. It has what I consider to be a complete smattering of straps, and has five pockets including the main chamber. For a much more detailed description, you have arrived at the wrong place. You should seek out either my Initial Report or that of one of the other testers. [back to top] 5. Conditions of Field Testing: Since the initial report in early June, I have been lucky enough to have plenty of time to test this pack. According to my trail log, I have taken it on no fewer than four trips. Because I have just recently moved to a new city, during these trips I have taken the pack to quite varying terrains. One trip found me crossing snow fields above 3,080 m (10,100 ft) elevation, while the next found me at sealevel camping on the Pacific. Following that trip, I headed to the desert and found myself hiking - nay, backpacking - in 43 C (110 F) weather and 915 m (3,000 ft) elevation. To change it up once again, following that trip I headed back to the mountains for some easy weather where I found myself in rather cozy surroundings at about 2590 m (8500 ft) and daytime temperatures of about 27 C (80 F). So, to conclude, I tested it in a temperature range of about -7 to 43 C (20 to 110 F), an elevation range of 0 to 3,080 m (0 to 10,100 ft) and terrain ranging from mountainous to desert. [back to top] 6. Results of Field Testing: a. Loading: The first thing that I wanted to determine with this pack was how best to load it. My understanding of frameless packs has been that to carry a reasonable load, one needs to use their packing strategy and gear to form some sort of solid object out of the pack. I have heard various theories on how to best do this, but the two ways that I wanted to really delve into hinged on tent poles and sleeping pads. Because I do not carry tent poles anymore (they went out the door when I switched to a tarp instead of a tent), I knew that my pad - whatever pad that would turn out to be - would crucial in creating a comfortable pack. During all of the trips that I have taken with this pack, I have carried essentially the same gear with some minor changes. To illustrate the changes, I have labeled each piece of gear with a number corresponding to each trip that it has accompanied me. The number one corresponds to the high sierra trip in which I was crossing snow fields, the number two corresponds to the trip that was essentially at sea level, the number three corresponds to the desert trip, and the number four corresponds to the second high sierra trip that I took. In order to give some idea of total weight, I have also listed the weight of the objects in here as well.
To load the pack, I tried a number of different things, depending on the gear I was carrying at the time and the postulates that I had formed during the hiking that I did the day before. For each of the methods, I kept the pack loaded that way for the entire day just to make sure I had a good analysis of how comfortable it was. The first method I used to load the pack began with my Z-Rest. I began by folding it up until it formed a stack that was one panel wide by nine panels high. I then found the approximate midpoint of the pad and unfolded it there to make a stack that was two panels wide by four panels high on the left and five panels high on the right. Because this stack seemed to be unstable along the middle, I unfolded one of the panels from the high side so that it rested on the low side. This created a stack that didn't have void along the top or bottom - in print, this sounds rather complicated, but it was a moment's work really. Once I had my Z-Rest ready, I inserted it vertically along the back panel of the pack. At this point I realized that the mesh of the back of the pack appeared completely ineffective because my waterproof, nonbreathable Z-Rest was laying directly against it. Anyway, to continue packing, I next inserted my Tyvek along my Z-Rest, and then my sleeping bag, in its stuff sack horizontally across the bottom of the bag. At this point, because my CamelBak had to be vertical in order to drain completely, and because the pack doesn't have a hydration sleeve, I put my CamelBak along my Z-Rest as well, resting on top of my sleeping bag. Next I horizontally put in my clothes in their stuff sack, and my water filter and cook pot. After that I inserted my food, and all of my miscellanea on the outside of the pack, generally with a water bottle in one, but never both of the water bottle pockets. In this configuration, the pack was fairly comfortable, but I have to admit, it looked pretty bad. Because the sleeping bag and clothes bag were horizontal across the bottom of the pack, the pack's bottom and middle compression straps dug into the pack and created a segmented look around the pack. These segments in turn created places where the pack was less solid and more bendy, creating a less than ideal situation. I decided there was room for improvement. The next way I loaded it up was a variation on the first. Rather than loading everything up horizontally, I kept the Z-Rest, Tyvek and CamelBak the same and loaded it up vertically. This helped, but the pack remained kind of ugly looking and segmented. I wasn't satisfied yet, so the next day, with knowledge of I beams in mind, I tried my next approach. This approach was similar to the first and second, but was different because rather than just lying the Z-rest into the pack flatly, I took two of the middle segments and folded them up to make the cross section of the Z-Rest resemble the shape of the letter T. In addition to adding rigidity to the pack itself, this also divided the pack into two vertical sections rather than one. On one side I vertically placed my sleeping bag in it's stuff sack, and on the other I vertically placed my clothing bag. On top of each then went all the other gear in no particular order. Progress was being made because this time when I tightened up the pack's compression straps, it actually resembled a pack rather than a segmented blue beast. As for the fit, in this configuration, I found the pack to be pretty darned comfy. I was satisfied with it at this point, but loading it took some care, and it just wasn't as easy as I would have liked. I continued to tamper, and, as you will see in the chart above, on the fourth trip that I took the pack out on, I brought a different sleeping pad. On that trip, I took a Ridgerest. As opposed to the Z-Rest, which folds up, the Ridgerest rolls up. With the Ridgerest, to load the pack I began by unrolling the pad inside the pack. This created a nice filled out look for the pack. I next took my new down quilt and stuffed it into the bottom of the pack without a stuff sack. This held the Ridgerest in position, and allowed me to place everything else on a pretty stable platform. On top of my quilt I placed my tarp in its stuff sack and my clothes in their stuff sack. Those rested nicely on top of the quilt forming yet another shelf to place items on. On one side of that shelf I put my pot and on the other I put my food. By this point I had also switched to a Platypus hydration system which I placed on top. With the pack loaded this way, it was definitely the most comfortable and had almost no segmented look. I think this will be my standard loading sequence from now on, but I should mention that it has some drawbacks. Most important among them is the fact that to do this arrangement, I cannot put my sleeping bag in a waterproof stuff sack, and, because the pack is so permeable to water, this leaves me much more exposed than I would like to be. Also, for some reason, when I have it loaded in this way, the top compression strap seems to pop off the top of the Ridgerest, leaving it compressing pretty much nothing. It doesn't do this all the time, but after having used the pack in this configuration for three days, I have found that two of the three ended with it popped off. The biggest problem that I have had with this pack is the layout of its volume. Every time that I have used it, I have found that its diameter and width are just too much for the objects that I carry. I usually end up loading it up and then tightening down the compression straps a good deal to make a tight little pack that lays close to my back. If I did not tighten down the straps, I do not feel that the pack would be a good size for an ultralight hiker. I feel that it would be three quarters of the way full top to bottom and rather poorly loaded. This has consistently made loading the pack more difficult than it would otherwise be, and I feel that if Equinox removed about 20 cm (8 in) of the width of the silnylon, it would be a much more usable pack for ultralight hikers. As far as the other pockets go, the so called "water bottle pockets," I have played with them extensively, and I have decided that I do not like holding water in them. This took all of the four trips to decide, but I have finally come to this conclusion. There are several reasons for this, but main one is that I usually carry a 2 L (66 fl oz) water bladder, eliminating my need for reachable water bottles. When I need to carry more than 2 L (66 fl oz), I prefer to carry it up high on my back rather than down low where the water bottle pockets are. In the past trips that I have taken, I have carried a 591 ml (20 oz) and a 1 L (32 oz) bottle in the water bottle pocket, and I have found that with the larger bottle, carrying it in the pocket tends to make the pack list to that side, making the shoulder straps a real bear to adjust, and with the smaller one, while it doesn't make the pack list, it does make the center of balance lower than I would like. Recently, instead of carrying my water in these pockets, I have been carrying all of my odds and ends, and they have been serving nicely for this function. Much better in fact than they were for water bottles, and because they are designed to be within reach while the pack is on, I have enjoyed grabbing things from them without taking the pack off. I have not however been able to get a single thing from the zippered pockets while wearing the pack. I have, with some contortion managed to unzip them, but once they are unzipped, I can't get anything out of them or even zip them up again. [back to top] b. General Comments:  The first thing I ought to comment on in regards to this pack is on the fit. When loaded properly, this pack fits pretty well. The load usually sits mostly on my hips, and that's good. My shoulders do accept more load with this pack than they have with some others, but they are no more sore than my hips at the end of the day, so that's fine. I have tried it out both with the waist belt and without, and I have come to have some interesting experiences, and a number of complaints. The most annoying problem that I have had with this pack's fit is the fact that the water bottle pockets are in line with the swing of my arms. I usually use a trekking pole in my right arm when I hiking, so that arm is usually fine, however the left arm routinely hits the water bottle pocket when I swing it back, which is annoying, but not that bad. The other annoying thing about my left arm was something that I encountered when I first put the pack on. Because of the location and length of one of the side stabilizer straps, the fused end of one of the straps routinely rubbed my inner arm, creating a bit of a light rash. Eventually it became bad enough that I decided I would deal with it by lengthening it slightly, and after doing that it was fine (I really should have done it sooner, but laziness prevailed for some time). In my initial report, I said that I thought my shoulders would "crumble" if I used the pack without the waist belt. Well, I have done some minor experimenting during trips that I took the waistbelt, and to some extent I was right, but by and large, with light loads, this pack isn't too bad without a hipbelt. On the one trip where I completely removed the hipbelt for a day, I was fine. I think I will do more experimenting with this in the next couple of trips to see if it is something I can live without. A few of the pack's elements really contributed to the fit in a positive way. The dual strap system that is used to adjust the waist for instance works like a charm. Out of the four trips, only on one of them did I feel any pain on my hip bones (quite a feat considering my utter lack of body fat). By tightening the strap, I was able to adjust the angle of the hipbelt in relation to the pack, and was able to really get a good fit. Tightening it also brings the lumbar region of the pack into my lumbar region, transferring load there. I loved this element of the pack. However, to offset this element of the pack were the load lifters on the top of the shoulders. Unless I am mistaken, they did absolutely nothing. They are attached to the pack body a palm's distance above where the shoulder straps attach. Tightening them doesn't eliminate weight from the shoulders (or "lift" it off of them). It merely brings the top of the pack toward the wearer's back. I have never understood what the heck load lifters could do on a frameless pack like this one, but perhaps I am daftly missing the point as I sometimes do. The sternum strap on the pack works fine, as one should. I didn't use it very often, but when I removed the waist belt from the pack I was happy to be able to adjust the distance between the shoulder straps, thus moving the pressure point of them in or out. One problem that is across the board for the straps is the length. For me, the length of all of the straps is all wrong. On the load lifters I have 33 cm (13 in) of excess strap length, on the side stabilizers I have even more excess with 35.5 cm (14 in) of excess strap. On the shoulder straps I have the opposite problem. On them, I have anywhere from 2.5 to 12.7 cm (1 to 5 in) of excess webbing, depending on how tightly I am wearing the pack. At times, I would like to be able to loosen them more. Also, as I mentioned in my initial report, this pack is missing two elements of standard pack straps that I look for. It doesn't have D-Rings on the shoulder straps, and it lacks an ice axe loop altogether. I haven't had to use it to hold an ice axe, but when I do, I worry that I will have a heck of a time getting one on the pack in such a way that both my body and the pack are safe from its many points. At times I have wished that it had the D-Rings. I use them most of the time to hold the tube of my hydration system, and with this pack I have had to improvise with a piece of Velcro. One thing that I need to retract from my initial report was what I said about the zippered pockets. I have been using them extensively on each of my trips, and they have not given me too much trouble at all. They do have a tendency to be challengingly slim at times, but they have held a number of objects with aplomb. One thing that does annoy me about them is that for all appearances they are the same. If one of them had a longer zipper or something different about it I feel that I would be able to better remember what was in which. As it is, I find myself feeling around and digging around in both pockets every time I want something. So it goes though I suppose. Regrettably, it seems I have ripped the pack a little bit. Luckily, it's a cosmetic rip and not one that makes it actually less functional. Annoyingly, it didn't even happen while I was on the trail. As fate should have it, I ripped the pack when pulling it out of the back seat of my truck. The foam of the backpanel caught on something, and it ripped for about 2 cm (1 in) before I realized that I was ripping it. The good news is that when that rip happened it ripped only the foam, and the mesh backpanel beneath it was left unharmed. I considered fixing it with a bit of thread, but I didn't really think it was necessary, and it is holding up fine without having been fixed. Aside from the rip, the pack is holding up nicely. I have been doing my best to baby it as much as possible, and it seems that my efforts have not been in vain. It now has about 320 km (200) miles on it, and not a stitch has popped nor an inch of the fabric become worn. I am pleased with that element of it. I had my doubts about the durability of the backpanel mesh, but it is holding up just fine. [back to top] 7. Plans for Further Testing: At this point, I really feel that I have gotten the gist of this pack. I don't have too much else that I am curious about, but I do want to see just how well it does in the rain considering its preference toward ventilation rather than rain protection. I don't tend to like using rain covers, so if I encounter rain I will rely instead upon my stuff sacks. The one thing that I do think I will like about this pack in the rain is its inability to absorb water in the majority of its parts (in my experience with silnylon, there is little that can be done to make it absorb water). I also think will attempt an entire trip without the waistbelt. I have a feeling I can do it, but something in the back of my mind is telling me that it is a terrible idea and that I will be sorry if I leave the belt at home. I do promise to do some more experimenting though to see if I can pull it off. If all goes as planned, I will at some point need to use this pack and an ice axe on the same trip. When and if that happens, I will see if it is possible to strap one onto this pack without damaging anything (alive or dead). [back to top] 8. Current Conclusions: My current conclusions about this pack are mixed. There are a number of things about it that I don't find up to par, among them the odd strap lengths and the dimensions of the main body of the pack. I am blissfully surprised by how well it can transfer loads to my hips, and I love the way that its hip stabilizers work. So far, its durability has proved up to snuff, and the only rip I have incurred has been cosmetic. Loading it has proven to be a challenge, but I am quickly learning how best to load it up. [back to top] Read more reviews of Equinox gear Read more gear reviews by Michael Lissner Reviews > Packs > Frameless Backpacks and Day Packs > Equinox Kathadin > Michael Lissner > Field Report | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||