Reviews > Packs > Frameless Backpacks and Day Packs > Six Moon Designs Starlite > Andy Mytys > Field Report

Six Moon Designs Starlite Backpack

Field Report

Product Information:

Manufacturer: Six Moon Designs (http://www.sixmoondesigns.com) Item: Starlite Backpack Year of Manufacture: 2004 MSRP: $145 Size: Accommodates torsos from 18 to 24 inches (46 - 61 cm) and waists from approximately 30 to 50.5 inches (76cm to 128 cm). Listed Weight: 32 oz (907 g) Weight as Delivered: 30.1 oz (853 g), including:   . Pack, 21.8 oz (618 g)   . Back Stays, 4.9 oz (139 g)   . Padded Hip Belt, 3.4 oz (96 g) Rated Load Capacity: 35 lbs (16 kg) Rated Volume: 4100 cu/in (67 l):   . Main Bag, 2600 cu/in (42.6 l)   . Extension Collar, 450 cu/in (7.3l)   . Pad Pocket, 450 cu/in (7.3l)   . Left Mesh Pocket, 200 cu/in (3.2 l)   . Right Mesh Pocket, 120 cu/in (2 l)   . Front Mesh Pocket, 280 cu/in (4.5 l) Warranty: Lifetime, excluding abuse, damage due to prolonged exposure to ultraviolet light, product alteration, and normal wear and tear associated with usage.

The information in this Field Report of the Six Moon Designs "Starlite" Pack is to be taken in addition to my Initial Report.

Product Description:

The Six Moon Designs Starlite backpack is created with lightweight and ultralight hikers in mind - though it weighs a scant two pounds (0.9 kg), the Starlite is designed to comfortably carry up to 35 pounds (16 kg) and support the storage needs of outings extending beyond a week in duration. The Starlite incorporates features such as a full suspension system, adjustable torso sizing, and convenient external mesh pockets, amongst other attributes, in its quest to "strike the right balance between weight, durability, price, and features." The Starlite ships with an Owner's Manual that outlines the pack's features and highlights such topics as the suspension system and sleeping pads that are compatible with the Starlite, in addition to suggested methods to pack the Starlite, care and maintenance procedures, and product warranty information.

A Summary of My Experiences Thus Far:

Adjustable Load Lifters
     Before wasting anyone's time with the nitty-gritty of this pack's overall performance, I'd like to introduce its Achilles Heel - the adjustable load lifters. Simply put, the adjustable load lifters don't hold their positions, and the pack slowly maneuvers into a position where all its weight rests on the wearer's shoulders, with absolutely no noticeable relief given by the hip belt, stays, or other suspension features.

You can see this effect in the image to the right. The tri-glide tension device is used to control the location of the anchor point for each of the Starlite's load lifters. In my case, I moved them down about two inches (5 cm) from the point where the top of the shoulder strap attaches to the pack. After I put the pack on and tightened the hip belt and shoulder straps, I cranked down on the load lifters. This resulted in a comfortable fit, and I could feel that much of the pack's load had been taken off of my shoulders. Within five minutes, however, at least one of the tri-lock devices had slid to the top of its shoulder strap, and I could feel the bulk of the pack's weight on my shoulders. Out of curiosity, I unbuckled the hip belt. The result was astonishing - I could feel no difference in the amount of weight on my shoulders, whether I wore the hip belt or not. The fact that I had a little over 30 pounds (14 kg) in my pack didn't help either, and my relaxing spring outing soon turned into a "Death March." I must have appeared as bad as I felt, as fellow hikers continued to ask me if I was "OK" and commented on how miserable I looked.

After this initial and disappointing experience, I knew that I could not take the Starlite backpacking with me for extended periods of time. I wondered, however, if the Starlite could still function in the capacity of an "ultralight" pack. So, I packed 12 pounds (5.5 kg) of base gear, two liters of water, and food for three days into the Starlite. The result was a pack that weighed slightly more than 20 pounds (9 kg). Even at this minimal weight, I encountered the same issue with the adjustable load-lifters. Now, Ray Jardine may preach that one doesn't need suspension when pack weights fall below 20 pounds (9 kg), but to me it just isn't fun nor comfortable to have even this amount of weight on my shoulders. The Starlight, off the rack, simply doesn't deliver a pack that's comfortable for me to carry.

As this point in my testing, I have two choices. I can either "rig" the load-lifters such that they stay in the position that I set them in, or I can stop using this pack altogether. As a tester, I obviously want to get in as many trail miles as I can, if only to put in additional testing on other characteristics of this pack's design (e.g. durability of stitching). I cannot emphasize my disappointment with the load-lifters enough, however - the Starlite, in its current state, is not something that I would take out for an extended hike lasting more than a few days unless I was absolutely sure I had overcome the load-lifter issue. Even then, I would hesitate before venturing out into a long stretch of wilderness where the upper weight limits of the pack's carrying abilities were being stressed.

Sleeping Pad Pocket
     One of the reasons that the Starlite is such a light pack is that it lacks padding at its back. Instead, the Starlite has a dedicated pad pocket, attached to the outside of the main bag, designed to be used for sleeping pad storage. This allows the pad to be used as a sleeping mat at night, while effectively cushioning the user's back from the weight of the pack during the day. A pad stored in the pocket is also, according to the manufacturer, supposed to "enhance rigidity and transfer load to the hips." I found that this claim depends entirely on the type of pad being used. The pack's rigidity was greatly enhanced when a RidgeRest 3/4 pad was placed into the pocket. However, the effect was less pronounced when I stored a 1-inch thick (25 mm) Therm-A-Rest full length Ultralight pad in the pocket, and there really wasn't any noticeable difference when I stored my Insul Mat Max-Thermo sleeping pad in the pocket. All three pads, however, provided more than enough cushioning between my back and the pack itself.

The material on the outside of the pocket that faces the wearer's back is DriGlide, which, according to Six Moon Designs, "ensures you’re comfortable no matter how hot the weather." On my maiden voyage with the pack, it was 85 F (30 C) with over 90% humidity. I sweated just as bad as with any other pack, and I didn't feel any noticeable relief or benefit from the DriGlide material.

Starlite Suspension - Looking Beyond the Load-Lifters
     I must admit that, when the Load-Lifters were doing their job, the shoulder straps were comfortable. They contain an ample amount of padding for the upper weight limits of my testing (35 pounds or 16 kg) and their contoured design fit my body well - I didn't notice any discomfort due to rubbing or chafing. Likewise, I found the location and amount of padding on the hip belt to be sufficient. The sternum strap rounded out the suspension nicely, and I was able to use it to hold the shoulder straps in place at the tips of my shoulders, to either side of my neck, and everywhere in between. The delta straps held their position, allowing me to really bring the pack in close to my body. The center top compression strap condensed the pack's contents down into the main bag, and always seemed to make more space available in what I thought was a full pack. The side compression straps rounded out the system well by getting the pack to hug its load snugly, removing any unused corners from the upper area of the pack. The adjustable torso sizing feature is also nice, in that it allows the pack to feel as it it had been tailor made for my body. When the load-lifters failed, I tried to seek temporary relief by changing the torso length settings. This proved that the pack's sizing can be quickly adjusted in the field, but didn't do anything to ease my pain. It did allow for the option of permiting a compasionate hiking partner to be able to size the pack for their own needs and carry my painful burden for a few miles, however. I also tried carrying the pack with the back stays installed and removed, across varying amounts of weight. However, due to the load-lifters not working, I really didn't notice a difference in comfort due to the presence of the stays.

Packability and Size
     One of the nice things about the Starlite is how small it appears when fully packed. There's no top pocket hulking over the wearers head, the shoulder straps and hip belt are relatively thin and without much in the way of excess straps, and the pack doesn't stick out on either side when someone looks at me head-on. All this comes in handy when checking onto a plane, as the pack is less likely to look massive to a gate agent and thus be scrutinized in terms of its size. This said, I still found that a well stuffed Starlite fit into the standard airline "Size-Wize" carry-on validation cage without too much persuading, and it easily fit into the overhead compartments of planes that I traveled on, even on models like the Boeing-727, which has a small amount of overhead storage space.

Packing and unpacking the Starlite are simple enough tasks, and the number and size of external pockets means that there's always room to store gear that's frequently accessed on the trail, eliminating the need to open the pack except for in camp.

Two things that I don't like about the packing system include the top closure of the main bag, which is lined across it's length with a strip of Velcro, and the quick-release buckle that is used to secure the pack's roll-down top. The problem with the Velcro is that there's so much of it. I feel that three short patches, at the right, center, and left of the closure, would have sufficed. Because the entire opening of the main bag is lined with Velcro, I find myself constantly snagging fleece tops and fleece or wool gloves along its "hooks." The quick-release buckle is another pain - it only closes if its two halves align in one direction, which is counter to the buckles used for the hip belt, sternum strap, and center top compression strap, which all have a similar design but can be closed in either direction. While my odds of bringing the two ends together correctly should be 50%, I'm finding that my average is closer to 20%. Upon close inspection, I've found there to be small details that distinguish one side of the "male" connector from the other. However, I can't find any reason why the strap wouldn't function just as well if the buckle could close in either direction. At any rate, I've stuck a sliver of duct-tape to the webbing that's attached to the buckle, on the side that needs to be facing up in order to make a secure connection.

External Mesh Pockets
     The Starlite has three external mesh pockets, with 600 cu/in (10 l) of combined storage space. There's a large front-facing pocket, measuring approximately 10 inches across by 13 inches high (25.5 x 33 cm), and two side pockets, one measuring 16 x 7.5 inches (40.5 x 19 cm) and the other measuring 9 x 7.5 inches (23 x 19 cm). These pockets have really come in handy by allowing me to hold wet items outside the pack and, in general, to hold items outside the pack that I plan to either frequently access or do not want coming into contact with more sensitive gear inside the main bag (e.g. my sleeping bag). In the deep side pocket, I carry my tent poles, stakes, Tyvek ground sheet, water filter, toilet paper, Purell hand sanitizer, and fuel bottle. In the large front-facing pocket, I pack my tarp, bivy, wind shirt, neoprene knee brace, and Gore-Tex oversocks. In the short pocket, I carry a 16 oz (0.5 l) Nalgene flask, sunscreen, lip balm, knit hat and gloves, and my bandana. Needless to say, these pockets can hold a LOT of gear, and the pockets are sized in such a way that a full pack won't influence their available volume. At the top of each mesh pocket is a hem with a length of elastic sewn inside. The elastic is stretched out to the width of the pocket before being sewn on, resulting in a finished design that has the pocket's top section constricting itself closed, giving a measure of security to the contents of the pocket.

Front-facing Shock Cord
     Connected over the top of the front mesh pocket is a length of shock-cord laced and crossed over itself. A cord-lock is installed along the shock-cord so that its length can easily be adjusted. This system provides compression to items stored in the front-facing mesh pocket, and can also hold items down to the outside of the pocket itself. At the end of the shock-cord is a small plastic cap. The first time I tried to tighten the shock-cord, I grabbed this end-cap, opened the cord-lock, and pulled. The shock-cord snapped and I was left with the end cap loose in my hand. I tried to reinstall the cap, but the same issue occurred again - the plastic teeth on the cap's inside had bent. I discarded the cap, evened out the ends of the shock-cord, and tied two figure-eight knots as a substitute stopper.

420 denier pack cloth
     So far, I've found the 420 denier pack cloth used in the construction of the Starlite to be suitable for carrying loads through the upper weight limits of my testing (35 pounds or 16 kg). I have not noticed any damage to the material caused by the trail itself. While I don't throw the pack down, letting gravity choose where it will rest, I don't really look for a nice soft spot to set my pack down on either. Rock, sand, grass, dirt... it's all good.

Personal Biographical Information:

Reviewer: Andrew Mytys Email: amytys (at) backpacker (dot) com Homepage: Andy's Lightweight Backpacking Site Location: Michigan Age: 33 Gender: Male Height: 6'1" (183 cm) Torso Length: 21" (53 cm) Waist Size: 34.5" (88 cm) Weight: 165 lbs (75 kg)

     Backpacking Background:

I live in Michigan and have been hiking seriously for 15 years, although I've camped since I was 6 years old. I consider myself a lightweight hiker. I carry the lightest gear I can get my hands on which will provide a comfortable wilderness experience and adequately support the goals of my trip. Unless my goals are time/distance oriented, my pace is always slow. I rarely exceed 1.5 miles (2.4 km)/hour. I rest frequently, hike long days, and enjoy whatever nature throws my way.

Reviews > Packs > Frameless Backpacks and Day Packs > Six Moon Designs Starlite > Andy Mytys > Field Report