Reviews > Packs > Internal and External Framed Backpacks > Deuter Aircontact 50 10SL > Kelli Wise > Field Report

Field Report Deuter Aircontact 50 + 10 SL - October 5, 2004

Personal biographical information
Name: Kelli Wise
Age: 44
Gender: Female
Height: 5' 0" (152 cm)
Weight: 135 lb (61 kg)
Torso length: 16.5" (42 cm)
Email: ciyd@comcast.net
Location: Western Washington, USA
Date: October 5, 2004

Backpacking background: I've been car camping and dayhiking for 20 years and sport climbing for 10 years, and have begun backpacking over the last year. My backpacking style is lightweight but not ultralight. I am striving for a suitable compromise between safety and comfort. The majority of my hiking experience is in Western Washington.

Field information: western Washington temperate rainforest and summer alpine hiking below 7000' (2134 m).

Product Information
Manufacturer: Deuter
Manufacturer's web site: www.deuterusa.com
Model: Aircontact 50 + 10 SL
Size: One size.

Listed weight: 5 lbs 6 oz (2.4 kg)
Measured weight: 5 lbs 14.4 oz (2.7 kg)
Listed Volume: 50 - 60 L (3050-3650 cu in)
Color: Granite/Sun

Features:
Deuter touts this backpack as the "ideal sized trekking pack designed specifically to fit smaller frames and women." The pack feature Deuter's Vari-Quick harness system, The Aircontact SL suspension slim fit harness and pack design, bilaminate waist belt with PE reinforcement and zipper pocket, built in rain cover, U shape aluminum stay, height adjustable top lid, inside map pocket, side pockets, daisy chain, dual ice axe loops, zippered compartment separator, and is hydration system compatible.

The Vari-Quick harness system can be quickly and easily adjusted to accommodate different body sizes. It appears that the Vari-Quick system allows Deuter to make this pack one size only. The Aircontact SL suspension is designed to provide shorter or slightly built people with a comfortable fit. The shoulder straps are narrower, shorter and closer together, the hip belt is proportioned to match the SL system and uses softer foam than non-SL belt. The countered lumbar pad allows greater angle in the waist belt for better hip contact. "With every movement, a pump effect circulates air through the breathable Aircontact cushions to provide all-around ventilation."

Field Report:
In my initial report, I listed the areas that I would be evaluating. This list included the pack's comfort versus its weight, the fit, the ventilation, the capacity, the adjustability, the hydration capabililty, and the usefullness of the features. In the past several weeks I have had an opportunity to take this pack out on 3 trips and see how the pack performed. Overall, the results were a mixed bag but generally positive.

The first trip was a short overnight trip up the Hoh River, approximately 6 miles (9.7 km) one way with very little elevation gain. The weather was quite warm and I was packed for summer conditions. My total pack weight was just over 28 pounds (13 kg). I packed my summer sleeping bag and hammock underquilt in the sleeping bag compartment, my rain gear in the top lid, my sunscreen and bug dope in one side zip pocket, tarp stakes and headlamp in the other side pocket, fuel bottle in one stretch side pocket and a 1 L (1 qt) Platypus in the other side pocket with a hoser attachment routed up the shoulder strap, and the remainder of my gear in the main compartment. Everything fit although I knew that I was going to have to work on my packing method if I was going to get my fall gear to fit into the pack.

I adjusted the shoulder straps down one notch before the hike, which was a complete guess on my part. I have to fault Deuter for providing a pack with such great adjustability and no instructions on how best to fit the pack. I checked their web site - nothing there. I emailed the company via the contact on the web site and have yet to receive a reply. So that left me to try to fit the pack on my own.

After slathering up with sunscreen and insect repellant, I shouldered the pack, adjusted all the straps and hit the trail. The day was warm, the wind was still, and the sun was out. After what is really a pretty easy hike, I was glad to reach camp and take the pack off. The ventilation was pretty good, I could actually feel air moving around my back as I hiked, but I was still pretty sweaty. The cloth on the pack's back was soaked with sweat by the time I arrived at camp. The pack rode reasonably well, but I wasn't completely happy with it. The hike the next day confirmed that the pack was not as comfortable as my other backpack. I was glad that my shakedown hike with the pack was a relatively short hike over easy terrain.

The second trip was intended to see how the pack rode over a long trail, again a rain forest river valley, this time the North Fork Skokomish river. One way distance was about 10 miles (16 km) and the elevation gain was pretty modest, about 1200' (366 m). The weather was cool with light showers possible and I was hiking and camping solo, so that required I bring more gear for safety. The first half of the trail was well maintained but muddy in spots due to recent rains. The second half of the trail was less well maintained with several puncheons showing signs of decay and slick with moss. Total packweight was 32 pounds (15 kg) and included a solo tent and my fall/spring sleeping bag. By the end of the day, I was hating the pack. The muscles along the outside of my hips hurt, my armpits hurt where the shoulder straps were pressing against, and I was just tired of carrying the pack. I was not looking forward to the hike out the next day.

The next morning, I packed everything up, shouldered the pack, adjusted the straps and headed back out down the trail. It wasn't long before I stopped to take a break for photos and the last of the blueberries growing along the trail. As I sat looking at the pack contemplating the discomfort of carrying it for several more hours (I'm a slow hiker), I decided to make an adjustment to the shoulder harness. Maybe the pack was just riding too low on my hips and that was causing the muscle fatigue. With the Vari-Quick system, the adjustment took less than a minute to do and required no tools. I dropped the shoulder harness 2 more notches figuring I could change it again if that proved to be too much. The improvement in the comfort was immediate. The hip belt sat much higher and the load lifters pulled the load in closer to my back. I was really wishing Deuter had provided fit instructions with the pack; it could have made the previous day's hike much more pleasant.

It rained on and off all the second day giving me a chance to use the pack cover. The pack cover is attached to the pack with a small nylon strap. The storage compartment for the cover is a zippered pocket on the bottom of the pack and this made it easy to get to without opening the pack and exposing the contents to the rain. The pack cover provided good protection from a light rain.

The third trip was intended to be a long distance hike along the Wonderland Trail that encircles Mt. Rainier. I had the permits. I had all of my gear. I had friends showing up to resupply me. September is normally a beautiful month for hiking in the Pacific Northwest. The weather has cooled off enough that the bugs are gone but the winter rains have not started. We can usually expect one or two rainy days, but the month is typically dry. Not this year. It was one of the rainiest Septembers on record for the two weeks I was supposed to be on the trail. This meant that many of the bridges on this trail had washed out, the one that worried me the most was across the South Mowich river and would have required me to ford the river, alone, while the river was flooding, wait for a few days for the water to drop to safe levels before crossing, or turn around and hike 4 days back to the nearest road at Longmire. So, taking my lack of experience at fording rivers and my being alone int o account, I changed plans. I did a section of the trail from Longmire to Devil's Dream camp. This section of the trail was 6 miles (9.7 km) one way with 2400' (732 m) of elevation gain and is all uphill. (The next day I hiked back down to Longmire with a short (2 miles) day hike to the alpine meadows in the morning.)

The day was cool and damp although it never actually rained. The fog and the previous night's rain had left everything dripping wet and the creeks were all flowing again after a long summer drought. Everyone I passed who was coming down the trail was bundled up to keep warm. The daytime temperature started at 54 F (12 C) at 9 am and dropped to 50 F (10 C) as I gained elevation. Since the hike was all uphill, and fairly steep at that, I took my shirt off, wearing a sports bra, so that I would have something dry and warm to wear during breaks. This allowed me to determine that the fabric of the pack is not abrasive and did not rub my skin raw. I was comfortable at this temperature but sweating lightly and the pack's back was again quite damp with sweat. My total packweight for this trip started at 35 pounds (16 kg) and included lots of rain gear and warm clothing.

My gear was chosen for Mt. Rainier weather: unpredictable and possibly severe. Night time lows were expected to be approximately 35 F (19C), so I brought my heavier fall/spring sleeping bag, an insulated jacket, lots of rain gear, and a small solo tent. I unzipped the flap that separates the sleeping bag compartment from the main pack body. This gave me much better space usage in the pack. On the second trip, I noticed that there was extra space left in the sleeping bag compartment even with all of my spare clothes packed in with my bag. This left the main compartment somewhat overfilled. With a bag and underquilt, that isn't the case and the separate compartments is good. Below is a photo of the pack shown with all of my gear laid out for the trip (with 4 days of food and fuel) and a photo of the pack after it was packed up. My packing technique has improved and everything fit with ease although there was no spare room with a full load of food and fuel.

The pack with gear for 4 days

All the gear fits!

The pack rode well. With the shoulder straps now at the right location, the pack fits much better and carried the heavy load quite comfortably. The padding on the hip belt and shoulder straps was more than adequate to prevent any pressure points (I do have some natural padding of my own, so women who are thin may not have the same experience I had). I woke the next morning not dreading wearing the pack again.

With all of this hiking, things that I have observed about the pack in all three trips:

The shoulder straps are a bit too far apart and pull against my shoulders and rub against my armpits more than I like. In general, women have narrower shoulders than men and I am pretty average in this. If the pack is designed specifically to fit women, the shoulder straps should be designed for narrower shoulders.

The hip belt is not sufficiently canted for me. I found that the hip belt keeps sliding down as I hike and I have to periodically hike it back up. I also found that the hip belt straps slip just enough that they have to be retightened as I hike. The load lifter straps also seem to slip just enough that I have to keep tightening them.

The padding on the back and the shoulder straps absorbs a lot of sweat. While this might keep the pack from feeling clammy in hot weather, I am concerned about how much water the pack will absorb in a heavy rainstorm.

The haul loop rubs against the back of my neck and is really annoying. I keep trying to tuck it down while I'm wearing the pack, but it keeps popping back up.

The side elastic pockets are too small. With the pack filled, I cannot get a 1 quart (1 L) Nalgene bottle into them. The pocket won't open wide enough. Even getting the Platypus in the side pocket requires a lot of wiggling to get the container into the compartment and I insert it upside down, which is much easier as the top is narrower than the bottom.

I like all of the compartments. The zippered side pockets are great for tent stakes, which might otherwise puncture something if left in the main pack body, and for quick access things like sunscreen, blister kit, and headlamp. They are gussetted and hold a surprising amount of stuff. The top lid has two compartments with a small mesh zippered pocket in one of those that is great for car key, wallet and ID. I use these mainly for my rain gear which provides ready access without exposing the pack contents to the rain. The hip belt pocket is also gussetted and can hold quite a bit.

The hip belt is long enough to strap a small camera case to it.

I tried using the hydration sleeve with my Platypus setup. The Platypus fit fine and the hose port locations was great, but I have to remove a lot of the contents of the pack in order to refill and replace the hydration container, so this proved to be impractical. If I were hiking in the desert and wasn't going to be stopping to pump water during the day, this would not be an issue and I can fit a 100 oz (3 L) hydration bladder in the sleeve easily.

The pack shows some dirt, but no wear or damage.

Summary:
To answer the questions I posed in my Initial Report:

Does the hip belt system provide good hip contact? - Yes

Is this backpack comfortable when I'm carrying loads up to 30 pounds? - When properly fit, the pack carries a 35 pound (16 kg) load quite well.

Does the Aircontact system provide good ventilation? - Yes. I can actually feel air movement against my back as I walk. I have never found a pack, however, that prevents sweat in hot weather.

How easily and quickly can the harness be adjusted? - I did this in the field in under a minute using no tools.

Is the capacity of the pack adequate for a multi-day trip? - Yes. I had the pack loaded for 4 days in fall weather conditions.

Will a bear canister fit in the pack? - Thankfully, I haven't had to haul a bear canister yet, this year.

Can extra gear be lashed to the outside of the pack? Yes it can, but it will pull the pack away from my back when I do this.

What hydration units is this pack compatible with? - I've tried both the CamelBak and the Platypus resevoirs. What capacity of reservoir will it hold? - The largest I own is 100 oz (3 L) and it fit easily.

Is the comfort worth the added weight of the pack? - So far, I would say YES, but the suspension is not perfect.

Over the next several months, I will continue to test the pack. I will be using it as my daypack for snowshoeing, where bulky gear requires a large volume pack, and for all backpacking trips I take. I will be looking for durability and my long term impressions of the pack's comfort.

I would like to thanks Deuter and Back Pack Gear Test for the opportunity to test the Aircontact 50+10 SL backpack.

Reviews > Packs > Internal and External Framed Backpacks > Deuter Aircontact 50 10SL > Kelli Wise > Field Report