- 1000 denier nylon exterior
- Total Volume: 2,050 c.i.
- Weight: 8 lbs 8 oz
- Dimensions main bag: 21"h x 12"w x 7"d
I'll start off by saying that I have been up and down the long road over backpacks, off the highest and the lowest quality standings, and I have not had the privilege of thoroughly examining all of eberlestock's products, but I have only ever seen a small handful of packs of this stature in years! This is quite possibly the most versatile, durable, workhorse of a pack available on the civilian market. The very spacious batwings built on to this, along with at the very minimum zip a little brother pack plus a spike duffle , or two spike duffles, or multiple batwings because of its 4 possible zip location(2 on the main bay, 1 on each batwing). The center molle panel, which you can rig or strap, in an assortment of ways, almost anything to the center load bay. All seated on an Alice frame, that I know is worth it weight in gold on its own in the bush. The material, seams, and zippers are almost over done, and the buckles make most of the other higher end hiking backpack buckles and straps look like cotton twine. The only thing I would like to ask is when are you guys making more zip on features, and also some other companies make some zip on panels and pockets and I'm curious as to whether any of them would be compatible. Great job with this pack! I would have paid double!
On the premise of “don’t be an idiot and use un-tested gear”; that’s exactly what I did. And it was GREAT!!! Here’s all the things I did wrong:
1) never tested it before a 3 day trip;
2) didn’t size the harness well;
3) didn’t buy some accessories that would have been great until well after the fact.
And the results:
1) it’s such a great pack that I was still pretty happy with my trip. Hills, swamps, lots of rain, 61lb pack without water.
2) Although I eventually sized it right after the trip, I was pretty comfortable throughout. The pack’s ability to keep the center of gravity close to the user is almost unheard of in other brands that would rather just make the weight taller. Getting back to the proper sizing: I found the Eberlestock sizing video when I got home. Watch that, it’ll also help with a bit of familiarization with the gear.
3) The rain cover I wanted was sold out, but everything was in ziplock bags. My hydration bladder was slung on the side behind one of the main compartments. It worked but wasn’t pretty. The FannyTop is on the was.
I’m so glad this pack was made to be better than me as a user. Now that I’ve hopefully smartened up, I have a new 5 day trip on the horizon, some accessories coming, it’s sized properly, and I’ve even tested it more by throwing some weight in it and going up and down 75 flights of stairs in my building with no complaints (at least for the pack).
This pack makes you look forward to carrying heavy things.
The J51 with the G1 zipped in and the Spike Duffel strapped on worked out great for a weekend excursion to the mountains. Was able to pack everything we needed.
Compared to my old REI pack of Boy Scout years past, this thing feels like wearing pillows. Breathes well, sits well, and just does an overall good job. Do be advised that the hydration pockets are not elastic and only hold up to a 2L bladder. Don't be like me and buy a 3L bladder without reading the specs.
The one change I've made is replacing the waist strap buckle with a Cobra buckle, but that's just personal preference. I did have a thread come loose on the elastic sternum strap after about 15mi of use (loaded to about 50lbs), but haven't had any more problems since. Looking forward to adding the Little Brother to this setup in the near-ish future!
I need to pack out with several different units. Each has different gear requirements. To support this, I need a bag that could pack a lot while also being configurable for the mission at hand. I bought the Warhammer, the Little Big Top, and the large waterproof bag.
I am able to zip the waterproof bag into the main compartment, load that with items that shouldn't get wet, and then also zip the LBT on the secondary load points. The LBT fits with its own straps and waist belt attached...for more room you can also remove them. Using the straps that come with the Warhammer I am able to cinch everything down nice and tight. The pack is amazingly comfortable and easy to manage.
For other mission sets I need to zip in my fire duffel or my rescue duffle. The Warhammer is able to gobble up those bags too. The horizontal straps are able to reach around these gear bags and keep them in place. The duffel bags are sitting on the frame and therefore unable to slip down over time. The vertical straps for these duffels will need the available extension straps.
To carry less gear in this configuration I can also leave the drybag at home or leave the LBT at home. Both zip directly into the main compartment without any problem at all.
And for an even smaller load I can just zip the two side bags that come with the Warhammer together.
And when the Warhammer is too much or a framed pack in general is too much I now have a Little Big Top to carry a fair amount of gear.
I have been a 5.11 bag guy forever. I have done many events and missions with 5.11. But I finally hit my limit which needed me to upgrade to Eberlestock equipment. Now having trained with and touched Eberlestock gear...I can see swapping my entire family out to Eberlestock backpacks. Top-notch quality bags. I will be singing this company praise for some time to come.