Porter

Overall rating: 3.5

5 stars for being the only ultralight pack with significant internal capacity.

I got this pack for extended (8+ day) canoe camping trips because it is the only pack I could find with 70+L INTERNAL capacity. It is impossible to keep rain or water that accumulates in the boat out of in external pockets.

5 stars for cutting 5 pounds off the weight of my previous portage pack AND fitting more comfortably. The sized torso made a big difference. Hopefully sized waistbelts will come in the future (mine is barely small enough).

2 stars for being top-heavy when fully loaded. It's just too narrow to concentrate weight lower down, and the lack of stabilizer straps doesn't help.

2 stars for being too tall when fully loaded to carry a boat over my head. The pack hits the bottom of the boat. This and the top-heaviness could easily be solved by making the pack wider. There is a lot of room to make the pack wider without extending beyond even my narrow hips.

My go-to packraft bag. This is my trek miles into the forest searching out untouched waterways pack and it’s gonna hold everything. Bought the accessory pocket for the front which is worth it to add pouch to hold paddles and the extra loops are great for clipping my helmet and k-pump to the bag while hiking. Was able to stuff a kokopelli XPD (2023 model) into this bag along with all my extra gear and room to spare. I felt like the 55L is probably good for day trips but having the extra space makes this pack a perfect fit for up to a weekend pack rafting escape. Obviously a more compressible packraft will allow greater flexibility but working with what I have for now. Plan on using this for longer trekking trips as well…until I buy another HMG pack dedicated for just that. Holds up to the abuse that’s for sure.

Nice & lite

I'm diggin' it. Nice fit, nice carry. I see a 40l in my future too.

I really like this pack. I’ve used it on several desert backpacking and multi day ski traverses. I use the stuff pocket. For skiing this is great for skins, ski crampons, shovel and probe poles. Easily big enough for all of those. Would be OK for boot crampons too, in a bag of their own. Side straps are super for carrying skis in A frame mode when that’s required. The 55 is a little small for a week of skiing, especially if you’re using a bulky tent (UltaMid) so I paid the price and got a 70 for those trips going forward. I really would prefer to have a top pocket (aka a “brain”), above the roll top, or just with a drawstring closure. Years ago Hyperlite said “never”, but they’re coming around. Problem is, three side straps are better than 2 for skis etc, one rarely needs the heavy crampon holder on some of their climbing specific packs, and almost no one needs permanently attached oxygen bottle sleeves with big vents at the bottom that will let small things escape. Join me in asking for a Porter with a brain!