UKH

http://www.blackdiamondequipment.com/en-us/shop/climb/climbing-packs/epic-3...

Just got one of these, bought online. Loaded it up with about 13kg / 28lbs. The swivelling lumbar pad just seems ridiculously uncomfortable, like having a rock stuck behind your back. It does make the load sit up on your hips very well, and it does swivel, it's just really uncomfortable and bending over as if to say, climb, makes it worse. I wore it for a short while to see if I could just get used to something new and unusual, but no. The rest of the pack is quite good, nothing spectacular, but ruined by this intrusive pad.

Anyone else tried these?

In reply to Damo: We tried some of the new 'ErgoActiv' BD packs on at Friedrichshafen last year. (A ball joint attaches the hipbelt to the frame and moves to reflect how your hips move when you walk, and the shoulder straps move in relation.) Trial packs were loaded with gear and we walked up and down slopes on the BD trade stand. I found them really comfortable actually but we didn't walk a great distance. We'll have one on review soon. Interested to know other's thoughts on them.

Cheers Sarah

In reply to Sarah Stirling-Assistant Editor:

Hmmm, thanks. Just having it on and standing or walking is only mildly uncomfortable. Bending forward is just painful. Top of the ball joint seems to dig into my spine, though I'm pretty lean and bony. Will try eating more pies and see if that works.

In reply to Damo:

That's a shame, they looked like they were going to be really good.

In reply to Damo:

My mate tried it on last night, with maybe 8kg in it. He thought it was fine, noting that it did sit up on his hips quite well. But then, he certainly knows his way around a pie shop. Probably something to definitely try before you buy, as maybe not for everybody. The pack, I mean, not pies ...

In reply to Damo:

I've got the pie bit covered.....

How's the rest of the pack? General Quality, materials, stitching, faffy straps etc?

In reply to galpinos:

General quality seems very good. Material is a lot shinier and slipperier than it looks in the pics on the BD site and others. Minimal faffy straps and the axe shaft keepers can be pulled inside the body of the pack to reduce their snagability, it's a very clean design on the outside. The padding on the hipbelt can be removed, leaving thinner webbing straps connected to the evil lumbar pad. There is an extra thin zipped pocket on the underside of the lid. The throat is not as long as some other packs out there. The lid is OK, quite a big pocket, but seems to sit well even when half-full. The throat and some inside panels are bright green, making it easier to see stuff inside. It really is bigger than 40l though.

In reply to Damo:

Despite your reservations about the new harness on BD packs, I splashed out on the BD Mission 75.

http://hobyjackson.info/mountaineering/expedition-backpacks-75-litres

In reply to radson:

For $186 I'd be happy to walk along behind you, poking you in the spine with a lump of steel. Reconsider? No? Meh. I have a feeling the larger packs are probably OK, and my mate had no worries with mine, so you're probably fine. I guess if you don't like it you can just pop over the road to AMH and get something else. Or I have an unused Berghaus Extrem 80l exped pack sitting right here, cheap to a good home ...

In reply to Damo:

For anyone finding this thread in the future, I just compared volumes.

A climbing-like 16kg load that completely filled this BD 35 pack also completely filled a Millet ProLite 45 and a CiloGear 45 Worksack. The latter two both had room for extension (5-10l?), which the BD did not, but certainly the BD 35 in a Large is more than 42l volume.