User Review: Mountainsmith Tour

i bought this in brand new condition at a yard sale for $2!

the owner was in jail on a DVC and his ex was selling off all his stuff...

plus side, i got it cheap!

downside, i cannot get comfortable with more than a minimal amount of gear...

even the 10 essentials are marginal as far as comfort goes..

quality is typical mountainsmith, excellent thruout...

it seems that lumbar packs and myself cannot get along...

why, i don't know...

by the time i add 2 - 1 liter bottles i really begin to notice it...

the weight of the windshell made it a complete pita...

plus side, lots of adjustments for fine tuning the fit...

downside, the wasist belt constantly undoes itself from the fittings...

the ends were not sewn over, which allows them to work loose...

i cannot fault the quality of the materials or construction except for the waist belt problem...

i understand they've made some changes so the latest packs may be significantly different...

i will give this a 3.5 overall because it is way above the other lumbar packs i've seen/tried...

the shoulder straps might make a difference, but i am too cheap to risk the $$$...

like anything else, try before you buy, if i had paid full retail i would be seriously PO'd..

if you want a light, low profile pack this is a good place to start...