Luxury Lite Equipment Opinions (ie Backpacks)

[nifenerd]

Would like feedback on quality and practicality of Luxury Lite products http://www.luxurylite.com/

In particular I am considering their pack system. Anyone have experiance with it??

I like the looks of the stuff but have not bought from them to date. All feedback is appreciated. Thanks!

[jlb2012]

PM MedicineMan - as I recall he was using one of their packs

[johnny quest]

i havent gotten any of it yet but find it very interesting. i have spoken with the fella on the phone and plan a trip down to see him sometime soon.

[nifenerd]

The stuff looks practical but I don't know what the quality is like. The idea of the separate containers on the backpack and the fact that it is waterproof and the ease of removing the cylinders from the frame sounds really good. Dunno!?

[johnny quest]

yes, it seems to make alot of sense. i think he is a gifted designer. i am almost for sure going to buy his hiking staff. but im a touchy feely kinda guy. need to see it first. he is down on the coast west of houston. roadtrip!!!

[SGT Rock]

Hopeful hiker did a thru with a Luxurylite pack. I tested one over a few trips and it held up well - nothing has broken on it over testing time. I just wasn't enamored with a frame pack preferring my Gearskin better.

[whitefoot_hp]

stuff sounds pretty darn expensive. and beware of that down bag... he doesnt know the fill power because all he told his chinese manufacturer was that it needs to be under 2 lbs and down filled? wonder what the chinese guy did...

[hopefulhiker]

Ok, On the Luxury Lite pack. It is best used with the front pack. That idea was explained by Colin Fletcher back in the seventies.. I used the pack and front pack for the whole thru hike in 05.

I really liked the external carbon/aluminum frame because it took the pressure off my spine.. It floats on your pack and is a one size fits all deal..

The advantages of the front pack far outweighed the disadvantages. It counterbalances the weight of the backpack and allows really easy access to a bunch of stuff. It served a feedbag, a little moblile desk. a water fountain, a glove and jacket compartment a sit pad holder and camera holder too.. I used it as a little slack pack too several times..

The bags I used were out of that really light sail cloth and were really convenient too. I used one of them as a bear bag.. They are generally waterproof but I kept my down stuff in a twisted up oven bag... You can get different sizes and customize the pack....

I tossed that foam seat thing early on and just used a little foam pad which slid in the front pack.

The only disadvantage to the pack is that it that the frame broke twice when I fell onto my back usuallly on a downhill slip.. Bruce, the manufacturer replaced the pack frame immediately and was excellent to work with..When he replaced the frame he made the shelf part stronger and shorter to withstand the falls. The last one I got withstood some really hard falls.. I fell down about twenty times on the whole trail I would guess..
In conclusion if you think you have back issues, like a bulging or herniated disk I would definetlely look into getting this pack..

[map man]

Hopefulhiker summed it up pretty well. I have about 500 trail miles on my luxurylite pack (not nearly as many as hopefulhiker) and I would add this: the three separate bags are very helpful for organization. I devote one bag to food and kitchen and use it as my bear bag. I use one bag for the stuff that's bound to get wet sometimes or it doesn't matter if it does get wet (tent, rain gear, crocs, water containers). The third bag I use as my "dry bag" for stuff that must stay dry. I use a garbage bag as a liner for this bag. I got the bags in three different colors so I could keep it straight which bag was which without having to open the bag.

I've fallen on my keester more than a time or two and have never damaged the frame like happened to hopefulhiker, but I would not get in the habit of throwing the pack on the ground from the back of a pickup. If you are rough with your stuff this pack is probably not for you.

Drawbacks to the pack. It's best if the bags are crammed full -- if they aren't, stuff in the bag can move around some and mess with the balance of your load. Since one bag rests on top of another, on top of another, a lopsided load can get more exaggerated with each stacked bag. I find this is seldom a problem though after going through the brief learning curve of packing each bag properly at the beginning of each day's hike.

A second drawback -- it doesn't accomodate tube hydration systems (the water reservoir won't work in either the back or front pack)

A third drawback, and this may have been fixed since I bought my pack in December of 2005, is that the velcro on my hipbelt (it attaches by velcro instead of a buckle) will slip from time to time on some days -- it makes me wish the velcro area at the end of the belt was a little bigger. The weight of the load doesn't seem to make any difference in this, or wetness or dryness. It just does it on occasional days for reasons I haven't figured out yet. Making sure the velcro is very clean does help but hasn't completely eliminated the problem. Bruce is known for good costumer service so I may e-mail him for suggestions about this some day.

[nifenerd]

Thanks for the feedback! I do have a little trouble with my lower back so that is valuable info for me. Do you guys have any advise as to what size of cylinders to choose?? I am looking forward to getting my hands on that hiking staff also. Has anyone used the cot/bed thingy? Wonder if that would be helpful for folks with minor back issues as opposed to groud sleeping? nifenerd

[skskinner]

I have the Luxurylite Front Hydtation pack for sale. $20.00 shipped. Even if you don't buy mine, a front pack would greatly lower your back pain if yours is anything like mine. The front hydration pack holds there half liter bottles of water and your map in a see-thru pocket. I eventually went with an exciting pack made by Aarn Designs in New Zealand. Everyone should try one of these. Google and see. I bought two of them different sizes, the Peak Aspirtation and the Effortless Rhythm. Steve

[hopefulhiker]

As far as the size of the cylinders, I would reccommend two large and one medium.. The smallest size in not really big enough for long distance hiking.. Definety get the front pack.. Btw the Tarptent Contrail will fit into a large cylinder..

[map man]

You ask about the size bags to get. If I were buying another one today I would get the package deal (frame, three bags, front pack, hip belt) that he offers now where the whole rig is 295 dollars. That's a lot cheaper than what I paid two years ago. The package contains two "big" bags and one "standard" bag for a rated volume of around 4700 cubic inches or 76 liters. If you don't need that much space you can leave the "standard" bag at home. It is puzzling that this package deal has bags that are a little different size than the "small," "medium" and "large" sizes offered if you purchase bags individually.

My three bags are an "extra large" size that he unfortunately does not offer any more (unless I missed something when I just now looked at his web site). The total volume for my three bags is virtually identical to the total volume of the bags in the package deal, and I've never used all that volume but I will someday if I carry a week's worth of food and extra water (also, the extra volume is nice now because I don't have to compress my sleeping bag and insulated jacket much, which should help maintain their loft). Also, the "hook belt" that he offers now seems to be a little different design than the one I bought two years ago that gives me trouble from time to time.

[Bearpaw]

I tried the LL 2 1/2 years ago, and it was pretty much a disaster. I was looking for a lightweight external frame pack for hiking during hot humid southern summers.

When it arrived, I immediately found the front pack to be very aggravating to put on, particularly when fighting the frame which slides all the way up. Working with this AND the front pack simultaneously made for very involved efforts in donning the pack. I use a hydration bladder, which I placed in the front pack, but as the bladder drained, it flopped and became unwieldy. Bruce Warren's solution was simple. Use gatorade bottles instead of a bladder. I chose to ditch the front pack.

At this point, the rest of the pack became even more awkward. As mentioned earlier, you have to really stuff the cylinders or they become unstable. I had a large and two mediums, and they were WAY too big for my summer load. The result was they sagged and pushed into my lower back, creating a nasty sweaty mess, thus negating the benefit of having an external frame in the first place. Bruce replied that I simply needed to buy smaller cylinders. At $75 a piece (Yes, this is for a piece of silnylon with a little velcro :eek: ), I was done with the Luxury Lite and returned the whole pack.

Later when I mentioned on a website that I wasn't totally satisfied with the LuxuryLite, Bruce made a personal attack on me, basically saying my body was clearly defective if it didn't like his pack.

Bruce Warren will offer a workaround for every concern you have with his pack system. But it is only that, a workaround. I refused to pay $400+ on a pack that really wasn't any more comfortable the internal frame I own at less than half the price, while requiring me to completely change not only how I pack but WHAT I pack and use bungee cords to prevent the cylinders from bouncing and shifting off balance.

The emperor is naked folks. :mad:

[johnny quest]

dan bruce?........huh?......

[Bearpaw]

Sorry folks. Here to print the retraction on the name. The creator of the LuxuyLite pack is Bruce Warren, not Dan "Wingfoot" Bruce. I think the two got mixed up in my brainpan because of the online rants Bruce Warren stirred up on other websites.

In fairness to Bruce Warren, he did refund all my money when I finally returned the pack (after many many efforts to modify the pack's rigging to meet my needs, which it simply couldn't). But I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't show up here trying to bully me again for speaking my honest opinion on my experience with his pack.

The pack certainly works for some people, who rave about it. But for me, it's $420 price was absolutely outrageous for its performance.

I will also try to edit my original post to read Bruce Warren instead of Dan Bruce.

[oldfivetango]

For the record,my experience with Bruce Warren has been great!!
The problem was that the UPS employees pilfer every camping/hiking/
hunting type order I get.Fortuneately they don't like everything I get
as they sometimes just open the box to see what is in it.They do not
open non- outdoorsy orders.

When I got half my order from Bruce Warren pilfered he replaced it
without hesitation.Then that order was pifered.In the end I had to
get the order delivered by USPS which I try to use now on as many
orders as I can.

What I do like about the pack is the weight and the compartmentalization.
I treated it with silicon spray but have not been in the rain with it yet.
The system takes a little getting used to-when he says "no belt" you
better take him at his word though.I am not crazy about that either.

And if you are a "heavy weighter" like me you really can get four large
compartments on it.Mine are all the black condor style and I am getting
used to the geeky looking front pack which comes in quite handy.

All in all,Bruce treated me fairly and professionally and I wanted to let
people know that.
Oldfivetango

[hopefulhiker]

I can see where Bearpaw would be frustrated by the front pack..And I think he is right that the pack used by itself is not that great.. Bruce suggests that you just drop the loops of the front pack over the top of the two upright struts of the pack. Hiking on the AT is filled with ducking, twisting, hopping and even crawling.... The front pack straps fall off when you do this.. I solved this problem right away by snapping the loop together around the top of the frame.. The front pack will not come off..
To put the pack on you have to go through putting your arms through four staps instead of two... Once adjusted, the pack and the front pack counter balance each other making the load feel lighter.. It just like carrying two of those old military 5 gallon gas cans... It is just about as easy to carry two, one in each hand as it is one because you are bent over to one side.. The front pack and pack balance the load between the front and the back of your body.... As far as having a straight external frame, the back is not a hinge but is flexible.. By taking the weight off your shoulders the pack reduces spine compression and puts all the weight on the hips.. You can hike with that pack with virtually NO weight on the shoulders. The shoulder straps are just there to keep the pack from falling off all together... That pack was one of my favorite pieces of gear... Colin had it right in his book, "The Complete Walker" back in the seventies...

[nifenerd]

So anyone used the cot before?? nifenerd

[hopefulhiker]

I laid down on one at Trail Days... If I were sectioning and going to sleep in shelters or on platforms I would consider it...

[BOWSINGER]

“Beware of that down bag…”
I can’t vouch for the backpack but I can for the down bag. Whitefoot left out the critical part about the required three-inch minimum loft. My V Bag lofts a full four inches and weighs less than two pounds and you can’t get that without using a good grade of down. No one really knows the fill power of their down bag-they only know what the manufacture claims is the fill power. All you can do is measure the loft and check the weight and see if that bag works for you.

[dessertrat]

Everyone is different. Packs are like shoes. The only way to know if one works for you is to try it.