Lightweight backpack

[tacomakid01]

I purchased a Mozone backpack from Amazon. 12 oz empty. I had juggled with the idea to make my own pack so I could go lightweight. It cost me less than $25. I have used for a short section hike and had my pack weight at about 21 lbs. It was pretty comfortable. Planning my next section hike and trying to get my weight down to less than 20 lbs. Just thought I would share. It is 40 liters, ripstop nylon and semi water resistant. Not sure if I would use on a thru hike just mainly due to it only being 40 L. It seems very durable.

[TNhiker]

is there a hip belt on this pack?

the images i pull up dont show any....

[Wil]

is there a hip belt on this pack?

the images i pull up dont show any....

Comes with a separate belt you can attach, but that's only a thin stabilizing strap (e.g. for running) and really doesn't shift any weight.

[Uncle Joe]

Maybe for a day hike but I don't think I'd want to hike very long without a hip belt.

[tacomakid01]

No hip belt, I did 20+ miles with a starting weight (including food and water) of 21ish lbs. It was very comfortable. The shoulder straps are thin and I wouldn't go heavier than about 23-24 lbs just for comfort.

[Wil]

Maybe for a day hike but I don't think I'd want to hike very long without a hip belt.

I've done as long as 35 days with my Golite Breeze, and could have kept going for the foreseeable future. As long as you're under 20 pounds, with only occasional days heavier with extra water or a food resupply, it's fine.

[High Mileage]

I used a 38 liter Exos minus the lid, but add some Zpacks pockets. I switched at 800 miles to my 48 but could have made it to Hanover with it realistically.
I would mostly worry about the durability and comfort on a long excursion with this light of a pack.

[tacomakid01]

FullSizeRender.jpg
mozone.jpg
Here is my Mozone pack, I recently modified. Top is the modified and bottom is the original. It cut off the top cover and draw string closure. Added ripstop nylon in a roll top, added a small piece of velcro to keep the 2 pieces together. Reused the clips that were attached to the top cover and attached them to the roll top. Then had to move the attachment points over to the sides as opposed to the front. It added about 7-8 liters(the best that I could calculate) of expandable add on. I also added 2 more nylon straps to the bottom, just under the bottom of the shoulder straps(can't see these in photo) just incase I need to carry something attached to the bottom of the pack. In doing this, I shaved about 1.5 ozs off the pack.

[left52side]

I juggled the idea of this pack for 2/3 day trips and overnighters.
I oped myself for the mountaintop 50l pack

[Starchild]

Great that you are able to make the pack mods, many would not want to cut it. And if it works for you great.

I would not consider your setup as ultralight or lightweight, but at a reasonably moderate and 'normal' backpacking weight. At 20 lbs I do have to question the comfort vs phycologically thinking it's comfortable, that's a lot of weight on the shoulders and the straps appear pretty bare as far as padding and width and if the pack is currently not the best place to look to cut ozs. Wonder how it would feel on a side by side comparison to a pack with a sturdy frame that added 2 lbs or less.

I personally would not consider a frameless, no hip belt pack unless I can get it under 10 lbs total weight carried 'heavy' where dropping the additional apx 2 lbs of backpack weight starts to really come into play but to each their own. Perhaps a frameless pack with a hip belt where I could use the packed items inside to provide a 'frame like' structure up to 15 lbs carried heavy.

[tacomakid01]

Great that you are able to make the pack mods, many would not want to cut it. And if it works for you great.

I would not consider your setup as ultralight or lightweight, but at a reasonably moderate and 'normal' backpacking weight. At 20 lbs I do have to question the comfort vs phycologically thinking it's comfortable, that's a lot of weight on the shoulders and the straps appear pretty bare as far as padding and width and if the pack is currently not the best place to look to cut ozs. Wonder how it would feel on a side by side comparison to a pack with a sturdy frame that added 2 lbs or less.

I personally would not consider a frameless, no hip belt pack unless I can get it under 10 lbs total weight carried 'heavy' where dropping the additional apx 2 lbs of backpack weight starts to really come into play but to each their own. Perhaps a frameless pack with a hip belt where I could use the packed items inside to provide a 'frame like' structure up to 15 lbs carried heavy.

Thanks for the feedback, as for calling my setup ultralight or lightweight I don't. But I do call it a lot lighter than I have carried in the past. Which is a good thing. At 21.8 lbs that I carried on my last trip, it was very much comfortable and there were no problems. The straps are fairly thin and narrow, but as long as I keep it under about 22 lbs it has been comfortable. Also, I have never liked waist straps. Almost every pack I have ever put on my shoulders was comfortable while empty but then when gear is added they become less comfortable due to weight. I am a believer that if you start with a pack that is light weight, then you can get overall weight down. I am by no means an expert and I am on this forum to learn new things or new ways of doing things.
I have carried frame packs and frame-less packs, I believe that a lot of comfort is dependent on the way the pack is packed and I have played around with getting it perfect. I know it isn't perfect and I will be making plenty of adjustments prior to my next trip in a few weeks but I am very satisfied so far with the way it turned out and the way it feels.