View Full Version : A Very Good Pack at at Very Good Price
Six Moon Designs has a close-out on the 2004 version of the Starlite pack.
http://www.sixmoondesigns.com/shop/shopexd.asp?id=23
FYI
Have you used the pack Rumbler? Anyone else? I was checking it out at Trail Days and liked it but it didn't seem like he had any feedback at the time. Looking between that the Vapor Trail and the ULA P1 for the PCT
I have used it, both with the hip belt and with the vest harness.
I should get around to doing a review, but the short synopsis is that I like the pack very much. I used a Gregory reality and a GG Vapor Trail on my thru, and bought the Starlite last year. I have used it on a few 3-day hikes since then, and have been quite impressed with how it carries weight, especially given how light it is. I am considering Trail Days again this year, and will either hike Hampton to Damascus or Erwin to Hampton and then hitch in, and I will take the Starlite with the vest harness.
Which brings up another point: I find myself using the vest harness, which others may not prefer. But I really value how the vest harness distributes the load across my abdomen and doesn't sag it all onto my hips.
It is much lighter than the Reality, and packs very well. The Vapor Trail just never seemed to fit me as well as it seems to fit others.
I will see if I can get around to writing up a review that might actually be beneficial to someone. In the meantime, I am really impressed with this pack. I have not carried loads over 30 pounds with it, however - My base weight right now seems to be hovering around 14 pounds.
Six Moon Designs has a close-out on the 2004 version of the Starlite pack.
http://www.sixmoondesigns.com/shop/shopexd.asp?id=23
FYII am suspicious of any product that claims one size fits all. While many packs have a short, medium and tall, this one supposedly fits both Willie Shjoemaker and Shaquille ONeal:
Adjustable Torso Length accommodate torsos of 18" to 24".
I am suspicious of any product that claims one size fits all. While many packs have a short, medium and tall, this one supposedly fits both Willie Shjoemaker and Shaquille ONeal:
Adjustable Torso Length accommodate torsos of 18" to 24".
That concern - overstated though it was was - is something that I understand and share. I do not like the one-size-fits-all theory in almost any circumstance.
Having said that, SMD has made a pack that is really quite adjustable. I don't know that I would recommend it for Shaq or Shoemaker - and I doubt Ron would either - but it is a very adaptable pack. And not only for size: I find that I adjust the shoulder straps - they have a series of connection points to the pack itself - not only to fit my torso, but also for how the pack sits with differing loads. The pack also has a load lifter system, although probably not as robust as the heavier Gregory's depending on the setting.
Finally, I really like the vest harness, although I may be in a minority since I am the only person I have ever seen using one.
Pack fitting can be a funny thing. My first Reality was a large, because my outfitter and I agreed that the medium didn't wear well. By the time I reached Damascus I had lost so much weight the large did not fit well at all, and I traded it in at MRO for a demo Forrester that was a medium. And that, with Gregory's hip belt and back support, never got comfortable either. Ended up buying a Vapor Trail in Blacksburg.
Hey, it may not fit you. It fits me well, and adjusts well. Having spent a bit of cash on packs - five to date - this one is my current favorite.
Footslogger
02-14-2005, 13:34
That concern - overstated though it was was - is something that I understand and share. I do not like the one-size-fits-all theory in almost any circumstance.
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I was faced with the same decision when it came to getting the ULA Fusion, also a one-size-fits-all pack. Like with the Six Moons design though, ULA did a good job with the Fusion and it is truly adjustable over a range of 18" - 23" torso lengths.
'Slogger
AT 2003
I am suspicious of any product that claims one size fits all. While many packs have a short, medium and tall, this one supposedly fits both Willie Shjoemaker and Shaquille ONeal:
Obviously no single pack can fit all people. Nor does the Starlite attempt to do so. In fact one of its limitations is in scaling down to shorter torsos. This limitation is due to the nature of the exterior pad pocket. I don’t recommend the pack for people with shorter torso.
We are currently working on a new pack scheduled for release this spring. It’s better suited to women and people shorter torsos. While it’s still a frameless/internal frame pack, the pad pocket is inside of the pack. Thus allowing for greater adjustment in sizing.
Ron