The Hyperlite Mountain Gear NorthRim 55 Backpack is an ultralight backpack made with an especially sturdy outer material known as Woven Dyneema that’s considerably extra abrasion resistant than the Dyneema Fiber/Polyester laminate used to make Hyperlite’s common ultralight backpacks. Whereas it’s priced at a premium, the NorthRim is certainly value upgrading to over Hyperlite’s different backpacks should you spend nearly all of your time climbing off-trail, you’re very onerous on backpacks, or simply need one that may final for quite a lot of years.
Specs at a Look
- Weight: 34.4 oz
- Gender: Unisex
- Pockets: 5+ principal
- Coloration: Any coloration so long as it’s white.
- Sort: Body (body stays)
- Hydration suitable: No
- Seam-taped: Sure
- Bear Canister Compatibility: Vertical: BV500; Horizontal: BV475, BV450, BV425
- Inside Quantity: 55L (3400 cubic inches)
- Exterior Quantity: 9.8L (500 cubic inches)
- Supplies: 150D Dyneema/Polyester Laminate (Major Physique) + 375D Woven Dyneema (Backside + Exterior Pockets)
- Most Beneficial Load: 40 lbs
- For full specs, go to Hyperlite Mountain Gear
The Worth of Woven Dyneema
The Hyperlite Mountain Gear NorthRim 55 is sort of equivalent to each different 55 liter backpack the Hyperlite makes apart from the truth that the underside of the pack and the outside pockets are made with Woven Dyneema. Woven Dyneema is an order of magnitude extra sturdy than the Dyneema/Polyester laminate that Hyperlite makes use of on their cheaper backpacks and is value paying a premium for if you need a pack that may survive heavy use in extremely abrasive terrain. (Be aware: We examine Woven Dyneema and Extremely 400, a more recent sturdy woven material under.)
Abrasion happens everytime you set your pack down on sandy floor or gravel; when your pack brushes in opposition to canyon partitions and rock faces; otherwise you bushwhack off-trail the place the vegetation whacks again. Do it sufficient and the backpack material will get thinner and thinner till holes type and it turns into unsalvageable, irrespective of how a lot duct tape, Tyvek tape, and Shoe Goo you employ to patch it up. I’ve worn irreparable holes within the bottoms of the Hyperlite Mountain Gear Southwest 40 and SouthWest 55 backpacks from abrasion, so I’ve first-hand expertise on this division.
However the Woven Dyneema on the outside of the Hyperlite North Rim 55 is way more abrasion resistant than the Dyneema/Polyester laminate utilized in Hyperlite’s different backpacks as a result of it’s made by weaving collectively Dyneema fibers, that are stronger than metal, into fabric, quite than gluing a small proportion of Dyneema Fibers to 50D or 150D Polyester, which is the fabric that Hyperlite makes use of of their different backpacks.
Hyperlite’s NorthRim backpack is notable as a result of it’s arguably the primary off-the-shelf backpack that comes with Woven Dyneema as a material. Whereas Cilogear and Alpine Luddites provide Woven Dyneema as a material possibility on their packs, they primarily promote dearer, custom-made packs for climbers the place abrasion can be a priority.
Backpack Storage and Group
The Hyperlite Mountain Gear NorthRim 55 Backpack is specified by a conventional ultralight model with a big principal compartment, facet water bottle pockets, and a big rear pocket. The principle compartment has a dry-bag model closure system which offers wonderful high compression for stabilizing your load. The ends of the dry bag closure could be clipped collectively on high of the pack or secured to straps alongside the edges. When doing so, the unfastened straps could be clipped collectively on the entrance facet of the pack, offering a pleasant attachment level for cumbersome gear.
The highest of the roll high has a velcro stiffener to facilitate rolling and maintain the 2 sides collectively. Some individuals discover the velcro stiffener to be a nuisance as a result of it catches on clothes. Over time and repeated rollings, the stitching, and materials holding the velcro degrades and throws off threads, although the whole failure of the roll high is unlikely.
There are 5 exterior pockets on the NorthRim 55 backpack, two facet water bottle pockets, a bigger entrance stretch pocket, and two hip belt pockets. All the pockets are made with Woven Dyneema. There’s no exterior mesh to dry damp gear. The massive entrance stretch pocket has a drain gap within the backside, however the facet pockets don’t. Water bottles saved within the facet pockets are additionally reachable and replaceable whereas carrying the pack, a must have, however they tend to come out when bushwhacking or scrambling. The hip belt pockets, which have been enlarged by Hyperlite lately to make them helpful, have waterproof zippers and zipper pulls, a usability element left off of many ultralight backpacks.
Consolation
Weight
Suspension
Options
Sizing
Sturdiness
Whereas the exterior pockets and the bottom of the pack are lined in Woven Dyneema, the inside pack bag is made with the 150D Dyneema/Polyester laminate that Hyperlite makes use of on their different backpacks. That’s superb as a result of the entire excessive abrasion factors are lined with extra sturdy Woven Dyneema. The inside pack bag is seam-taped and it’s NOT hydration suitable: there are not any hose ports and there’s no hydration sleeve, though there’s an inner webbing loop the place you possibly can hold an adjunct pocket or bladder from. This pack is really useful for packrafting and having hose ports could be a non-starter by way of conserving the inside dry.
Once I pack the NorthRim, I put my sleeping bag stuffed in a dry sack on the backside of the pack after which stack my meals bag on high of it, stacking my tent or hammock and different heavy objects up the again panel as I am going. I stuff lighter-weight insulating layers and clothes behind the heavier objects to carry them in place after which put my lightest objects within the extension collar (primarily clothes and private results). I then use the pack’s roll-top to compress the objects within the extension collar and shrink the amount they require. This weight and quantity distribution offers the perfect load management since heavy objects are situated close to my hips and there’s a direct switch of kinetic power from my core to objects situated simply above the small of my again.
Backpack Body and Suspension
Hyperlite makes use of a quite simple however efficient body system in all of its multi-day backpacks. The packs use body stays that are pre-bent aluminum rods housed in keep pockets contained in the pack behind the shoulder straps. They are often eliminated and bent to customise the pack in your dimensions, however they need to work for most individuals out of the field. The shoulder straps are sewn on to the inside pack bag simply above the body strays, which terminate behind the hip belt. The hip belt is sewn onto the backpack and never detachable, which is sort of efficient in bringing the pack near your hips for load switch.
Load lifters are notably absent on Hyperlite’s backpacks (See #13 on this interview with founder Mike St Pierre) as a result of correct again panel sizing obviates their necessity, in accordance with Hyperlite. I’ve used 4 Hyperlite backpacks and by no means missed load lifters as a result of the pack sits very near my again, stopping it from canting backways.
I attribute this to a few components: torso size match, the attachment level of the shoulder straps, and the sewn-on hipbelt. Maybe it’s luck, however a measurement massive Hyperlite pack suits my torso completely, whereas the shoulder straps and hip belt place the pack very near my torso so the pack seems like an extension of my physique quite than a hitchhiker. It’s not so good in sizzling and humid climate as a result of there’s no again air flow, however the match is out of this world.
The hip belt of the NorthRim is frivolously padded with a stretch mesh which is what I desire for a very good hip wrap, with a beefy entrance buckle for sturdiness. You don’t want an enormous hip belt for lighter-weight hundreds. A giant buckle can be a must have for winter backpacking since small hip belt buckles fill with snow and turn out to be not possible to shut. (It’s one of many the explanation why UL backpacks make sucky winter packs.)
The shoulder straps even have gentle padding, with sewn-on daisy chains that make it straightforward so as to add accent pockets, like the enduring Hyperlite Mountain Gear Waterproof Shoulder Strap Pocket, water bottle sleeves, or a satellite tv for pc messenger to the straps. The sternum strap slides up and down the daisy chain webbing and is straightforward to reposition. However the shoulder straps are solely accessible in a regular J-shape, so that they’re much less fascinating for individuals with breasts or sloping shoulders. The hip belt is equally “unisex” with out provision for feminine backpackers.
Backpack Compression and Attachment Factors
The NorthRim 55 has two tiers of facet compression straps that can be utilized to connect gear to the surface of the pack. A backside compression strap runs horizontally exterior every water bottle pocket, whereas the higher strap is oriented at a diagonal to carry the load nearer to the wearer’s again for higher load-to-hip switch.
In use, I decouple the underside compression strap over the water bottle pocket as a result of I discover it interferes with getting water bottles into the facet pockets after I’m carrying the pack. As an alternative, I route the webbing out of the best way by means of further buckles on the again of the pack which can be utilized to connect extra gear, like snowshoes. HMG sells additional webbing straps for this function as an add-on though there’s nothing stopping you from rigging up some wire and rope locks as an alternative.
Along with the roll high, which offers wonderful high compression, there’s a Y strap that runs from the entrance of the pack (between the shoulders), over the roll high and attaches to the again of the pack. This strap is nice for securing cumbersome objects like a foam pad, rope, or tent physique to the highest of the pack. Nonetheless, when bushwhacking, I like to recommend conserving these things contained in the pack as an alternative of on the outside lest they get caught on vegetation or shredded.
Different Extremely Sturdy Backpacks
Advice
The Hyperlite Mountain Gear NorthRim 55 Backpack is a extremely sturdy pack designed for off-trail, cross-country adventures that may rip most ultralight-style backpacks to shreds. If you happen to’re tough on backpacks however nonetheless need one that’s light-weight and extremely waterproof, the NorthRim 55 is a good possibility.
Equally, at dwelling on the path in addition to off, the NorthRim 55 Backpack has the additional quantity required for longer or extra technical journeys when it’s essential carry additional gear or clothes. I primarily use mine for bushwhacking and climbing up wilderness rivers on multi-day Tenkara fly fishing journeys, that are moist scrambles alongside boulder-strewn river banks in the hunt for wild brook trout. I discover the abrasion and water resistance of the NorthRim to be an actual plus on these journeys as a result of I can drop my pack with out worrying about ripping it up or soaking the contents.
Woven Dyneema vs Extremely 400
If you happen to’re looking for a sturdy ultralight backpack, you’ve in all probability come throughout a brand new backpack material known as Extremely, which lots of the cottage backpack producers have began making backpacks with. Extremely 400 (denier) is a water-resistant materials equal to Woven Dyneema by way of abrasion resistance that can be seam taped to make backpacks extremely water-proof. Packs made with it are additionally barely cheaper than the Hyperlite North Rim.
Within the mid to long run, Extremely is predicted to displace Woven Dyneema as the popular material for making extremely sturdy ultralight backpacks. As a result of upstream acquisition exercise, the availability of Woven Dyneema is predicted to dry up and I’ve heard rumblings from inside Hyperlite that they could finally exchange their use of Woven Dyneema with Extremely. Whether or not they undertake the usage of Extremely materials throughout all of their backpacks stays to be seen. They might don’t have any different. Be suggested, that the present formulation of Extremely offered at this time isn’t a slam dunk, both. I hear a brand new formulation is within the works to handle shortcomings within the waterproof membrane in use at this time.
In any occasion, I nonetheless count on Woven Dyneema to vanish. Within the meantime, many different ultralight backpack makers provide new packs made with the Extremely 400 material, together with Zpacks, ULA, LiteAF, Search Exterior, Superior Wilderness Designs, and Mountain Laurel Designs.
Disclosure: Hyperlite Mountain Gear donated a backpack for this evaluate.
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