Mountainsmith Day Lumbar Pack - Ultimate Man-purse?

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pinnah

Joined
Jul 28, 2011
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I got my first "man-purse" when I was in high school in the 70s. It was a Sacs Millet day pack purchased from REI. I hammered on the day pack for well over a decade. It took me through high school, college and got me into the grad school, hauling books and going on day hikes. The problem with backpacks when moving around town is that you have to take them off to get stuff out of them.

In grad school, I switched to courier bags. My first was a monster "Doc Martin" bag. This was before Timbuktu even existed. I still have courier bags and they work well as a laptop bag. Courier bags are great in that they allow you to spin the bag around your back. The problem with courier bags is that they require you to lift a flap to get stuff out of them.

A few years ago, I got a sling pack. I hoped to combine the zipper access of a day pack with the spin around the body aspect of a courier bag. This worked OK around town. The problem with a sling pack is that they become uncomfortable on long day hikes.


I'm several month into using a Mountainsmith Day Lumbar pack. It's sold as a lumbar pack but it has a shoulder strap, allowing it to be carried over the shoulder like a "purse" (there, I said it) or across the chest like a courier bag or sling pack.

This pack rocks

This is not my picture...
DayBeachPR.jpg



The really cool thing that really surprised me is the way the shoulder strap and waist belt work together. Putting on a lumbar pack is a pain in the neck. With the shoulder strap, I just put it on across my chest, let it hang from the shoulder strap while I put on the waist belt. If I need something, I can release the waist belt, and bring the pack to the front. In the woods, it carries better than any sling pack and even better than a day pack of the same volume. In town, it works like a shoulder bag and better than a courier bag due to the zipper access.

Only downside is the volume. It's enough for essentials and and windbreaker. It's enough for around town and short day hikes. Longer hikes and I reach for a full sized day pack.

Confident in my manhood....
 
I have the smaller Tour. Doesn't have as much capacity as even a small backpack, but enough to carry the essentials. Just the thing for dayhikes. I didn't like the shoulder straps, so I sprung for a set of strapettes. Probably wouldn't work for you because of how you like to wear your packs, but I find it nigh perfect. It carries more comfortably than a single shoulder strap, but cooler than a full-sized back because it doesn't cover as much.
 
pinnah said:
I got my first "man-purse" when I was in high school in the 70s. It was a Sacs Millet day pack purchased from REI.
.
Confident in my manhood....
Click to expand...

I am still mourning the loss of this bag.
I had one too, but in a fit of madness lent it to someone and it got lost.............

In England in high school, a leather satchel was always available instead of a brief case
Again sadly lost.

Timbuk2 Messenger bags has been my successful satchel
The extra small Messenger bag is an excellent EDC, holding all my daily needs including my camera and sketch book/journal
And other extra small for my go outside bag, including knives, hatchets. folding saws, Mess kit, gas stove and Emberlit
The small is great for my painting sketch kit
The medium for a picnic/cook set

These are constantly very high quality and do not look tactical
 
man purse? Can't we get past that? :rolleyes:

I carry a Maxpedition FatBoy, and have for a number of years. Can't find any reason to change.
 
I have the large Mountiansmith lumbar pack and got the shoulder strap kit for it. I love that thing. Great for day hikes. I've even got a small kit down for overnights with it. I even use it as my GHB I keep in the car. The wife has a smaller one that carries nicely for a light day hike. Great bags with lots of miles on them and not a problem with either one yet.
 
My quest has been need generated mostly and finding what is available and affordable to me. I like to try things on in stores rather than guessing from online catalogs. I have several day packs which I use for day hikes mostly and primarily to carry a few essentials and my photography stuff. I pad the lenses and place cameras inside zip lock bags. I am often around streams and need to cross from time to time and slipping and dunking photography equipment is a huge issue. I will seldom fall onto my back in a slippery stream crossing, but it happens going down steep slopes.

I have been pleased with the 5.11 messenger bag for my laptop computer when traveling. It offers enough protection and can be hung on your shoulder while carrying other luggage or as a stand alone with the computer and a few odds and ends inside. It's large or at least I think it's large, but it will fit a 15" screen laptop. I have tried tablets and I like a medium sized one for just correspondence or searching the internet for maps or telephone numbers and occasionally killing time on the forums. It doesn't get used a great deal, but on over-night trips, sometimes I leave the lap top at home or just keep it in the messenger bag (just in case) in my vehicle.

I agree that the problem with day packs is getting stuff out of them. I have a small 5.11 bag and a larger 5.11 daypack. Both work okay for my needs. I use the small one a lot for work stuff when I have to carry a few instruments into semi-confined or uncomfortable places. It also goes with me on dayhikes and offers enough room for some essentials if I am not loaded down with photography gear. The large one is used when I need to carry more stuff.

Will have to look at the recommended bags. Unlike flashlights, knives, and other similar priced things, I seldom buy to just try out and roll the dice.
 
When some guys at work flip me $hit about it, I simply remind them how hot my wife is, That she bought it for me, and if she likes it........
:)
 
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kamagong said:
I have the smaller Tour. Doesn't have as much capacity as even a small backpack, but enough to carry the essentials. Just the thing for dayhikes. I didn't like the shoulder straps, so I sprung for a set of strapettes. Probably wouldn't work for you because of how you like to wear your packs, but I find it nigh perfect. It carries more comfortably than a single shoulder strap, but cooler than a full-sized back because it doesn't cover as much.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the tip on these.

My Day is actually the lightweight version and I'm not finding the lower/front attachment points for the strapettes. I will need to investigate compatibility. Perhaps you can help me with that... From the video on the Mountainsmith site, it looks like a) you unlace the lower hip belt stabilization strap and b) lace the strapette buckle through the now freed up ladderlock. Do I have that right?

I will have to think more about this....

First, around town, as you picked up on, the shoulder strap really works for me. For short trips like from office to car, it's just a shoulder/messenger bag carry. For longer walks, across town, on goes the hip belt which is easy to do since the bag is already supported by the shoulder strap. It was this combination for around town that really surprised me.

In the woods, I use a waist pack at 3 times: morning walks in a local preserve, XC skiing and hunting. I have one of those old Caribou (original) "banana" style waist packs. It's a pain to put on but it has a bit more capacity than the Mountainsmith Day and carries a bit better when full. The long "banana" style keeps the weight low and wrapped around my hips, while the Mountainsmtih Day packs up more vertically and because of this, bounces more noticeably when moving fast. In this light, I can see the virtue of the strapettes.

But... my other problem is that I'm quite tall and wear XL jackets so neither of these waist packs will carry a jacket for me really. So, if I'm going to push the weigh limit of the Day with shoulder straps, I begin to reach for my backpack.

I'll need to try the strapettes though. I think I could make a pair from scrap easy enough....
 
neeman said:
Timbuk2 Messenger bags has been my successful satchel
The extra small Messenger bag is an excellent EDC, holding all my daily needs including my camera and sketch book/journal
And other extra small for my go outside bag, including knives, hatchets. folding saws, Mess kit, gas stove and Emberlit
The small is great for my painting sketch kit
The medium for a picnic/cook set

These are constantly very high quality and do not look tactical
Click to expand...

22-rimfire said:
I have been pleased with the 5.11 messenger bag for my laptop computer when traveling. It offers enough protection and can be hung on your shoulder while carrying other luggage or as a stand alone with the computer and a few odds and ends inside. It's large or at least I think it's large, but it will fit a 15" screen laptop. I have tried tablets and I like a medium sized one for just correspondence or searching the internet for maps or telephone numbers and occasionally killing time on the forums. It doesn't get used a great deal, but on over-night trips, sometimes I leave the lap top at home or just keep it in the messenger bag (just in case) in my vehicle.
Click to expand...


I haven't tossed out my messenger bags and now use them more for duffles/suitcases.

There are people from back in the usenet days who are saying "told you so" but I've been an ardent top-loader advocate for backcountry packs and a strong anti-panel-loader. Mostly this is due to the propensity of zippers to fail and secondly for the ability of a top loader to have extra stuff stuffed into it and even to be sticking out. This is definitely a reason I gravitated towards messenger bags.

But, I have to admit that zipper access works better for me in an urban/travel mode. I just got so frustrated dealing with the flap. I'm getting old and soft maybe.....
 
Here are a couple of pics that I hope show the attachment points for the strapettes.



 
the bigger the bum bag
the bigger the need for some sort of harness to transfer the weight off the bouncy draggy bag
like old style army webbing

I have a Kelty Jaunt
great bag but I only use the volume for bulk not weight
like a fleece and poncho
 
top loading vs panel
no brainer for me
outdoors toploader for flexibility of loads
traveling panel for easy of unloading unpacking packing
 
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