LuxuryLite StackPack

I have used the pack for a total of 20 days—two trips into the Gila Wilderness and two into the Pecos Wilderness. My pack has an external frame and four 25-litre, waterproof bags. The bags only weigh 4 oz. each, and the total empty weight for a 75-litre backpack is 32 oz.

It is very comfortable to wear, however unconventional its design is. No signs of wear yet. The most weight I have carried so far is 28 pounds (my first trip), as I am solo hiking (and kind of a newbie).

The pack is infinitely variable, from the shortest length to the longest. The belt is very comfortable. The pack is not made to rest on your shoulders, but to rest on your hips. It is easy to adjust the pack height-wise to arrive at a best fit.

The number of waterproof bags can be added or subtracted, according to one's needs (I carried the fourth bag because I had fly fishing equipment and spin fishing equipment). I'm sure I carried too much, but I have not hiked solo but the four times, so I would rather include too much rather than too little. I am learning what I really need as I go. 

The maker lives near Lake Jackson, Texas, and is very responsive to his customers' needs. The belt has a lifetime warranty. The pack separates into two pieces easily (the frame and the belt) when you're done for the day. It has a retractable seat. The front bag provides a counterweight to the pack which does help.

Because of the uniqueness of the pack I trained with it for about four weeks, adding or subtracting the options as I saw fit (3-5 miles a day for five days a week with 25 pounds in the pack). I would advise a breaking-in period for anyone else using this pack.

Overall, the pluses far outweigh the minuses.

Background

My experience with this pack is limited (20 days). I have owned it for 2.5 years. I have been backpacking for about 40 years (maybe a total of 60 days and nights). I have always thought that an external frame, if lightened to 125% or less than that of an internal frame pack of the same capacity, would be far more comfortable than said internal frame pack.

I have owned four backpacks: Camp Trails, ULA Circuit, JanSport Carson, and my current pack. The ULA is the only internal frame backpack I have owned.

I have never been backpacking too far north (Texas, New Mexico, Arkansas, Colorado, Arizona and Utah). Being from the flatlands, I want to get away to where the air is cool and dry. The weather has ranged from 95 degrees to 10 degrees, not much rain (I try to plan my trips so I don't get any), mountainous terrain (including high desert), and between the months of May and October (except for some Boy Scouts camping with my son).

I like to fish in clear streams and lakes, sleep in places where no one else is near, cook out, and exercise.

This pack is a carbon fiber and aluminum, external frame backpack, that uses multiple, removable, lightweight cylinders. My cylinders are in graduated sizes from +/- 1000 c.i. to +/- 1600 c.i., which may be added or subtracted for a capacity of up to +/- 6200 c.i.

Because of the hip belt attachment, this pack is not very suitable for off-trail bushwhacking, but works wonderfully on-trail.

LuxuryLite backpacks are built by Bruce Warren of Lake Jackson, Texas. In 2003, at ADZPCTKO, Bruce built me my pack while I waited.  It took me several trips to learn how to properly pack the cylinders, but now all my gear is conformed to fit—AND FOR THE PAST 22 YEARS I'VE CARRIED THIS PACK EXCLUSIVELY. The unique design of the hip belt is the most comfortable I've carried in my 47 years backpacking. 

An interesting feature about the design of the frame/belt of this pack, is that it carries a few pounds in a single, small cylinder, with grace and elegance.  Most full sized backpacks don't work very well unless loaded well enough to stabilize the load. The LuxuryLite works perfectly as a day pack, or a multi-day backpack.

A short time after purchasing the pack, I began working with Bruce to redesign the hip belt attachment. The original used several, thin Velcro strips, and was a bit fiddly to install. The new design used a sturdy hook, in the back of the belt, that hooked onto the lower bar of the carbon fiber/aircraft aluminum frame. This hook allows the wearer to put on the hip belt, and adjust it quite precisely. You may then pick up the pack, slip on the shoulder straps, and hook it to the frame.

Need to retie your shoes? Just unhook the pack and set it down. The hip belt remains in place. When ready to go, simply pick up the pack, hook up, and walk on. There's no staggering around, bent over, and trying to keep your pack from sliding down your back while trying to get the belt clipped and adjusted.

Background

I have backpacked since 1967, and, for 25 years, led Carrying A Good Thing Too Far, a workshop for beginning backpackers. My LuxuryLite has been from 11,000 in the northern Sierra, to a primitive, 6-day loop, off the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.

I highly recommend this pack, and have had five friends who have been using them for more than fifteen years.

I have carried this pack ever since the designer, Bruce Warren, put one together for me in his booth at the 2003 ADZPCTKO. It took me awhile to reconfigure my load to work with the pack, but ever since then it's the only pack I've ever carried.

I've successfully used the pack for day hikes with only one small cylinder, up to four large cylinders, and fifty pounds for an extended, unsupported multi-section hike on the northern Sierra PCT.

This pack works perfectly with a 5-pound load, up to a 50-pound load. The hip belt allows for an amazingly even distribution of loading on your whole pelvic structure. No pressure points.

The ability to put on the hip-belt, and get it perfectly adjusted, before hoisting the loaded pack is an amazing feature. This feature also means you may drop the pack for a pit-stop without having to remove and replace the belt.

Background

To my knowledge there are no other packs of this type. Once I got my kit dialed-in for the LuxuryLite Stack Pack I've never carried any other. 2003 to 2023 makes 20 years of painless backpacking.

I also worked with the designer, Bruce Warren, to develop the "Hook" Hip-Belt. And worked with him on several early Beta versions.