Buckaroo Posted July 20, 2011 Posted July 20, 2011 Go to REI and look at a Mountainsmith "Daylight" waist pack. The tag says it weighs 9.5 oz. with a 700 cu in capacity. It's a pretty nice looking pack with neat features and I've been wanting one for multipitch rock to get the weight of approach shoes/raingear/water off the shoulders on the vertical terrain. I ask the floor person if they have a scale because you can't always trust the advertised weight. No they don't, oh well. So I'm comparing it to the other waist packs and it seems a bit lighter than the rest of comparable size. So I buy it and take it home. DAMN THING WEIGHS 14 OUNCES!! Crap, I have a Go-lite Breeze daypack 2900 cu in capacity and it only weighs 14.5oz. This is a bad joke, not only does this thing weigh about twice what it needs to, they also are fibbing about how much it really weighs. Not to mention the tag shows a removable inner zipper pocket, get the thing home and check it. IT'S NOT REMOVABLE. HEY MOUNTAINSMITH if you're reading this....... FAIL. http://www.mountainsmith.com/products.asp?productId=309&categoryId=42&subCategoryId=0&subCategory2Id=0 Quote
jfs1978 Posted July 20, 2011 Posted July 20, 2011 dude ... you're getting pissed off that something called a "fanny pack" isn't up to your technical standards??? jes' playin'... Quote
Buckaroo Posted July 20, 2011 Author Posted July 20, 2011 Unless I can mod it to take some weight off it's going back. I've been clipping stuff to my harness up till now, that weighs nothing. Quote
genepires Posted July 20, 2011 Posted July 20, 2011 maybe the tag weights 9.5 ounces. mountainsmith stuff has always been heavy. Lucky it is not 3 pounds. Quote
Water Posted July 20, 2011 Posted July 20, 2011 mnt smith has especially fallen off in recent years. i don't know the history exactly but i am going to guess they got bought out or something. If you get to mountainsmith.net or search for mountainsmith sting45, you can get to a euro site of theirs that shows product from the past. For instance, the sting45 is a well thought out pack. I would not consider that for any of their current backpacks. but lightweight, never, as gene said. Quote
Buckaroo Posted July 20, 2011 Author Posted July 20, 2011 It is what it is I guess. Comparing it to their other offerings it is lighter. Guessing the main thing that pisses me off is the misrepresentation of the weight. Ray Jardine needs to try his hand at a lumbar pack. I'm a long time fan of the GoLite line. Quote
Water Posted July 20, 2011 Posted July 20, 2011 why not write a letter that butters them a bit then be critical, maybe you get some free shit. maybe you get them to update their misrepresentation? Petzl lists the Aztarex as having a T rated shaft on the PDF they have of all their tools. I emailed them to update that, and they told me thanks, they'd change it right away! that was 2 months ago, haha, haven't still. There be a mis-representation. http://www.petzl.com/files/all/en/Products/comparaison/comparison-table-ice-axes.pdf Quote
DavidW Posted July 21, 2011 Posted July 21, 2011 Many companies come up with the listed weights and dimensions based on prototypes made many months before the item goes into production. I'm a buyer for an outdoor retailer and this kind of thing is more common than you might think. Sometimes the item turns out to be lighter! I've never really seen this as any kind of attempt to spin lies or distort the truth. More likely somebody changed the specs on the fabric or maybe changed to a metal buckle because the plastic one was found to break or some such at the last minute. Sometimes somebody just made a typo somewhere along the line. It seems a shame to assume these guys tried to rip you off... why don't you return it where you bought it and complain? You will probably have to wait for some warranty person to process it but you may wind up with more options than if you just dis the guys online. There is increasing and incredible pressure to make everything cheaper than it's true value and then guarantee the results a year in advance. Sometimes stuff just slips through the cracks even for well meaning manufacturers. By far the majority of people in this industry are solid folks just like you and me. Quote
murraysovereign Posted July 21, 2011 Posted July 21, 2011 Many companies come up with the listed weights and dimensions based on prototypes made many months before the item goes into production. I'm a buyer for an outdoor retailer and this kind of thing is more common than you might think. Sometimes the item turns out to be lighter! I've never really seen this as any kind of attempt to spin lies or distort the truth. More likely somebody changed the specs on the fabric or maybe changed to a metal buckle because the plastic one was found to break or some such at the last minute. Sometimes somebody just made a typo somewhere along the line. It seems a shame to assume these guys tried to rip you off... why don't you return it where you bought it and complain? You will probably have to wait for some warranty person to process it but you may wind up with more options than if you just dis the guys online. There is increasing and incredible pressure to make everything cheaper than it's true value and then guarantee the results a year in advance. Sometimes stuff just slips through the cracks even for well meaning manufacturers. By far the majority of people in this industry are solid folks just like you and me. What he said Quote
joshzielinski Posted July 23, 2011 Posted July 23, 2011 just curious... does anyone wear a full on fanny pack and climb with a harness? Seems like a very strange combination. That's an awful lot of stuff in one concise area (the waist/upper bum). -Josh Quote
Buckaroo Posted July 23, 2011 Author Posted July 23, 2011 Many companies come up with the listed weights and dimensions based on prototypes made many months before the item goes into production. I'm a buyer for an outdoor retailer and this kind of thing is more common than you might think. Sometimes the item turns out to be lighter! I've never really seen this as any kind of attempt to spin lies or distort the truth. More likely somebody changed the specs on the fabric or maybe changed to a metal buckle because the plastic one was found to break or some such at the last minute. Sometimes somebody just made a typo somewhere along the line. The end result is it weighs about 50% more than advertised. Regardless of how that came about accidental or intentional it doesn't look good. When I buy a product the very first consideration is weight. I returned the pack to REI and bought their new Flash mini pack. I'll wear it on my back and switch to the harness when it gets steep. BTW it weighs EXACTLY as advertised...10ozs. I don't think there's much of an excuse for inaccurate weight after all accurate scales are readily and easily available. Quote
Buckaroo Posted July 23, 2011 Author Posted July 23, 2011 just curious... does anyone wear a full on fanny pack and climb with a harness? Seems like a very strange combination. That's an awful lot of stuff in one concise area (the waist/upper bum). -Josh I've done this before especially when it's steep. Weight is better carried at the waist, at the shoulders it pulls you over backwards. This is a relatively small amount of stuff, approach shoes, rain shells and water basically. It seems the light weight ethic hasn't entered the lumbar pack arena yet. There isn't anything comparable to the GoLite line of regular packs. Quote
stevetimetravlr Posted July 23, 2011 Posted July 23, 2011 Mountainsmith stuff is heavy and poorly designed. They are always dumping stuff on Steep and Cheap if you want to buy their crap. I bought a lumbar pack from them on there, and when I got it, it has this heavy duty padded belt with all these wierd support straps and crap, with one tiny little pocket for your keys and a water bottle holder. What a joke! It weighs at least 2 pounds. Never used it trail running, so lame. Quote
Figger_Eight Posted July 27, 2011 Posted July 27, 2011 I don't think fanny packs were ever designed for technical climbing. Saying Mountainsmith makes poorly designed packs is kinda like being mad at Timberland for making poorly designed ice climbing boots. Just sayin'. Quote
G-spotter Posted July 27, 2011 Posted July 27, 2011 I don't think fanny packs were ever designed for technical climbing. Except for that Metolius one that clips on to your harness Quote
ivan Posted July 27, 2011 Posted July 27, 2011 (edited) is it light enough you can tear it in half in front of a bewildered rei customer service rep? i've managed to make one of those stupid cheap n' light rei day packs last for 2 years now - thing weighs nothing but holds the minimal shit you need for a multi-pitch climb - musta been fishing 30 butts a day out of the bottom of it on tangerine trip 35$ i think it is? and it comes in a pleasing variety of colors Edited July 27, 2011 by ivan Quote
Figger_Eight Posted July 28, 2011 Posted July 28, 2011 (edited) I don't think fanny packs were ever designed for technical climbing. Except for that Metolius one that clips on to your harness Ha ha - that doesn't count (I actually own one. It sits next to my Mountainsmith fanny pack buried in the back corner of my garage) Edited July 28, 2011 by Figger_Eight Quote
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