UKC

Closest thing to a modern K'mor alpiniste? Any good?

In reply to bouldery bits:

Got the Jirishanca and think it's the best bag I've ever used. Really well thought out. Assume The Villain is just the bigger size.

In reply to bouldery bits:
I've got the MSR one and it's excellent. The only thing I would change is the lid as it doesn't sit well when the sac is full-which isn't often.
Very comfortable, well thought out and light. Seems to be wearing well although I don't hammer it as I use another couple of sacs depending what I am doing.

In reply to Scott K:

Mine's started wearing out after almost4 years of ill treatment - pretty good for a lightweight sack.

Apart from the lack of a floating lid, the other thing I'd like added is some gear loops on the hip belt.

In reply to Scott K:

MSR version????

In reply to bouldery bits:

I think Scott means the MSC (multi sport compressor) one - you know, the removable mesh panel with compression straps - as opposed to the original orange one without.

In reply to Glyno: MSC has been great for me, holds an helmet or the Laser Comp if I'm wild camping. It's had a good years worth of bashing and held up great, it carries a load not too bad for a lightweight sack from my experience. The side bottle pockets are reachable too. Agree about the lid, fill it right up and the lid struggles to close. I'd buy another one if this wore out or got lost.

In reply to bouldery bits: It's the MSC!! You can also get a chest pouch for these which I haven't used but seen a couple of times. Would be handy if you needed a little extra capacity.
I was surprised how handy the pockets on the hip belt are. The MSC part is very handy for keeping wet gear or a spare layer. As mrchewy says it can also hold an helmet.

In reply to Scott K: I have the Trio chest pouch too - don't use it often but if you've got a few miles to cover, it's handy for your camera, gloves, hat, etc.
The pockets are as you say proper handy - big enough to keep a small camera in or in my case, all the food I need in a day.

In reply to bouldery bits: my mate had one and found the straps were too thin and poorly padded if you are going to use it for lugging enough gear to climb big wintery mountains. he also found that the stitching above the buckle on the lid ripped through the fabric......

In reply to bouldery bits:

The base of mine ripped after a year. Only a few millimetres, and I'm hoping repair tape both sides plus seam grip should hold, but still: disappointing. It has been dragged over soem rough rock in the Alps, but that's par for the course for a sack like this, and I would expect either a really strong base material or a double base, even at the cost of a few grams extra.

Also, as already mentioned: the lid pocket doesn't sit well when the sack is full, can seriously restrict head movement.

It's a decent enough sack, but I wouldn't buy another one.

In reply to dunkymonkey17: To be honest, I'd say it's not designed for lugging large winter climbing loads. I know they claim it's a lightweight climbing sack but I wouldn't want to carry much more than 15kgs in it for any distance. Lightweight sack = lightweight carry IME. I've done a 4 day wild-camp with it at altitude but that involved no climbing gear and personally I'd use something else for a winter sack with full climbing gear.

ps Not that I winter climb but I have used The Villain in winter with tent, cooker, etc.