Review by Coy Starnes
back view of the Lookout 45
The Mountainsmith Lookout 45 is new for 2010, but comes from a company with a long history of turning out great gear, especially packs. The Lookout 45 is designed as a do it all pack and the website says it is “The perfect weekend size with a host of features to cover everything from your next hut trip to that off-route canyon hike.” But I’ll go one step further and say that with compact gear like a down sleeping bag and a small cook set it would be OK for week long adventures. At just over 4 lbs the Lookout is not for the ultralight crowd but in my opinion, a well designed pack that carries the load comfortable is sometimes better than a gram weenies sil-nylon sack with a couple of shoulder straps sewn on. I have already carried the pack on a pretty long hike with about 25 lbs of gear in it and it felt great. And here is a side view of the pack. BTW, you can click on any of the images to see full size.
side view of the Lookout 45
But before I get into how the pack performed on the maiden voyage, a close look at the packs features is in order. First of all, the packs is made using 20 plastic 16-ounce bottles. The recycled fabric is called 450d ReDura™. It reminds me of Cordura which is a very tough fabric.
The Lookout has two compartments in the main bag and a detachable top lid. The main compartment has a piece of material separating the upper part of the bag and the sleeping bag compartment which is on the bottom. The top lid can be completely detached from the pack and used as a day bag. Mountainsmith calls it a SlingShot™. It even has long straps and instructions printed on the inside of it for converting it. The Lookout has many other features shown below.
* Independently adjustable dual density shoulder straps
* X-Frame Load Dispersion Suspension System
* Compression molded back panel with contoured lumbar support
* Elastic sternum strap and bite valve catch
* Removable safety whistle
* Shoulder strap attachment loop for Mountainsmith Camera cases
* Internal hydration bladder sleeve with exit port (bladder not included)
* Pivoting dual density waistbelt for optimal load transfer
* Side Compression straps reconfigure for vertical snowboard/snowshoe carry across Front Panel
* A-Frame and diagonal ski carry
* Trekking pole mounts
* Ice axe & tool loops
* Bottom panel compression straps
* Side panel accessory pockets
* Top mount compression strap for rope or accessory carry
* Front panel expandable sleeve/shovel pocket
* Sewn-in fitting instructions under top lid
* Zippered map pocket under top lid
* Expansion collar with draw cord closure for increased carry capacity
* Haul handle
* Interior key clip
* SlingShot™ detachable top lid converts into a lumbar pack or shoulder sling
* Top panel attachment points
The key stats for the Lookout 45 are as follows
Dimensions: 29.5″ tall x 9.5 deep x 11.75″ wide (75 x 24 x 30 cm)
Weight: 4 lbs 2 oz (1.9 kg)
Volume: 2870 cu. in. (47 L)
Extended Volume: 3235 cu. in. (53 L)
Torso Fit Range: 17″ – 22″ (43 – 56 cm)
I’m not going to attempt to completely describe how to set up the suspension for the shoulder straps but there are several illustrations on the inside of the top lid which clearly show how to accomplish this. Below is a photo of the illustrations.
illustrations for adjusting the pack
But briefly, the aluminum stays that the shoulder straps are attached to form and x across the pack. Of course since the pack is more than twice as tall as it is wide the resulting x is tall and skinny. The Shoulder straps are connected at opposite sides down at the bottom and follow the same path as the x. But the really neat thing is that as the straps are let out, the top part of the shoulder strap slides up along the aluminum stays, so in effect, as the length is let out the shoulder straps attachment points get further apart. This is cool because usually the longer the torso, the wider the person. Of course this is not always the case but I like it because I was able to let the straps out until they were almost at the top of the x and they are not tight across my neck now. The shoulder straps can also be adjusted for length on the other end so getting the proper fit is pretty simple.
The hipbelt seems pretty substantial, or maybe it just seems so since I have recently been using a real light pack with a skimpy hipbelt. Regardless, I like this hipbelt. The web part of the belt is 1.5 inches wide and it is plenty long. In fact, I have it adjusted for my 38″ waist and there is 9″ of strap left over on each side so theoretically the belt would fit someone with up to a 56 in waist. And another really neat feature on the hipbelt is a mesh pocket sewn onto the left side of the belt. In fact, I wish there was another one on the other side. Here is a photo of the pocket holding my camera. As can be seen, the camera is a little big for the pocket but it rides very securely in the pocket so I have no doubt it will stay in the pocket. Of course testing will tell for sure.
mesh pocket on hipbelt with my camera inside
As I mentioned earlier, the Lookout was great on my initial hike. I hiked 5 miles in about 2.5 hours and even though i was a little tired and sweaty by the end of the hike, the pack did not give me any problems. One really nice thing about the Lookout is the side water bottle holders. They are made plenty big so they are not pushing in on the side of the pack. And why is this important? Well, I have used packs that squeeze the bottles so hard they actually take away from the packs usable volume. I did find it aggravating that I could not reach my water bottles without taking the pack part of the way off but the pack does feature a hydration sleeve. Too bad I don’t like hydration bladders. But this has been pretty much my experience with most packs so I just deal with it and go on. If I am hiking with someone it is easier since I can get them to retrieve a bottle and put it back in the holder for me.
safety whistle
I will have a lot more to say as I get out and use the pack more but before I close, I just have to mention the safety whistle. I had actually forgotten all about reading about it when I first looked at the packs specifications online so I was wondering what the little yellow doo-dad on the sternum strap was for. When I saw the hole in the end and another hole out the top I remembered that feature. Of course I had to try it out and while it is not the loudest whistle I have ever heard, it was certainly louder than I could yell, and should be much easier to keep up if I ever need to signal for help. In the mean time, stay tuned for the next update which should be forthcoming pretty soon.
Mountainsmith Lookout 45 update: July 24, 2010
not exactly good hiking weather
The capacity of this pack is actually more than I needed on my two hikes thus far but the compression straps do work extremely well at tightening the pack around my loads. Part of the reason for my small loads is because I was using a very light and compact down sleeping bag. I just recently picked up a much heavier and less compact synthetic bag. I haven’t actually went hiking with the new bag yet but I did want to see if it would fit in the bottom compartment of the Lookout 45. It would fit but it was not easy and I feared I would tear the bag trying to close the zipper where it was trying to poke back out. After checking if the bag would fit, I took the divider loose which in effect makes Lookout 45 a single compartment backpack. Putting the sleeping bag in from the top is much easier and there is still a lot of room left for the rest of my gear.
Durability
I would comment on the durability of the Lookout 45, but in all honesty, I haven’t used it enough to say much. However, it does seem like a very robust pack. One reason it seems so sturdy might be that the Lookout 45 material is much heavier than the material on the last pack I used. In fact, the whole pack is bigger and more padded in the hipbelt and shoulder straps etc. I hung the other pack from the ridgeline on my hammock but after trying the same with the Lookout 45 I decided to just leave it on the ground. This is not a knock against the Lookout 45, and to be honest, if I really wanted to go ultra-light weight, my gut would be the first area needing trimmed….
A final look at the Lookout 45 November 7, 2010
The summer heat wave finally broke enough for some good hiking. In fact, it has been a little chilly lately, or as I like to call it, “perfect hiking weather”. I have still only managed overnight hikes with this pack, but my last hike was 9 miles total with 7 of the 9 miles the following morning in one six hour hike. The hike saw a low of 39 F and a high of 50 F. It rained lightly several times and even sleeted a few minutes a couple of times. So how did the Lookout 45 perform?
My pack weight was 31 lbs including my food and water but as I ate my food and drank my water it slowly dropped. I did refill my water bottles a couple times but by the time I finished, my water bottles were empty and my pack weighed 27 lbs. My gear was pretty typical for fall. I packed a light rain jacket, some gloves and a bogin (some folks call it a watch cap) but did not wear the jacket much and the gloves and bogin even less. As usual, I carried my hammock and the pad I use with it, but I used a synthetic sleeping bag which made my load slightly heavier than my previous trips when I was using a down bag. The pad really was too big to fit inside the pack with the synthetic bag so I had to strap it under the pack. However, the straps that go under the pack worked well for this purpose.
So how did the Lookout 45 feel while hiking? Well, with the 31 lb load it felt fine. In fact, my hips and shoulders never felt fatigued, but I will say my feet were hurting by the time I finished the hike. Apparently all my kayaking this summer has left my feet a little unconditioned for longer hikes. It didn’t help that I tried to take a shortcut and followed a trail that dead ended at a pretty steep bluff. I had to climb some very steep rocks and then bushwhack my way for a half mile across some very rugged terrain until I picked up the trail again. Here is the pack along some of the smoother sections of trail.
View of Lookout 45 from the front
View of Lookout 45 from the rear
How did I use the pack during the day? I kept most of my things I might need during the hike in the top lid. I kept my rain jacket in the main compartment but on the top of my other gear so I could get it out quickly if needed. This proved to be a good idea considering I had to dig it out several times during the day. I kept my water bottles in the 2 mesh side pockets. The one draw-back to this was I had to take the pack off when I needed a drink. I used the front pouch (Mountainsmith calls it the front panel expandable sleeve/shovel pocket) to keep my snacks handy. Then when it warmed up I used it to keep my bogin and gloves. Here is the photo with my jerky showing but normally it was down inside and out of sight. If you click on the image you can probably see the sleet on top of my gloves.
using the front panel pocket for my snacks. also note the sleet on my glove
One feature that stood out on this hike more so than previous trips was the use of the pouch on the hipbelt which I found to be the perfect place for my camera. It is just an open mesh pocket with elastic around the top and made getting it out very easy. However, I never felt like I was in danger of loosing my camera. I’m sure I pulled it out 20 or more times during the entire hike because I was on a trail I had not hiked previously and took a lot of pictures. The trail went roughly around the edge of Guntersvile Lake except for where it went up two ridges with at least 300 feet in elevation gain each time. In places it seemed to follow an old road bed judging from the old rusted out automobiles I saw. OK, I just saw 2, but they were sort of out of place when you consider the nearest road is over 3 miles away and through dense woods. And speaking of old rusted out cars. The trail/road must have been a moonshining hotbed. I counted 7 different still sites along the way. I know all this it is not really pack performance related except to say the pouch was great for my camera, but I have to show off at least a couple of my pictures…and as always, click on an image to see in full size.
an old rusted out car along the trail
one of many abandoned moonshine stills I saw
a pretty view of the lake along the trail
Summary
I have really enjoyed using the Lookout 45. It is sized just about right for the weekend type hiking I normally do and I have no doubt it would be good for much longer hikes as I had lots of room left over when packing my down bag and ultralight gear. However, when my loads were in the lower 20 lb range I probably would choose a smaller and lighter pack to start with. However, one thing this pack offers in spades is comfort. The hipbelt does a great job in holding most of the pack weight, yet remains flexible enough that I never noticed it hindering my movement. The pack also seems very durable. I scraped by some pretty nasty cedar limbs and also had to contend with some big thorns when I got off trail. Even on the trail I encountered several tight squeezes that had me scrubbing rocks, brush and tree limbs. The bottom line would be that Mountainsmith has a reputation of turning out comfortable, well engineered packs and the Lookout 45 continues in that tradition.
I am from northeast Alabama where I spend a lot of my time divided among several hobbies that include backpacking and dayhiking, canoeing and kayaking, and just getting out enjoying nature.
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