Mountain Hardwear Lander Backpack

Good Morning,

Been out on the trail, doing some hunting as it is hunting season now in North America. It's kept me away from blogging but I am back for a few days. I want to continue our discussion on backpacks because I think it's important to get a variety of feedback on various packs before making your purchase. 

Mountain Hardwear Lander Backpack

       Today, we start our series on the Mountain Hardwear packs. Before we get going, did you notice the word 'wear' in the name? Well, that's because the folks who started this company, not only made the products, but used and wore the things they designed. It all began in Richmond, California in 1993, and they opened their first retail stores in Portland, Oregon and Seattle, Washington in April and December respectively, in 2008.

This pack is just one of many from Mountain Hardwear, but I chose it based upon it's versatile nature. It can be used as a camping backpack, a day pack for those short hikes in the country when you need to get away, or just plain carrying laptops and school books if that's all you want to do. It can even double as a travel pack. It has fully padded shoulder straps as well as a padded back panel. That means nothing poking you in the back as you hike!  It even has an internal sleeve, that will fit a 15" laptop (see I told you, that you could use it for that.)  Back to it's versatility, because THAT, is what makes this pack stand above the rest. 

It has tons of places on the exterior for hooking carabiner's as well as holding trekking poles, etc. It's two large main pockets, are big and roomy. There are enough organizer pockets to carry most anything you can stuff in there, from water bottles to flashlights. You'll find that this pack weighs about half of what other packs of the same general size weigh. This makes it a great pack for women or kids too. The hip belt is removable, (setting this pack apart from a comparable competitor's version).  Not carrying a large load? It even has cinch straps that can shrink it down if all you want to carry is something small like a raincoat. See... versatile. My wife especially likes this feature. 

Backpacks in this category are seldom waterproof, but I've been out in the rain with this pack, in excess of 30 minutes, and the interior remained dry. If you are going to use it in the rain a lot though, I would recommend waterproofing it or using a waterproof cover, neither of which is expensive.

Check this pack out, you won't be disappointed. Hike safely and I'll see you on the trail. ~ Campingman