"Viajar a pie" is Spanish for "Travelling on foot"

Hyperlight Mountain Gear 3400 Southwest mid-term review

At maximum load

I got this pack as my new thru-hiking pack. No frivolity, I really needed a new one. My old thru-hiking pack was worn out beyond usability after more than 10 years. Not bad. I researched the market for a pack that would meet my requirements and the Southwest won.

I did a short-term review after initial use in real conditions. Full background info to be found there.

Mid-term update

I’ve put the HMG 3400 Southwest to a serious test now: a non-supported, 8 day trek where my max load (with 8 days worth of food) was above 34 lbs. This is the max average I expect to need to carry.

Quick summary

I love the pack, even though I’m afraid I got a size too big and despite a few minor issues. It does have some.

Analysis

The 3400 Southwest is simple and robust and I love both things. On the robustness test, I’ve had it through thick bush (not spiky) and it came out unharmed. The white Hybrid Cuben has got some stains but that’s to be expected. I take it as added character.

Stress points still look like new.

The Hybrid Cuben fabric shows no signs of wear. This is worthy of comment even now that the pack is still young because Cuben is a film so it’s inherently not as pliable as a woven fabric and it’s response to repeated folding and creasing is questionable. Of course, the “hybrid” part means its laminated to a woven layer (of polyester, I think) that surely helps in that regard. The one area that is meant to be consistently folded over is the extension collar. No signs of any extra wear so far.

On the simplicity side, I was somewhat afraid that opening/closing would feel cumbersome compared to my previous thru-hiking packs, which used a cord-lock plus one or two buckled straps… the Southwest uses a velcro strip and three straps. It’s indeed more complexity than I’d need but I got used to it quite fine. Anything else to the pack is extremely simple and functional.

The extension collar worked well for accommodating the extra load at the beginning of the trip.

I got no rain at all so I couldn’t test the waterproofness of the pack.

Questionable size

I followed size indications at the time of purchase and they produced a size L when I’m a M for most things. I trusted the procedure and ordered the L.

Take a look at this pic:

Wrong fit?

Provided the waist belt is properly fitted (it was), would you say that’s the way the shoulder straps should fit? I would expect the strap-to-pack-body seam was lower so the upper strap would envelope my shoulder better. Feel free to comment below if you have an opinion.

The wrongs

  • Waistbelt pockets size & opening

The biggest complain I can confirm and amplify over my short-term review is that the waist belt pockets are difficult to access to the point of being hardly useful at all. The limited volume together with the limited side-drop of the zips make it very difficult to go past the opening for anything minimally wide that would fit fine once inside. This is a minor, yet important design flaw and it’s a pity because waistbelt pockets have the potential to be very useful for thru-hiking. I like them a lot and it was one of the reasons why I chose the Southwest over other similar options. The pockets in the Southwest would need both a slightly bigger volume and some additional side-drop on the back end of the zip.

  • Front pocket closing

Another complaint, a very minor one this time, is about the side and front pockets being not too safe as far as holding contents inside. Small-ish, dense stuff may easily fall. I’m aware these pockets are meant for rather big, non-dense stuff (mostly fabric) but I’d welcome the elastic strip a bit tighter. The one in my pack’s pockets is a bit too loose, at least in the central, bigger pocket.

  • Ice axe loop

As I tried to attach my hiking poles to the pack, I realised about an obvious problem I hadn’t noticed yet: the ice axe loop (that I tried to use for the poles) is sewn on the center of the pack’s front (some call it the pack’s “back”), not towards the side, and the side straps that would intersect and hold the axe handle (or pole tube) are obviously on the sides. There is another strap on the upper center but it’s a vertical strap, hence parallel to the position of the axe handle or pole body, they wouldn’t intersect. Furthermore, this strap must be open every time the pack is open.

Hiking poles may be placed on the sides by just tightening the side straps:

Reasonably good, secure fit for the pole

This wouldn’t work well for the axe though.

This may be the silliest of mistakes but unless I’m missing something it is indeed a design flaw. The straightforward solution would be to set the loop off to one side. And to add a second one on the other side, as already stated in the short-term review, to better accomodate a second axe or two poles.

Recomendations for improvement

Make the hip belt pockets a bit bigger and make the opening wider. Access with the belt under tension is a pain otherwise.

Use tighter elastic in the central, front pocket upper lip

Sew a second ice axe loop and place each one to one side. The upper side strap would also need a quick release buckle. The lower side strap would also benefit from one but this latter is not as important.

Emotional summary

I made friends with my Southwest and I can’t wait to load it up and put it on my back again.

Previous

Logistics

Next

Gear

4 Comments

  1. nielsenbrown

    I would agree with you I think your pack is perhaps a bit long. I have a Porter in a medium and it wraps nicely over my shoulder with out placing too much weight on the shoulders. I love the simplicity of the design and the comfort when an HMG pack is fully loaded. Similarly my HMG porter is my friend and it goes with me on every trip and I have no intention of parting with it.

    • Viajarapie

      Thanks a lot for the feedback. Glad you enjoy your Porter. Other than the size issue, my Southwest is fantastic.

  2. Michal

    Hi, I’ve recently bought and tested Southwest 3400 and experienced similar sizing issues. I had chance to exchange the large for the medium size but after two weeks of carrying it with loads around 25lbs I’m honestly not sure if it wasn’t a mistake. The shoulder straps wrap the shoulders like on the traditional packs but the end of the frame is in the shoulder height and it feels like the weight is mostly pulling down and away from the body. Each day i experienced neck pain, so maybe the fit is actually intented to have shoulder straps lifting off the shoulders a bit. Did you get used to the fit of the large size eventually?

    • Viajarapie

      That’s interesting to know. Sounds like load lifters would help in your case and I would certainly welcome them in mine. Load lifters help bring the load closer to your body and I find them very useful if only to change pressure points on the go. It’s one feature I miss in this pack. Anyway, from your description it looks like the M is still too big for your torso size. Shoulder straps should wrap around the shoulders, down the blades and meet the upper end of the frame.

      The L size is workable for me even though it’s probably not the rightest size. I still like the fabric, the simple, no frills design and the robust build. I can make it work but I feel it’s not my perfect pack. Other than the size issue, the negatives are all minor details but all together make me consider trying another pack. Still undecided.

Leave a Reply to nielsenbrownCancel reply

Powered by WordPress & Theme by Anders Norén & All content by Iñaki Diaz de Etura unless otherwise stated