Well, I’ve had my share of backpacks and up to this point and whittled them down to a few of my favorite go-to packs.  But, I think I found my next favorite.  It’s the Hyperlite Junction 3400 and so far this pack has it all: load hauling ability; light weight; ruggedness; waterproof; sizeable volume and comfortability.  The one thing I like the most is the simplicity.  It’s silhouette is slim and there aren’t a lot of buckles and straps hanging off of it.

This is just a little of my backstory and a first look at my purchase of my new Hyperlite Junction 3400 pack.  I haven’t had any actual trail time as of yet but can’t wait to wear it because it has everything I want. 

Below are my current main two backpacks in my arsenal that I rely on and have relied on for the past several years.  Both work incredibly well for me overall for their own purposes but for me the Hyperlite Junction 3400 combines the best of both plus more in the backpack known as the Junction.  This doesn’t mean it’s right for everybody but it’s totally right for me.   I’m a wannabe ultra-liter who just can’t get there but wants to be as light as I can be while still taking the extras.

My current long distance pack is the ULA Circuit which is an outstanding backpack and it’s my go-to pack.  The ULA Circuit is an excellent backpack that is well suited for those who are crossing into that territory in my opinion.  ULA also makes the OHM which I think is more suited to the serious ultra-liter.  At 41oz the ULA Circuit is on the heavier side of the ultra-lite backpack realm but quit a bit lighter than most mainstream packs.  One reason I purchased this pack is that you can carry a large bear canister in it which is a necessity in certain parks and hiking locales.  Now, I’m not an ultra-liter but I’m getting older and wanted to explore the possibilities of going ultra-lite one of these days and the price point of the Circuit pack is very reasonable for a high end pack.  I was hoping my Circuit would help/force me to trim down my ounces and make me cut gear that I took on hikes.  On thru-hikes I come fairly close to the outer edges of ultra-lite but nowhere near ultra-lite.  My base pack weight is usually over 20LBS.  I always need(or think I need) that extra gear as a backup for peace of mind.  Also, not all of my gear was ultra-lite at the time that I purchased my ULA Circuit and that makes a big difference because generally an ultra-lite pack needs to be filled with ultra-lite gear or else you fill it with very little gear.  My circuit definitely has the volume capability for me(68L) but it lacks the load carrying ability for me (35LBS) and that’s what ultimately made me look to the Hyperlite Junction 3400, because I always go over that weight when I have to carry water and I find myself constantly adjusting due to that fact.  Anyone who has overfilled the weight capacity of a pack knows that it’s a bad idea and will pay you back in many ways that are all uncomfortable and can ruin the hike in the end.  I mostly use this pack for warmer weather now because the gear is less and lighter.  I will retire this pack to the weekend warrior shorter hikes at this point once I get my Junction cranking on the trail.  Also, it is not waterproof, although its fairly water resistant.  The material is super tough in this pack and has not shown the slightest sign of abrasion or anything.  In fact, the robic material used by ULA is freaking bulletproof!  Basically, for me(stress ‘for me’) the Circuit has the volume capacity but falls just shy of my preferred weight carrying capacity.     

My main workhorse main carry backpack for non-thru-hikes is a Mountainsmith 45+ Lookout backpack.  I purchased it because it’s Mountainsmith and I have other Mountainsmith packs and they are incredibly affordable and bulletproof.  It’s expandable to around 53 liters and weighs slightly over 4lbs.  The pack materials used are very robust and far from being light but when I purchased it many years ago most of my equipment was far from light.  At the same time it can carry a lot of weight without any issues and is adjustable on all levels.  It carries a good amount of gear for me and I know I’ve carried over 40 lbs with it before, although it’s a bit shy on capacity for me on cold winter hikes when I need lots of heavy warm gear.  It’s weight and carrying capacity are it’s limitations that keep it as a weekend warrior in non-frigid temperatures and I’m fine with that.  It’s certainly not a thru-hiking backpack for me because it’s heavy with limited space and so can’t accept a larger bear canister.  This is an incredibly durable backpack that I’m sure I will have for as long as I’m backpacking.  They discontinued this model and now produce the Lookout 40 but you can still find the Lookout 45 on Ebay.  The Mountainsmith Lookout 40 is smaller and nearly a pound lighter.  It looks like they have made a few changes but still the pricing is great and no doubt most likely still robust and made of quality materials.

I had been periodically salivated over the Hyperlite Junction 3400 because it’s a beautiful pack and it seems to fit all of my specifications.  But, to have this kind of perfection required one to pay a premium.

Well, a good friend of mine who I hike with quite often went and purchased the Zpacks Arc Blast 55 liter backpack.  I already had one friend who owned one and he loved it but at the time I was perfectly happy with my pack situation and I wasn’t an ultra-liter so I couldn’t justify the purchase.  But when he showed up with it one our next hike I figured it was time to start looking. The Arc Blast is an incredible pack and many people swear by them.    I have several pieces of ZPacks gear so I started looking hard at the Arc Blast 55 but they are rated for 35lbs which is under what I need and just not right for me.  At 20.1oz it’s lighter than the Junction but at the same time it gives up the load carrying capacity.  Now, at this point I have quite a few pieces of lightweight gear but alas I still want to carry all of the extras so that takes it over the limit of the Arc Blast 55.  I then looked at it’s larger cousin the Arc Haul 62L backpack and 22.6oz and load capacity of 40lbs it was right there….but it’s not made of Dyneema.  Instead it’s made of a similar, if not the same material as the ULA Circuit backpack, which is water resistant but not waterproof.  Off to Hyperlite I went! 

So, I started looking at the Hyperlite Junction 3400 again… This pack has everything that makes sense for me.  It weighs a mere 2lbs in the white version (2.15lbs in black version) and can carry 40lbs.  Since my pack weight when carrying water usually ends up around 40lbs (between 34 and 37 is usually where I end up) this is about perfect.  It allows for water carrying plus all of the items I want to take in a really lightweight pack.  I can easily fit a Bearvault BV500 canister which makes it a rock star already in my book.  That’s one of the requirements I needed my thru-hiking backpack to be able to do easily.  Nowadays, more and more of the parks require you to carry bear canisters in order to backpack there and I’m somewhat confident that the ones that don’t will change their minds at some point in the future.  I also have a Ursack Major XL Bear Bag some of the parks won’t accept them as a canister substitute.  There are other bags in the Ursack family as well – see here.    But that’s not all the Hyperlite Junction 3400 has to offer!  This pack is made of Dyneema(aka Cuben Fiber and composites) and the material itself is much more water resistant!  The bag has a toll top enclosure seals out moisture pretty well if you follow the rules and fold 3 times to essentially make waterproof, or at least very water resistant.  Water always finds a way in so I always line my pack with a trash compactor bag so I don’t end up with a wet puffy or worse, a wet quilt!  Anyway, this fact is two-fold because it also eliminates the need to carry an extra piece of gear in the form of a rain cover.  Not to mention the hassle of putting it on and taking it off and it’s taking up space in the pack.  Oh yeah, and the fact that it’s just one more piece of gear to lose on the trail(yes, I’ve found my share).  Seems to me they never fit quite right, leaving gaps and openings and so they don’t fully protect your pack from taking on some water somehow, somewhere.

One of my original concerns with the Hyperlite Junction 3400 was the fact that it was as white as snow and it would get dirty in no time at all but after speaking to several owners felt confident that the Dyneema fabric is actually quite stain resistant.  Although, let’s face it this pack in white looks incredible!  I do like the light color and it shouldn’t heat up too much up at altitude say, in the Sierras for instance where sun is intense.  Also, the black is pretty cool and I’m considering purchasing one for winter hiking trips as it’s a thicker material and the dark color is not a concern but actually a plus.

Anyway, that’s how I got to my purchase of the Hyperlite Junction 3400.

Now, whether it truly works for me is to be determined…..