Yes, it does have a hip belt. I carried this pack on a 6 day trip in the Grand Canyon, and am packing it now for a 6 day trip inthe Paria River Canyon. It is sensational. Very strong. Keep within the weight limits for 2 reasons. 1 to save the pack. 2 to be going light in the first place. It is gigantic so space wont be the problem.

Here is a quick summary of the bag and what I have taken it on since May. I bought the large (I am 5'11, 180), which holds 5100 ci. and weighs 20 oz. I live in Alaska, and I have taken it on a one day climb up a snow gully on East Twin Peak (ultimately unsucessful because of deteriorating snow), 38 mile cabin hike (Resurrection Pass Trail on the Kenai 4 days and 3 nights), the Chilkoot Trail (5d/4n), and two SAR missions (one where I was on the base radio for a body recovery/climber evac. and one, esterday no less, climbing and slogging down a river canyon on the Kenai in the nastiest stuff I have ever seen -- forests of Devil's Club over my head, slippery river rocks, climbing vertical mud/rock banks up alders -- 8 hours to go 2 miles and beat the hell out of me and the pack). As for the pack, the pluses are obvious. Incredible weight with a lot of room. I have two other packs (a Gregory Robson Pro for the big stuff and a JanSport internal frame for hauling my climbing hardwear around) that are slightly bigger, but a whole lot heavier. People can't believe how light the pack is until they pick it up. It actually got sent to me in a large mail ENVELOPE. Surprisingly, it is also a lot more durable than I thought it was going to be. So far no seams coming apart and no signs of wear. GoLite uses Spectra Gridstop nylon on the body, and the stuff has definitely worked so far. The pack is more comfortable than I thought it would be, even with no sternum strap. The belt wears on the hips a bit, but what belts don't. I had at least 35 pounds in it when I went on the 'Koot in June. I was going ultra-light (ID SilNylon Tarp with bivy sack, sub-2 lb. sleeping bag), but I still had to carry enough food and warm clothes to cover the temperature fluxes than happen from Skagway into Canada. Wasn't that bad. Could have added another 5-10 pounds and been decent, but not comfortable. I figured it would lighten up as I ate the food, and it did, so no problem by the time I got to the Pass. Pack's profile is good (relatively narrow) and low, so no impediment looking up to route find. The pocket on the outside of the pack is nice as well. I thought for sure that I was just going to get a 'sack with straps' with all organization left to me and lots of baggies. SUM: Light as billed and more durable and comfortable than expected. Now for the cons, one of which seem so obvious to fix. The MAIN problem is the lack of compression straps. There are two loops where you can jimmy your own straps, which I have done, but they are too low on the pack body. There should be a third one higher, and lightweight adjustable straps would not have added much weight either (they have really lightweight webbing and clips on the top strap down). As is, one of two things ends up happening. Either you don't have enough stuff in the pack (my East Twin Climb), and your gear just sloshes around inside. Or, the straps essentially make a huge pregnant lump above the top compression strap that you can't readily collapse to make smaller. Inevitably my insulated jacket would be on top and poof needlessly larger than it needed to be. Also, the straps' absence cuts down on the ability to strap stuff down on the outside of the pack. Oh well, I guess I could have some sewn on, which I will probably do if the pack holds up. Other stuff is less important, and you can tell that it was scrapped in favor of losing weight. One is the lack of a sleeping bag zipper at the bottom. This forces you to repack evertime, i.e., turning the bag upside down and dumping your crap out and starting over. Annoying, but no biggie. Two, not lots of room to attach stuff to the outside. There is a strap-down pull on top with two daisy chain loops, but that is it. Again, no biggie (I strap stuff like pads on top or just stuff them in the pack itself). Last, not really a criticism of the pack, just a notice that you have to be careful with rain. There is no top loader on the main pack compartment, so the only closure is the draw-string and the top strap-down webbing, which is never going to make a water tight seal. Thus, rain could get into the main compartment much easier than with a pack that just folds over the draw-string. With the rain in AK, this has forced me to bring out the rain cover in conditions I wouldn't worry about otherwise. Hope the review helps. I would definitely recommend the pack and would buy another in a second. I pro-dealed mine, but even at $100 retail, that is still pretty cheap. In comparison, my Robson set my folks back $435 (graduation present). I would think it would be even more ideal in the lower 48 where I would carry fewer clothes and stuff. I used to live in Utah and could see getting enough stuff in it for a week. As for climbing, I still like it quite a bit IF you have enough stuff to fill it a bit. I know that shouldn't be a problem on this board ; my point is simply that if you just have a really light day pack worth of stuff with lun

Very happy in most ways about this backpack. It carries 20-25 lbs very nicely, and is part of a great light packing system. Unless I am carrying for my kids/wife, etc. This is the pack I use almost exclusively now. My only complaint is that the patch where the left shoulder strap is attached to the pack clothhas tended to stick out, irritating my shoulder blade. I now routinely have to use 100mph tape to keep that patch down. Otherwise this is a great product. All that other stuff they put on backpacks, I don't need. I'd rather save the weight.

super strong spectra grip-stop pack w/ no unnessicary frills that seem to just add extra weight like a chocolate bar on opras hips. i have only had up to 20 lbs in it so far but i havent had any problems as of yet. the biggest thing that people do when they review golite stuff is that they over stuff it. the company has printed right on the lable that it should not excede 30 lbs. but w/ a light or a ultralight load than that shouldent even be a concern. good stiching throughout, and very padded shoulder straps to boot. this is a excelent pack no mater how you look at it.

Customer Service

golite rocks, call um up and they do everything that they can to help you out. robert and jess rock.

Similar Products Used:

golite breeze, golite day, camptrails blackjack.

I purchased this pack as a second pack, in an attempt to get lighter, and more organized. What a difference, when I first took it out of the box is was extremely nervous. After packing it and trying it on I was hooked. The Spectra fabric is bomb proof and the whole bag is very well made. It has about 5000cu.in. of space inside and one exterior pocket, which makes you get organized, but is still very adequate. There is only one compression strap which is going to take some getting used to. It helps to roll your sleeping pad inside the pack, your essential inside. This helps to give some structure and reduces shifting. One or two extra compression straps would be nice... but something can always be rigged. Overall I don''t think you can find a better pack for the money, materials and workmanship. I am extremely impressed with the company and I plan on getting the breeze for my girlfriend.

Customer Service

I had the pack in 5 days from travelcountryoutdoors.com

Similar Products Used:

EMS- 5500