Specs at a look
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- Weight: 24.8 oz (703g) – measurement massive
- Detachable hipbelt weight: 4.8 oz (136g) – measurement massive
- Gender: Males’s
- Inside Quantity: 35 Liters
- Exterior Quantity: 6.5 Liters
- Pockets: Most important + 7
- Load lifters: No
- Hip belt Pockets: Sure
- Hydration system appropriate: No
- Ice Axe Loop: Sure
- Colours: White or Black
- Supplies: Dyneema DCF, 100D Dyneema Gridstop, Dyeema Stretch Mesh
- Most advisable load: 40 lbs (we expect it’s nearer to 30 lbs)
- Bear Canister Compatibility: BV425 and BV450 (horizontal), BV475 and BV500 (vertical)
Backpack Pockets and Storage
The Waypoint 35 is a water-resistant Dyneema DCF rolltop-style daypack with 35 liters of area making it good for all-day adventures, significantly those who require further clothes layers, meals, or further gear like winter traction aids or climbing gear. It’s made with Dyneema DCF, which is waterproof Dyneema material encased in polyester for improved abrasion and daylight resistance. The inside is seam-taped so rain received’t leak by means of the seams, in contrast to backpacks made with typical supplies like Robic or Cordura (nylon.)
The principle compartment has 35L of capability, together with the portion above the shoulder straps, normally known as an “extension collar.” Most mainstream backpack makers don’t embody this a part of the backpack once they cite inside quantity and solely depend the area as much as the highest of the body. It’s necessary to concentrate on this on the Waypoint as a result of it’s a really slender pack that’s solely 10″ broad on the base with extra cupboard space within the higher half of the pack bag. This isn’t essentially dangerous so long as you pack heavier gadgets decrease down to forestall the pack from turning into too top-heavy, which might throw you off stability. However the slender width of the pack provides the Waypoint the nimble character of a climbing/ski pack, making it fairly agile to hold.
As a roll-top backpack, you possibly can roll up the unused materials within the extension collar in case you don’t want the additional area otherwise you wish to compress the pack’s contents from the highest down. The highest of the pack bag has a stiffener inserted to make it simpler to roll, however there’s no velcro to seal the perimeters, which Hyperlite beforehand used on their bigger quantity backpacks and had a bent to fray with heavy use. The 2 ends of the dry bag fashion prime could be clipped to themselves on the highest of the pack or to straps alongside the edges. If not wanted, the buckles on these aspect straps can join to 1 one other over the entrance mesh pocket, which is helpful for carrying gear like snowshoes in winter. (see beneath)
The inside of the principle compartment doesn’t have a hydration pocket or a hook to hold a reservoir or hydration ports to run a hose system by means of, so that you’ll most likely wish to carry your water in open packets on the surface of the pack. There may be an inside pocket that holds a pre-curved aluminum body keep which is detachable however it’s too slender and small to carry a lot else.
The pack’s exterior has a modest entrance stretch mesh pocket made with sturdy Dyneema stretch mesh that’s good for storing unfastened layers or a moist water filter. It has a clip on the prime to forestall gadgets from falling out and drainage ports within the backside corners. (It’s not sufficiently big to slip the underside of snowshoes into).
The pack has two open aspect pockets which can be good for holding water bottles. They’re angled on prime to make it simpler to tug out bottles or change them when you’re strolling and have an elastic cinch twine operating alongside the highest to safe gadgets inside. The pockets even have drain holes within the corners.
The shoulder straps include sewn-on Dyneema mesh pockets. These can be utilized to carry small water bottles, electronics, sun shades, or snacks. I take advantage of one to tuck away my iReach Mini2 so it’s not dangling from a shoulder strap.
Lastly, the hipbelt additionally comes with strong exterior pockets. These are solid-faced for sturdiness and have waterproof zippers on prime. They’re an honest measurement for holding small electronics and snacks – not enormous – however acceptable.
Backpack Body and Suspension
The Waypoint 35 has a single, pre-shaped aluminum body keep operating down the inside compartment’s center. The body keep terminates behind the lumbar pad, which holds the detachable hipbelt in place, so that you get an honest quantity of load switch from it. You additionally don’t really feel the body keep when sporting the pack as a result of the again behind the shoulder straps is flippantly padded. Hyperlite charges the max advisable load of the Waypoint at 40 lbs which appears a bit beneficiant to us however I suppose it’s attainable in case you are keen to suck it up. We expect the max “comfy” load is nearer to 30 lbs.
The hipbelt is optionally detachable on the Waypoint. It’s additionally obtainable in a number of sizes so you may get a superb match. Hyperlite doesn’t have a measurement chart on the Waypoint product web page for hipbelt sizing as a result of it’s buried in an FAQ, however right here’s what you wish to know.
Waypoint 35 Hipbelt Waist Sizing
- Small: 26.5” – 49”
- Medium: 27.5” – 50”
- Giant: 29.5” – 52”
- Tall: 29.5” – 52”
The shoulder straps and hip belt on the Waypoint usually are not curved or flared to accommodate ladies’s dimensions. Increasingly more producers, together with ultralight gear producers, are transferring to make actually unisex backpacks with S-shaped shoulder straps, so it’s a little bit stunning that the Waypoint 35 is barely designed for males and never clearly gender-independent.
The pack is barely obtainable in white or black. Whereas the white pack’s exterior will get dirtier quicker, it’s simpler to search out issues inside as a result of the inside is white and never black. On Hyperlite’s bigger backpacks, additionally obtainable in white or black, the black material is considerably extra sturdy than the white material, however the two are equal on the Waypoint 35.
Exterior Attachment Level and Compression
Many daypacks have one tier of compression straps, not two, as is often discovered on higher-volume backpacks. That’s the case with the Waypoint, which has one side-compression “twine” above the aspect bottle pockets to assist shrink the pack’s quantity or safe gadgets to the aspect of the backpack. I’m not a fan of using cords for aspect compression and far want using webbing straps with glove-compatible buckles when attaching cumbersome objects to the surface of the backpack, if just for the straightforward indisputable fact that they don’t freeze in snow or freezing temperatures.
Nevertheless, Hyperlite has achieved one thing distinctive in designing the cord-based attachment and compression system. First, they’ve added 6 small webbing loops across the perimeter of the entrance Dyneema stretch mesh pocket so you possibly can connect gear to the surface of the backpack utilizing static or elastic twine. A number of different distributors do that, too.
The Waypoint’s single side-compression “twine” is tied at one finish to the highest webbing loop and on the different finish to a buckle with two features: a line loc tensioner at one finish and a buckle you possibly can squeeze open on the different. Sadly, the buckle finish can solely be hooked up to 1 level alongside the entrance nook of the pack and never a number of factors.
The twine that ships with the pack isn’t lengthy sufficient to safe something very massive, like a foam pad to the aspect of the pack or snowshoes, however it’s simply changed. Nonetheless, it’s completely appropriate for securing thinner objects like a Smartwater bottle with a Sawyer water filter hooked up, a Tenkara fishing rod, or trekking poles, offered they relaxation contained in the aspect pockets. The buckle simply makes it simpler to take away longer gadgets from beneath the twine.
The pack comes with a prime Y-strap which can be utilized to strap cumbersome gear to the highest of the Waypoint like a folding foam pad. It may also be used to safe bigger gadgets like snowshoes to the entrance of the pack along side the webbing straps used to carry down the ends of the rolltop in the event that they’re threaded across the pack’s entrance.
Suggestion
The Hyperlite Moutain Gear Waypoint 35 is positioned as a daypack, however as you possibly can see above it will probably simply be used for winter mountaineering and even ultralight backpacking with small compact masses. It’s a water-resistant backpack that’s seam-taped and made with Dyneema DCF material which might take a whole lot of abuse when mountaineering on or off path. Whereas it’s a surprisingly slender pack, I’ve discovered that makes it fairly nimble and responsive to hold. With 7 pockets, together with two on the shoulder straps, it’s loaded with options that make it handy and a whole lot of enjoyable to make use of. Should you’re on the lookout for a hardy backpack within the 30L-40L vary, it’s undoubtedly a contender and price a critical look.
Disclosure: HMG donated a backpack for overview.
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