Flight 30 Ultra Running Backpack

I just took my new Flight 30 Ultra backpack on its first fastpacking / running trip, and I’m very impressed by all of its features and overall design.

I found it to be the most comfortable pack I’ve had. The suspension system of straps and their adjustments is great, and allows you to really dial in your fit. I also really appreciated the layout and accessibility of all the pockets and external features.

This pack has quickly become one of my favorite pieces of gear. My only disappointment was finding the pack to perhaps not be as abrasion resistant as expected, given that the description highlights the durability of the EPX200. A small tear in the EPX200 started showing, likely from being leaned up against a rock while the pack was not on my back, on only its first trip. Granted, our the granite can be quite coarse and sharp at times here in the High Sierra, but I still would’ve liked it to perform better in that regard, since otherwise I do really love the pack so much.

I used the Flight 30 Ultra with the vest harness to fastpack around the 3 Sisters mountains in OR, 60 miles total + 3 days. I’m 5’7” 125lb and carried approx 18lb. The pack is super stable with no bounce and no chafing anywhere (back, shoulders, hips, chest) while running (jogging). There are so many adjustments that I could get it dialed in for comfort no matter how I had it packed for the day. And the extra side pockets are great for stuffing layers, bear spray and snacks. Everything stayed super secure. My only issue was with the flight vest - it fits a little weird as a woman. It smashed things awkwardly and while it wasn’t super uncomfortable, it wasn’t ideal. I also purchased the S Straps and will be giving those a try, but wanted to use the vest for the overall stability for this trip.

I’d say that the Flight 30 is a workhorse and I was very impressed with its performance. And, I can’t wait to use it again on more fastpack adventures!

I'm just getting into fastpacking and ordered the Flight 30 UL along with similar offerings from Salomon, Montane, and Ultimate Direction.

I ended up going with the Six Moon Designs because it felt like it offered just a little more capacity (though other bags were advertised as more liters) and with the vest and hip belt, it was definitely the most stable and bounced the least when fully loaded.

I just took the pack out on a 4 day trip around the collegiate peaks wilderness and it performed excellently. The main compartment easily fit all the essentials along with a few days worth of food. The stretchy side pockets felt like a Mary Poppins bag, I could continually stuff things in them and it seemed like they could always fit more. And then I used the elastic shock cord and top buckle strap to secure things I took on and off through out the day like my rain jacket. The hip belt pockets were a great size to keep a full day's worth of snacks and an iPhone 10.

I got this pack with the running vest straps and they were awesome, I kept my gps, bandana, lip balm, and other small ditties in there. But, the one issue I had was that the pockets meant to hold bottles weren't deep enough for the 500ml Salomon soft flasks I have. They stuck out about half way. I was able to remedy this though because the bottle pockets are actually sewn on top of the vest's zipper pockets. What I ended up doing was cutting away the fabric of the zipper pocket so the bottle got inserted into the…