Junction

Very comfortable backpack

Comfortable backpack, having recently switched from my many Atompacks Prospectors. I ordered this days before they teased the release of a new Unbound pack. Having now seen the new Unbound pack, I am glad I didn’t wait. Negatives: The straps that come with the pack seem overkill. I removed the all and replaced the top straps with Orange Reflective shock cord with linelocs. Additionally, I also added the same to the front pocket to create a much needed kit drying solution. I also feel like the white variant could benefit from the bottom being black as this is the most likely part to become very dirty, very quickly. Not a huge fan of a Velcro closure. Press studs seem to work best. Although no bottom pocket, I found I didn’t use it all too often on my other packs.

The item quality feels and looks really good. Shame that the website appears all items are in stock until after the check out process. Then you find out it will take 3 weeks for bottle attachments to be in stock and 1 week for a side pod, before they will ship your more expensive backpack as a complete order.

Light and durable

We ordered this because someone leant us their Hyperlite Junction 55 for Search and Rescue training and it was awesome. My teenage daughter, who weighs about 105 pounds, was struggling with the traditional pack she had on because the rainstorm was soaking into the fabric and making it very heavy. Our trainer had a Hyperlite Junction 55 on hand, and he leant it to us for the rest of the day. Although the interior did get wet (it's not waterproof in a downpour), her stuff was in Ziplocks and stayed dry. The key was that the Hyperlite fabric does not ABSORB the water and add a ton of weight. Search and Rescue training means that you're not always on an actual trail, and she was often going through the shoulder-high brush, and the pack didn't snag on bushes and seemed pretty durable, even with the blackberry thickets. The white Hyperlite fabric looked pretty filthy at the end of the day, and I was questioning why anyone would choose white as a color, but when I washed it at home according to manufacturer instructions, it looked pretty good. It doesn't ever get that pristine white again, but it looks nicely worn in. When we decided to order one for ourselves, I figured black gets hot, so I also chose the white. This isn't an inexpensive bag, but when you're dealing with a serious backpacking situation, or you're hiking 11 miles in one day, as we were, it's worth a few extra hundred bucks to have something that's not going to feel like a boulder on your back and will withstand the elements and a little abuse.