I'm intrigued by those MHM packs, but looking through their website, I can't find anything that says where the packs are actually made. I see they're a Colorado company, but you'd think if they were a Made in the U.S.A. product, they'd be saying so clearly.....I don't see it. Anyone?
I love to buy gear made in the states when I can and their Salute 34 looks pretty sweet.
I pulled the trigger on the MHM Divide 55 at REI.com because it was 20% off and my initial impression when I got it yesterday is I don't like it. Some comments:
-It seems way smaller than my Kelty Redwing 50, even though theoretically larger. (Kelty supposed to be 3100 cubic in, the MHM 3356 cubic in). The side water bottle pockets will definitely not accept a Nalgene bottle on it with a winter coozy and they are stretchable mesh so I'm not sure what else they'd be useful for.
-It is indeed heavy. The strap padding is a lot thicker than my Kelty but not ridiculously so. I haven't adjusted yet but it does seem to fit my back/posture better.
-The hip belt strap appears to be designed for very fit people. I'm relatively....ahem...rotund in the midsection and I can barely buckle it. I'm concerned with a few layers on it might not be possible. It is some sort of dual pivoting belt so there may be a second strap somewhere I'm missing that will add some diameter but right now it is snug.
-The internal stuff sack in my opinion is useless. It is accessed from the outside of one side of the pack in a small zippered "false pocket" under the Nalgene sleeve. The opening is maybe as large as the top of a Nalgene coozy and the sack is at the bottom of the pack so the weight of all your contents is sitting on it. This might be fine if you stuff it first but if you use whatever you put in it and then have to put it back I'd suspect it will be a huge pain in the ass.
-The lid compartment on the top is pretty small, much smaller than my Kelty 50.
-The pack has very heavy duty zippers that open from top and bottom (i.e. like full zip rain or shell pants) so contents can be accessed at bottom while leaving most of pack sealed, which is nice. It also opens up completely by unzipping at both ends.
-The two bottom straps (where you would strap z-fold padding or a tent or whatever) are a bad design. I couldn't understand the reviews on this feature online but now that I have it I understand. One end clips to the base of pack (just like the lid clip or hip belt clip). The other end though has an oval shaped plastic piece that slips through a loop. So if it is not super tight it can just fall out. (It works the same was as the T shaped clips that hold open the door or rainfly on a tent). One reviewer of this pack complained that every time she sat down they came undone and contents fell out. I get what she means now.
-There are some other nice details such as tool loops that have a clip/belt to tighten and secure (like you do with a hood on a shell).
I'm hopefully going to be trying it out tomorrow loaded up. Unless the heavily padded suspension is a true delight versus my other packs or it winds up being more roomy than it appears this will likely be going back to the store. Too expensive to be futzing around with it and compromising on features.
