-Wondering if anyone has any experience with this pack? I am looking for something with a little bit bigger volume that I can lug around Mexico. I normally use my 48L Osprey and used it last time in Mexico. But, I was using huts and didn't need an expedition style pack.
-I know it does not have a water bladder section since it is a "true mountaineering" pack. But, I drink like a camel above 4000m and was wondering if anyone rigged their camelback to fit in there.
-Is this pack used on Aconcagua much, or is it generally considered too small?
Thanks
MH South Col 70 pack
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feldyinstilly
- Posts: 33
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- Trip Reports (1)
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wineguy
- Posts: 342
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Re: MH South Col 70 pack
This story is probably more than you want to hear, but here goes. I bought the Col 70 from Whittaker's store before going up Rainier in 2011. The first day of class practicing Glacier travel and self-arrest I noticed that the fastener on the chest strap had fallen off and was laying in the snow. I was very fortunate to have noticed it, because it could easily have been buried and lost during our practice exercises. For the remainder of the trip I paid close attention to the fastener but it still fell off a few more times. When I got back home I used some high-strength thread to permanently fix the problem (Robert Kay had the same problem, and MH sent him a handful of replacement fasteners).
After using the pack on another trip later in the year I noticed that the cord used to close the opening at the top of the pack, the one that gets used every time you open the pack, had an outer layer that was fraying away. This problem occurred with normal use over less than one season. I called MH customer service and they acknowledged the problem, and said they would replace the cord with a different design it if I shipped the pack back. The replacement cord has worked just fine.
I have used the pack successfully through this summer, typically 1-3 trips per year from 2011-2016. An excellent weight/volume ratio, and I have been mostly satisfied.
But another problem developed on my last overnight in September. At the end of a trip into Chicago basin I left the pack at the train stop, fashioned a fanny pack out of the brain, and scouted the trail toward Noname basin and Jagged Mountain. When I tried to undo the fanny pack, the fasteners were stuck together. I don't know if the design has mismatched fasteners on the brain, or one of them is defective, but I could not separate them. Fortunately, I was able to slide the fanny pack down over my fanny and slip out of the brain. When I got home I took a pliers to the problem and the faster broke before becoming detached. I tried to go through MH customer service web interface to get replacement fasteners, but the interface was not operable. I presume I can get replacement fasteners from MH, and will phone them after the holidays.
To sum up this story, I will not buy another pack from MH. As an aside, the pack does not have external water bottle pockets. These are considered too dangerous for glacier travel, as a dislodged water bottle can become a deadly projectile on a glacier. But most of my backcountry travel is not on glaciers, so my next pack will have this feature.
After using the pack on another trip later in the year I noticed that the cord used to close the opening at the top of the pack, the one that gets used every time you open the pack, had an outer layer that was fraying away. This problem occurred with normal use over less than one season. I called MH customer service and they acknowledged the problem, and said they would replace the cord with a different design it if I shipped the pack back. The replacement cord has worked just fine.
I have used the pack successfully through this summer, typically 1-3 trips per year from 2011-2016. An excellent weight/volume ratio, and I have been mostly satisfied.
But another problem developed on my last overnight in September. At the end of a trip into Chicago basin I left the pack at the train stop, fashioned a fanny pack out of the brain, and scouted the trail toward Noname basin and Jagged Mountain. When I tried to undo the fanny pack, the fasteners were stuck together. I don't know if the design has mismatched fasteners on the brain, or one of them is defective, but I could not separate them. Fortunately, I was able to slide the fanny pack down over my fanny and slip out of the brain. When I got home I took a pliers to the problem and the faster broke before becoming detached. I tried to go through MH customer service web interface to get replacement fasteners, but the interface was not operable. I presume I can get replacement fasteners from MH, and will phone them after the holidays.
To sum up this story, I will not buy another pack from MH. As an aside, the pack does not have external water bottle pockets. These are considered too dangerous for glacier travel, as a dislodged water bottle can become a deadly projectile on a glacier. But most of my backcountry travel is not on glaciers, so my next pack will have this feature.
"Eventually, all things merge into one, and a river runs through it. The river was cut by the world's great flood and runs over rocks from the basement of time. On some of the rocks are timeless raindrops. Under the rocks are the words, and some of the words are theirs. I am haunted by waters." - Norman Maclean
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spiderman
- Posts: 808
- Joined: 9/26/2011
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Re: MH South Col 70 pack
On STP I bought the bigger version, MH BMG 105 and it was invaluable for a 4-day trip up Mt. Columbia, Alberta. I had to carry a fair bit of extra group gear and the pack handled it quite well. I figured I might as well go for max capacity so that my 4 different sizes of packs could handle everything: light and fast day (convention bag), 1-2 days, 2-7 days, expedition.
