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In my ongoing hunt for a technical daypack that might sustain with my busy, however lively, life, I got here throughout Mountain Hardwear’s JMT 25L backpack. Named after the John Muir Path, the JMT 25L is comprised of weather-resistant 210D ripstop nylon and incorporates a 500D CORDURA backside.
That interprets to a technical daypack that’s constructed to be dragged round, banged round, used, abused, and isn’t afraid of inclement climate. It regarded excellent for the day-to-day makes use of I wanted a bag for — youngsters’ soccer video games, work, and journey. But it surely additionally featured a spring metal body as an alternative of a body sheet or frameless design that almost all daypacks have. That, plus the “winged” facet pockets made it technical sufficient that it might additionally make a dependable path companion, I figured.
I used to be proper. By means of my testing, the JMT 25L has turn out to be the one pack I depend on for work, play, journey, being a dad, and all the opposite superior and spontaneous issues that pop up in my each day life. It’s excellent for my lively way of life within the outside, and past.
Briefly: The Mountain Hardwear JMT 25L is extra technical than a number of daypacks at present in the marketplace. It’s bought an inner metal body, well-designed exterior pockets and storage choices, hip belt pockets, and a clamshell opening. It carries weight simply, and it’s weather-resistant and sturdy. There are a few particulars that go away room for enchancment. However I discovered it excellent for nearly any journey I threw it into.
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Quantity
25 L / 1,526 cu. in. -
Verified weight
2 lbs., 5 oz. -
Material
Recycled, weather-resistant 210D ripstop 500D CORDURA -
Body
Spring metal wire body -
Males’s torso dimension vary
16″-22″ -
Males’s waist dimension vary
30″-48″ -
Ladies’s torso dimension vary
15″-21″ -
Ladies’s waist dimension vary
28″- 47″ -
Worth
$160 -
Supposed makes use of
Mountaineering, backpacking, mountain climbing, tenting, journey
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The spring metal body -
The outsized facet pockets -
Clamshell opening
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Gear loops aren’t large enough for an axe or hatchet -
Either side of the hip belt ought to have a zippered pocket
Mountain Hardwear’s JMT 25L Backpack: Evaluation
What I Want in a Pack
In school, I used a technical daypack to get me from class, to work, to the path, and in all places else — all with the intention of not needing to go again to my dorm. After I graduated, I swapped out the “going to class” half for flying everywhere in the world. However I by no means strayed away from an excellent daypack.
Now, I’m additionally the daddy of two very lively ladies. Which means I’m going to extra locations, with out heading residence, than I ever have earlier than. Soccer. Dance. Band. At 42, I’m extra on the go than I’ve been in years. And I’m unwilling to sacrifice time by having to go residence simply to swap stuff out of my pack.
I strategy daypacks as a common answer to get me via my day-to-day life. So, how did Mountain Hardwear’s JMT 25L dwell as much as these expectations?
First Impressions
I did a number of scouting and a number of analysis earlier than my sights had been set on the JMT 25L. There have been a number of different contenders. However none of them appeared to go above and past what I used to be on the lookout for.
I used to be centered on top-loading packs as a result of I’ve at all times discovered them simpler to load and unload, for probably the most half. However I by no means thought of a clamshell-style opening, just like the one on the JMT 25L. It features like a prime loader however eliminates the difficulty the place the lid of the highest loader flops over, making it more durable to get right into a pack when it’s not absolutely loaded. I’ve been coping with that problem for years, however this pack eliminates it.
Entrance and rear seize handles make it simple to grip the JMT 25L. Load lifter straps assist tadjust the pack’s weight because it’s using in your again, and facet compression straps double as areas to stash delicate items. The detachable entrance mesh panel makes it simple to hold a helmet, sports activities ball, or further layer you need to hold available.
Some of the notable options of this pack, although, is the versatile spring metal body. Most daypacks function sheet frames, or no frames in any respect — the spring metal body of the JMT 25L offers it a way more technical really feel. It creates stress within the again mesh, permitting for elevated mobility, flexibility, and cargo administration. This type of body gives a extra substantial construction than a body sheet would and isn’t detachable.
The expandable exterior facet pockets, storage pockets on the hip belt, and the detachable entrance mesh panel additionally caught my consideration. Additional exterior storage is at all times higher than extra quantity inside for my part. It gives quick access and locations to retailer issues that you just won’t need to put inside a pack — like a moist rain shell.
The Mountain Hardwear JMT 25L Backpack’s breathable mesh again panel ventilates to assist dry sweat. The pack’s hip-belt has storage choices for these grab-on-the-go bits and items like a headlamp, compass, or path snacks. One is a zippered pocket. The opposite is an unzippered mesh stretch pocket.
Within the Subject: Day-to-Day
Testing for the JMT 25L started in August and ended within the first week of November. The climate has been gentle right here in Connecticut, however we did have a stable month of rain. I’m additionally in the course of a handful of different assessments, so this pack has carried a bunch of random issues at one time or one other. Being that the principle compartment of the JMT 25L is one massive cavity, it makes a terrific catch-all for issues like a number of hatchets, a solar energy pack, cables, extension cords, library books, and past.
As I mentioned, the JMT 25L is my on a regular basis, in all places backpack. I might have carried my groceries in it by now if I already didn’t have 5,000 reusable baggage.
Within the 3 months that I used to be utilizing the pack, the burden at all times hovered round 25-28 kilos. Roughly 7 kilos of that was water being carried in a Gregory 3D Hydro 3L reservoir. This will appear heavy (particularly for my minimalist associates). However as a daypack, on and off the path, this was completely acceptable to me.
Throughout that point, I logged in over 30 miles of path time. I can’t inform you what number of miles I spent strolling to and from the soccer area with it, or forwards and backwards right here and there. However conservatively, I’d say this pack went via at the least 50 miles of use and abuse. And each mile was snug.
I’ve an 18-inch torso and the hipbelt lands proper the place it must on the highest of my hips. The bag itself follows the contour of my backbone, and I can really feel it shifting with me — particularly when the pack is full. The pack can also be slender and lives contained in the span of my shoulders. So there was zero obstruction in my motion.
Going Tenting With the JMT 25L
We had a great spot of climate in October the place I had an opportunity to spend an evening outside. It was clear and within the mid-60s with a slight breeze. At 1,526 cubic inches (25 L), the JMT 25L was ample for an in a single day within the woods. No, it’s not large enough to hold a big sleeping bag inside or exterior, even compressed. But it surely was well-suited to hold a minimalist tenting package, on prime of my necessities:
For this overnighter, the expandable facet pockets and entrance mesh panel got here in helpful for storing delicate items and liberating up some house inside. In hindsight, I might have carried the tent and its poles in one of many facet pockets. In contrast to an ordinary facet pocket, when those on the JMT 25L are expanded, they’ve a wing that may wrap across the entrance of the pocket, stabilizing no matter you’re carrying in it.
Simply About Excellent
The 2 yellow loops beneath the detachable mesh panel are designed particularly for trekking poles and ice axes. However with simply an inch extra of “loopage,” you can simply match an axe or hatchet in them. I’ve bought nothing however love for trekking poles and ice axes. I’ve bought extra love for a stable hatchet or axe.
The second enchancment I want to see is making the unzippered storage pocket on the suitable hip belt zippered just like the one on the left. I like the thought of a stretch pocket when I’m on the path, however for hauling the bag round, particularly when touring, it’s extra dangerous than what it’s value.
Totally different Variations of Mountain Hardwear JMT 25L Backpack
The JMT 25L is available in each males’s and ladies’s sizes. Except for the boys’s model being Black Spruce and the ladies’s model being Northern Blue, the variations between the 2 packs are minimal however particular. The ladies’s model of the JMT 25L has shoulder straps and a hip belt contoured to a ladies’s-specific form. Additionally, the dimensions ranges on the torso and hip belt are smaller than on the boys’s pack, however solely by an inch or two.
In any other case, the 2 packs are comprised of the identical supplies and have the identical options. This evaluate might simply relate to both model of the JMT 25L.
Moreover, for these of you trying to lengthen your adventures out a number of extra days, Mountain Hardwear gives a 35L model of the JMT as properly. That mannequin, which options an adjustable body, is offered in two males’s variations in addition to two ladies’s variations primarily based on torso dimension.
Mountain Hardwear JMT 25L Backpack: In Conclusion
Mountain Hardwear’s JMT 25L is a well-built and adaptable daypack. The metal spring body is a function extra typically present in multi-night backpacking packs and makes this a extra technical piece of substances. The expandable winged facet pockets are additionally a novel function that enhance the storage choices. Although this bag got here out in late 2022, it simply hangs with GearJunkie’s Finest Daypacks of 2023.
In the event you’re a backpack fanatic like me, that is an journey daypack that you just’ll fall in love with. It is also the pack that you just haul out of storage when your youngsters become old and resolve to go mountain climbing, trekking, touring, and residing that outside life you haven’t shut up about since they had been toddlers.
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