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| Product: Mountainsmith Backcountry Executive |
Company: Mountainsmith |
| Web: www.mountainsmith.com |
Phone: 800-551-5889 |
| Platform: Your shoulder, hand or waist |
SRP: US$100
Street Price: $50 |
Cred Rating: | Special Award: |
We live in postmodern times, a period where most of us have multiple identities and work roles. I'm an aging full-time grad student and a technical support sherpa for the Department of English at a mid-sized Southern university. I also have three kids. I find myself constantly flipping between these roles, and the tools they require. The backpack I was carrying to deal with my hydra-headed existence was just not cutting it.
The problem with most backpacks is that they're too deep, so you find yourself having to spelunk to the bottom to retrieve stuff that's drifted down there. The outside pouches on daypacks are often too small to hold a full quiver of gadgetry that we pomo citizens require: PDA, collapsible keyboard, pager, stapler, CDs, ad nauseum gadgetaria. (OK, I just made up that last word.)
What I needed was a purse, but years of patriarchal socialization and a white trash upbringing made the traditional leather man-purse a really Bad Idea. I could picture getting the crap kicked out of me by legions of drunken frat boys heading home from the races at Churchill Downs. Also, Southern heat and humidity quickly turn backpacks into sweat packs. A traditional messenger bag was also out of the question, if only because, once they start to fill up, they leave one listing precariously to one side, they can cause back pain, and I'm too culturally moribund to get the obligatory piercings and Wu-Tang tattoos.
After questing for the proper portage, I finally settled on the Mountainsmith Backcountry Executive, a lumbar pack known in earlier generations as a fanny pack. [Link to: Ben Folds song "For all of you who wear fanny packs."] The BCE has a shoulder strap with a certain amount of give for shock absorption. It also has a waist belt that fits my 42" girth. It's composed of a big, undivided central compartment and a partially detached outer pouch that can also be used to hold down spare jackets or sweaters. The bag has handles on the side that allow it to be carried as a brief.
The outer pouch is almost big enough for my CD player, Palm, keyboard, pens, CDs, and assorted cruft. I usually put books or papers in the main compartment, although I've stashed a laptop in there on occasion. Within the main compartment is an attached "dry pouch" big enough for wallets or paperwork that need to be kept free from moisture. There is also a zippered mesh compartment on the underside of the "lid" that would work well for maps. The bag itself is made of fairly heavy nylon and easily resists light rain. I once had the bag attached to the back of my recumbent bike, and when it worked loose and dropped onto the rear wheel, it suffered only minor damage.
I don't find myself using the waist belt as often as I thought I would, mostly because it looks like a fanny pack with an attitude, and because heavier loads, such as multiple books or laptops, tend to bounce slightly, although the effect is dampened by using the compression straps. If the bag is really loaded down, I'll find myself wearing the waist belt and the shoulder strap. The back is lightly padded, but the bag doesn't work as a replacement laptop carrier unless you're willing to use it in conjunction with a sleeve of some sort. The bag lists for US$100, but I got mine from the Snow Leopard for $60, and it's currently on sale at REI for $49. The 2001-2 model appears to have one major design change. The outside pouch is attached at the bottom rather than the top, and held in place with a thin bungee, creating a gutter or pocket of sorts. This would seem to make it much more useful as a place to drop shed clothing. Mountainsmith also offers detachable shoulder straps, called strapettes. I want some, but Mountainsmith accessories, like Honda aftermarket parts, are rarely cheap.
In all, I'd say this is a great pack whose only drawback is that its generous size will tempt you to overload it with too much gear, leading to diminished performance. It may not do anything to integrate your fractured post-modern identity, but it will at least allow you to conveniently keep all of your hats (both metaphorical and physical) in one place.
- Mark Crane [5/20/02]
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