WHW Kit Review
Some of the kit I took had some miles on it beforehand, the LIM 45 has got about 200 miles on now. I was pretty sure it would work out before I left for the WHW and I was happy with it indeed when I came back.
It’s very hard to describe the features and function of all what you see in the pictures of it as it’s very different to most other sacks. The official site does a better job of that. What impresses me is the carry and the usability of it.
The harness is adjustable for size and very comfortable in use, the shoulder straps are quite low profile and mold to your shape. The hip fins are also low profile, but wide. They take the load easily over your hips with no sense of weight at all. The front buckle arrangment is reversed (it tightens from the hips) and it very effective and neat. There are also side cinches and top top tension straps for adjusting and fine tuning on the move. The back padding is ribbed and covered in wee holes to keep you cool, with a fine mesh over it to alow easy movement and stop abrasion between you and it. I didn’t use the external access hydration sleeve here, bottles are the way for me at the moment, much less hassle. But it looks good, has space, room for expansion and a hanging hook for the bladder.
The side stretch pockets are brilliant, you can access these on the move and that’s where I kept my water bottles. A 1 liter Sigg and a Camelbak with Nuun mix in it, both sat securely and I could take them in and out with one hand. There’s wee mesh pockets on the hipbelt fins as well which took munchies, a Buff, my Powerstretch gloves and the like. All the pockets have stiffened loops at the entrances to make using them easier. There’s a huge stretch external pocket on the main body of the sack which will take an amazing amount of stuff, I used for my waterproofs and carrying rubbish. It’s secured by a buckle which gives the sack a standard look from a distance, but of course it’s a roll top. This works well and quickly, I got used to it right away. It’s secure and weather proof, it’s just different. There’s a TARDIS pocket where a lid would be as well. It acts just like a lid pocket as well ,except it doesn’t go upside down when you open the sack rendering in useless. I actually lost my waterproof gloves in it and didn’t find them until I got home. A magic pocket, sleepmonsters getting to me?
The fabric is pretty waterproof, but it did give in on the Friday night and got pretty slimy on the inside, but I didn’t have any pooling of water at the bottom. All my kit was in Exped drybags anyway, but I’d be happy going with an unlined sack for a couple of days if the weather looked okay.
If you can get over the burst couch aesthetics of it, the function is superb, the carry is excellent, the build quality is top notch.
Result – I spoke to Outdoor Warehouse in the week and without a quibble they’ve ordered a new one to post out to me! Great customer service. Hopefully it’ll arrive next week in time to play out… :)
I dropped the bust one in to them today as I was going up that way anyway. Then jibbed from the atrocious conditions for the Coniston Trail Race and spend the afternoon in Ambleside trailing the gear shops for a new pack for MoS. We tried Golite, Gregory, Osprey, Lowe Alpine, even Berghaus, (and OMM don’t fit,) without anything being quite right. Called back in to OW on the way home and, quite the curved ball, came away with a real bargain, a simple, unfussy, wonderfully comfortable, last years model… from Aarn! It’s certainly different!! :)
Good news, OW is a proper shop. Charlie that runs it is mentalist hill bloke, so they know their stuff and stock the good shit.
Here, keep me posted about the Aarn pack. I had a brief shot of one a couple of weeks ago but that’s it.
Aye, it’s an Aarn Peak Aspiration (2007 model, but the only difference seems to be the attachment mechanism for those front ‘balance’ pockets – we didn’t get them anyway). 1.5kg and 40 litres in the Small size, with some useful stretchy pockets, but all very neat, compact and well built, and masses of adjustment in the harness. I’m coveting it already for ski-touring – shame I’d need the Large size! ;)
Ach, breathe in and it might fit :o)
Its a long while since your excellent review, but I wouldn’t have thought of the LIM 45 without it and the subsequent discussion. In my move towards smaller and lighter packs for backpacking/overnighters I thought I’d go down to 45 from my usual Gregory Z55 (60L in large), and very nearly ended up with the Exos 46.
I tried the LIM 45 on a high level overnight camp in the Southern Highlands last night and am very impressed. I’d been a bit put off by the roll top concept, but this is executed really well (actually the captive straps are preferable to finding the flapping buckles with a conventional closure). It carries really well and the big side and back pockets are a must for me on a backpacking sack (a big fan of the bucket pocket on the Z55); the stretch front pocket is the business.
For me there are just two quibles: one actual and one potential. First the lumbar pad is not of the usual mesh type material and seems to soak up moisture. Second, the body fabric is very thin, as others have commented. There is tough fabric at the base of the pack and the exterior pockets protect it well, so I wonder if it will be any sharp edged internal pack contents, rather than rocks, that will be the biggest risk? Only time will tell, but its such a good pack that it is tempting to say that a bit of dyneema would give a bit more confidence.
And it is good to be rewarded by going with something a bit quirky. Burst couch – maybe, but not so bad if it is fairly full.
Good stuff, it’s good to try “different” and rewarding when it turns out well.
It’s still the comfiest backpacking sack I’ve used.
The lumbar pad has never caused me grief, but I’ll need to watch for it being damp next time. The fabric is very thin, but it has been very tough and I haven’t any tears or camping items sticking through it yet!
I have found that it does let water through quicker than other packs, so I use a liner where in summer with a dyneema pack I often don’t bother.
And you’re right, it does look much better when it’s full. Like a new couch :o)
Hi there! I’m a kind of fan of Haglöfs. I’m also interested in the LIM 45 or 35L, don’t know yet which one. As I need a smaller backpack beside the big one I’m taking with me. This because I want to make a trip a few nights away from “in a way my little base camp” and take a part of my gear with me leaving the rest in my tent using a bivy for the short trip. This means I will need tot take the LIM as hand luggage into the airplane which will bring me to my destination. Nowadays there are a lot of regulations about size and weight of the hand luggage. Do you have an idea of the L*W*H sizes of the LIM 35 and/or 45. Here in Holland I didn’t see/find one yet (that’s why my english is maybe a bit odd as it’s not my native language). Hoping to hear/read from you. Keep on reviewing that gear!
Hi, your English is fine! I tried to get the blog with translation options, but I couldn’t get it to work properly, so thanks for sticking with it.
There are size differences between the 35 and 45 other than capacity, but I can’t tell you exactly what the differences are. I had all three sizes (35/45/55) sitting together and you can really see it.
I’d say the 35 would be a better bet as hand luggage, the 45 is really quite big, but it has that prominent metal frame, and I wonder if that’ll cause problems at check-in?
As a pack for using from a base-camp the 35 would be my choice, I actually wish I had one to try!
If you need the size of the 45 I’ll get it tomorrow, it’s on top of my daughters cupboard and she’s asleep :o)
A quick (and possibly sloppy, hey it’s late!) measure of my LIM 35 gives me this.
55cm tall (base to top of pack)
30cm wide (hip pocket to hip pocket)
20 – 25cm deep (back to front)
This depends on how much is in it, the sack material is quite stretchy (taking on the shape of what’s in it) so it could bulge a bit more to accommodate the load, but I wouldn’t think too much more.
It’s a magical pack and I love it. It seems bigger than 35litre to me, but can compact down quite nicely. I think it’d suit what you want from it, as long as you find it fits well and you like the monster hip fins. I adore them, some don’t. The velcro back adjuster allows for many micro adjustments of fit, to the point where you can easily forget where the best fit was through tinkering.
Also, it’s more compact nature means it looks a bit better than the 45, methinks.
Thanks, PTC and Benjamin. I do indeed think the LIM 35 will be more suitable for a few nights out. And I think as I won’t fully load for the part of hand luggage use, I think I will be able to compress the size as the material and adjustment probably will allow it.
Good stuff.
You’ll be able to compress tyhe body down to problem as the fabric is so soft, just make sure that 55cm height won’t be a problem for hand luggage!