Sierra Designs Revival 50 Backpack

Revival 50 - Great Backpack
I bought this pack mainly because of my back condition, I have a Scoliosis and always feel back pain when hiking and going to camping carrying a heavy load. This Sierra Design Revival 50 Fulcrum suspension innovation really works as I imagined when I purchased this backpack. It helps ease my back pain by equally distributing the load between my shoulder and hip with more liberty to move during dynamic activity. The split lumbar design keeps me cool with more air flow in my back. Really a great pack for it's price.

Innovative design, smallish hipbelt
I bought this pack based on the exploded view and tech analysis in the April 2011 Backpacker gear guide. Sierra Designs makes wonderful tents and sleeping bags but is just getting back into the packmaking business after a many-year hiatus. The suspension is as innovative and solid as it appears in the Backpacker gear guide and I'm sure you could comfortably carry a house with this pack - IF the hipbelt fits you. I have a 35-36" waist and the hipbelt on the M/L (largest) pack is not long enough to reach past the points of my pelvic bones, which means that I can only tighten it by cinching the webbing across my stomach - not very comfortable. It's a shame, because the suspension is light and solid and the hipbelt and shoulder straps both pivot with your movements - a leap forward in pack design. If you have a smaller waist, say in the 30-32" range, you'll get a better fit. One other area Sierra Designs could work on is the weight - 4 pounds is on the high side for a pack of this capacity. The fabric appears to be 400 to 500 denier, which means you could probably drag it on a gravel road for 20 miles with no damage, but other packmakers (such as Osprey and Gregory) use lighter fabrics such as 210 denier cordura yet are still able to offer lifetime guarantees. Sierra Designs is on to something with their new suspension. There are a lot of pockets and lash options, if this pack fits you could carry as much on the pack as in it. I would like to see Sierra Designs come out with a larger (longer) hipbelt and cut a pound off the weight, and this could be an outstanding backpack.