High Sierra Sentinal Pack - 65 Liters - Special Buy

Comments about High Sierra Sentinal 65 Pack - Special Buy:

This was my second year out on a 20+ mile 3 day hike, and the 1st time with this pack. Here are my observations:
Like most of you, I wanted to get into a great pack w/o a huge investment. I also wanted a pack that would be great ergonomically, and roomy enough to pack all my gear. I chose this pack over the others because I plan on using the pack on trips no more than 4 or 5 days at a time (not to say you can’t take it out on a more expanded travel.) As far as packing and holding up, this bag worked great, is heavy duty and can stand next to the best of them.
Starting from the bottom – up, the sleeping bag compartment is roomy and fit my Marmot bag with no problems, I even had enough space to throw in my rain jacket. However, I did not like the zippers that enclose this compartment. Even though they are burly zippers, the threading would always catch with the zippers and make me baby the compartment shut inching the zippers along. This compartment had open availability to the rest of the pack which is great for pulling things out from top to bottom or vice versa.
I was able to throw in the rest of my gear in the main compartment: clothes, travel hygiene bag, food, for a 3 day, 2 night trip with room to spare.
The top compartment worked great for snacks and the media pouch in front was a perfect spot for my 2-way radio. You could also stick your GPS device in there too.
The side mesh pockets worked great for my H2O bottle and the bladder space inside the pack worked great for stuffing my camelback bladder and feeding the tube through the designated area that runs down the arm straps and sets itself close to your mouth for quick drinking.
The extra bag on the back of the pack came in handy for fire supplies, i.e my Wyoming Saw, leather gloves, lighters etc.
There is a rain cover included also, but I never pulled it out because this year we did not get rained on, however, I consider that to be an important feature, so I’m glad I have it when I’ll need it.
The straps on the bottom back of the pack worked great for hauling my sleeping pad.
I do agree with another comment listed that the waist straps are going to be an issue if you are not a bigger-waisted guy. I sport a 34-36” waist and the straps were close to overlapping. I am trying to get down to a 32” waist and that may be an issue in the future.
I was not aware of this brand until I bought it, and now I see their product all over and everyone of their packs have the patented heavy duty burly look about it. I’m sure this pack will last me for years to come. Hope this helps you out.

Comments about High Sierra Sentinal 65 Pack - Special Buy:

This is a pretty good backpack. decent material, design, and good workmanship all around. it does have a few flaws tho.

1. the biggest problem is the waist belt. it's thickly padded and strong, but it's made for waist size 32 and up. those with a waist of 31 and below need not apply, you will never fit. the belt can not be made smaller than 32 inches.

2. the back adjustment set up is pretty good, but it's not made for people with long torso. check the numbers before you buy.

3. i wish there were more compartments on this bag for organizing, it works, but its kinda messy.

4. the phone / mp3 / gps pouch thing on the shoulder strap is pretty useless. too small for a PDA style phone or a proper GPS, too big for a mp3, i just remove it when i go camping.

overall, when on sale, this is a good bargain. but don't buy the thing at full value - it's just not THAT good.

Comments about High Sierra Sentinal 65 Pack - Special Buy:

This is a great pack for the money. It will hold a huge hydration reservoir. The built in rain cover works well. The zippers and straps are made well.The only downfalls are: Lack of pockets, if you like to organize and constantly access your stuff this pack makes that more difficult.Break in time. The straps are really big and strong but took a while to loosen and form to my shoulders. The waist belt is on the big side, so if you have smaller than a 32 waist you might be out of luck. The straps on the waist belt are insanely long. I cannot find a reason for it. The waist belt would fit someone with a 50" waist. I used the provided trekking pole velcro straps to wrap around and tame the extra yardage. I don't think many folks with that 50" waist are dragging a pack around. They don't need to strap on a pack to carry around an extra 40 pounds (if you know what I mean.)Overall I am happy. I mean it was only [$] and holds 65 Liters that's like $1.23 per liter. You couldn't carry around 65 liters of soda for that money. The lack of pockets makes you decide what you really need. It works well for that price and lets you spend money on other things that honestly are more important.Good Luck!

Comments about High Sierra Sentinal 65 Pack - Special Buy:

I am a 20 something female novice backpacker (emphasis on novice) and purchased this pack about three weeks ago (May 2009). After reading many reviews, I decided it was worth the investment. Memorial Day weekend I did a 23.5mi there-and-back-again trek on the Appalachian Trail in MD. The pack help up very well. We had great weather, so I did not need to use the rain cover. However, I did put the cover on the pack over night and it fit quite well.

I loaded up my pack with 37lbs of gear the day we left. It held my sleeping bag, our REI quarter dome tent plus footprint, sleeping pad, stuff sack with clothes, some collapsible camp chairs, emergency radio, and other small tidbits. Everything fit quite well; I could have packed in more things. On the second day, I ended up with nearly 50 lbs after redistributing the supplies amongst my fellow hikers (and toting wet clothes). I was less comfortable on day two and couldn't seem to find the perfect fit, BUT I also know that as a novice, I have much less experience adjusting my pack than those who've been hiking for years. For my sake, I wish the product label sheet had some tips on how to adjust load weight and etc.

So in short, the pros would include capacity, comfort (overall, it was very comfortable to carry three days in a row), lash points (great for airing out wet clothes on the hike), and durability (trial run didn't have any rips or hardware malfunctions).

Cons: I wish for more literature on how to fit this particular pack, and the hip belt strap is very long, as other reviewers mentioned. I have large hips, which is one reason I bought this pack. But I did have to loop the belt to keep it from hitting my thighs constantly.

The cons aren't really deal-breakers in my book, but I rated 4 stars because I have a difficult time saying something is absolutely perfect. I would strongly suggest purchasing this pack if you are looking for a nice weekender and are not a minimalist as the pack alone is about 5lbs. As a first-time pack-buyer, I am quite pleased with the product. It is perfect for my activity level and uses.

Comments about High Sierra Sentinal 65 Pack - Special Buy:

I got this pack last year and took it out for three weekend trips over the summer (my first ever). I found that the price, padding, adjustable attachment point for the shoulder straps, and the generous length around the waist were all good features for me as a beginning backpacker.

Size-wise the pack is more than sufficient for a one night trip with non-super-lightweight gear. The main compartments easily hold a sleeping bag, pad, two-person tent, three liter water pouch, clothes, and stove, and you can still cinch the strap all the way closed across the top. The top pouch had room to spare for food and miscellaneous gear, and the back pocket was good for rain gear.

The exterior does have a lot of extra straps and loops, some of which came in handy, but also a lot that I don't see much use for and can't be removed like the cell phone holder. All the padding absorbs a lot of moisture that probably adds to the weight as well, but on an entry level pack for an entry level backpacker I don't see it as anything to complain about.

Also, it's completely machine washable, so that moist padding doesn't stink up the basement and the pack keeps on looking shiny and new.

Comments about High Sierra Sentinal 65 Pack - Special Buy:

I like the design with all the places to attatch and store things. The big negative is the seams that hold the clips which holds my tent. My dad's has come undone twice now (REI returned it after the first time) and NOW mine has done the same thing at the same exact spot. I hate to see the pack go, but I'd rather not have it fail on me while I am packing.

Comments about High Sierra Sentinal 65 Pack - Special Buy:

Trying to find a pack that fits a guy with broad shoulders, a barrel chest and not to mention a little gut can be hell. This pack fits the bill to a tee. Great packing options and fits my 36" waist and wide shoulders to a tee. Might not work if your are taller than 6'3". Plenty of adjustment room. Few of the truly lightweight packs in this capacity could fit me but this has room to spare. In fact that is the only issue with it, it is heavy. Will be cutting most of the excess strapping off to save weight. Could easily fit a 40" waist. Great value all around.

Comments about High Sierra Sentinal 65 Pack - Special Buy:

Can't believe what a beefy pack this is for 80 bucks! Verry comfortable, thick padding on straps, big zippers, relatively light, sleeping bag shelf zips out, the only problem I can see so far is that it does not have side zippers. I would have paid 200 for this pack and still would have been happy.

Comments about High Sierra Sentinal 65 Pack - Special Buy:

the pack was well made and looked great. huge glaring problem is the waist straps are made for a person with a 40" waist. therefore you if are in shape, the straps will hang down to your shins with nowhere to hide them away. other than that the pack is good. i returned the product because the straps bugged the crap out of me.

Comments about High Sierra Sentinal 65 Pack - Special Buy:

Let me preface this review by saying that this is a pretty good pack, and for the price, a great option. On the other hand it's doesn't quite compare to some of the better known brands.

The details are just not quite dialed, you get the feeling that this pack was designed by incorporating features found on other packs but not really tested as a whole, and therefore misses on some of the details.

The construction overall seems beefy with solid fabrics, good padding, beefy zippers, etc. It's a bit heavy as a result, but does seem very durable. An exception would be the plastic hardwear, I had a belt buckle break on me and the hook for the hydration bladder break, although this was my fault (got hooked on something while unloading). The company was good about sending replacement parts though.

Some issues I noticed, in no particular order:
-Load lifter attachment point too low and/or stays too short. The shoulder strap is adjustable for a wide range of torso lengths, but the load lifters are attached so low that the angle is almost flat (as opposed to the ideal 45 deg angle) for the upper range of adjustment.

-A couple straps came assembled with a 180 deg twist, including one shoulder strap which made the end of the padded part want to turn inward on edge and dig into my side (didn't notice this until after a long hike, *rolls eyes*)

-Straps for attaching stuff to bottom and compressing sleeping bag compartment don't slide through giides, making cinching down a sleeping pad or tent poles on the bottom very difficult (they use a triglide locking buckle here for some reason). Again, it looks like they tried to copy other designs generally without nailing the details.

-Difficult to adjust hip strap with any tension on the belt. I prefer straps that adjust by pulling foward from one of the sides, as opposed to back from the buckle as with this pack. On the other hand the strap adjustment does not slip or loosen at all under use. As someone mentioned earlier the straps are also a mile long and need to be trimmed.

-Sleeping bag compartment separator zipper sloppily assembled with a good 1" length of zipper on either end not sewn to anything and left to flop and get caught.

All those criticisms aside, there's no show stoppers and this is a good pack. But the money you save does mean that you're getting pack that's not quite dialed in like something a little more expensive. For what it's worth, I'm keeping mine and with some mods, it's working very well for me.