REI Flash 62 Pack - Men's

Comments about REI Flash 62 Pack - Men's:

Hard to say how this pack compares. I bought it as my first back-packing pack and have since gone on numerous overnights and more extended backpacking/travel trips.
My main complaints are:
When the pack is full the outside pockets are difficult to use/access because they are part of the compression system (the straps that hold them are also the compression straps).

It is hard for me to feel like the weight is going straight down on my hips. Unless I cinch all the straps tightly, so the weight is resting 70/30 on my shoulders/hips, the weight pulls away from my back trying to tip me backwards! Esp annoying on easy stretches of trail when I just want to let my hips do the work.
(In contrast my friend has a northface prophet 65 which is way too big for me, but the weight sits on my hips and angles towards my back even when the straps are loose. So I can have 90% of the weight off my shoulders without feeling like the pack is trying to pull me over backward. As a result it is in many ways more comfortable than my pack which is a better size for me!)

The mesh covering on the padding is murder on my hips and shoulders (after a sun burn I thought I might have permanent scars). But not so bad, and wearing a shirt mostly solves the problem (good idea with a sun burn anyway).

All that said, for me, the COLOR MORE THAN MAKES UP FOR THESE PROBLEMS. I love the color!
Make these colors for ladies!

In looking at the man/woman versions I couldn't tell a difference in the structure... everything seemed exactly the same, the women's small being like a man's xs, and the men's med being like a woman's large... so perhaps my load distribuition issues are because I got a man's pack? I doubt it, the northface prophet is non-gendered and it distributes well for me. This pack just distributes more to your shoulders, than the north face one. (after awhile the northface one can make your lower back sore...)

Overall, I am pretty happy with it. It holds all my gear, even though that is mostly my giant inherited 1975 sleeping bag. It allows for some organization (via top compartment, side and front)...

I love that all the zippers are surrounded by straps-- gives me great comfort knowing my gear is not dependent on a zipper holding it's teeth together.

There are not a million stupid straps, but the ones that are there a very useful for holding shoes, raincoats, shovels etc.

Top lid helps protect pack contents from rain.

It has an aluminum internal frame holding everything together, so it feels very sturdy and maintains it's structure even when it is stuffed full.

I would recommend it to a friend. In the sense that for less than $200 you can go backpacking or traveling (the bag fits perfectly in overhead bin). The pack is light enough that I've used it to go grocery shopping or to return library books... Good thing to have! Once I have more packing under my belt, I will have a better idea of what works and doesn't... But for a first backpack I'd say this one is light enough to be extremely versatile and I have never regretted having it.

I have more often said "I love my backpack!" while going over some tricky rocks, while backpacking in Kauai, while returning epic art-library book hauls... thanks backpack! Thanks for being such an awesome color too!

Comments about REI Flash 62 Pack - Men's:

I choose this to replace my REI Great Star did I say 20 years old plus.. Wow going from 6+ lbs down to 3 lbs makes these bones feel good. The the only issue I had with this was trying to put a Garcia Bear can in.. It was just too tight a fit. I tried about 8-10 other ultra light packs an was about to give up and the REI sales guy said change bear cans. ( DUH )

After switching cans all my stuff fitted, good for three solid days might even stretch it to five days if I pack right..

In the past two years I have gone from 48 lbs down to 31 lbs in pack weight minus water and this pack took off nearly 18 % of the 17 lbs I dropped..

The only thing that I still have questions about but only time time will tell is long term durablity heck I had the other pack 20 years

Comments about REI Flash 62 Pack - Men's:

Love this pack. Ive been on about 5 weekend trips with this pack and have had no problems.Its light and durable with plenty of room. Great pack for the price.

Comments about REI Flash 62 Pack - Men's:

Bought this pack for the JMT in 2012 and it preformed perfectly. Out on the trail for 22 days, was very comfortable and nothing went wrong. Used it on other trips also and it's still good to go. Just handle it like a light weight pack and don't throw it around and it will last you!!

Comments about REI Flash 62 Pack - Men's:

I've been using this pack for trekking and traveling on an extended trip throughout Asia. I own an Osprey Atmos 35 which I love, but it wasn't large enough for my needs.  I evaluated the larger Atmos 50 against this REI flash and ended up going with the flash specifically for the stronger frame.  Even though this pack has held up and well is great with weight I am dissapointed by the storage options and organization design.

On the postive side, this pack can easily handle 35+ pounds and has a comfortable back pad and a good hip belt.  It is easily adjustable and can be worn on the trail all day without issue.  The shoulder straps, like the hip belt and back pad, is made with a comfortable, soft foam material that is also breathable.  I've worn this pack with weight on the trail in both Turkey and Nepal with no complaints in terms comfort and support.  It's also been checked baggage on numerous flights and came out fine.

I am not happy with a few design choices which have annoyed me when using this pack.  First, the top pouch is attached by four straps, two on the back which attach a quarter way down from the top and two  in the front which attach midway up the pack.  Unless the pack is full it is hard for the top pouch to sit firmly on the pack.  It tends to slide to one side or another and you need to firmly tighten all four straps to hold it in place which causes other issues.  If you want to get into the pack you need to unclip the two front straps and fold the top pouch over the top letting it hang on the back.  Because the back straps are attached so far down the top pouch falls almost down the back of the pack, and getting it back in place is more difficult than it needs to be.  Also, because the pouch is so far down, it s hard to access.  It would be much better if you could slightly lift it up or do a quick flip, but the straps make this a bulky, quirky maneuver.  If the pouch is on the pack, things tend to fall out as the flap is vertical.  If the pouch is flipped, access is easier, but the internal pouch pocket is close to the second pouch zipper and I always unzip the wrong thing.

The pack features a large kangaroo like pouch which surrounds the entire front.  At first I thought this was great as you can easily stuff things into this pouch,  but the pouch is also used to compress the main compartment making it difficult to stuff anything in the pouch.  In order to use the pouch you need to unclip the top pouch, loosen the two side compression straps and a third center strap.  The pouch is difficult to access with the overlap it has with the top pouch.  There are too many straps and pouches overlapping each other.  It's a mess.   There is a large outer pocket on this pouch which is great for easy access small items, but inadequate for stashing a fleece or rain jacket.  If the pack is full and there is stuff in the outer pouch you cannot use the side pockets because they are too tight.  Forget about stashing a water bottle.  The side pockets should be independent of the outer pouch.

Another problem with this pack is in order to get inside the main compartment you not only need to undo the top pouch, which noted above is difficult, but you also need to unclip a center strap which holds the outer pouch in place and connects it with the  upper frame.  This two clip center strap drives me crazy.  Once everything is unclipped you have parts of the pack dangling all over the place.  There's a bottom zipper at the base of the compartment but it is hard to access due to the two bottom accessory straps which are used to compress the bottom part of the main compartment.  It would be much better if the bottom zipper ran in a semicircle up the front of the pack so you can access the main compartment with the pack lying down and not have any straps interfering with the zipper.

I really can't say this is a great pack.  If I were in the states I'd definitely exchange it for something else.  On the positive side, it is sturdy, durable and comfortable and gets the job done.  It's just not the traveling companion that helps out the way a good pack should.  

Comments about REI Flash 62 Pack - Men's:

Althought the belt is technically removable, REI does not sell belts separately, so you're stuck with the same belt and pack size. The review that mentioned getting a swap must have lucked into a right-place-right-time situation (this per REI customer support).

Comments about REI Flash 62 Pack - Men's:

Used this pack for a overnighter on the Cornell Wittenberg trail in the Catskills. It performed very well. This was a replacement for my Gregory Baltro 70. Dont get me wrong, I love the Baltro. For its size it is very comfortable but at almost 6 pounds (5Lb -14oz)its a heavy pack. The Flash weighs around 3+. So I thought I'd give it a try. Glad I did. While it doesn't have as much padding as the Gregory, 3 pounds is 3 pounds and I was able to carry the same gear in this Flash that I did in the other pack. Looking forward to my next trip with the flash.

Comments about REI Flash 62 Pack - Men's:

This pack was my first backpacking pack from REI. I own several packs from REI and this was the first one I've used for a long hike and trip. I was packing for 2 in one pack and it worked great. I probably had about 50 lbs worth of gear on me and with the aluminum frame it put everything squarely over my hips and wasn't hard at all. In fact I was able to run up a 45 degree incline with the thing with no issues. I'd highly recommend this pack if you're looking for something to get you into the backpacking game and not wanting to spend $300.

Comments about REI Flash 62 Pack - Men's:

I spent a long time looking for a new pack for overnight trips of 2 to 5 days. I'm a woman, but I'm 6' tall so the women's line of REI backpacks doesn't fit me in the torso. This men's model was just right (in a size M). I was able to carry 25lbs. comfortably in this pack, and 30lbs felt OK (though not great) when a backpacking buddy got injured and I had to carry more weight.

Besides the horrendous color of this pack, which others have commented on (though really, once you're in the woods, it doesn't look quite so bad), my only complaint after taking it on a 5-day backpacking loop up to 12,000ft. in the Sierra Nevada Mountains is the hip belt. It just doesn't have enough padding, and will start to rub your skin raw after a while, even with two layers of clothing between your hips and the pack's hip belt.

Other than those two small issues, I'm definitely happy I bought this pack.

Comments about REI Flash 62 Pack - Men's:

I used this pack for five weeks working Archaeology sites along the Big Sur coast and around Camp San Luis Obispo. Pretty casual stuff, the pack held up great the first two to three weeks, and was extremely comfortable.

Eventually, it ripped while loading it a couple times and didn't hold up well at all while I either climbed or dove through thick brush.

Regardless, the pack was extremely comfortable and blew me away for the price, but if you're looking for something you can beat up, this is not the pack.

Service and delivery comments:

REI didn't have this available in store in a Medium, but thanks to some great customer service, they ordered it, free of charge, from another store. It showed at my door within three days.