Mountainsmith  Tour Lumbar Pack

Can't say enough good things about this pack: i had a back and pelvic injury years ago and can no longer wear backpacks. I also hike with 2 large dogs. This pack allows me to carry enough water for my dogs, snacks, a chamois blanket, a jacket, my phone wallet keys, glasses, lip balm, even my old backpacking chair that i strap on the bottom. It's comfortable, ugged and tough, the zippers never get stuck. Organization : there's a tablet sleeve and a small zippered pocket inside the main compartment, a zippered pocket on the front with a keychain attachment, then the front panel with compresses and holds bulky items and has its own zippered pocket. On the belt itself is a roomy zippered pocket on the right, stretchy shove it pocket on the left. There are also two bottle pockets on each side, easily accommodate two 32 oz Nalgenes. The belt buckle is strong and snappy and the straps pull inward, so adjusting for size is super easy. Back panel and belt are breathable and padded but still flexible. There are compression straps on each side and on the bottom, I like to use those to hold extra layers or hiking poles. Yes it's big, but the smaller size is too small for my needs, so I'm sticking with this one, it's truly a dependable reliable pack.

I'm not a camelbak type person, so I prefer to drink water from a water bottle. This belt pack has two 32oz water holders (one on each side) which are great! And these are easily accessible. The main pouch is very roomy for carrying other gear. The outside stretchy cover held my small jacket and my poles when I had to climb rocks on the trail. This pack was never in the way when bouldering and using hiking poles. Much of the time I never noticed I had it on. I carried 11 lbs of water and gear today.

Fits everything you might need for a day hike and more. I’m still discovering new ways to adjust the bag to make it super comfortable on my lower back. I love this as an alternative to a back pack. Absolutely no rubbing or chafing issues. I just used this to hike all through southern Utah and California and could not have been happier with it. The outermost pouch cinches to hold bulkier items such as a raincoat or sweatshirt, and the straps on the bottom held my hiking poles without bumping or stabbing me. I love this bag!

The perfect size for a day trip hiking or keeping all the essentials for an Airplane Trip. Great for Mountain Biking or riding a motorcycle to work. The pack is very well organized with many different ways to compact the contents for travel and secure enough not to feel exposed. Lateral Compression Straps help while moving, hiking or running. Padded sides and back support keeps even a heavy load comfortable for all day wear. 2 exterior side mesh pockets to carry up to a 32 oz bottle, with elastic bands to secure the bottles. Top access main compartment for easy access without the fear of dropping anything by accident. Top of the pack handles and easy guided earphone wire hole actually in the right place to be useful.

I bought again the tour bag after long interval from 1999. I found lots of point had updated and these are great. If you are wondering whether to buy,you should better buy.This worth more than the price.(I bought $80). I am satisfied this.From Japan.

This lumbar pack might work for someone else, but it left me with a so-so feeling. I have back pain and was hoping to shift the load to my hips and allow more range of motion in my arms compared to my day-pack. The pros: this pack has excellent padding in the belt and options for carrying additional items external to the pack. The quality of materials and construction was great. And you can't beat the large water bottle holders. The cons: it was heavier than I was anticipating and ultimately, when packed with a decent amount of items for a day hike, it was too much weight on my hips. I tried it without the two 30ounce Nalgene bottles, but that just means I have to find another way to carry water.

I was looking for a strictly-hiking spacious lumbar day pack, and it didn't quite fit the bill for me. The pack is extremely comfortable and ergonomic, and the bottle holders are great, though the sleeve for the tablet computer adds significant bulk taking up interior space, and adds to overall weight. The exterior strap-on gear area would be more effective at holding items in place if a stretch fabric. The main compartment is almost like a small briefcase in its proportions, which is not optimal for my hiking needs.

I was excited to hit the trail with this pack, but it just didn't work for me. Looked great out of the packaging, but I found it too big and clunky for it to work on the trail. The weight of the pack itself seems to be part of the problem. I packed light and just couldn't find a way to keep the pack from slipping down my backside repeatedly. With a heavy load it would have been hopeless. Ended up just carrying it down the last mile or so of the trail. Bummed because this pack had potential.

I've got an old shoulder injury that's aggravated by backpacks on Mtn bike rides, but with my dog and my need for water plus layers, etc, I needed more than the lighter lumbar packs. This thing hauls everything I need it to and stays in place well on the downhills. Love it for biking.

I demand a lot from a fanny pack. It has to carry 2 water bottles, a Sibley bird field guide, lunch, most of the 10 Essentials, field specimens, wallet, pocket camera, Garmin, phone, hat & gloves, etc. This does all that but it has some serious drawbacks for me. #1, it is poorly balanced. The belt sits just a little too low on the pack so that I have to cinch everything down tight to keep it from flipping over with 2 full one-pint water bottles in the side sleeves. Anything taller would probably just flip it no matter what. And when you take it off and put it down, it won't sit upright, it falls right over - make sure it's zipped shut! and doesn't roll down the hill. That said, it's better balanced than most other hiking fanny packs. #2, the water bottle sleeves. They are very soft fabric and don't stand open on their own, so that it's difficult to get the bottle back in the sleeve without needing the other hand to hold the sleeve open. These are critical functionality concerns with a fanny pack, and surprisingly uncommon. I do not know how other people use their fanny packs I guess. I had a hunter's fanny pack for over a decade that was well balanced with water bottle sleeves that are stiff enough to get the bottle back in one-handed but nothing lasts forever, and the 2-bottle version has been discontinued. This one, the balance and sleeve issues aside, is very roomy, with nice materials and good workmanship. The zippers are metal and should last a long time. I especially like the belt pocket that zips shut. The flap for carrying rain gear is nice too although I was surprised that it's open on the bottom and my spare jacket was slowly working its way out on a longer hike - make sure it extends out the sides so it doesn't do that.