Mini review One Planet Styx 2 pack Long 75 litres

[Ent]

Hi

At Passion 8 in Hobart a One Planet Styx Long with XL harness system was on special. For a gear freak and One Planet tragic this was just too tempting so it now joins its 90 litre McMillan, 85 litre Bass (more a travel pack), 60 litre Mungo and 38 litre Traverse family members. I love the Mungo but at 60 litres (or so it claims but a rather generous 60 litres) it is a bit small for a XXL size guy. I did own a MacPac 75 litre Traverse and while I liked the 75 litre capacity the pack itself was a disaster for me, but that is another story.

I have often felt that nowadays with modern materials the 75 litre pack is about as big most people require thus becoming the "new" 90 litre pack. Now lets get one thing clear. I am not small. A recent splurge netted me a Mountain Hardware 800 loft down jacket. A truly lovely thing with a claimed weight of 450 grams. I believe that most weights are quoted for the medium size. Mine in XXL comes in at 594 grams so is 32% heavier and being down, likely occupying even greater percentage of volume. An expert gear maker suggests a 40% greater weight and volume is a reasonable guide for extra required for an XXL person compared to Medium (which is suppose to be the average [mode]) male. Such "facts" means quoting absolute weights has limited meaning to me as if you are a small person then your pack weight and volume should be significantly lower than a XXL person.

Anyway back to the pack. It comes with the superb Exact Fit harness system which I believe now One Planet has merged the Exact Fit and Exact Fit Plus into the one system. I just love the two bottle holder pockets and the comfort plus configuration of the system. Sadly too many people with many different brands get flogged the wrong size or fit of harness system thus finding their new packs uncomfortable. One Planet has at least three back lengths and three chest strap systems. Plus if you ask nicely a rather large number of non standard fittings. This stems from their core business of fitting out entire organisations ranging from the "Norms" to the "Supermodels". Buying a pack is a very good example of buying the knowledge of someone that knows what is out there and can fit a pack. My McMillan originally came with the standard chest straps but the Mungo with the XL straps. The McMillan was retro-fitted with the XL straps and it went from being not too bad to a very comfortable pack. One Planet I believe actually reduced the range of movement of the sternum strap to act as guide that the chest straps are not right for you. By that, if too low or threatening to strangle you then the chest straps or back length is wrong. One Planet are likely not alone in having a wider range of fittings than you see on the shop shelves so check out your favourite brand's site as a subtle change can turn an ok pack into an exceptional pack. One thing though I have found is the new sliver straps appear to slip where the older black with yellow stitching never budged on a walk.

The finish and material is typical One Planet, superb. The use of heavy canvas reinforced with nylon means it wins no awards for light weight but such construction is appreciated when bush bashing and pack hauling. It is a "neater" pack than the McMillan thus making it a better scrub hound but if you can get your stuff down to 60 litres then the Mungo is better again. I am not a fan of the bottom zip system on bushwalking packs but love that approach for backpacking packs. At least with the Styx the floor of the pack extends down so you can forget about the bottom zip. Again, such things are personal choice. There is a minimum of straps and stuff that hangs off more than a few packs so I like it for been unfussy. The rather fragile shock cord used on the McMillan so our NZ cousins can hang their coat out to dry while walking is gone. I am still coming to terms with the large diagonal zip rear pocket. A friend that has the Mont pack likes the large vertical zip and this is common on the Osprey packs that I have seen. I think I might get to like it as you get good access without stuff falling out.

In all I like the pack and would recommend that people looking at a 90 litre pack check out the 75 litre size and think long and hard over if they can haul thirty plus kilograms that a 90 litre pack is designed for. What I found was by swapping to a Neo-air and the "lite" Western Mountaineering sleeping bags even with the 6'6" sleeping bag and large sleeping mat a 90 litre pack suddenly had a lot more room. Still have not found a decent camp footwear apart from space consuming Crocs. Size XXXL (49 Euro) means that space is consumed rather quickly with that item. I just do not like hanging stuff off packs and my pet hate is the trail of blue left by the foam mats been shredded by scrub on the outside of the pack.

So here is to more walks with the Styx 2. Though the McMillan will still get the nod for seven day walks or winter walks and the Mungo for an overnight scrub bash. But really the Styx could do those walks with careful packing and especially if I could come up with a more compact camp and creek crossing footwear.

Cheers

[Mountain Rocket]

Jeez I have never considered how much sizing effects the weight and volume of gear. Out of curiosity how tall (and without being rude how heavy) are you?

[Ent]

Hi

No issue. Height 6"3.5 with mass of 110 kilograms though would of course prefer to be 100 kilograms. Most garment weights quoted appear to be medium. Means 6'6" large girth sleeping bag, etc, etc so all adds up in both mass and volume.

Cheers

[Ent]

Hi

Well I have a decent chance to give the Styx 2 a decent work out over eight days on the Western Arthurs in SW Tassie. As this walk is rather up and down I decided that a fitness campaign was required plus doing a few more of the harder climbs with bit more air under the feet to deal with the growing fear of heights that has crept up on me. So Cradle bagged along with Barn plus David's Peak and overnight walk every weekend form the last weekend in December to the first one in February. But as they say the plans of mice and men can be stuffed up. Three weeks out on a ride to Montezuma Falls a flat tire pitched me over the handle bars and cost a trip to x-ray on the return. So with a least one or two cracked ribs the long planned trip looked off. Unknown to me two weeks out a fellow walking companion on "test" walk on the Penguin to Cradle trail managed to stretch an Achilles tendon but never under estimate walker stubbornness as we both attempted the trip hoping not to disappoint or hold up the two uninjured members of the party.

Well it was not until a day before WA day that I risked putting on the loaded pack. Try as I may I could only get the weight down to 26 kilograms. Ok, UL or even moderately light weight I am not. Almost pulled the pin but as the walk to Junction Creek was suppose to be flat and easy took the punt with full intention of camping there and awaiting the return of my walking companions if the next day I could not go on. The Exact Fit harness like magic dodged the extremely sensitive area and spread the load so I found myself completing the trip.

I found that I was underdone on water (only 1.6 litres when 3 litres would have been better) and the decision to dump the Crocs as camp shoes was not one that I will do again as it rather turned my walking companions into go fetch boys so needless to say I coped some ribbing I managed to fit into the 75 litres so tends to reinforce my view that even as a luxury loving walker of the XXL sizing a 75 litre pack is now the 90 litre pack. Though I always will own a McMillan as it is just one great pack for carrying anything I can.

The good. The harness is simply for me superb. The bottle holders just wonderfully placed on the harness and nothing broke. The bad. Well not a fan of the diagonal zip and can not see the point of the bottom compartment so loved by sales people. Save a few grams and some money and get rid of it is my feeling. But at least OP have the best system with an inner pocket that can use the space of the main compartment or be push out of the way if you chose to use the bottom compartment. I found that the new sliver shoulder straps would slip where the older black ones with yellow stitching never did. And yes, as tough as the canvas is, I managed to put some abrasion holes in. The pack is not as well protected as the McMillan. But I add the holes were to be expected given that in the tricky sections I gave no regard for pack and was more than happy to slide down on it rather than risk any life or limb. In fact, the damage was remarkably light given the abuse of 25 kilograms of pack plus 110 kilograms of me sliding down a rocky slope.

In all I loved it but for that terrain probably would prefer the Stiletto. In fact sorely tempted with a Stiletto minus the unnecessary for me bits. Ice axe holders, etc.

Now I mentioned to OP the slipping shoulder straps buckles and was quizzed on what I was doing. They had no issue with the new material and were puzzled so asked me to send the pack to them. One Planet's after sales service is awesome once you get to the right person. Anyway, I was a bit slack sending it so got a follow up call. The problem was identified. The supplier of the new strapping had snuck an under width and thickness lot in and this combined with the new buckle had caused the issue. Please send the pack to get the strapping swapped over. I have the same material on my McMillan when it was retro fitted with an XL harness and that has worked a treat so pretty confident that when returned the pack will not have that issue. Also One Planet was more than happy to make good the abrasion damage at a very reasonable cost. It is great having the ability to get the pack back into A one order rather than to have an average patch up job.

So what can I say. Amazing harness and the best of the traditional designs which is needed on tricky tracks like the WA where I want to hug the rocks. Would prefer it to be better armoured but then again just about anyone but me would have been unlikely to damage it unless they are into sliding down every drop. Probably would buy a Stiletto instead but they for some reason rather hard to come by, and the Styx 2, like a lot of my local purchases was an impulse buy. Took the McMillan in for the recent site overnight walk and found it huge with it been rather empty so looks like I have transition to more compact gear. It does lead me to think that there might be a market for a 70-75 litre Mungo style but armoured like a McMillan or Stiletto for the tougher walks. Sure it will not set any light weight saving records but there will always be room for a tough pack at least in Tassie.

Interesting on the trip was looking at the range of gear we used. I was rather traditional in my choice so tipped the heavy scales. One of our group was light weight to UL with a Go-Lite Jam and largely the gear choices required to make that work. The other walker had a OP McMillan but with some lighter weight gear choices. The Jam was treated with kid gloves by the owner and there is merit in lighter weight as easier to hand down and up. Despite this it suffer a hole or two but nothing worth worrying about. The McMillan was given no special treatment but it owner was somewhat more agile and lighter than me so it go an easier time. It was undamaged. Sadly the OP Shadow owner had to pull out as on the way to Junction creek he encountered the dangerous of the most dangerous thing, a slippery board walk, thus meant that he pulled is Achilles again and decided on safety first but still a few days later covered a lot of territory as day walks.

And OP service is great but could someone at Mountain Design please tell me why every time you take over a independent store you stop stocking One Planet packs As proud as you might be of your own packs in your range there is nothing like OP's coverage of the pack market. In fact with the demise of the Launceston shop stocking them I find MD no longer a compulsory stop to feed my gear freak side.

On a different note, the most dangerous thing on the WA was the training before it

Cheers

[LAMEA-Gals]

Hey Ent
Nice review. I have just purchased a Styx 2 as well. Main reason that got me in was the Exact Fit harness system - I have been using a Macpac Ravine for 12 years on longer trips and was beginning to struggle with the weight of the pack and the minimalist harness system of the Ravine. The padding had become rather thin and worn over the years. Anyway got to test my Styx out on a 7 day walk in the Snowys 2 weeks ago - was carrying about 16 kilos to start with (which is heavy for me).

Upsides for me
- comfy and well fitted. Fairly snug fit on the back and around the hips. I did need to wear the chest strap to keep it firmly in place and balance the load.
- top pocket on the lid is fantastic. Can get heaps of stuff in and it opens wide and flat so you can organise those bits and pieces easily.
-front diagonal pocket handy for maps etc. These extra outside pockets meant that I didn't need to access the inside of my pack all day - which was good.

Downsides for me
- I found the side water bottle holders hard to use - they sit a fair way back/behind you. A bit of twisting and grasping to pull your bottle out with the pack on. However by having the water bottles around your hips much of the weight is in the right spot. There wasn't a hole for a water bladder tube either - so you just thredded it through the top.
- the weight of the pack is over 2.5kilos. I knew this when I bought it but at the end of the 7 days the pack and gear still felt weighty (compared to the Ravine at 1.4kilos). So no featherlight last day for me anymore! Thats the price for having more features and a more durable construction.

And I'd agree with you about the bottom zippered compartment - they could do without it and save a few grams. I found that to pack the pack properly I had to do the bottom compartment first before the main compartment. Still working on how to pack better.

Overall - for a long trip pack it worked fine. The main reason I got it was to give my back better support with heavier loads and the Styx 2 did this very well.

[Ent]

Hi

Good to read your summary of the pack. Those water bottle holders. I love them but to be honest struggle to reach them myself and do tend to rely on my walking companions to get them. Strange, every so often I fluke the trick but then fail the next time. Yet for other people they are no hassle. Maybe yogo is in order. What I like with them is they are not affected by how much is crammed in the main pack. More than a few packs have outside pockets that are near useless with a pack crammed full.

At 16 kilograms the harness would be a joy. At that load a Shadow at 1.5 kilograms might have been an option. Not as solid plus smaller but the midi harness is wonderful at that load. I have the smaller mini harness on my Traverse daypack and love it.

It is always a challenge to work out what pack suits a person. I took the Styx 2 big brother on the weekend and it was huge. Packing was putting in the middle of the room and lobbing stuff in. Only trouble is you tend to chuck a bit too much in.

I am playing with a Lowe Alpine XL Nanon. Um? Think I zigged when I should have zagged. A fellow walker brought the Zepton with is much lighter and almost as roomy. Though still I prefer the extra kilogram of pack as the OP Exact Fit harness system works so well.

Anyway hope it continues to work well for you.

Cheers

[Amanda]

And OP service is great but could someone at Mountain Design please tell me why every time you take over a independent store you stop stocking One Planet packs As proud as you might be of your own packs in your range there is nothing like OP's coverage of the pack market. In fact with the demise of the Launceston shop stocking them I find MD no longer a compulsory stop to feed my gear freak side.

Hi Brett,

In response to your question I asked the head of our design team in Brisbane his thoughts on why we stopped stocking OP in Launceston. This was his reply "We think One Planet is a great brand and yes we are proud of our own range of packs, which reflect a few decades of evolution and design in Brisbane. Our major issue is space, we simply can't do justice to the One Planet brand as our own range is quite large. We can look after most customers most of the time. Thanks for the feedback"

It's just a space issue, MDs stock Deuter as well so we just don't have room for OP. Also I can honestly say I have never seen one of our canvas manin range packs come back into the store with a design flaw or fault, they are also quite competitive on price. I know a lot of people love and own OP packs. But in my opinion the range we offer is still pretty good and definitely worth a look when pack shopping.

Also If you want MDs to respond to a query feel free to send me a pm. If it wasn't for browsing through the forum I would have missed your question.

Cheers
Amanda
Hobart Store Manager

[Ent]

Hi Amanda

No issue with quality of MD packs just that as a customer I find it increasingly common that chain stores are dropping independent specialist manufacturers so we are losing choice. OP covers multiple pack sizes, harness types, and lengths and this means people can find what is ideal for them. It is not just One Planet as Aarn might be a choice for some but MD has no equivalent. And OP range did fit into the shop before MD took over.

As an XXL size guy I find one size fits all makes finding clothes hard. If a chain store has consistent size for all items then this means unless you fit within this size model you have no options. Honestly MD is a waste of time for people with foot size past 48 an even size 47 as the range stops there. Even some MD items stop at 45-46 Similar thing on the smaller end and in female sizing. Specialist brands do have extended ranges. Not expecting ever store to stock extended sizing, just lament that it can not even be ordered in.

Also simple but vital things are not been stocked. MD sell a range of tents and it is not uncommon for guyline tensioners to fail, mainly due to a large boot treading on them. Also more and more tents are coming in a stripped down configuration so additional guylines might be required by some users. Spares are simply not stocked.

Say with your packs if I accidentally damage a strap what is the chance of MD having spares? I have heard customers referred through to various repairers in the hope that maybe a local boot repair shop might be able to rig something up. This means expensive items have their life ended prematurely.

My approach is to go increasingly to the internet online shops. Due to freight cost from overseas online shops I then buy big so when I am placing an order say for guyline locks I will likely buy a huge amount of gear so less likely to buy locally.

As said I used to enjoy wandering through MD Launceston checking out bits and pieces so a large chunk of my gear came from there. Now it is almost a Katmandu experience but with much better staff that do understand their range but sadly a range that is diminishing.

Cheers

[sthughes]

Is MD in Devonport still stocking OP? Their store is much, much smaller than Launceston so I guess might and up going the same way? That would leave OP with no retailer in the north

[Son of a Beach]

I think Allgoods still stock One Planet.

It's a shame that most shops are going down the route of promoting their own brands (or conversely that some brands are opening their own shops that avoid competing products). Obviously it's good business sense, but for the consumer, it makes shopping around for brands quite frustrating, and it makes it very difficult to find a true variety of products in local shops. Hence the need to go online and avoid the local shops completely for some things.

[Penguin]

I think Allgoods still stock One Planet.

It's a shame that most shops are going down the route of promoting their own brands (or conversely that some brands are opening their own shops that avoid competing products). Obviously it's good business sense, but for the consumer, it makes shopping around for brands quite frustrating, and it makes it very difficult to find a true variety of products in local shops. Hence the need to go online and avoid the local shops completely for some things.

I hope that OP get a web presence. Their strength is to make quality packs to order that suit local conditions - rather than the one size fits all of the chains.

Vertical integration is all the buzz of retail at the moment. But that does not mean that there is not a market for specialist product - it is the challenge of linking the product to the consumer.

P

[Ent]

Hi

I did enjoy wandering through Passion 8 in Hobart late last year. That was the origin of the Styx 2. So much bushwalking bling. Ok some items rather expensive for some but then quality is remembered long after price is forgotten. Now with quality I do not mean only reliability, as many chain store brand stuff will hold together well but quality meaning it just does the job so well.

A classic example is a long just below knee length rain jacket made of the top of the range fabrics. All “single” brand stores have ignored this segment. I will not argue with them if they say that there is not the demand for their required volume to produce but surely there are smaller companies happy to produce such items and even it only sells in a few shops the volume will be enough. Again not after a full sizing and colour range to be stocked by a single shop.

Standard sizing is a pain. MD use population averages so XXL means Norm build with huge gut and short arms. I pity the long and thin as MacPac in XXL despite claiming athletic fit they swim on me in the chest and gut and at 110 kilograms I am not what any sane person would call petite. Women appear to have the opposite issue with the bigger, well, err, um, lets say May West type figures finding cut and sizes inappropriate. Also they have the issue sizing stopping a lot earlier. Again not expecting full size ranges but I missed Wilderness Wear as this was longer and slimmer fitting for males. PP is where I tend to haunt as occasionally they get the longer fitting brands in but the trouble is they tend to rotate brands so just when you find something a good fit it will be replaced by another brand.

Anyway I do hope that MD look long and hard and decide that maybe less overseas bands and few local Aussie or NZ brands are better for customer choice. A good example is the 70 Mile NZ socks that they stock. Absolutely brilliant. Be sad to see them replaced with a MD only range.

Cheers

[Ent]

Hi

Just a follow up on the pack. Eventually I got around to sending it back to One Planet to repair the damage that I did to it on the Western Arthurs' trip. It is nice to get the pack repaired by the people that made it, so back and ready for action.

Though it might be a while before I get around to using it as I have fallen for the charms of a One Planet Shadow. The gradual transition to lighter and more compact gear means that the newer model Shadow with the drink bottle holders can handle an overnight non snow walk.

Cheers

[walkingthrupuddles]

I have just bought a Styx 2 which I have used on two overnight walks. When I was deliberating over buying this pack I did not really like the look of the front pocket compared to say the Mungo (no pocket) or Strez. But after using the pack I am of the opinion that the front pocket is extremely functional and useful. It is relatively easy to access the lower part of the pocket (where all your small items would be sitting eg. compass, pocket-knife and other knick-knax) even when the pack is chockers. The upper portion of the pocket is perfect for maps and even when the pack is full you can still easily fit a couple of maps and a good-quality map case in there. The diagonal aspect of the zip works really well. If you're only after the maps, you just open the zip in the top half only. If you need to dig around in the bottom you can just open the bottom bit up so that nothing falls out.

Perfect pack for entry level overnight bushwalking as was my situation.

[Ent]

Hi walkingthrupuddles

Glad that you like the Styx 2. I have used mine a fair bit more including a snow trip. Must admit I am not a fan of the rear pocket but I can see why some like it. A similar design is used on some of the Mont packs and Osprey ones. I love the harness system and find it great pack being a bit lighter than the McMillan. For many 75 litres is a great size. With more compact gear it can easily handle a winter walk but bit of a struggle to attached the large Yowies.

Cheers