David T. from United States, CA Public Profile

I originally bought this hat as a gift. I is so comfortable, so warm and so light weight for backpacking that I am going to buy another one for myself and I already had a good hat. Nothing more needs to be said.

I already had a Plasma 15 before I got this bag for summer backpacks. This bag is made even better than the Plasma 15. It also seems to keep you warmer even though it is rated for a higher temperature. The shell material, although extremely light weight seems to be quite tough. The down seems to have better loft than the Plasma 15, even though they are supposed to be the same 850 (900) down. The bag will sill pack down so far in your backpack that it is almost irrelevant. I have had many sleeping bags over the years and Marmot makes the most high tech bags by far. They are much lighter than other sleeping bags with the same rating but seem to keep you warm as long as they are used correctly (you do not let yourself slide out of the bag). Keep in mind that Marmot does have the worst customer service of any company I ever dealt with with any product. I contacted them to see if I could get some of the material the bags were made of in case I had to do a repair. They did not get back to me for almost two months! Then they said that they could not even get me a 3 inch by 3 inch square of material. Keep this in mind if you are hard on equipment.

This pad is very comfortable with the right air pressure, but ....
The pad specifications are incorrect at Campsaver (and on the Big Agnes website). They say the pad weighs 16 ounces. In fact I weighed two of these pads and both of the Q line SL pads (size "20 x 66") weighed 18.6 ounces. This is 16% higher than was specified. Also, the dimensions of the pad are before the pad is inflated. The pad shrinks two inches in width and at least three inches in length when inflated. Keep this in mind if you think the dimensions are marginal for you. This pad is very expensive. If this pad had come from anyone but Campsaver it would have gotten an even lower rating due to the high price. The Campsaver price was the cheapest by far, and at their price it was still a good deal. If weight is a high priority for you, then stick with a Thermarest RidgeRest SOLite at only 7.8 ounces. They are also much cheaper.

I bought the 3.0 liter Streamer Reservoir for several reasons.

1. It was BPA free although it did not seem to say this on any website including Deuter's.
2. It was the size I needed.
3. This bladder is the lightest one available that has a "drinking tube" attached.

The reviews of all the other common reservoirs such as the CamelBak and Platypus all said that the fill cap started leaking right away.
It appears to be impossible for the Deuter to leak unless the actual bag is torn. This bag is very tough so this is unlikely.
All the common brands weigh more than the Deuter.
The Evernew weighs less but is not BPA free and has no drinking tube. They are also prone to leaking.
The Deuter drinking valve is very high quality and flows very well.
The drinking tube has a quick release so it can be easily removed. The bag will remain sealed.

There is one other bladder that is exactly like the Deuter (and is probably made by the same factory). The "Cat Nomad" bladder costs the same as the Deuter, but appears to take weeks to get.

I have a lot of backpacking equipment. Much more than I really need.
I have been backpacking since I was eight and I am now sixty five.
Recently (in the last five years) I have found two major things about packs.
1. If you are a woman you need to get an Osprey pack. They are not at all light, but they are the only pack that really fits a woman’s frame correctly.
2. If you are a man, nothing ever made is as comfortable as a Deuter backpack. There is nothing else even close. There are lighter packs but do a few
grams matter when the pack is not comfortable?
Deuter packs are also very reliable. Nothing will ever fail unless it is completely abused and maybe not even then.
I have two of these packs and nothing has ever broken. I cannot say the same for other brands.
I have even had the plastic frame break on one pack causing me intense pain for 100 miles before anything could be done.

The one thing I did not expect is that the ACT Zero 50+15 was heaver than both the Deuter website and the Campsaver website indicated weighing in at 3.2 lbs 1451 grams.
The Campsaver site was closer to the actual weight. I contacted Deuter USA and they responded within 12 hours. They found that my pack was a very recent
version and the improvements that were made also increased the weight. Even though Deuter offered to refund my money, I was so impressed by their
customer service that I decided that 6 ounces was not enough to worry about.

This pack is even more comfortable than my 65 + 10. T