I thought I should post this here as well. It was my write up on the Paradox from my 11-12-13 bull post:
I wasn't sure how much weight was in the pack. I knew it was heavier than the day before but it wasn't until I got down that I realized it was 96 lbs. My comments to Kevin on how the pack carried are below:
> My first thought to write you on how the Paradox was with 96 lbs: it sucked....... but it sucked a lot less than most packs with 96 lbs smile > Overall I liked it a lot.
> <The hip belt is excellent. Stays put and doesn't slide down.
> < Very stable with a big load even on steep loose sidehills
> < Compression system is well though out and overall excellent. Placement of straps is just where you need them
> < The orange Base Talon is perfect for a small amount of gear and works great as a compression panel
> < The frame, after several tweaking sessions fits me very well
> < Shoulder suspension is one area in need of improvement. No matter how I adjusted I had too much pressure on the fronts of my shoulders. I think this is mainly the effect of the suspension being too narrow to distribute the load. The suspension that comes with the new production packs might have this issue solved.
> < The addition of a Pals waist belt would make this pretty close to an ideal pack. It carries great with small loads yet the frame and suspension will handle a lot more than me
> One change I would suggest is to replace the wing nut attachments with a nylock nut. I put some Loctite on the wing nuts as It would suck to loose one
As I said, overall. I am very impressed with the pack which is an early prototype. I look forward to trying the new lighter frame as well as the wider shoulder suspension with better EVA foam. I also think the new production hip belt with Pals webbing looks great and I look forward to trying this as well.
When Kevin asked my about testing the Paradox, I said sure, I'd like to try it out, but that I wasn't in the market for a new pack. After a lot of days in the field with a prototype Paradox, I have to say that I think I will be carrying one of these for a lot more miles in the future.
I really like my modified Epic, but know it wouldn't have carried the close to 100 lbs as well, it at all. I also worry about how many, 60+ pound loads the Epic has in it. I have no such worries with the Paradox.
