Mountainsmith Tour Lumbar Pack - Waist Pack for Hiking, Travel, Biking, & Commuting

Ordered a MountainSmith Tour Lumbar Pack that arrived today. This is a LARGE, roomy pack, with plenty of space for everything and several spots to stash your smaller stuff. I plan to use it as a day pack/camera bag so that it doesn't scream "tourist" and yet my gear is easy to reach. Several straps in strategic places allow you to re-size the pack to your needs. I really hesitated to get it because of the price, but it's hard to find a large pack. Here are the features that sold me and then reassured me once I received it: ***** Workmanship is very good ***** Fabric is soft yet sturdy and the mesh accents are nice; it has a great unisex appeal. ***** Contrasting color on the inside so you can see the sections clearly. ***** Quality, smooth zippers with pull-tabs on them ***** Holds 2 LARGE water bottles with cinching if you have a skinny bottle. ***** Rear side has breathable fabric and is rigid without adding weight. ***** Plenty of room for anything else you might need. ***** Zippered mini-pack (7"x3"x2") on the belt is a great size to stow a cell phone, wallet, or snacks. ***** Lumbar straps can tuck behind the panel allowing the pack to be carried by the handles or attach a shoulder strap (NOT included - see below). Bonus!!! - I'm able to fit a camera gear cube (10x5x6) inside with no problem so that equipment is organized and protected. Note: If flying, this pack folds fairly flat and weighs under a pound, so you can fit it in luggage then organize it once you reach your destination. Or you can use it as your carry-on instead of packing it; even full, it will easily fit under a seat or in the overhead. I looked at a ton of lumbar packs and camera bags before purchasing this one and this MountainSmith Tour was by far the best decisions for my needs. I've bought no-name brands of packs and bags from Amazon before with very mixed results, so in this case going with a brand name and spending more was well worth it. The not-so-good: From photos posted on Amazon (currently slide 4), I thought that the pack came with the shoulder strap that is pictured; however, it was NOT in the packaging when received. For my purposes, that strap is an absolute MUST and was one of the features I loved about the pack in terms of versatility. Nearly no other packs had a waist belt and a shoulder strap and built-in handles - most had only 1 or 2, not all three. When I went back to check the fine print in the posted description, I saw that the "strapette" was sold separately. At nearly $100 for the pack, I wasn't pleased to have to spend more to get the shoulder strap. Amazon didn't have it in the MountainSmith store or a compatible one in the general search results so I had to go directly to MountainSmith's website and spend another nearly $25 (strap plus shipping). And I will not know for a few days when the strap arrives how close the color is because the color name is different for the strap than for the pack. Still rating this pack at 5 stars, as I know I will get a LOT of use out of it, even with the extra expense of the strapette.

This is a great day pack. I carried it daily when traveling to other countries. The shoulder strap is very comfortable, even when the pack is loaded up with some weight. The waist belt is also comfortable. The external water bottle pockets are great to have. The iPad pocket is nice and padded. The gold interior makes it easy to see your stuff. Under pack straps can be used for extra stuff too. Everything is high quality material and strong YKK zippers. Highly recommended if you like this style pack.

Exceeded my expectations. Excellent build quality and design. I use this as a front pack that works in tandem with my main multi-day backpack for hiking the AT. Nice and roomy, with excellent, “well thought out” pouches, pockets, and dividers.

Mountainsmith still lives up to the name. Great pack especially for a day hike. Plenty of room for essentials and wears nicely. I did buy the strapettes but the pack without them wears nicely also as long as you don’t overload it. The strappettes make it wearable like a backpack and allow you to slightly overload and wear more comfortable. Wearing a waist pack while hiking allows you to feel more free giving your back full airflow which in return makes you feel more mobile and not weighed downed. Great product quality material I’m sure it’s going to last for years!

Built extremely well and great pockets for everything. The shoulder strap could have been a little longer for my preference, I didn't want to spend the extra money for the harness that is optional.

I got this for my husband who had wanted it for hiking. He used to have an older Mountainsmith Lumbar pack which somehow got lost in the move. This arrived for his birthday and he loved it, one major major issue though. He is a big tall guy and the waist strap would not fit around his waist comfortably. We almost sent it back in disappointment but I reached out to MountainSmith company email and asked about whether they sold a waist extender, They ended up shipping me one for free (it took a little finagling to figure out how to attach it correctly) which was amazing. Absolutely Kudos on their customer service. To include a waist extender or even have one for sale would have been a great option as reading reviews on this pack it appears this is a frequent complaint. Would definitely buy again.

Ordered this to use as a waist pack. Waist strap is so short it can't be fastened with a jacket on. I'm 6 ft, 200lbs, size 38 waist. The straps are maxed out with a shirt. Also, there are no attachment points anywhere on the bag or waist strap, so don't plan on adding any accessory pockets. Really poor design, in my opinion.

It holds a lot, especially if you use the outside front panel to hold an extra jacket as I included in the accompanying photo of the bag stuffed and the second photo of everything I had inside. Fits 10 essentials plus compact binocular. It's about 8 liters in volume of storage capacity. Given most of the gear in the photo is "packable" or meant for hiking. I can confidently go into the backcountry for a day hike with this pack. Sold separately, I have the shoulder straps and rain cover, but usually don't use them as the pack has good weight distribution and in your usual light rain the pack is very water resistant. That said, on some special occasions like a heavy load or carrying items I absolutely have to keep dry, I use the rain cover sometimes. Having the pack low on the back keeps my shoulders relaxed and makes it easier to use a binocular for wildlife watching ( the ultimate reason I head into the outdoors). It also minimizes the sweat factor compared to a backpack. I find the load very comfortably distributed around the waist with this belt bag; especially when the butterfly straps are tightened down bringing the weight snuggled into the lower back. Only draw back I find is the 2x 1 liter bottle holders don't hold up to jogging as the bottles will fall out with heavy bouncing. There for I personally carry a 16 oz bottle in the holder most of the time. Also, my phone is too big for the hip pocket, but gloves or a hat do fit, so I still really appreciate the hip pocket. A great addition to my outdoor gear! Well worth the money!