weekend on the Boardstand Road & Old Military Road Trail loop of the Ouachita National Recreation Trail system in east Oklahoma. The pack performed beautifully on the trail. In camp, it was unloaded enough that the frame flex issue didn’t recur with it standing overnight against a tree. The only equipment problem I had was a zipper failure. El Sol has nylon zippers. One of the large side pockets was loaded causing a stress point against the middle of the zipper and it split open during the hike. I was able to force the zipper to properly unzip and then zip back again and it seemed OK. Since then that point of failure has proven itself to be weak and that zipper will not stay closed if the pocket is full. However, I found a workaround solution. That pocket zips from the top and the bottom. If the zipper pulls are brought together near the weak point instead of high or low, the zipper holds just fine. This works pretty well, but I think it would be good if next year’s model uses a heavier zipper, like the main compartment zipper, on the two large pockets. I know that will just add more weight to an already heavy pack. It is a tradeoff.
I found I like the pockets on the hip belt. I took week-long trips using El Sol in the Pecos Wilderness in June and September this year. After a few variations I settled on a compass and camera in one belt pocket and snacks in the other. The hydration system works well, but I learned the first time out with it that it is important to cover the mouthpiece when applying DEET with the pack on. Yuck - no wonder insects don’t like that stuff.
The rain cover fits nicely round the pack, with elastic to hold all the way around, and it is attached to the top flap pocket so it won’t get away from you. Drying the rain cover is a bit of a challenge around the elastic bunching, but this isn’t a very big problem.
On the June trip in the Pecos I thought it would be good if I carried some of my daughter’s load (insert Tim “the Toolman” Taylor grunts here.) It turns out I have load limits. Besides running out of energy too quickly, with over 50 pounds in El Sol I cannot get the hip belt tight enough to keep the load on my hips. The belt slips down lower than I like it, and the load is on my shoulders. This could be a function of the fat around my waist preventing me from getting a good grip on my hips, but I haven’t been able to test that theory yet as it requires removal of the fat to see if there is a difference. I will report on that next year.Keywords: backpack, backpacking, Backpacking Equipment - Backpack: El Sol from Outdoor Products, camp, equipment, gear, hike, on the trail, Ouachita, Pecos Wilderness, review, wilderness