When I ordered our NeoAir mattresses from Bob and Rose at BackpackingLight, I took the opportunity to try the OMM Villain 45+10 pack and matching Trio 4l chest pouch.
The chance to try such important items at leisure before commiting to a purchase is a great advantage of small enthusiast retailers, especially when very few shops stock them and the chance of finding one within reasonable distance of where I live is next to nil. If an item turns out to be unsuitable, the cost of return postage is a bargain price for a good in-house test and the time to mull over the results. Such a thorough trial would not even be feasible in a shop.
After some deliberation I decided to keep the Trio chest pouch but I returned the Villain. The Trio attached just as easily to my current pack, the Golite LiteSpeed, and although I never tested the Villain on a real backpack, it was clear that it was not the pack for me. I’ve added a short in-house review on the main website to capture my thoughts on the Villain by way of a comparison with the LiteSpeed, it might be of some value.
I had two interrelated reasons for wanting to examine the Villain and Trio combination. Firstly I’m interested in the advantage of splitting a load between front and back to solve an occasional niggling problem with neck pain, and secondly my continuing quest to find a good solution to carrying the camera. I’ll make a separate post about these matters.
2 Comments
I had the same idea over here recently Geoff and for pretty much the same reason. I bought the Litespeed on your recommendation and I haven’t ever been disappointed by it but my SLR has always been left at home due to a lack of convenient storage…..and weight!
I spoke to Rose and found that my Dynax 5D was unlikely to fit in the 4L pouch so I’d be interested if this solution works for you?
On the pack front I’ve been emailing Brian from ULA Equipment about the Conduit pack but the cost of the pack, shipping and tax is putting me off, along with the lack of shoulder strap adjustment and load carrying uncertainty.
I’m just starting work on the post about the Trio, briefly my DSLR camera and zoom lens will fit in the pouch on its side, so I’ll try that next time out.
I think all those ultralight ULA packs are frameless(?), personally I would never buy one without a frame. Many rely on a sleeping mattress for back cushioning, but the new NeoAir is no good for that!.