GoLite Odyssey Pack - Men's - 5500cu in - 2010 BCS

I love this pack so far. Have done two four day trips.It is light and comfortable and was sturdy. I didn't carry more than 30 pounds, but my husband carried 40 and also thought it was comfortable. I do wish the lid would actually work as a fanny daypack. We would empty one pack and take it as a day pack with a few supplies if more than one day at the same location. I bought it after reading about it and seeing someone else on the trail with one who loved it.

I bought this pack after my son and girlfriend bought similar models. I also used my son's pack for a trip and liked it. I got this larger size version because my girlfriend has trouble carrying much more than 25 lbs. On my first trip, a weeklong trip. I started out with 55lbs. With this weight the pack was comfortable, but to my surprise the shoulder strap began to rip where it attaches to the pocket on the hip belt.

After examining the pack carefully I discovered that the strap attaches differently to this model than the other two Golite packs I had. Rather than transferring all the weight straight to the hip belt it attaches to the pocket, then jogs sideways then continues to the hip belt. If you open the pocket and follow it through you'll see what I mean. The other packs didn't jog sideways. Because all the weight is transferred to the pocket instead of the hip belt the pocket rips. I don't think it would be a catastrophic failure though, I suspect after the strap pulled away from the pocket it would still be held by the hip belt.

I thought this was a design problem so I called Golite carefully explained the problem and they suggested I send it in. After a month or so they returned it. Instead of straightening out the strap they just sewed it more securely to the pocket. I called them up and they apologized for not understanding the problem. The said they could send me a replacement. When the replacement arrived it had the same design problem.

Still not deterred I asked if they could ask the design team if it was a design "feature" or a "flaw". Months later after not hearing from them I called them back. They confirmed it was a feature.

I plan to sell the pack on ebay and buy a different brand since this one will rip if you carry a full load.

I suspect that they will eventually realize the problem needs to be fixed. So before you buy this pack you should open the pocket and see how the strap attaches to make sure the pocket doesn't take the full weight instead of the hip belt.

It appears in their efforts to "Golite" the folks at Golite have created a pack that can't stand up to even a few days on trail. I used this pack for a weekend overnighter and a week long trip in the whites and it was absolute junk. Upon the first time I packed it, the compression strap that runs over the brain of the pack couldn't hold tension. The chest strap broke after only 3 days of light use. and on day 8, one of the straps holding my sleeping pad stopped holding tension. Other than that, it was great! Not recomended for anyone intending to actualy use the 5500 of space.

Why they advertise this pack to have a detachable day pack is beyond me. If you did detach the so called lid, there is no way to strap it to your body. False advertising, spend a few more dollars and get a real pack like an arcteryx.