Hyperlite Mountain Gear

Prism 40L Backpack

The perfect mountaineering pack

Familiarity:

I've put it through the wringer

Size Bought:

M

Height:

5' 9"

Weight:

155

‘Shoot.’ It was three days before I was to embark on a big mountain traverse and my mountaineering pack was nowhere to be found. I have a tendency to lose items in a move, but it’s usually a charger here or a sock there. Not an entire backpack! I hastily researched what would fit my needs…one item in stock. Before I could even think about how much money I needed to transfer from savings, a tracking number arrived in my inbox saying the item was due the following day. When the package arrived, I was sure I had been duped by the shipping company. There’s no way a backpack is inside this box, it’s far too light! As I opened the package, there lay the HMG Prism. The perfect mountaineering pack, one that takes the color of whatever terrain you’re in until it’s too dirty to be recognizable. When we got to the trailhead, you could barely make out the restroom sign through the hazy sea of mosquitos swarming the area. With our brains focusing 85% of their energy on the constant blood-sucking annoyance, we hastily overpacked everything we purchased (enough food to last three times the length of our trip). Luckily for me, the weight carried in food was easily offset by the ounces shaved in developing the HMG Prism (without sacrificing comfort). After a long approach in, we rested our feet in the nearby lake while filtering fresh snowmelt. Across the water a Marmot lay sunbathing, earning its golden coat. As we tucked into our sustainably-sourced down-filled bags and rested our heads on our rugged packs, I could hear the cams in my bag compressing. They had a soothing rhythm to them, like a metronome, which is odd given they’re inanimate…then it hit me. That sunbathing Marmot wasn’t relaxing, he was casing the joint. I quickly lifted my head and a bright beam tracked his furry coat into the bushes nearby. That’ll teach him, I thought. It wasn’t until morning that I realized he had already executed his plan long before I scared him off. My sunglasses were nowhere to be found. My hat was ridden with holes. My hiking poles were cork-less. My pack…unbroken. The HMG Prism fought off the marmot canines, a true sign of its toughness. This pack is light enough to think it’s been stolen, comfortable enough to overpack, and strong enough to outlast the jaws of an apex predator.