Hyperlite Mountain Gear Southwest 55 Review

The Southwest 55 is one of the lightest backpacks we tested, yet it comfortably carries weight well. It's made with ultralight Dyneema-woven composite fabric, has durable exterior pockets that make it easy to access your gear, and features a simple roll-top design that compresses everything inside. This pack is ready to go fast and light.

Comfort

The Southwest 55 is relatively comfortable overall – as long as you're carrying ultralight gear. It isn't the most comfortable pack out there, especially with loads above 35 pounds, but we find a lighter pack with lighter gear inside is more comfortable for your knees, hips, and ankles.

The minimal suspension system effectively helps balance the weight between your shoulders and hips. The frame consists of two curved aluminum struts that run from the top of the back panel, where the shoulder straps attach, to the hip belt. If you detach the hip belt, you immediately feel more of the weight shift onto your shoulders, which shows that even this minimal frame does what it's intended to do. The frame can also be removed, but doing so will make the pack significantly less comfortable and only save a couple of ounces, so we don't recommend it.

This pack doesn't have load lifters, so you can't adjust how much weight is on your shoulder and hips like you can with other packs. If you fill the bag to its 55-liter capacity, with the roll top portion extending high above the shoulder straps, you may miss having load lifters.

The shoulder straps and hip belt are padded with closed-cell foam that remains firm while providing just enough cushion, and are covered with a breathable mesh face fabric. The shoulder straps have a subtle S-shaped curve that wraps naturally around your neck and shoulders. The pack feels solid on your back and doesn't shift as you move.

Ease of Use

If you're looking for a fully-featured pack with tons of pockets, the Southwest 55 isn't it. It has all the features you'd want to keep an ultralight backpacking kit organized, without extras that would weigh you down.

This is a simple pack, with a total of five pockets, a roll-top closure system, and no top lid. The roll-top closure makes the Southwest 55 easy to pack and unpack and is secured with buckles along the side of the pack. There is also a top Y-Strap to compress the pack further or to store items on top.

It has some of the largest hip belt pockets we've ever seen, big enough for a phone and snacks. It also has a massive outside pocket on the back, where you can stash a jacket, lunch, tools, and anything else you'll want to access throughout the day.

The side water bottle pockets are sharply angled forward, making it easy to reach in and grab a water bottle. They're also made from the same Dyneema-reinforced material as the hip belt and rear pocket. This material is very durable, which is especially helpful for the side pockets, since those tend to get scratched the most on overgrown trails. The Southwest 55 also has removable side compression straps. You can use these to further compress the pack or to lash down gear. And if you aren't using them, you can easily remove them.

While the Dyneema material used on this pack is waterproof, to ensure your gear stays completely dry, you should still use a waterproof pack liner. The waterproof Dyneema material will keep virtually all moisture outside, so your pack liner won't have to work hard, but even a small hole that lets water leak inside could ruin your night if it soaks your sleeping bag.

Dyneema is very puncture-resistant, but it's not as abrasion-resistant. After months of heavy use, you'll probably have dropped this pack once or twice (or every day) on the ground when you get to your campsite. And those random scrapes and scuffs from long days on the trail – plus rolling down the bag's stuff sack opening every day – will eventually create pinholes. These pinholes won't grow, but they will let some water through.

Weight-to-Volume Ratio

On our scale, the Southwest 55 weighs 1 pound 14.1 ounces, which is even lighter than Hyperlite claims. As a 55-liter pack, it has a weight-to-volume ratio of 0.55 ounces per liter. This is the lowest weight-to-volume ratio of any pack we tested, so you get a lot of storage capacity for the pack's weight. But as we stated above, this pack performs best when you don't use all that storage capacity. We find 30 pounds to be the maximum weight we're comfortable carrying, and that weight often doesn't take up the full 55 liters of space.

While this pack is extremely light, it's also surprisingly durable. We've seen plenty of Hyperlite packs made of the same lightweight Dyneema material survive 2,000+-mile thru-hikes. It won't last as long as a heavyweight canvas rucksack, and after several months of use, the Dyneema will have some tiny holes. But with some simple repair, the Southwest 55 is sure to withstand regular use for many years.

Adjustability

The Southwest 55 is available in four sizes to accommodate a range of torso lengths: Small, Medium, Large, and Tall. These sizes can fit torsos from 15 inches to over 21 inches. We tested a Medium pack, which fits 17-19-inch torsos, and were able to adjust it so that the waist belt was positioned over our hip bones, as it should be. If it's sized correctly, this pack fits very well.

The torso length for each size is adjustable only via the shoulder straps. You can also move the sternum strap up and down along the daisy-chained webbing on the front of the shoulder straps – it's not easy to move, but fortunately, most people don't need to adjust their sternum strap often.

Should You Buy the Hyperlite Mountain Gear Southwest 55?

This is an expensive ultralight backpacking backpack. If you already have ultralight backpacking gear – including a lightweight tent, sleeping bag, sleeping pad, and cookware – and you're looking for an equally lightweight pack to complete your kit, then the Southwest 55 is definitely worth considering. However, this is a specialty pack that we do not recommend to anyone purchasing their first backpack. Even if you're just starting to build out your ultralight kit, we highly recommend purchasing key gear, such as a lightweight tent and sleeping bag, before buying a pack like the Southwest 55.

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