Between 2010 and 2015, I hiked more than 19,000 miles (30,577 km) carrying an MLD Burn. This included multi-week trips in Australia, New Zealand and the calendar year triple crown of 2012 (plus eight of the other 12 Long Walks). Suffice to say, I think it’s a pretty good pack. Hope you weren’t waiting for a drawn-out verdict; suspense has never been my strong suit ;-).

Details

Price: $180

Weight: 13 oz / 0.37 kg (includes sternum strap & external bungee cord).

Volume: 2300 ci (38 L)

Material: Dyneema X

Load Rating:

According to the MLD website, it’s 25 lbs. Personally speaking, I would say it isn’t too comfy carrying anything over twenty-two (i.e. 10 kg).

Durability:

Double thumbs up. Since 2010 I have owned two Burns. Each has at least 8,000 miles on it. I’ve yet to have any tears to the body of either pack. As you would expect, the exterior mesh pockets have taken a bit of a beating, but nothing that hasn’t been repairable. In both packs, I found that the principle area to show significant signs of wear were the shoulder straps. They started to get a little thin after 6000 miles. Not too shabby, considering that’s the equivalent of roughly three Appalachian Trail thru-hikes. (Note: Since I received my last Burn pack in 2012, MLD has subsequently both widened (2.5″) and thickened (0.8″) the shoulder straps. I think this is a great move, which addresses the only issue I had with the earlier models).

Design:

The Burn is a frameless backpack with a drawstring closure on top. As with all frameless models, the key to being comfortable out on trail is knowing how to load the pack correctly. A simple, but often taken for granted skill.

As with other MLD packs, the Burn has a slim profile. This was actually the main reason I went with the pack in the first place. I’ve never been a fan of wide backpacks, particularly when hiking in technical terrain and maintaining balance is key.

The side pockets on the Burn are a good height to access your water bottles. Speaking of which, I noticed on the MLD website that the latest incarnation of the pack employs Dyneema X instead of mesh on the leading edge of both the side pockets, as well as the bottom 5″ of the rear pocket. This is to help prevent snagging and/or abrasion from sharp objects such as tent pegs. Nice touch. Worth the minuscule weight penalty.

Summary:

The MLD Burn is a great choice if you have a base weight of 10 lbs (4.4 kg) or less. If you don’t, you’re better off going with a bigger backpack. I’ve found that the Burn is comfortable carrying a total weight (i.e. gear plus perishables) of up to 22 lbs. Anything more than that (assuming you can fit it in), and it starts to feel overloaded. For $180, I think the Burn offers good value for money and represents an excellent combination of durability, weight, and performance.

Disclaimer : I purchased MLD Burn #1 with my own funds. I was given #2 free of charge. I was under no obligation to write a review for the pack.