Lightwave Fastpack 40 - First Look

Lightwave Fastpack 40 - First Look

Lightwave says the Fastpack 40 is a light, comfortable and highly water resistant daysack designed for winter day trips or lightweight weekend backpacking. So think roomy UK-friendly pack that'll double for lightweight backpacking or big days and you're about there. Recommended load is from 10-15kg.

It's nice to see a small British company producing kit that's as advanced as anything out there and the Fastpack 40 is bristling with neat, state of the art touches that are familiar from other top brands.

Those include the neat hip-belt with hip bone cut-outs, the neat sliding sternum strap fittings and inward pull belt adjustment system. For UK users though, one feature really stands out - virtually all the seams are either welded or taped, which makes this pack highly water resistant without needing to resort to a cover or liner, and in British conditions that's a major plus.

We'll be keeping an eye on the welded back seams over the next few months as we know at least one top pack maker which refuses to use bonding because it believes it's too weak for pack use.

Finally fabrics are what Lightwave desribes as medium weight for toughness. with heavier gauge 420d - the silvery colour in the pics - featuring in vulnerable areas like the base and lid edges.

With outdoor clothing and equipment getting lighter and lighter, a 40-litre pack is now a viable weekend-packing option if you have the right kit. Loaded up with about 12 kilos worth, the Fastpack felt instantly stable and comfortable. There's no back length adjustment, so the tall and short may not suit, but for a medium sort of back length, it fitted fine.

The cut-out hip-belt sits nicely and seems to take a reasonable proportion of the load without restricting movement and the inward pull on the belt adjuster feels natural to use. Snug up the top tensioner straps and you're good to go with the pack sitting reassuringly close and huggiing your back.

With smaller loads, the simple side side compression straps work fine and generally stuff does seem to do what it's supposed to. You can, for example, reach into the side mesh stash pockets without being double jointed.

It's a light pack, but certainly doesn't feel flimsy, though we'd suggest keeping the load to the suggested 15 kilo maximum to avoid overwhelming the lightweight straps and back system.

We suspect that the Fastpack will appeal to some of the users who might have bought a lightweight pack from sister company Crux simply for the weight saving, but may be attracted by the combination of light weight, water resistance and a slightly more lavish spec.

The jury's out on the water resistance so far, though contents have remained dry in light rain. Bear in mind that the seams attaching the back panel aren't sealed for technical manufacturing reasons, but these are tucked away and mostly protected by the wearer's back, so we'd expect a high level of water resistance even in quite heavy rain.

It seems well thought through and put together with a general quality feel and the water resistance is a real bonus for British hills. The design is a modern take on the traditional pack and we like having a lid pocket and the easily accessible stash pockets.

The only downside we can see so far is that the single, fixed back length means that the pack will either fit or not, so if you're particularly long or short in the torso, then you'll be looking elsewhere.

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