The Six Moon Designs Swift V is an affordable, smartly designed backpack with a main compartment that holds all the gear needed for multi-day hikes and an array of pockets that hold small gear I want accessible during the day.
Overview: Six Moon Designs Swift V
MSRP: $275
Weight: 2 pounds, 4 ounces; add 2 ounces for the vest harness
Capacity: 41 liters for the main body, 10 liters for the extension collar, and 5 liters for the exterior pockets, for a total carrying capacity of 56 liters.
Fabric: The pack body is made of Robic nylon and the outside pockets are made from lightweight and tear resistant UltraStretch.
About the Six Moon Designs Swift V
The Swift V has all the features I want in a backpack: plenty of space inside the main body, an extension collar that swallows my bear can, and lots of outer pockets that hold smaller gear so I don’t have to dig inside my pack while I’m hiking. The main pack fabric is Robic nylon, a strong but less expensive fabric that keeps down the pack’s price. The outer pockets are made from Challenge Sailcloth Ultra Stretch, a tough and durable fabric. I tested the Swift V with a vest harness, and loved how it transferred the pack’s weight to the core of my body, away from my hips and shoulders. The Swift V also comes with a shoulder harness and S-curve harness.
Swift V Carrying Capacity
Main Compartment: The roll-top main compartment holds all my gear for a five-day hike: tent, sleeping bag, clothes, accessories, and bear canister with food. And there’s a zippered pocket inside for storing cars keys and wallet. My bear canister fits into the pack horizontally or vertically, or it can be strapped to the top using the Y-strap. The extension collar can be rolled down and buckled to side straps, or the sides can be buckled together and attached to either the clip on the front mesh pocket or a buckle on the pack above the pocket. Side compression straps hold everything in place, including trekking poles or tent poles stored in a side pocket. For winter use there’s an ice axe loop at the bottom of the pack.
Front Mesh Pocket: Plenty of room to store clothing, a raincoat or lunch.
Side Pockets: Mesh pockets on each side of the pack hold a water bottle, tent poles or water filter. The pockets have a cord to tighten the opening so gear stays put.
Hipbelt Pockets: Two large zippered pockets that hold grab-on-the-go gear.
Vest Harness, Shoulder Harness Pockets: The storage pockets are different for each harness choice. The vest harness has three small pockets on each harness, one large enough to hold my phone, the others good for storing snacks, a small satellite communicator, lip balm, bug lotion, or hand sanitizer. There is even a small ring for attaching my satellite communicator. The shoulder harnesses hold a water bottle on each strap.
Water Bladder: A mesh bag inside the main compartment holds a water bladder.
Bear Canister: My BearVault 450 fits horizontally or vertically inside the main body of the pack, or it can be strapped to the top of the pack, held in place by the Y-strap. I found that putting the bear can vertically at the top of the main compartment is the most comfortable.
Compression Straps: The side compression straps stabilize the pack’s load with a quick pull from the top of the yellow strap.
Harness Choices
Vest Harness: The Swift V vest harness puts the weight of the pack squarely on my core, shifting it off my hips and shoulders. It’s an extremely comfortable setup, but one that comes with a note of caution: Fitting the harness correctly takes practice. I watched the Six Moon Designs video here on how to adjust the vest harness and took several practice hikes before taking the pack on a multi-day trip. The vest harness adds two ounces to the pack’s weight.
Shoulder and S-Curve Harnesses: The shoulder harness is standard on most packs, and the S-curve harness is for people with broad chests.
Vest or Harness: Not sure which style to choose? The video here can help.
Swift V Comfort
Fit: The Swift V vest comes in small and large. SMD recommends the small vest for people 5 feet, 7 inches tall or shorter and with a torso of 14 to 17 inches; and a large vest for people 5 feet, 8 inches or taller and with a torso of 18 inches to 22 inches. I’m 5 feet, 10 inches and a large vest fits me, although on the smallest torso setting.
Sizing Help: Not sure what size to order? SMD’s customer service phone number is 503.430.2303, 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Pacific time
Versatility: Adjusting the harness torso length is easy on the Swift V, and along with a removable hip belt, harness options and removable Delrin hoop stay the pack can be dialed in to a variety of preferences. Removing the hoop stay and hipbelt lowers the pack’s weight to about 26 ounces.
How Much Weight?: SMD recommends a maximum 35 pounds for the pack with frame, 25 pounds with the frame removed. I keep my total pack weight at about 20 pounds and the pack with frame is very comfortable at that weight.
Pack Material
Fabric: The main body of the pack uses Robic nylon, a fabric that is resistant to tearing and abrasion. Robic is also water resistant, but not waterproof like Dyneema. Robic is less expensive than Dyneema, used in ultralight packs, and Six Moon Designs uses Robic in the Swift V to keep down the pack’s cost.
External Pockets: The outer pockets are made from UltraStretch, a lightweight and durable fabric with a tight weave that resists tearing. UltraStretch is made by Challenge Sailcloth, a company whose fabrics are increasingly being used in ultralight backpacks.
My Take
The Swift V is a superbly comfortable pack that transfers the weight to my core and off my hips and shoulders. Adjusting the vest harness takes a little longer than adjusting the straps on a shoulder harness pack, but the few extra minutes are worth it. And the adjustment straps have different markings that make it easy to identify which strap to pull. I like the pockets on the vest harness where I store snacks, my car keys, and my phone. This is a pack that I expect to wear comfortably for years to come.
Swift V Pros
Lightweight: The Swift V weight 38 ounces with the vest harness, less when the Delrin hoop stay and hipbelt are removed.
Comfort: Using the vest harness transfers the main pack weight to my core, away from my hips and shoulders.
Easy to Adjust the Harness: Six Moon Design includes a pack adjustment tool to make adjusting the harness easy.
Swift V Cons
Fitting the Pack: It take time to determine the best fit. The vest harness is a completely different experience than a shoulder strap harness, and learning to adjust the harness requires patience. Once I mastered the adjustments the pack is a dream on my back.
Number of Straps: The Swift V with a vest harness has a lot of straps, which was confusing my first day on trail with the pack. By the second day I was a pro.
Overall Value
The Swift V is a solid pack in its price range. SMD put a lot of thought into this pack and it shows in the load-carrying comfort and multiple storage points. The vest harness pockets make it easy to store and access small items I want to reach without taking off the pack. The vest harness also puts the weight on my core, and my hips and shoulders appreciate that after long days of hiking. Six Moon Design’s use of a durable, cost-effective fabric keeps the Swift V’s price well below that of Dyneema packs.
Similar Vest Harness Backpacks
MSRP: $224.95
Weight: 1 pound, 13 ounces
Capacity: 40 liters with fully extended collar
Material: Recycled nylon
MSRP: $250
Capacity: 36 liters
Weight: 2 pounds, 9 ounces
Material: Cordura nylon
MSRP: $190
Capacity: 36 liters
Weight: 21 ounces
Material: Robic nylon
This product was donated for purpose of review.
