Zpacks Backpacks

Zpacks still sews everything in its own facility in West Melbourne, Florida. Joe Valesko started it after sewing his own gear in his apartment for a 2004 Appalachian Trail thru-hike, selling the designs online at night and on weekends before founding the company in 2005; the first employee came in 2010. Its packs are built from UHMWPE laminates such as Ultra 100X, which Zpacks describes as naturally waterproof and free of PFAS and DWR coatings.

The warranty is shorter than its reputation might suggest: Zpacks gives every product a two-year limited warranty against manufacturing, material and design defects, which is shorter than the lifetime coverage some cottage makers offer. Unused packs can come back within 30 days, but anything with sweat or dirt on it cannot.

Two ideas split the range. The framed packs hang on the Arc Frame, a curved carbon-fiber frame that tensions a mesh panel so the pack bows away from your back and sends weight to the hips. Torso height adjusts on the frame instead of coming in fixed sizes, and Zpacks rates the Arc Zip Ultra 62 at 30-35 lbs comfortably and 40 lbs at most. The Arc Haul Ultra 60 is the standard top-loader, the Arc Zip Ultra 62 adds a full-length front zipper, and the Arc Pro 60, launched in 2026, mixes Ultra 100X with lighter Ultra TenX. The frameless Nero Classic 40 and Nero Pro 40 weigh about 11 oz and 12.5 oz and are meant for loads around 20 lbs; the Pro buys a tougher build, not more carrying ability. Women's versions of the Arc Haul, Arc Zip and Nero Classic change the straps and hipbelt, not the pack body.

The Arc packs' ventilation gap is real, and sweat reports drop sharply against foam-backed packs, but the arc takes experimenting to tension: set wrong, it digs into the lower back, so sort it out on a shakedown hike. On the Arc Zip, the long zipper is the least waterproof path into an otherwise seam-taped bag. The Neros need no liner with the roll-top closed, and Ultra 100X on the Nero Classic wears at fold lines when dragged over rock.