Mountainsmith

Why r/BuyItForLife recommends Mountainsmith

7 mentions from real owners

• #1Dec 25, 2025

  Good sling bags for men?

  Mountainsmith. Way better value. Tons of different sizes. I’ve got one about the size of a loaf of bread and one that fits my phone/wallet/keys perfectly.

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• #2Dec 25, 2025

  Good sling bags for men?

  Anything from Tom Bihn or Waterfield Designs (I think both are made in the US) or Mountainsmith (designed in US, made in Vietnam.) I have a grumpy back so the mointainsmith’s ability to move weight to my hips is a huge win  when I need to bring a laptop.

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• #3Nov 4, 2025

  Backpack suggestions?

  Mountainsmith. Cost a bit more, but they rock. Amazing quality and durability. I tend to give my backpacks a lot of very regular hard use, they generally die in about 3-5 years. The one I have from Mountainsmith I've been using and abusing on about a daily basis for over a decade now, and it's still in great shape. They've also got great support. Someone I know got same type of pack as me at same time, and they repeatedly slammed their car door on the waist buckle, until it finally broke. They contacted Mountainsmith, and Mountainsmith sent 'em replacement buckle - no charge at all. And North Face used to be good once-upon-a-time but their service/warranty has all gone to sh\*t, they cover damn near nothing and what they do cover takes bloody forever to fix, so the hell with that, I'm done with North Face, never gonna touch 'em again.

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• #4Mar 8, 2025

  Can't decide on a backpack

  I'd highly recommend Moutainsmith. Best damn backpack I ever bought - still using and abusing it pretty much every dang day. Lasts at least 2x, if not 3x or more, than anything I've ever had before (not even sure how long yet - have yet to wear it out to the point of not being practically usable). And, regardless what the guarantee/warranty is (some, e.g. North Face - quite suck - were really good once upon a time, but not at all in recent decades), I found Mountainsmith's customer service to be superb (partner bought exact same pack, repeatedly slammed car door on buckle until it broke, they contacted Mountainsmith's customer service, Mountainsmith sent replacement buckle free of charge no questions asked). So may cost a fair bit more than other similar-ish packs, but at >>2x the lifetime (and probably 3x or better), well worth the bit more in cost ... not to mention also excellent customer service. As for the others you mention, I'd avoid JanSport - at least in my personal experience, the materials, etc. aren't great or even necessarily good, and they don't wear very well (i.e. wear out relatively/comparatively quickly). I mentioned my thoughts on North Face (I wouldn't touch 'em anymore). As for the others - no personal experience, so suggest on those your own judgement and/or leverage the wisdom/experience of others.

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• #5Mar 1, 2025

  What used to be buy it for life but is now more questionable?

  North Face. Their Guarantee/Warranty/support/repair services used to be excellent. In more recent decades it all went to sh\*t. So, yeah, I won't touch North Face anymore - not worth it. Can buy much better quality that lasts way better from others (e.g. Mountainsmith) at comparable prices. And I also found Mountainsmith's servicing and support to far exceed that of North Face ... yeah, what they actually do is much more important than what they say they'll do. Levis has been hit-and-miss in more recent years/decade(s). If you pick a quality product, and inspect the hell out of it, and all checks out fine, then you're good. Otherwise ... all bets are off. Most notably as they moved all their manufacturing off-shore, though the materials are still good (at least on their quality products), the assembly and inspection ... not so good. So check highly carefully for manufacturing/assembly defects (because the off-shored inspection ain't well doing that). Yeah, I've swapped out fair number of brand new jeans due to manufacturing/assembly defects, e.g. missing belt loop, seam not sewn correctly, button/rivet not properly assembled, etc.

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• #6Feb 3, 2025

  What’s one product you bought that has lasted forever and was totally worth it?

  My mountainsmith world cup is over 20 years old and is my daily driver. They make excellent backpacks and they're customer service is great. 

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• #7Feb 1, 2025

  RIP after almost 20 years of daily use.

  Mountainsmith - my pack is about 13 years old, gets tons of very regular use and abuse, and hardly even shows its wear. It's already lasted about twice as long as any pack I've ever had before it. And beware North Face warranty - decades ago it was great, in more recent years it sucks - they not only exclude damn near everything, they take friggin' forever (well over 30 days) to make any repairs (whereas they used to do it locally and turn it around in days).

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