Gear Review: Cilo Gear Women's Hipbelt

Cilo Gear has been quietly blowing the competition out of the water for years, but their greatest achievement yet could be their women's hip-belt. I've got a 45L work sack, of the second newest design. I was skeptical at first of the single stay design: I've been disappointed before in lightly framed packs. I'd used GoLite packs before, even for a fairly heavy load back in the Bugaboos last fall, and let me tell you, GoLite and Cilo are in different leagues. Cilo uses 2 layers of foam in their shoulder straps, which distribute the load well, and essentially eliminate that burning spot in the middle of the front of your collar bone that you want to amputate 3/4 of the way into the approach. I bent the stay just so, but found that the pack carries plenty well without it for everything but heavy basecamp loads. The structure of the pack comes from a thin and light plastic sheet, as well as a folded over closed cell bivy pad. Loads are supported and held close to the back by straps which the user, not the manufacturer, decide where to place. I'll admit, it took a few trips to get used to, but I can't even imagine going back to to horror of sewn in straps. Then comes the best invention since the internet: the "ninja pocket". What looks like a simple lightweight zipper pocket on the flap that holds the frame and your water bladder into the "orange tube", is just that. And it does its job better than any lid, stuff sack, butler, or even ninja, ever before, COMBINED. In my pack, it holds a hand full of GU, a headlamp, a spare hairband, my car key, and I.D. And to top it all off, they're now making a woman's hipbelt. Skeptical to say the least, I've hated every hipbelt I've tried on. They all feel fine to start, but ten steps up any sort of hill, and without fail they're around my lower rib cage, digging into my lungs. When my Cilo Gear hipbelt came in the mail, I noticed it was radically curved. I had a smidge of hope; maybe if it looked so much different, it might act a bit different. It was thin and light too. Cilo doesn't mess around with pillow thickness padding. You just don't need it. Put great materials in the right shape, and Voila! A hipbelt that stays on your hips, right where you put it to begin with, that takes the load, doesn't chafe your hip bones, and has clipper loops to boot! Winner winner! And, it's easy to remove for days when you'd like easy access to your harness. Easily the best pack I've owned so far. pwn's even the old school Arc'Teryx. They're sewn entirely in house in Portland, OR, too. Two thumbs up to a kick-ass pack.

If you don't mind telling, how big are you (height, torso length) and what size pack did you get? My current pack gets uncomfortable when fully loaded, and I was considering Cilogear as a replacement, but wondered how well it would fit. I wish I could try one on.

Kathy

I'm 5'8", with a 16" inch torso, and generally wear a medium.

Hello! I have been considering a cilo pack as my next gear purchase. I’ve struggled to find a pack that fits well without a belt that slips. My partner loves his cilo packs but he wears a much different size than me so I haven’t been able to really give the pack a test run.
 I struggle with women’s specific clothing and gear as it often is made for curvier shapes. To be blunt, I have the physique of a preteen boy lol. Would you say that the women’s belt is more accommodating to petite or curvy women? Would the generic (men’s belt?) be more suitable for women that are not so curvy?

thanks!