Thanks Mark!

Both the Windrider and Southwest are excellent packs with a very similar build. The only key difference is their front and side pockets. The Windrider has mesh pockets and the Southwest has solid fabric. Honestly, both designs are great. The main benefit with mesh is that it’s easier to dry out wet gear. The main benefit with the solid fabric is that it’s a bit more durable and looks better in our opinion. We’re partial to the Southwest due to to it’s look and durability. Also, wet gear usually won’t dry out all that much when stuffed into a front mesh pocket anyway. Wet gear usually needs to be spread out to dry. So, that’s our take. Hope that helps!

I really love cuben fiber for tents and it’s also good for backpacks, but it does have some downsides as well. For shelters, the durability seems to be very good, but backpacks get beat up quite a bit more, so durability can be an issue if the cuben fiber is not thick enough. That said, companies like HMG are making excellent backpacks that are very tough made with cuben fiber.

I do think that the biggest benefit of cuben fiber comes in tents and shelters. It’s 100% waterproof – it won’t soak up any water like silnylon and it also won’t sag when it get’s cold and wet like silnylon. So for tents, it’s awesome. Probably the biggest downside to cuben fiber is that it’s far more expensive than silnylon, so means it’s really only available to those who are willing to pay a big price tag, which kinda sucks. I hope the price comes down as more people start to use it in production.

Hope that helps!

Here are my favorite backpacks – https://www.DuskHiker.com/best-backpacking-backpacks/
Here are my favorite tents – https://www.DuskHiker.com/best-tents-backpacking/
Here are my favorite tarps – https://www.DuskHiker.com/tarps-bivy-sacks-ground-sheets/

Albin Hale

Thanks for the comment Dave and best of luck with your new pack! I’m sure you’ll love having 3 less pounds on your back. That’s for sure.