This is a question that we often get, and the answer depends on a few variables such as, how many days of food will you typically carry, do you plan on doing long trips at some point, how much water will you need to carry, and how gear intensive are your trips?
The Movement is a great pack for loads of 30lbs or less. I have taken it up to 40lbs quite a bit using the load lifters on the pack to extend the torso length, but I would consider that to be in the upper limits of the Movement’s carrying capacity.
The Long Haul on the other hand can handle 40lbs with ease and can be pushed to 50lbs for short stretches without too much issue.
For most folks I recommend the Movement if most of your loads will be under 30lbs and you are trying to shave off a few extra oz from your baseweight, and the Long Haul if comfort is more of a priority for you.
The main difference between the two packs will be that the Long Haul has real load lifters on it which really helps to distribute the weight between your shoulders and your hips. You'll have much more control of how weight is carried in the Long Haul and be able to play around with the weight distribution more. The Movement has load lifters, but they are not connected to the frame, and act more like torso length adjusters which is nice when you are pushing the pack's upper carrying limits. The Movement will carry more like a pack that doesn't have load lifters though.
Other differences between the Movement and the Long Haul.
The Long Haul is more of a dedicated framed pack and is made to be used with the frame inserted and the hip belt attached pretty much all of the time. The sizing of the Long Haul is more tweakable as you can adjust the torso size up or down on the version with the full wrap/floating hip belt.
The Movement on the other hand is much more modular which is one of its main attributes. It is a great pack to have in your quiver because it can be used as a frameless/hip beltless pack for fast and light trips, or you can insert the frame and hip belt and use it for longer or heavier trips as well. It is an excellent pack to try out if you are interested in going frameless and or hip beltless, but don’t want to buy a dedicated frameless pack. The only real difference between the Movement pack and our frameless Superior packs is the addition of the stay tube which adds about .5oz to the pack.
Still having trouble deciding? Send us over an email at superiorwildernessdesignsllc@gmail.com and we’d be happy to help!
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That was very helpful - thank you. I'd love to see photos of your various backpacks in use, especially showing different approaches to how they are loaded up, and the optional accessories in use.