In 1979, in Colorado, an outdoorsman named Patrick Smith started building packs and gear with a conservation ethic baked in from the start, decades before “sustainability” was a marketing word. Mountainsmith became known for a distinctly practical, value-minded take on outdoor gear, and for one product in particular that quietly conquered trailhead parking lots everywhere: the lumbar pack.
The short version: Mountainsmith, founded 1979 in Colorado, makes practical, affordable outdoor gear, best known for its lumbar (waist) packs, plus tents, backpacks, and camera bags. Buy it for lumbar packs above all, and for solid value gear that does the job without a premium price. It is a workhorse brand with a long conservation streak, not a prestige label.
Where Mountainsmith came from
Patrick Smith built the brand around durable, sensible gear and an early environmental conscience. The Tour lumbar pack became a genuine icon, the pack you wear on your hips for day hikes, photography, and travel, and Mountainsmith rode its practicality to a loyal following. Colorado’s Front Range has always been home.
What they actually make well
Lumbar and waist packs (the Tour is the icon), plus value-priced tents, backpacks, camera bags, and camp gear. It plays in the accessible, get-it-done space alongside Kelty, with a particular grip on the lumbar-pack niche few others take seriously.
Built to last?
Durable, value-focused construction with solid warranty support; these are practical products built to work, not to impress. Mountainsmith has long used recycled materials in parts of its line, consistent with the conservation ethic it started with.
The causes they actually fund
Mountainsmith has a longstanding habit of supporting environmental and outdoor-access causes and using recycled content, a conservation streak that predates the industry trend. For a value brand, its environmental sincerity has been notably consistent.
Where this gear comes from, and where it earns its place
Born on Colorado’s Front Range, at home on day hikes, photo walks, and travels where a hip pack beats a backpack: the moderate, accessible trails across the Trail Atlas, including the day routes in our Colorado Plateau guide.
The honest take
Mountainsmith is not a prestige brand and its gear will not turn heads, and outside the lumbar pack it competes on price more than distinction. But for a genuinely great hip pack and honest value gear from a brand with a real conservation history, it earns a look. Buy the Tour lumbar pack; you will understand the cult.
The lumbar pack that quietly conquered the trailhead, with a conscience from day one. More makers in Brands We Love. Last verified July 2026.