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I took the Rab Muon 50 litre pack on a short backpacking trip to Scotland, grabbing 10 Munros in the process, new for Spring 2024 this was the first time I’d carried it. I was carrying about 11 kilos all in, so was travelling pretty light.

The first thing to note is that a weight of 1062 grams for the men’s and 1036 grams for the women’s pack is pretty good. We always say a kilogram for a full framed, fully featured backpacking rucksack is spot on, and although the Muon is only 50 litres it fits the bill.

I was very impressed with the fabric strength at this weight, it doesn’t feel like it's going to let you down, although the side mounted stretch mesh pockets look like a longer-term weak area, more on those later.

Harness

The Muon only comes in one size, so it’s worth knowing or measuring your back-length to make sure this is a contender. Rab refers to it as Medium which is 19”/48cm, they don’t specify a range of back lengths that it is designed for, which is more usual, however in my experience, this is likely to be ok if you are within 4cm/1.5” or so of this length.

The frame is a shaped aluminium tube that supports the load extremely well and transfers the weight to the hip belt very effectively. The back-panel has moderate padding, but I think it’s the hip-belt which provides the key to the carry, it has only moderate padding but is very deep, this style hugs your hips very well and is really comfortable. At the rear of the hip-belt there is a substantial lumbar pad which also helps centre the weight on the hips.

Rab have gone for a running pack style shoulder strap arrangement which I don’t like, the straps are wide with minimal padding and a stretch mesh pocket on each one. This is ok as far as it goes, especially as you will be supporting the load on your hips, but the running harness-style chest strap arrangement drove me up the wall. I’m used to my backpacking rucksacks having a simple quick-release buckle webbing chest strap, but this 2-way cord arrangement is too fiddly, you have to suffer 4 cords across your chest in order to use it, to me there’s no need unless I’m actually running I don’t need that kind of stability.

After getting that off my chest (see what I did there?) I have to say I found the whole carry very comfortable and the chest straps wouldn’t necessarily stop me from using this pack again.

Features

Pockets

One of the main features is the large side pockets which are a mixture of mesh and fabric, they are large, well-designed and relatively easy to access when you have the pack on your back. My only criticism is that the pack lacks hip-belt pockets, so I ended up storing small items such as my compass in one of these pockets, add to it an ultralight shell jacket and there’s a danger that when you reach around to pull the jacket out, you inadvertently drop the compass, unnoticed.

In fairness, Rab probably thought you don’t need a hip belt pockets as the shoulder strap pockets fulfil this function, and they are quite large, however I’m not a big fan of shoulder strap pockets and will only use them for small lightweight items.

But… those pockets are good.

There’s also a big pocket on the outside of the pack, again a mix of mesh and fabric, which is ideal for a wet tent etc…

Cord storage and Compression

There’s a cord section on the base of the pack which doubles as lower compression straps, although I rarely compress my packs anyway so am less interested in that function, however I can see it being really useful for a roll mat if that’s part of your sleep system.

Daisy Chain

I also like the daisy chains that can be used for attaching stuff to the pack, I can see easy ways to attach trekking poles, solar panels, yesterday's washing (for drying) etc. I’d recommend you pack some S-Biners as you will definitely use them to hang something on this rucksack during a multi-day hike.

Lid

The Muon 50 has a removable lid with two pockets, one internal and one external (this is not the case for the Muon 40 which is a roll top), if you do remove it there’s a tiny triangular flap to keep the rain out of the drawcord top.

Personally I like a lid with pockets as it helps keep me organised on a long trip, for me, it's worth carrying the extra weight. Overall, I think it makes for a better closure too, depending on how much is in the pack that small triangle may not keep the water out.

In Summary

The Muon 50 is a great backpacking rucksack, very comfortable for lighter loads (not tried it with heavy) and looks and feels pretty durable for an ultralight pack. Features are great with just a couple of niggles from me, which may be fine for other people – we’re all different!

Mark Richardson
Mark was the founder of Ultralight Outdoor Gear back in 2006 and has completed long distance backpacking routes in some of the remotest parts of the world. His favourite hikes have been Torres del Paine (full circuit), the John Muir trail and the Markha Valley trail (Ladakh, India). Although semi-retired Mark has not lost any enthusiasm for minimalist backpacking and is tackling Scotland’s Munros choosing multi-day backpacking routes over the more usual guide book excursions. Read more from Mark Richardson