DAKINE Blade Backpack - 1824 cu in - 2005 BCS

This backpack is for big backcountry days. It holds a shovel, probe, spare layers, food, and emergency/survival gear with the perfect amount of adjustment to not have it get in the way on the descent. It’s durable too, I tomahawked down an exposed rock chute after catching an edge, a few scratches but no rips or tears.

This is a very well built backpack. It’s well thought out and designed. It is a large pack best suited for backcountry use. It is big enough to carry extra clothing, food, and survival gear. If you head deep into the wilderness to ski or snowboard and the possibility of an unplanned overnight exists, or you are the type that likes to be prepared for the worst then this is the backpack for you.

If you want a pack to carry your lunch at the resort this is way too much.

Plenty of space to stash a change of clothes and ski gear. As I bought this pack for my husband, it's a comfortable fit for him (he's 5'9"). He especially appreciates the diagonal ski carry straps. Makes carrying our 6 year old's skis easy. The quick release on the ski straps is handy too; I can easily pop the quick release and take the skis off the pack for him.

LOVE the gear.

I like this pack a lot. It holds a lot of gear in all its nifty little compartments. My only complaint, and you don’t see it in the picture, is it has a ton of straps hanging all over it. Be prepared to do some cutting because they get annoying hanging everywhere.

This is a very sophisticated pack design. For a snowboarder like me the back panel access is a godsend, as is the ripstop nylon. I fall on it a lot! However, being 'sophisticated' doesn't necessarily mean it wins me over. Socrates would dismiss the poor arguments of some of his contemporaries as 'sophistry' - a term meaning merely being clever with words. I'd argue that this pack is a little too heavy, weighed down by its many clever features. I sense the pack would lose a lot of weight and only a little functionality by Dakine adopting a more minimal bag design. Smaller componentry could be used for weight shavings too. An Occam’s razor for Pack design is needed!