I like this pack because you can fit everything you need for killer day in the backcountry. The organization is good and efficient. I always ski with the avalung ready to go in case the crap hits the fan. I feel a little bit safer dropping into hazardous terrain knowing that my avalung could save me if buried by a slide. The avalung also doubles as a snow snorkel when the chin deep snow is clogging your airway!

This pack just arrived today, long story short: I love the concept but it doesn't quite work for me. This was intended to replace a similarly sized Dynafit pack with diagonal carry.

Pros: Avalung, high quality build, lots of features, well organized pockets, seems comfortable, diagonal ski carry is my personal favorite method, securely carries any width ski (I tested with Megawatts and RT-86s), rides low on the shoulders so it doesn't interfere with head range of motion while wearing a helmet. Basically all the strengths of my old pack + avalung.

And now for the critique:

1. The angle on the diagonal ski carry vs. vertical is too large (see photo), so much so that I'd hate to hike through trees while carrying my skis, or boot-packing anything that requires good balance. Even an A-frame carry has a narrower profile, and the whole point of diagonal (imho) is to just have one long thing waving around instead of two, or three in my case ;) but I digress.

2. The skis ride very high while attached to the pack, which makes problem 1 worse and makes you feel lopsided. My bindings are mounted in standard, boot-center position. If you mount your bindings ski-center then this isn't a problem. You can lower them by not cinching up the attachment but then the skis flop around.

3. Sizing... what's with the sizing on all BD packs now? They used to fit me perfectly. I'm 6' 170lbs, climber build, with a 19ish inch torso, why is the M/L way too tall for me? The small is too short as well, but a better fit than the M/L. The S&M thing is funny, but I humbly suggest to BD that the sizes be re-labeled S and L and that you should make a medium size or make your packs adjustable in terms of torso length or both.

In summary, if the carry issues aren't important to you and you fit the narrow torso range of the two sizes, this could really be an awesome pack for you. If you are looking for diagonal ski carry for ski mountaineering or serious backcountry, take a look at Dynafit's packs. If BD changes the carry angle and makes a size M, I'll buy two of them.

I used to own the Black Diamond Covert Winter Pack. The integrated Avalung is definitely a sick tool. This is a great pack to take up if you're planning on doing some hiking or skiing out of bounds, or even for short BC tours. I owned the older 22L pack in a L/XL (6'1, 175), which was a bit small for my taste, but the 32L, or the newer 30L, is a great do it all pack. The ski carry is awesome, adding a lot of stability over other packs I have used, and fits HUDGE skis (my Fatypus Alotta's, 140mm waist with a twin, fit tightly but well). Definitely the go to pack for day trips and sidecountry yoyoing. It even doubles as a summer hike/bike pack!