Arc'teryx Silo 18 Backpack - 1098cu in

Niiiice pack. You really appreciate the pack's shape when you are a moving hard and fast -- your arm-swing is not hindered and the balance and center of gravity from the shape (and your smart packing of course) complements forward (especially downhill) momentum. The pack's well engineered shoulder harness and overall light weight means you forget it's behind you. Materials as all Arcteryx are top-notch so no durability concerns. All in all a great pack.

I use this pack for my one-day winter snow shoe outings. It holds all I need and has more space than you would think. I am an idiot and found the extra zipper on the inside about a week after I bougth it. I loved it even more. If your are looking for a summer day pack, go with the Osprey Talon 11 or 22. For winter this is your pack, it holds a shovel and probe stick great and like all Arcteryx stuff it is bomb proof.

Got this with some Christmas money and I have been super pleased with it. Even though it doesn't have a "belt," it does have does have a waist strap. If you cinch it down it stabilizes enough, at least for me. The pockets are well thought out and the straps and back panel are incredibly comfortable. I forget I'm wearing it when descending

Love this pack. Use it for college (with laptop and books inside) as well as snowshoeing, climbing and other outdoor stuff. It works perfectly for all of them. You can attach pretty much anything to the outside in a comfortable way. I think some of the other reviewers have gotten too used to overly cushy, padded packs. I love the simplicity of this one better.

One of the main purposes of a winter pack is carrying skis, even if you are doing a short bootpack, you would move faster if the your pack is comfortable. If you are carrying skis, you need a hipbelt. Arcteryx forgot that even if the pack is 18L small, the skis are still heavy. Bootpacking with skis on a backpack is sooo much more comfoprtable if the pack has a real hipbelt... Without it the straps dig in your shoulders and the whole thing sways from side to side. Not comfortable at all.

I bought this pack after borrowing a friend's for a day-long backcountry ski tour. The pockets are really well designed and the pack is very comfortable. I love the light green fabric on the inside, which makes it very easy to find things without digging around. I also like that it's not a silo - the zipper runs all the way around so it's easy to find what you need. While the hip belt is pretty basic, it is comfortable and does what it needs to. The shoulder straps are also very comfortable. I frequently wear this when I am telemarking at a resort but want to carry equipment for a quick skin up a nearby mountain. It holds the basics (shovel, probe, skins, water, snacks and a few small things like sunscreen and an extra layer) but that's it. If it's a hot day and you want to store the extra layers you wore, you'll have to strap them to the outside. I find this pack very comfortable to ski with, and I ski expert terrain almost exclusively. I have also used it for longer ski tours and it has likewise served me well. I also found it slightly awkward to strap skis to the outside for boot packing it up a mountain. The skis were a bit unsteady and swayed. Possibly I just haven't found the right system yet. My only complaint is that I wish it was slightly bigger. It's always nice to have the option to cinch down extra, unused space than not to have the option at all. I'm sure i"ll use the pack for day hiking trips in the summer too. (And my MacBook pro fits perfectly inside the shovel pocket, as does a hydration system.) Overall, I'm happy with this pack but not raving about it.

This is such a sweeet backpack. It held all my gear, as well as all six of my PBR's......It has plenty of pockets inside and out, for all of my stowables. I highly recommend.