decent pack for travelling light

By Anonymous Ranked #66 - Weekend Packs (3000-4500 cu in) February 14, 2008

First things first, this is a pack designed for light and fast travel. If you are looking for something to use for winter travel, this certainly isn't it - it simply doesn't have the capacity, something I learned the hard way. It will easily fit a sleeping bag, half tent or bivy, inflatable pad, foam pad, extra underwear and food for several days. Once you try to expand that to include crampons, shells, etc you quickly get to the point of explosion and lose the ability to close the top properly which in turn takes away resistance to moisture.

There are very few opportunities for gear placement on the exterior of the bag. The ice axe holders work very well for both axes and trekking poles. There are a couple of gear loops placed very low on the bag ( I would have preferred them higher so that climbing gear wouldn't swing down below my waist), and they so far have been bombproof holding quite a bit of weight. Other than that you have to make the tension straps do all of the work, which is ok for some things and not others. I've gotten them to hold onto snowshoes, but I'm always concerned that I am going to rip them doing that.

The pack is remarkably water resistant when not overfilled, which I was extremely thankful for when I got stuck in some rain - with a trash bag as an additional vapor barrier, none of my gear got wet. Excellent.

Overall I am pleased with the pack, and would recommend it to anyone as long as they recognize the limitations it has.

View Details: Mountain Hardwear Trance Backpack - 3350cu in

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