Mountain Hardwear

AMG 105L Backpack

Professional Grade

I had a Kelty 105 before and it performed very well. This backpack is leaps and bounds above it! Enjoyed my first outing with it (5 day). Much better craftsmanship. Fit is amazing and it just makes the trek easier.

Needs a way to get into the middle of the pack

Needs a way to get into the middle of the bottom of the pack. otherwise a very solid pack with fantastic features for big trips. Would have given more stars but the middle pack access was big for me.

Love the pack. My only issue is the lack of access to anything inside the pack except through the top. Better hope you don’t need anything in the middle or the bottom. You gotta take everything out to get to it.

Overall love the pack. Zero side zippers feels like a design miss.

Pretty good but needs some changes

Overall, this pack is well-designed for its use case- long expeditions with lots of gear. It's probably the most popular backpack on Denali. I work as a guide on Denali and throughout the Cascade mountains and used this pack on this year's Denali trip. I have two complaints about the pack that I hope can be addressed: - The hip belt does not tighten small enough for small-waisted people. I am a slender man (5'11", 135lbs, 28" waist) and the belt on the smallest size doesn't get small enough to fit my waist with a heavy load. I know several other guides and climbers with similar physiques that have this same issue, some of whom have modified the pack and some of whom have sold it. This is a big problem for any petite women as well. - The ice axe loops are too short to fit around a technical tool with an adze. A Petzl Sum'Tec with a hammer will just barely fit, but the same axe with an adze will not fit. These loops should be made longer or swapped for dogbone-style axe attachments. The long straps at the bottom of the pack can be used in this case but it would be nice if the intended loops would fit any axe on the market. Otherwise, the pockets are well thought-out and the rest of the design works well for long expeditions. The build quality is excellent. I will likely take my pack to a gear repair shop to modify the hip belt.

Fantastic

Familiarity:

I've used it once or twice and have initial impressions

Size Bought:

105L M

It’s a big tough pack that is built to withstand the style of Use I need. Wonderful pack.

Fully loaded, comfortable haul bag.

Brilliant Expedition Style Haul Bag. For is fantastic and adjustable. Lots of bells and whistles around the bag that make hauling stuff easier. It’s not an ultralight bag, but it is relatively light for how many features there are. Easy 8/10 for me

Guide's review.

This pack is perfect for long expeditions that you have to carry all your gear for a climbing. Comfortable and light strong materials makes it perfect for Aconcagua or Himalayan expedition.

Strap broke in 2

I bought this pack and used it in a 6 day mountaineering course. The inside of the shoulder strap broke in 2. The only thing holding the strap was the outside covering. It was awful. The company was very fast at issuing a refund when I sent back product and they couldn't repair it. It's spacious but the S/M size frame is big and the waist belt does not tie enough for a 30 waist inch female.

Packrafting the High Country

We have a two person pack raft that we frequently day hike with. I have been looking for a large capacity pack so we could take this boat on extended backcountry trips into alpine lakes. I purchased the AMGA 105 and recently completed a seven day, six night trip into the Alpine Lakes Wilderness in Washington State. The pack had the capacity to hold the clothing, food, fuel, pad, sleeping bag, water and a good amount of the group gear for the trip as well as the boat, oars, seats and dry bag. The packs mountaineering specific components, as it turns out, are perfectly adapted for carrying the raft and water gear. The crampon bag was the perfect storage for the paddles blades and water shoes and the ski stash areas were perfect for the graphite paddle handles, fishing, and tent poles. The tope closure with its rope retaining strap made a neat and secure attachment for the boat itself. If there were a pack designed specifically for packrafting it wouldn’t be much different from the AMGA 105. I am 64 years old, 6’ tall and 160lb. The smaller size fit well, had excellent adjustments and is durably made. Starting with 65lbs we covered 32 miles, crawled over and under many logs, ascended and descended talus slopes and spent a lot of time on good trails. This pack handled well on all of terrain.