Suggestions for a 20-30L technical/alpine pack

[headwerkn]

Hi all,

Wondering if folks could suggest options for a not-too-heavy, not-too-fragile, reasonably water resistant day/overnight pack of approximately 20-30L capacity that's suited to alpine/technical climbing eg. can easily carry some combination of skis, poles, snow shoes, ice axes, crampons, ropes, climbing gear etc. as well as all the usual stuff... and with front 500mL bottle pockets and decent hip belt pockets? Basically the love child between a technical alpining pack and a trail running vestpack :-p

At present I rock a Salomon S-Lab Peak 20 vestpack which is great for a basic overnight fastpack fishing trip, but is really limited for carrying extra winter or climbing gear, and the harness system isn't so great when you're taking it on and off all the time.

Essentially what I want is the Salomon X-Alp 23, though I've been informed this is no longer available except from a couple of European outlets that won't sell outside of their markets.

Any ideas? There doesn't seem much on the market that combines all its features... not from any of the major known players anyway.... really only the UD FastPack 25 though that lacks much in the way of back rigging/tie down options and the build is quite delicate. I'm almost thinking it'd be easier to go a Black Diamond Speed/Blitz or Patagonia Ascensionist and replace the harness with something of my own design.

Cheers, Ben.

[wildwanderer]

Could try hmg packs.https://www.hyperlitemountaingear.com/collections/packs

Or combine a 20l aarn pack with two small chest balancing pockets for the water.
https://www.aarnpacks.com/products/little-llama-20-24

[wayno]

look at the Lowe Alpine brand

[headwerkn]

Could try hmg packs.https://www.hyperlitemountaingear.com/collections/packs
Or combine a 20l aarn pack with two small chest balancing pockets for the water.
https://www.aarnpacks.com/products/little-llama-20-24

The HMG's are pure sex but unfortunately well out of my price range. I'd thinking I'd probably want something a little more durable (eg. not dyneema) for regular scrub bashing and whatnot.

Not a fan of AARNs I'm afraid. My girlfriend has one and it's been a huge disappointment to say the least, given their reputation. Can't get it to fit/ride right and the front pocket system makes less sense in practice than it does on paper. Just my/our opinion though.

look at the Lowe Alpine brand

The Aeon and AirZone look like they could suit with some extra front pockets - thanks!

[Petew]

Check out Atom Packs from the UK. Not cheap but made to order and highly customisable in a variety of materials. He has made one off specialist Alpine packs before.

[headwerkn]

Check out Atom Packs from the UK. Not cheap but made to order and highly customisable in a variety of materials. He has made one off specialist Alpine packs before.

Have to admit, they do look awesome and tick all the boxes. Food for thought.

[Scooters]

I had the Salomon Out Peak 20 but sadly the bottle mesh pockets were so fragile ended up falling apart. This might suit your needs, bit of a bargain: https://barefootinc.com.au/shop/by-cate ... 35l-black/

[wayno]

salomon packs are made for running , not made for bush bashing or scraping against rock..

[headwerkn]

I've actually found the S-Lab Peak 20 has held up surprisingly well for a <500gm running-focused pack. The actual material itself has proved fairly durable with only one small tear in 2.5 years of use including two Cradle Runs, one UTA100, a number of 30-40km fastpacks fully loaded and numerous day hikes. Unfortunately what makes it great for running is its Achilles Heel as a hiking bag... the harness system is just too futzy taking on and off all the time especially with multiple layers on, and it's snag prone when pushing through thick scrub. It's also crap for carrying anything on the outer of the bag, even walking poles which you can't deploy/stow without stopping and taking the pack off... which is pretty stupid given the pack's intended use.

The running vests are definitely a more delicate fabric, though. That said, I think my original ADV 12L is about to turn 5 years old and has only a couple of tear/wear points after god knows how many kays. My girlfriend has a 2019 ADV 12L, which is a much improved design, and uses that as her main day hiking pack. Unless you're doing serious scrub bashing they actually work quite well.

Anyway, current front runner now is the Ortlieb Atrack 25L -> https://www.ortlieb.com/us/atrack
Bit weighty but I love the design concept. Not too many reviews about though.

[Neo]

Very interesting design of that atrack!