Vision 40

I bought this pack for a one-day climb of the Keyhole on Longs (off of ebay; used only once, paid $70 for it). I loaded it with about 15lbs of gear and it carried the load very well. I barely noticed the pack when I was squeezing through rocks and pulling third class moves. The mesh Airflow panel really works, as my back never felt hot like it does when I wear other internal frame packs. The large external bellows pocket was really handy for accessing waterbottles and other necessities.

The only downside is that it only has one ice axe loop. I wish Lowe would put a second one so I could use the pack to carry two axes on semi-technical ice routes. But, this pack is geared toward hikers, so you should purchase one of Lowe's more technical packs if you want two ice axe loops.

If you can get this pack cheap, it's a reasonably good deal. It's kind of a strange pack, too heavy to really be a light weight pack and not really beefy enough to carry much of a load. I ended up taking out the plastic/metal stay back sheet and replacing it with a piece of foam. This made it about 1 lb lighter and much more ski/climb friendly. I use it now as a large day pack for winter trips. With the back sheet you could use it as a multi-day pack in the summer if you travel really light. The other caveat is that this is a one size fits all pack that doesn't really have enough adjustments. Looking at dsnell's picture I suspect he's a bit taller than me and this pack may work a lot better for him. For me at 5'7" or so I found the backsheet height to be a problem. It's too stiff and too high for easy climbing and skiing.

It doesn't have a lot of useless straps and the belt and shoulder straps are of pretty good quality. The air cooled back works reasonably well. It makes a pretty good crag pack since it can carry a rope and rack comfortably. It doesn't carry skis particularly well. The pack will stand up to quite a bit of abuse. If you need something slightly beefier than a day pack , but don't need a lot of extra doodads this is a reasonable choice.

BTW, this is a top loading pack, not a panel loader.