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albanberg wrote:Hey man, stop telling people about the gear sales! lol...already too many people show up for those..

The first rule of REI Garage Sale is: don't talk about REI Garage Sale.

Alpinisto wrote:

albanberg wrote:Hey man, stop telling people about the gear sales! lol...already too many people show up for those..

The first rule of REI Garage Sale is: don't talk about REI Garage Sale.

It's funny that my GF often wants to go and I complain, but then I find things about 50 or 60% of the times that I go. But yeah, keep it quiet...sheesh! lol

For me it depends on the mountains involved. I like having a waist belt to put the load on the hips and off of the shoulders, but that requires a really snug waist belt. When the altitude gets up there, the snug waist belt interferes with the heavy breathing I need to do. So, at least for me, at higher altitudes I'd do better with a frameless pack and a loose waist belt.

I've been using the MH Dihedral pack this summer. Its 40 liters and has pockets in all the right spots. Plus a lot of it is Cordura so it is bombproof. It may be heavier than others, but I really enjoy knowing that it is durable. I also got in from Altrec for $62 during a sale they had in May.

Vitaliy M wrote:

zeroforhire wrote:^ Sweet score! Those packs are very under-rated.

Yeah, this weekend I will try to keep it under 25lbs, which would be awesome. When I just started out my pack was about 45lbs.

I got a load of deals at those returned gear sales in REI
4 season 370$ tent for 70$
70$ helmet for 30$
165$ cramons for 50$
70$ ice axe for 25$
100$ climbing shoes for 20$ 2ce
350$ arcteryx AWESOME pants for 80$
300$ REI shuksan hardshell jacket for 75$
120$ north face windbreaker for 20$
200$ REI mars 85L backpack for 30$
and all of it as new...awesome

I've been a member for like 30 yrs. When did I miss out on those?

Anyways, I feel like when pack questions come up, I'm always the one who mentions Wild Things or Cold Cold World. Solid packs and designed for climbing, not just schlepping gear. I've had a couple of Ice Sacs, which have gone trekking in Nepal, 3-5 day light trips in the Sierra, a couple of trips up the Captain (in the haul bag), ice climbing in Lee Vining and Ouray. Not cheap but I've been really happy with them.

While there have been lots of good pack suggestions here, I'd suggest deciding what what your planned applications are (alpine climbing? rock climbing? ski touring? day hiking?...), what size you want, what your spending limit is, and then visit a well stocked and knowledgeable shop and try some on. I wanted a 50 liter pack for alpine and rock climbing last year and had decided in advance that I wanted a BD Predator based on reviews and the fact that several people I knew had them. But when I went into a local mountaineering shop and tried it and some similarly sized packs on with weight inside, I discovered that the Osprey Exposure 50 was more comfortable on me, and bought that instead.

e-doc wrote:

Brad Marshall wrote:Unless you provide more info my only advice would be to get one.

I'm 5-7; ~4-5000 cu" attachments for sharp things, 2 shoulder straps, hip belt

I'm a big fan of Osprey, how about their Aether 70?

http://www.ospreypacks.com/detail.php?p ... escription

You can get one for $194 here:

http://www.theoutfitteratharpersferry.c ... 27s/Detail

Most important thing, of course, is fit. The best pack is the one that fits your back/body (and of course has the features you need for your planned endeavors).

For alpine "stuff" this leads me to the Osprey Variant series which come in S/M/L even in the smallest version of this pack (the "28" liter). I have a really long back and 99.99% of packs in the 30 liter range don't fit my back and are either awkward or uncomfortable when I stuff way too much stuff in them (as is usually necessary when approaching alpine climbs). The Variant 28 fits/carries very well for me (though, to be fair, the size L is larger than the billed 28 liter volume).

Starting in the 45L size, the Cilogear packs fit me well also, and I feel they are competitively priced with other brands that are made off-shore rather than in the U.S. as Cilogear packs are.

Cilogear is kind of like Crossfit though - you get two extremes: kool-aid-drinkers and haters. It's a complete waste of time to argue with either. Flame-on guys!

KevinCraig wrote:Most important thing, of course, is fit. The best pack is the one that fits your back/body (and of course has the features you need for your planned endeavors).

For alpine "stuff" this leads me to the Osprey Variant series which come in S/M/L even in the smallest version of this pack (the "28" liter). I have a really long back and 99.99% of packs in the 30 liter range don't fit my back and are either awkward or uncomfortable when I stuff way too much stuff in them (as is usually necessary when approaching alpine climbs). The Variant 28 fits/carries very well for me (though, to be fair, the size L is larger than the billed 28 liter volume).

Starting in the 45L size, the Cilogear packs fit me well also, and I feel they are competitively priced with other brands that are made off-shore rather than in the U.S. as Cilogear packs are.

Cilogear is kind of line Crossfit though - you get two extremes: kool-aid-drinkers and haters. It's a complete waste of time to argue with either. Flame-on guys!

Can't speak to the Variant but I had some major quality issues with the Mutant. After 6 months the pack shows more signs of wear than my well loved Arc'teryx Khamsin I've used regularly for 6+ years. Osprey told me I'd have to pay to ship it to them and they couldn't guarantee the replacement fabric would be any more rugged than the original.

Really, your 2.5lb pack is less durable than your 4.5lb pack? Go figure. Why did you buy an UL pack?

The Variant are bombproof. Super rugged materials.

I can't speak to the Mutant's quality, but i've used the Variant 28 for alpine for at least a couple of years and their 37 for ice for at least as long and both look nearly new (and one or the other goes out pretty much every weekend day for 8-9 months of the year plus the the obligatory longer road trips).

I have an Osprey Mutant and looks, feels and so far has been pretty bombproof. Its a light simple pack with enough good features to make it versatile but simple enough to be light without using superlight materials. Its about 40-45L.

For single day snow/ice climbs and long weekend BP trips, I like the Marmot 40XT. It weighs just a bit over 3lbs, has a crampon pouch, tool attach points, loads from the top, and is made of tough materials.

For weeklong trips, I prefer the GoLite Quest. It weighs about 3.5 lbs and has about 72 litres max capacity. For multi week expeditions I use my Arcteryx Bora 95. At a shade over 7lbs, it's on the heavy side but it's comfortable and can carry big loads.

Cilogear Dyneema packs are the way to go.