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I'm looking for a good 75 liter backpack that well work well for most of the north cascade peaks and something that would work well as an expedition pack. I have it narrowed down to 3 packs. The Gregory Baltoro 75, the Gregory Denali 75 and the Mountain Hardwear south col 70. Any info and advise from anyone that has used any of these packs with pros and cons would be very helpful.

dainger365 wrote:I'm looking for a good 75 liter backpack that well work well for most of the north cascade peaks and something that would work well as an expedition pack.

Those are two very different needs that would be best served by two different packs. For the North Cascades you really don't need anything larger than a 45 or 50 liters. I recommend looking at something lightweight yet with a bit of a frame. CRUX AK-47 and AX-50 are really nice, light and durable. I'm impressed with mine. I've also been very well served by Black Diamond packs.

For expedition packs, either of the Gregory packs you mentioned would be fine. I would get whichever model is lighter. I have been very disappointed with the Mountain Hardware packs I have owned. They both fell apart very quickly.

Yes... a 75 L pack that works well locally is a paradox.

Yes... a 75 L pack that works well locally is a paradox.

Seconded.

I have a lowa 90liters apex series. It's great and lightweight, but some of the meshing gets damaged easily by rocks.