Backpack Reviews

The Mammut Trion Norwand 38 is an alpine pack that’s great for winter hiking, mountaineering, climbing, and ski touring. It has a vest-style harness, a rolltop closure with a removable floating lid pocket, dual side-compression straps, side ski straps, dual ice axe/trekking …

The Hyperlite Mountain Gear NorthRim 55 Backpack is an ultralight backpack made with an extremely durable outer fabric called Woven Dyneema that is significantly more abrasion resistant than the Dyneema Fiber/Polyester laminate used to make Hyperlite’s regular ultralight backpacks. While it’s priced …

The Outdoor Vitals CS40 is an ultralight rolltop backpack made with Ultra fabric that weighs 27 oz. It has two pre-curved carbon fiber stays that act as a frame with a removable hipbelt held in place by velcro. While it is made …

The Mystery Ranch In and Out 22L is a lightweight and highly versatile packable day pack. Designed and built to be a fully functioning daypack, this pack is also light enough and packable enough to be your summit pack or “go” pack …

Hyperlite Mountain Gear (HMG) specializes in making rugged multi-sport backpacks and shelters with Dyneema Composite Fabrics. Their distinctive white and black backpacks are quite popular and easy to spot on National Scenic Trails and in the backcountry. One of the things that …

The Hyperlite Mountain Gear Waypoint 35 is a Dyneema DCF daypack designed for rugged adventure hiking, peak bagging, and backpacking with very low-volume ultralight loads. The Waypoint is a classically designed roll-top backpack with a stretch mesh front pocket, side water bottle …

The Zpacks Arc Haul Ultra 60L Backpack is an ultralight, ventilated, and adjustable-length backpack made with Ultra, a woven fabric made from Ultra High Molecular Weight Polyethylene (UHMWPE) fibers that is ultralight, waterproof, and more durable than Dyneema DCF. Weighing 21.7 oz …

The Mystery Ranch Blitz 30 is a great day pack for hiking, work, travel, school, and commuting. It is bomber tough like a lot of Mystery Ranch Packs and has a multitude of functional pockets and PALS (Pouch Attachment Ladder System) attachment …

The Granite Gear Virga3 55L is a frameless ultralight rolltop backpack with an adjustable torso length and adjustable length hipbelt, that’s available in multiple torso ranges, in unisex (men’s) and women’s models. The unisex men’s version reviewed here weighs 26.9 oz with …

The Fjallraven Bergtagen 38 is a waterproof mountaineering backpack that’s designed for winter hiking and climbing with modular components that added or removed depending on your needs. It has wooden frame stays, a lid, and hip belt that can all be removed …

The Mystery Ranch 2-Day Assault Backpack is a 27-liter daypack that’s great for day hikes, travel, school, and more urban endeavors. While it has a potentially off-putting militaristic name, it’s quickly become my go-to pack for overnight trips and plane travel, but …

The Sierra Designs Flex Capacitor is a top-loading backpack with a unique top lid and compression straps on the sides and front that let you modify the pack’s volume or strap bulky gear to the outside. This is complemented by a stiff …

The Osprey Mutant 52 is a winter backpack suitable for four-season overnight hiking, climbing, or backcountry ski trips. It’s the big brother to the Osprey Mutant 38 which I reviewed at the beginning of the winter which has less volume and is …

The KS-Ultralight Gear KS-50 is an ultralight backpack that’s good for thru-hiking and multi-day backpacking trips with a max recommended (comfortable) load of 20 lbs (9kg). When ordering a KS-50 you have the option to customize it in many different ways in …