Gearzilla » Backpacks

Columbia Treadlite 16 Day Pack

nborchelt — Mon, 03 Dec 2012 13:00:05 +0000

www.columbia.com
After using this pack for everything from hauling soccer gear to biking to a day-long hike, I can confidently say I’ve found my perfect backpack. The Treadlite comes with 16 liters of storage space—plenty for a full kit of mild-weather hiking (water, layer, food) and around-town functionality. Columbia’s “Omnishield” fabric protects the insides from averse elements, and the elevated mesh back panel kept my back dry and comfortable, even when things got muggy in late-summer testing. The back and shoulder straps have mesh elements carved out of the padding for added cooling—and I didn’t experience any hot spots at the seams, something that was a concern when I first saw the pack. The sternum strap comes with a rescue whistle that’s loud enough to scare your neighbors and stretchy side pockets fit most water bottle. The same mesh is also used in the big kangaroo back pocket, which is great to stash your go-to items, or your wet shell when things dry up. The interior mesh pockets let you store your keys, wallet, and other small stuff you don’t want lose in the main compartment, and I really love the padded zipper pocket on the top of the pack, perfect for safely storing a cell phone, GPS, or sunglasses. I get the feeling that a lot of thought was put in this pack and it really shows.
-Chris Boyle
The model also comes in 16- and 22-liter models

Merrell Daily Brief Shoulder Bag

nborchelt — Wed, 28 Nov 2012 13:00:51 +0000

www.merrell.com
Nicely straddling the world of outdoor needs and urban styling, the Daily Brief has quickly risen to the top ranks of one tester’s massive collection of shoulder bags. Much of that’s due to its slew of features: a smart mixture of both cotton-touch poly and water-resistant waterproof, 200D tarpaline makes it a bag that’s a comfort to use while still standing up to the elements. The bag boasts 20 liters of internal storage, including a Velcro-secured padded laptop sleeve, a separate padded slot for tablets, and almost too many pockets. Indeed, sometimes stuff would just disappear amidst all the sleeve and pocket options. But we do love the zip-secure outer pocket (with three internal sleeves) as well as the elastic side pockets (one with a snap closure), which can fit water bottles, small notebooks, or a backup camera lens. The whole thing rides on a 1.9-inch-wide shoulder strap made of nylon seat belt fabric, with an easy-to-adjust buckle and additional padding at the back. Save the profusion of extra pockets, most of these assets are pretty standard in any urban-friendly satchels, but what really set Merrell’s bag above the rest is the waterproof zipper running the length of the weather-resistant main flap. This gives you near-instant access to the bag’s insides without having to unclip the twin buckles. We could grab our camera, swap lenses, produce our passport, or just check our itinerary with blissful ease. The flap also has a clip for a bike light and webbing lashes that fit a U-Lock, but we’d likely forgo the external lashing of the lock as it made the bag a bit top-heavy on longer commutes.

Our Annual Gift Guide

nborchelt — Fri, 23 Nov 2012 13:00:40 +0000

It’s that time of year again, when we scour the stores (virtual or otherwise) in search of that perfect gift for that special someone–as well as all the others on our lists. And, of course, to find ideas for our own lists as well. Gearzilla is here to help, with our annual Gift Guide, with everything from gear picks from JT Holmes and stuff to fend off the zombie apocalypse to seven gifts that cost less than $25 and a handful of products you don’t need–but will definitely want.

We’ll also continue to profile five great products a week leading up to New Years, along with other gear round-ups, all in an effort to make your holiday season a little bit easier, more joyful, and more fun (indoors and out).

Crumpler Headaitch Shoulder Bag

nborchelt — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 13:01:37 +0000

www.crumpler.com
For us, sometimes the best measure of a bag’s usefulness is how quickly someone else swipes it from our testers and makes it their own—which is precisely what happened when the Headaitch entered our testing rotation. What was supposed to be two weeks of hearty use become four months as one girlfriend made it her go-to hauler for just about everything (gym clothes, work documents, grocery shopping, travel carry-on, wine hauler, overnight bag—to list but a few). Look at the bag and you’ll understand why. Constructed of 900D nylon on the outside, with a reinforced 1,000D base and a 150D ripstop lining, the bag can take some serious punishment, from rough handling to rougher weather. We tested out the small size, which offers an ample ten liters of storage, secured by a full zipper (a feature not often found in smaller totes), and supported by two wide shoulder straps to carry the weight. Inside, deep, Velcro-fastened pockets and a full-width zipper pocket are perfect for stuff you want to keep separate from the bag’s cavernous center. And Crumpler’s aesthetic lets you punch up the color with fun patterns, or go for the conservative urban black. We say go bright.
Tested size small; medium size has 17 liters of storage for $70.

Camelbak M.U.L.E. NV Hydration Pack

nborchelt — Mon, 29 Oct 2012 12:00:45 +0000

www.camelbak.com, 1.9 pounds
The trouble with traditional water bottle holders on the bike frame is that, unless you have the hands of David Copperfield, there’s always that split second when one hand—and all of your attention—is diverted from the road to the bottle. Wearing a hydration backpack lets you drink while you ride without ever taking your hands off the handlebars or losing your focus on the path ahead. We didn’t’ think the original M.U.L.E. pack could be improved, but the new NV back panel provides independent articulating pods that move with you as you pedal. The result? A fully vented back panel that keeps the load off your back, in any position we could come up with. The pack is designed for long (three-plus hours) rides. Inside, the bladder carries 100 ounces of your preferred beverage, with 560 cubic inches of storage space for a light jacket, wallet, energy bars, and keys. A removable hip belt provides stability, and the one-inch webbing is so light, you won’t notice it’s there. We love the media pocket with wire channels, as well as the stretch front pocket that easily fits a helmet or puffy. We found that the pack fit torso lengths from about 15 to 17 inches, so if you’re long from the hips to shoulders, this isn’t the right pack for you.

Tested In:

Good For: Biking, Skiing, Snowshoeing, Hiking

Sierra Designs Rohn 15 Backpack

nborchelt — Wed, 03 Oct 2012 12:00:48 +0000

www.sierradesigns.com, one pound, 13 ounces
Backpacks have a simple mission: To carry your stuff, comfortably, in stable fashion, with no more weight than you need. For day packs, that should be easy; but most are heavy on doodads, and too unstable for sports like trail running or skiing.

Not so this deceptively sleek 15-liter panel loader, built atop a plastic back panel covered with large foam and mesh bumps. The back panel, along with a wide, soft waist belt, makes the Rohn very stable, even on bouncy trail runs with a partial load and a full 100-ounce bladder. It hugged our backs without getting super sweaty, even with southwest monsoon humidity on 100-degree day hikes, thanks to huge air channels. “The die-cut shoulder straps were wide enough to be comfortable even when I was hauling 20 pounds of water, ropes, and carabiners into tight slot canyons,” one tester noted.

Useful features included mesh bottle-wand pockets; internal pockets and sleeves for bike pumps or avalanche probes; a single outside pocket large enough for goggles, with a key clip inside; twin hip belt pockets sized to hold smart phones, GPSunits, or four energy bar apiece; an internal compression system for the hydration pocket that could be tightened via a cordlock on the right hip, bike light attachment points, and a removable bungee net on the pack front to help augment capacity.

The packs’ bullet shape stayed out of our way on diagonal stride cross-country skiing and chairlift rides. Its combination of simplicity, stability and all-around utility has made it the go-to day hauler for our primary tester since he began using it in March of 2012.
-Steve Howe

Osprey Hornet 32 Backpack

nborchelt — Fri, 28 Sep 2012 12:00:49 +0000

www.ospreypacks.com, one pound, five ounces
We love light comfortable packs in the 30-liter range, because the size is ideal for clothing- or gear-laden day trips, and just big enough for hut trips and ultralight overnights. Osprey’s Hornet 32 (the middle of three sizes in their Hornet series) fits those criteria perfectly, staying light and easy to load, yet not scrimping on the features that fastpackers and ultralighters appreciate. It has twin hipbelt pockets, energy gel/iPod/sunscreen pockets on both shoulder straps, and a mesh shove-it pocket on the front.

The single compartment top-loading backpack, and a two-compartment top pocket, maximize space while providing just enough organization to avoid chaos. A large hydration sleeve, located between the packbag and foam back panel, can be easily refilled with the pack loaded, or take a folded foam pad for bivvy use and increased load support.

The Hornet really shined during a three-day round trip to climb the northeast ridge of 14,130-foot Capitol Peak in Colorado. “It was light and flexible enough to fold into my 45-liter load-carrying pack for the approach,” that tester wrote. “Then it carried ropes, technical, clothes, and helmet comfortably for 2,000 feet to the technical section.” Once he collapsed it down using the narrow side compression straps, he “barely knew it was there, during all the knife-edge straddling and scrambling. It hugged my back like a scared koala.”

The Hornet was also serviceable, if a bit flappy and strappy, for trail runs and mountain bike rides, and carried a 20-pound overnight load just fine for quick desert overnights. It’s not very rain-resistant, but it’s close to an ideal one-quiver pack for hikers, ultralighters and peak-baggers, as long as you keep loads under 30 pounds, because back panel support and shoulder strap comfort degenerate quickly beyond that.
-Steve Howe

Mission Workshops R6 Arkiv Field Backpack

nborchelt — Wed, 26 Sep 2012 12:00:20 +0000

missionworkshop.com
We became big fans of the Mission Workshop bags when we tested out their Sanction Backpack (which is still meeting our high standards), but the R6 Arkiv really hits the sweet spot. This backpack is built around a modular system that lets you add on various weatherproof bags to boost your carrying capacity. The system is anchored around a main backpack, and comes in two sizes: small (1,200 cubic inches) and large (2,200 cubic inches). Then you select from eight individually-priced accessories, which run the gamut from a laptop case ($86), to an utility cell pocket ($28), to a vertical roll-top or zippered pocket ($48 and $52, respectively). You can add a waist belt ($34) or a messenger bag shoulder-strap ($24). Each component attaches to the main packbag via a clever rail system; you slide the accessories onto the pack and secure them with a narrow Velcro strap. The main packbag has six rails anchored by highly durable steel, allowing for a variety of configurations. The backpack itself—like all the accessories—is made of waterproof, durable Cordura fabric with a roll-down top flap and a burly, secure buckle. We love the Folio addition ($68), which includes two zippered pockets, pen slots, space to hold a U-lock, and two more rails for more add-ons like the tool pocket ($58). The R6 also makes for a versatile carry-on; after boarding the plane, just slide off the laptop or folio attachments (pre-loaded with all your in-flight essentials) and the stash the big pack in the overhead without exceeding the max limits for carry-ons. As you’d expect, the pack weighs more than a traditional backpack. But that’s a minor drawback considering the bag can be custom dialed to fit your needs in pretty much every scenario.
For even greater waterproofness and style, add $30 for the waxed canvas version of the packbag.

Osprey to Update Their Water Reservoir and Release New Hydration Packs

nborchelt — Fri, 07 Sep 2012 12:00:43 +0000

Just when we think that you can’t improve on something, Osprey announces a cache of significant enhancements to their existing hydration reservoir—already one of the best on the market. As with the current models, the new bladders will retain the rigid plastic strip that makes it easy to grasp and refill, and allows the bladder to keep its form when it’s empty. The new design will also have a BPA- and PVC-free film that’s resilient and tasteless, a three-quarter turn cap for faster and more secure access, and a direct-welded plate to provide a wide, low profile. The hose diameter has been expanded to a quarter-inch for faster water flow, a countered back plate will improve on-trail comfort, and all models will include a magnetic bite valve that attaches to the Osprey pack’s sternum strap.

This spring Osprey will also unveil two new women-specific packs and update the women’s Verve and the men’s Manta, Raptor, and Viper packs. We’re particularly intrigued by the new Raven pack, the femme equivalent to the mountain bike-specific Raptor. Tailored to a woman’s body it’ll have a breathable back panel, a flexible harness and hip belt, a three-liter reservoir, their signature helmet strap, and a massive kangaroo pouch for layers. It’ll come in three sizes, starting at $109.
The packs and new reservoir will be ready this spring.

Outdoor Retailer: The North Face Preview

nborchelt — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 17:00:48 +0000

The Verto Micro Hoodie, Pro Jacket, and the Satellite Pants, Part of the Verto Climbing Kit

Deciding what to wear in (and what to buy for) the mountainous backcountry will get a lot easier in spring 2013 thanks to the new Verto Climbing Kit from The North Face. This four-piece apparel set up delivers pretty much all the clothes you need for an alpine adventure in a ridiculously lightweight package. Start with the Litho t-shirt ($80), an all-merino base layer with a mid-rib zipper pocket. From there, toss on the Verto Micro Hoodie ($249), a featherweight down jacket with 800-fill goose down, strategic use of stretch, and Flashdry water protection. Then don the Verto Pro Jacket ($199) for Gore Windstopper protection against the elements and a pair of the soft shell Satellite Pants ($130), and you’ve got a go-to kit that collectively weighs in at less than two pounds.TNF athletes have been putting this combo to the test and we anticipate this to be one of the best-dialed alpine solutions on the market.

The North Face will also continue to refine their line of trail running products, including the Better Than Naked line of high-performance apparel for men and women, and new shoes like the Hyper-Track Guide ($120), a highly responsive runner designed to perform equally well on both the trail and the pavement.

They will also introduce a new Optifit harnessing system in their backpack line, said to greatly enhance both ventilation and load control. The Matthes Crest and Conness pack series will both boast this new technology, with a variety of custom-fit options in various sizes. We’ve got one of these new packs in the field right now, and we’ll report back on how well it performs shortly. Stay tuned for additional The North Face product reviews over the coming months.