Buying advice for alpine packs?
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MP Community -
Any buying advice, resources, or pack recommendations would be much appreciated. If you need more info. on my situation, let me know. Cheers, Cotton |
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Buy the best at the beginning and you'll only have to buy once (until it wears out of course). Go Cilogear |
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Montana is a great place to be if you are getting into the alpine world! I would check out CiloGear packs. If you are thinking day trips go with a 30L, if you thinking 1-5 days I would look at the 45L. I have the 45L and it is one of my favorite pieces of gear. It has held up very well to a lot of use and abuse in rock/ice/alpine/backpacking. |
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I have posted this before... |
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would agree, if you are buying one pack to do everything cilogear.com/45lws.html |
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ospreypacks.com/Packs/Mutan…
This is my favorite of late. Lightweight, versatile, compresses down, enough room for gear and bivy, carries well. Price is right. My only complaint is the older school ice tool attachments don't work well with my newer school leashless tools (no hammer or adze). That doesn't sound like an issue for you. The video gives you a good idea of what it can do. PT |
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I had a bad experience with my backpack (Osprey exposure 42) where the suspension system would interfere with my helmet and make it hard to look up if I was bent over. Check fit with a helmet on. |
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I'm a fan of Black Diamond packs. |
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I have a Cilo 60Liter and can compress it down to a summit pack but also make it hold 60 Liters. Extremely good pack and built for alpine climbing. |
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bearded sam wrote:would agree, if you are buying one pack to do everything cilogear.com/45lws.html read through all this for the details wiki.cilogear.biz/index.php… I own the 30 and the 45 and use them both a ton, and am going to sell my Arcteryx Bora to buy a Cilo 75 for my big pack. I would be glad to answer any other questions you might have. Feel free to send an email to strikersam at juno dot comBS, have you seen any reviews of the Cilo 75? I have seen reviews of the smaller packs but not the 75. I am particularly interested in how they beefed up the suspension from the smaller packs and how comfortable it is for big loads. |
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Steve Williams wrote:I'm a fan of Black Diamond packs. Light, heavy duty, and built well.Agreed. Love my Speed and am happy with the Quantum. |
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Extreme Alpinism (Mark Twight) has some good general advice on what to look for when buying a pack for alpine climbing. The models he lists are out of date, but the advice on what to look for is still relevant. |
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I've had a cold cold world (CCW) Valdez 2400cu. in. for about thirteen years and the thing still has a lot of life even though it has completely faded from purple to blue. My favorite pack ever |
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I've used Wild Things, Cilo and CCW. |
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Going cheap on something that is going to be on your back for up to a full day is well not worth even going into. |
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Graham Johnson wrote:Extreme Alpinism (Mark Twight) has some good general advice on what to look for when buying a pack for alpine climbing. The models he lists are out of date, but the advice on what to look for is still relevant. While Cilogear ticks a lot of boxes for features, I've had multiple bad experiences with the packs themselves. I've had good experiences with Arcteryx, BD, Gregory, MEC and I'm looking forward to a new CCW pack. some things to look for: removable bivy pad, removable frame, ability to strap crampons to the outside, a good way to carry two tools. Rope strap under the lid, pocket for a hydration bladder and a port, nice high collar around the opening, removable lid, overall weight, compressability if you're going to be actually climbing with it... etc. hope that helpsMountain hardwear makes a great pack with all of these features. I've taken the south col on month long backpack climbing trips loaded with food for weeks, tent, rack and rope etc. It is an awesome pack and not too expensive. |
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That Cilogear 45 sounds pretty awesome, how you can expand it to be bigger. Really that would be a do-it-all pack and all you would need. It kind of sucks shopping for packs because (at least with me) durability and comfort are the two most important factors, and you can't test either of those out very well before you buy it. You find out 10 miles into a trip how comfortable it is, and you find out about durability after a few hundred miles. I got lucky with my overnight pack. It fits me really well and is still comfortable after 15+ miles of hard terrain. |
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CCW. Just do a search and you hardly see any complains. While other brands make good packs, but most aren't as durable, comfortable or climbable as CCW. |
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I have Cilo 20,30,45, and 60l packs. I have used them all heavily. A few durability issues: I have ripped they body of the 20l in a chimney, and the 30l from carrying skis. I have ripped out one of the straps that is sewn to the 60l lid and goes to the body of the pack. Most problematically, I ripped out the haul loop of the 30l but not while climbing. Fortunately, I have a seamstress who does good work in exchange for wine and beer so I haven't had to send any of my packs to Cilo. |
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"Extreme Alpinism (Mark Twight) has some good general advice on what to look for when buying a pack for alpine climbing. The models he lists are out of date, but the advice on what to look for is still relevant.
...some things to look for: removable bivy pad, removable frame, ability to strap crampons to the outside, a good way to carry two tools. Rope strap under the lid, pocket for a hydration bladder and a port, nice high collar around the opening, removable lid, overall weight, compressability if you're going to be actually climbing with it... etc. hope that helps" This pack will do it. alpinist.com/doc/web05-06/m… mountainproject.com/v/fs-ar… So if you're looking to save money, PM me an offer, I'd rather somebody used it than let it sit in my basement, and I can't be bothered to post it on flea-bay. |
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-sp wrote:"Extreme Alpinism (Mark Twight) has some good general advice on what to look for when buying a pack for alpine climbing. The models he lists are out of date, but the advice on what to look for is still relevant. ...some things to look for: removable bivy pad, removable frame, ability to strap crampons to the outside, a good way to carry two tools. Rope strap under the lid, pocket for a hydration bladder and a port, nice high collar around the opening, removable lid, overall weight, compressability if you're going to be actually climbing with it... etc. hope that helps" This pack will do it. alpinist.com/doc/web05-06/m… mountainproject.com/v/fs-ar… So if you're looking to save money, PM me an offer, I'd rather somebody used it than let it sit in my basement, and I can't be bothered to post it on flea-bay.I climbed with the Nozone for several years, as have friends. Pretty sure they don't make it anymore and honestly, though it could carry huge loads well, it's a pretty dated and heavy design given the offerings from Cilo, CCW, Osprey (I currently use the Variant series) and others. Honestly though as others have said, it's mainly what fits you best and has the features that you want/need. |