Mile High Mountaineering's Salute Pack - Thoughts?

Hi All,

In my search for a new crag pack I came across MHM, a Colorado-based company (local for me) who's founder went to CU (my Alma-mater) - so I was naturally drawn to them. I'm looking at the Salute, which appears to have some nice features for trad and sport craggers. I'm not into alpine (yet) so the size seems good for my needs; however, it does need to accommodate multi-pitch. Does anyone have any experience with this pack or the brand itself? $200 is steep for a crag bag, considering the tried and true standard is a frill-free pack. Are the cool features of this pack worth the pricetag? Any input is welcome!

Meh: "It's a top-loader. No wait, it's a front- panel loader, or is it a side-panel loader!? The reality is the Salute is an "every-panel loader". "

Sounds misguided to me.

Looks like more of a backpacking pack. Lots of attention has been put into the carry and strapping plus foam padding for comfort. This isn't such a big concern for me when I am looking for a crag pack. Most approaches I do are under 30mins so its not like I am hiking for hours on end and need something soft that fits my body perfectly.

I have had the BD 50 caliber for two years now and could not be happier with it as a crag pack. One of the best parts of the pack is that it is inspired by the haul bag design and stands up even when it isn't full. This makes for easy loading and unloading.

blackdiamondequipment.com/e…

Looks like a good pack that will work for a variety of activities.

I've messed with some of the packs in the "I heart Denver" store downtown and they seem pretty well made. I have a friend who bought a "Flatiron" pack from them a while back and he loves the thing. Just my .02

Tim Zander wrote:Meh: "It's a top-loader. No wait, it's a front- panel loader, or is it a side-panel loader!? The reality is the Salute is an "every-panel loader". " Sounds misguided to me.