Black Diamond Pack Durability

I like the BD speed series (and the speed zip), as well as blitz pack. The features and strippability are really sweet, but I've seen a few people comment on being skeptical of the fabric's durability. Anybody have the pack and trash the fabric? How's your experience been? Also, has anybody had experience with fabric warranty claims on BD packs?

i have a speed 30 and fabric durability is definitely a concern.  a while back i spent a day out and at the end of the day the mouth of my water bottle (plastic 1 liter soda bottle) had worn all of the way through and left a big hole. basically from hiking, no chimneying or wallowing or anything like that. i wasnt very happy about that.
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i still use the pack, but i am even more anal than usual (which is pretty anal...) about how i pack it.  i usually bring an extra fleece to wrap gear in, etc.

slim wrote: i have a speed 30 and fabric durability is definitely a concern.  a while back i spent a day out and at the end of the day the mouth of my water bottle (plastic 1 liter soda bottle) had worn all of the way through and left a big hole. basically from hiking, no chimneying or wallowing or anything like that. i wasnt very happy about that.
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i still use the pack, but i am even more anal than usual (which is pretty anal...) about how i pack it.  i usually bring an extra fleece to wrap gear in, etc.

Wow. Did you try to warranty it at all? Getting a hole in a pack in a day from a water bottle seems like far less than "normal wear and tear"

no. i just fixed it with duct tape and shoe goo. by the time you pay for shipping plus not having it for a few weeks.... just seemed more efficient to fix it.

Speeds are good packs. They are reasonably durable for the price but unlikely to be heirloom items like e.g. Cold Cold World. That water bottle thing is crazy, I mean clearly the fabric isn't super burly but that's a bit much. Mine hasn't fallen apart in 2-3 years. The bottom is pretty well reinforced. Most of my use for a 30L pack is in winter, if you're doing big alpine rock routes you might have worse luck in terms of durability. 

I think it’s plenty durable for a 30l. I had a mammut trion light 40l before my bd, and that thing was ridiculous. It got holes on pretty much every trip I took it on. The frame wore a hole in the pack for crying out loud. It was terrible. So I got the bd 30, and it’s met my expectations so far. After a full summer of dragging it around it’s got a couple holes now, but I feel like it’s earned it’s stripes. Duct tape covers them just fine.

I certainly wouldn’t call it overly durable, it is a pretty light pack after all. But no complaints. I’ll buy it again when my current pack bites the dust

I'll counter that and say that mine has been more durable than I've expected. Had it for just over 4 years now, and it's been my go-to pack for just about everything. Originally picked it up to pack up a load of emergency and group gear for leading middle school kids on day hikes for an environmental education program, so it got tossed around and dumped on the ground frequently. It's been up Liberty Bell a couple times, up Mt. Baker three times along with a few other peaks in the area, and I use it regularly for cragging. I've overpacked it to the extreme (shoes, harness, water bottle, guidebook, food, jacket, helmet, full rack, and a rope on top of everything else) and it is a little worn, but no points where the fabric looks ready to give, and I expect to get another 4 years out of it.

Only thing I don't use it for is backcountry skiing - there are reinforced areas around crampon and ice tool carry points, but I feel like ski edges would cut through the side pretty quickly.

For reference this pic represents pretty typical use for me. Remove the brain and load it all the way up (collar fully extended) for the approach, and then cinch it down for the climb once rope, harness, shoes etc are all out. I have yet to find any other 30L pack that holds as much as this thing does.

I've had a couple speed series packs now and one has lasted as my full time duty pack for climbing and ski touring for 3 years and is still going strong. They seems to be more durable than I would expect relative to their weight. I'm totally happy with them. 

I've had one for years and love it, would buy another if this one died. Climbed rock and ice with it, checked it on airplanes, without much issue. I can confirm that they have problems with ski edges, that's the only way I've damaged mine, but the rip hasn't expanded.

I was concerned about the durability issues when I got my Speed 40 a couple of years ago, but after using it as my crag bag for about a year and stuffing it full of double rack, etc. regularly, and not seeing a single hole, I'm more confident about it. I'm still a little concerned about using it for backcountry snowboarding and mountaineering this winter, but we'll see how it goes.

Sweet thanks for the feedback! Anybody have a chance to use and abuse the blitz?

Absolutely shredded a Blitz 20 with "normal" use; the fabric is not tough at all.  Threw about $10 of Gorilla Tape on it and it was good to go again, but if I had to do it over again, I'd reinforce the point where the blue top compression strap gets hooked to the pack before (ab)using the pack.  I'll try to send a picture of what I mean later...

The drawstring on my old Blitz 28 broke the first time I tightened it. I was able to still take it on an overnight class 3 trip, but after the trip it was visibly worn in a few areas. I normally like BD's gear, but I was appalled at the build quality of the pack. If you're super careful with it (evidently I wasn't) and only use it as a summit bag I can see it lasting at least a few years, but I warrantied it and bought an Alpha FL 30, which feels absolutely bulletproof in comparison. 

James Woisard wrote: The drawstring on my old Blitz 28 broke the first time I tightened it. I was able to still take it on an overnight class 3 trip, but after the trip it was visibly worn in a few areas. I normally like BD's gear, but I was appalled at the build quality of the pack. If you're super careful with it (evidently I wasn't) and only use it as a summit bag I can see it lasting at least a few years, but I warrantied it and bought an Alpha FL 30, which feels absolutely bulletproof in comparison. 

James, do you feel like you could do a summer overnight with a super light kit with either the Blitz 28 or the FL 30?  I've heard the FL runs small for a 30L pack, but I'd just want to put rack/water/jacket/tiny sleeping bag/food and a few odds and ends in there...seem reasonable?

I second the draw string issue in the blitz.  Just popped out yesterday while opening during my 2nd use.  You'll see this issue pop up on BDs reviews on their product sure as well.  Poor construction on the drawstring connection point.  I'll likely modify mine when I return home as I love the pack minus this oversight.  Don't expect a new one to behave differently until BD changes the way the string is connected.  

I've had 2 Axis 33s (the previous version of the Speed Zip). I warrantied the first one about 2 months after I started wearing it at Vedauwoo. I'd managed to shred through the padded bottom. Promptly bought a small haulbag and haven't had a problem since.
I still use the second one for ice and ski trips, but I try to avoid brushing it against sharp rocks.

Not mentioned in your discussion but I've got a BD Creek 35 and 20 and they are very durable.

Tricamus wrote: I second the draw string issue in the blitz.  Just popped out yesterday while opening during my 2nd use.  You'll see this issue pop up on BDs reviews on their product sure as well.  Poor construction on the drawstring connection point.  I'll likely modify mine when I return home as I love the pack minus this oversight.  Don't expect a new one to behave differently until BD changes the way the string is connected.  

I had this happen and they replaced my blitz, so far I've had no issues. But, my first one took 6 months of heavy use to fail and this one is only on month 2.

Doug Chism wrote: Not mentioned in your discussion but I've got a BD Creek 35 and 20 and they are very durable.

Haha I have a Creek 35 and I'm pretty sure it'll be around many generations after I'm gone

Mike Dahlquist wrote:

James, do you feel like you could do a summer overnight with a super light kit with either the Blitz 28 or the FL 30?  I've heard the FL runs small for a 30L pack, but I'd just want to put rack/water/jacket/tiny sleeping bag/food and a few odds and ends in there...seem reasonable?

Mike, I think that's totally feasible. The FL 30 is actually a 23+7, which means that the bag has an interior roll top bag that can extend past the drawstring and increase the capacity. I've noticed that the roll top bag is a bit difficult to close when it's near full capacity, and that might explain why some people thought it ran small. Personally, I'm able to fit a down quilt, sleeping pad, first aid kit, food, water filter, and a bivy sack without extending the roll top bag. I have a hard time remembering the Blitz because I only used it once and I tried to forget about it as quickly as possible after I sent it back, but I remember having difficulty putting a similar amount of gear into it. This is probably due to a few changes I've made to my kit since then and the fact that I had to jury rig a way to close the bag, which cut down on space. I hope this helps!

I've hauled my Speed 55 everywhere, cragging,  ski touring, 4 day trips in the Bugs, and everything in between. The general material durability has never been an issue, but I have had a problem with the shoulder strap ripping with intense loads (and poor awareness on my part). The repair was easy. My wife has the Mission, and had a similar but more severe shoulder strap issue and BD replaced the pack without question.