Crag daypack / will fit under an airplane seat?

MP - 

Looked for a topic, didn't see one. 

BLUF: Traveling internationally for Xmas for climbing and want a pack that fits under the seat in front of me that serves as a daypack for the crag. 

Longer rant: First I have packs coming out of my ears. For cragging in CO I have a giant trango that is basically a big hole that everything and its mom is dumped into (dog water, belay puffy, absurd snacks, 1000000 draws). It fits all and I treat it like garbage. It's huge. For long alpine adventures I have a hyperlight 70L that is awesome. I love it. It won't fit in the seat in front of me (a 40L hyperlite would probably be perfect for what I'm lookin' for but $$$$$$$). I have hunting packs. I have backpacking packs. I have tiny follower packs. I have ski packs. I have avalanche packs. What I don't have is something around ~30-50ishL that could hold shoes/harness/water/snacks/helmet and draws OR a rope that while flying to Southeast Asia could also fit snacks, books, a sketchbook, a sweater. 

Me and the husband are going NO CHECKED BAGS because we have a bunch of regional flights that checking bags would be a PITA (we did this in Greece and it worked great). On the plane the climbing gear/clothing/toiletries will be in a Patagonia Black Hole. In Greece we used the black holes as crag packs and they were kindof annoying. I'd like a real backpack, plus having something for the flight that is a bit more substantial because the flights are long. 

I'm kindof tempted to get a 40L hyperlite (so much money) but then I could use it in place of my CAMP skimo pack during spring ski tours when I don't carry an avy airbag. 

I know you gear slobber-ers have opinions. Spray me down! 

Patagonia Cragsmith. I love mine as a carryon and the 32l fits under a seat. 45l fits overhead.

Micah Hoover wrote:

Patagonia Cragsmith. I love mine as a carryon and the 32l fits under a seat. 45l fits overhead.

Been using my 45L in Europe as a carryon, it's great

Cragsmith is dope and durable.

I prefer the Mountain Hardwear Multipitch 30L, which were sadly discontinued recently, but still readily available on the internet, often on sale. Taken it on several domestic and international flights without issue.

Idk what distribution is like in the US but the Rab rouge is very popular in the uk

DMM flight was made specifically for this purpose. 

Why not just use your hyperlight 70L and dont fill it so it can fit?

Levi X wrote:

Why not just use your hyperlight 70L and dont fill it so it can fit?

Fair point, but it's big and floppy and you know that old adage something something filling space something will fill up the space yadda yadda. Something smaller and more purposeful makes sense plus I like the idea of adding another pack to my collection of 104593 packs. 

I’ve used my Osprey Mutant 38 as my crag pack and airplane carryon a lot.  I usually remove the brain and keep it with me on the flight and put the main pack part in the overhead bin. I’ve fit it under the seat in front of me when there was no overhead space, but it’s not great for a long flight. No legroom at all.  

I got a DMM rope bag as a present, and it's great for chucking gym stuff into or sport cragging but multipitch/trad is pushing it a bit in my experience.

that guy named seb wrote:

Idk what distribution is like in the US but the Rab rouge is very popular in the uk

DMM flight was made specifically for this purpose. 

+1 for DMM flight, like this bag a lot. I thought quality-wise, it'd be more like a Metolius/equivalent rope bag, but it's actually a proper pack w/ some really cool features. Only catch is if OP is planning on doing any multipitching abroad or want to at least reserve the option to. Not sure it's design is conducive to opening it up mid-route at a belay.

OP might also consider a MHW crag wagon 35L, if you can find one on clearance. Guarantee it'll fit under a seat as long as you don't pillow stuff it. I'm kind of a Mtn Hardwear where if you couldn't tell...

I think the consensus here is a 30 - 40L pack. I use a 38L Osprey pack and have never had an issue with it being a carry-on. I tuck it under the seat in front of me, the only caveat being that my feet essentially stand on top of it, so you can’t really ‘stretch out.’ 

I've got an older Dragonfly from Blue Ice.  Wish I had the newer one (ha ha).  Given the price and the current sale, be hard to not consider one of their packs.  Carry well enough.  Small enough options for under the seat.  I've used my 18L version for carrying a rope and rack but its a bit overwhelmed (kinda uncomfy for the weight of the rope/rack load).  Bigger would be better for rope/rack options and they make a couple of bigger options.

Blue Ice has a 25% off deal right now (until 02 December).  "Use code HOLIDAY25 at checkout to get the holiday love."  Everything on the website.

Worth a look.  I ski tour with a Blue Ice pack and it's my carryon for ski trips across the puddle.

that guy named seb wrote:

Idk what distribution is like in the US but the Rab rouge is very popular in the uk

DMM flight was made specifically for this purpose. 

Is that the rouge 40?
I think I can get one of those 

Mark E Dixon wrote:

Is that the rouge 40?
I think I can get one of those 

The 48, one of my partners has one and has zero complaints, from an observers perspective I would like to see a better rope carry system and a way to put a helmet on top.

So in my excitement I went with the MHW multipitch because for all intents and purposes it just looked like a giant hole/cavern which is appealing to me over a bag with lots of compartments and I found one on sale.

That said, I’m second guessing the 30L and lusting after the DMM Flight (could potentially be useful on work trips). 

Mark E Dixon wrote:

Is that the rouge 40?
I think I can get one of those 

It’s called a “Flight 40,” iirc.
   One could easily pack a Blue Ice Squirrel 12 inside of a DMM Flight 40, and thus have a day pack in addition to a nice crag pack 

Anyone like the Mammut Neon? It keeps popping up and it looks like a cool bag but maybe a little bulky for seat-in-front-of-you.