Winter adventure is complex by nature. As the weather gets rougher and less predictable, your gear list grows longer. Meanwhile, margins for error shrink. A good winter pack can keep up with the extra demand without faltering in treacherous terrain. Of course, that’s easier said than done. We sorted through 15 different packs to find ones that actually handle the strain of winter. Here are our top picks.

The Winners at a Glance

• Most Versatile: 5.11 Skyweight 36
• Lightest: Rab Latok 20
• Best All-Around: Exped Impulse 20
• Best °Â´Çłľ±đ˛Ô’s Fit: Gregory °Â´Çłľ±đ˛Ô’s Targhee 24
• Most Durable: Ortovox Peak 42S/45
• Most Adjustable: Granite Gear Virga 3 55

The Reviews: The Best Winter Trail Packs of 2024

Most Versatile: 5.11 Skyweight 36 ($200)

Weight: 2.4 lbs. (S/M)
Size: S/M, L/XL
Pros: Decent durability, cushy hip belt, included rain cover
Cons: No hipbelt pockets, backpanel feels stiff without winter layers on

A pack for all seasons, the Skyweight 36’s combination of weather-resistant materials, light weight, and easy gear access make it just as at home on long hikes as it is traversing snowy slopes. Thanks to an internal perimeter frame, tester Lauren Danilek was able to load her Skyweight with up to 30 pounds on a winter hike along Ridgway, Colorado’s Escarpment Trail. The frame, which is gently curved to mimic the contours of the back, seamlessly transferred the weight from her shoulders to a pair of broad, generously contoured hipbelt wings. “The belt was so dang comfortable, I forgot it was hugging my hips at all,” Danilek lauded.

Testers were overall pleased with the organization. An external shove-it pocket accommodated rain shells, and twin bottle pockets each fit a 48-ounce Nalgene. Gear straps along the base let us affix a sit pad or extra layers, and a full U-zip opens up the pack’s front panel for easy gear access. One drawback: there are no hipelt pockets, though you can purchase chest pouches separately, starting at $20. However, the Skyweight was the only pack in the test to come with a rain fly (200-denier, PU-coated polyester) that easily deflected both melting snow and overhanging tree branches. It’s also neon orange, a nice safety feature.

The rest of the pack, made from 330-denier ripstop nylon, proved equally abrasion-resistant. “I was not able to tear this thing, despite scratching it on desert rocks and trees in Colorado’s McInnis Canyons National Conservation Area,” Danilek says.

Bottom line: An good all-around pack for four-season adventure.

Lightest: Rab Latok 20 ($155)

Weight: 1 lb.
Size: one size
Pros: Lightweight, durable, sway-free in technical terrain
Cons: No avalanche tool pocket

You can take one of two approaches to winter: bring a ton of layers and commit to moving slowly, or pack light and never stop. The Latok 20 facilitates the latter approach, combining a svelte top-loading packbag with a running-style vest to keep essentials at hand. Dual chest pockets fit a phone, lip balm, sunscreen, and a day’s worth of snacks, which meant testers could grind out miles without having to doff the pack. A side zipper gives access to a small valuables pocket, and dual ice ax loops keep tools secure on long approaches. Tester Ryan Irvin appreciated the no-frills floorplan (and resulting light weight) for quick-hit snowboard missions and technical climbing in the Alaskan backcountry—though he missed having an avalanche-tool pocket. The streamlined silhouette also kept the pack close during winter bushwhacks.

“Even smashing through alder thickets and scampering across frozen sections of riverbed, the load felt secure the whole time,” Irvin reported after an ice-climbing mission in Alaska’s Eklutna Canyon. The close-to-back fit meant the pack never wobbled or swayed, even on steep snowboard descents with 20 pounds on board. The Latok owes its outsized load-carrying capacity to its broad shoulder straps, which spread the weight across the chest and shoulders, and simple webbing hipbelt, which adds stability without bulk. A lightweight, pre-curved backpanel helped the pack retain its shape, though testers did experience some barrelling when the Latok was stuffed full. The pack ended the season without any tears, thanks to the 210-denier ripstop Cordura’s superior abrasion resistance. And testers found that the material’s DWR-coating easily shed snow, even on wet spring days.

Bottom line: An ultra-light, weatherproof, alpine-style pack for winter hiking and climbing

Best All-Around: Exped Impulse 20 ($140)

Weight: 1.9 lbs.
Size: one size
Pros: Water-repellent and durable with decent load-carrying capacity
Cons: External organization is lacking

It’s hard to find a burly winter pack at a budget-friendly price, but the Impulse 20 ticks both boxes without skipping a beat. The Impulse’s lightweight, 210-denier HD ripstop nylon lasted a full season of adventure travel and brushy hiking without any signs of wear. (HD indicates a tighter weave, which boosts abrasion resistance.) A PU-carbonate coating kept contents dry—even after tester Rory Brown put it through three hours of steady rain on a hike near Suffolk, England.

Suspension is decent for a pack this size; Brown reported all-day comfort, even loaded with 22 pounds on a 15-mile winter trek along the English coast. Credit goes to rudimentary load lifters and a stiff PE foam board in the backpanel, which helped distribute weight to the lightly padded hipbelt. Both the belt and board are removable—a feature alpine climbers appreciated for weight-savings and harness compatibility.

The pack clamshells open via a front zip. The large zipper pulls are mitt-friendly, though some of the smaller buckles were tough to operate with gloves on. Most testers loved the external stretch-mesh shove-it pocket for gloves and shell layers, but organizational fanatics wished for bigger hipbelt pockets (they each fit lip balm and a couple of granola bars, but no smartphone). An aluminum toggle accommodates a single ice ax, and a small top pocket fits a map, headlamp, and other essentials. Ding: While each stretch-mesh side pocket easily fits a 1-liter bottle, they’re impossible to reach while hiking.

Bottom line: A tough, inexpensive grab-and-go bag for multisport adventure.

Best °Â´Çłľ±đ˛Ô’s Fit: Gregory °Â´Çłľ±đ˛Ô’s Targhee 24 ($180)

Weight: 2.66 lbs.
Size: one size
Pros: Durable, well-organized, ultra-comfy
Cons: Heavy for a daypack

The secret to clocking long days in the backcountry is having a pack that actually fits. And if you’ve got curves, you know men’s packs don’t often cut it. Enter the Targhee 24. The padded belt is angled to contour a wider hip and narrower waist, providing a snug fit around the tops of the iliac crests and distributing up to 20-pound loads across the entire hip girdle. Likewise, the shoulder harness is narrower at the top but curves outward before it hits the armpits, accommodating breasts without any awkward squishing or chafing. Combine that with a high density polyethylene-reinforced backpanel that’s more naturally curved to a woman’s shape—and a lightweight, steel-alloy perimeter frame—and you’ve got a system that transfers weight seamlessly to the hips without swaying, bulging, or barrelling.

The Targhee also holds its own in the durability department. Aluminum ski-carry buckles and ice axe toggles promise to last a lifetime. The main fabric is a 210-denier HD nylon, and the base is reinforced with a 630-denier version—burlier than you’ll find on most winter daypacks. A 1000-denier Cordura front panel provided extra defense against sharp ski edges whenever we rigged them up for diagonal carries. We also appreciated the PFC-free DWR coating, which easily shed the Pacific Northwest’s wet, clumpy snow.

Kelly McNeil, an Oregon-based guide, also praised the Targhee’s organization. A U-shaped zipper flays open the backpanel, which made it easy for McNeil to grab layers during transitions. Pick sleeves and aluminum toggles accommodate dual ice axes, and a deployable helmet net adds storage. A zippered goggle pocket and external avalanche-tool pouch round out the feature set.

Bottom line: A versatile daypack designed specifically for a woman’s shape.

Most Durable: Ortovox Peak 42S/45 ($260)

Weight: 3.5 lbs. (L)
Size: 45L, 42SL
Pros: Durable, weather-resistant, reliable in technical terrain
Cons: Heavy

The Peak 42S/45’s burly, 420-denier recycled ripstop polyamide made it the most durable pack we tested this season: it emerged without holes even after six months of ice climbing, backcountry skiing, and hut-tripping everywhere from Yellowstone National Park to Chamonix. Ice screws never punctured from within, and A-framed skis couldn’t slice the burly outer fabric. The polyamide was also surprisingly waterproof: tester and guide Jeanelle Carpentier reports that it easily deflected heavy, wet snow during a storm in southwest Montana.

The Peak also excelled at load carry. A V-shaped aluminum frame transfers weight to the center of an EVA foam-padded hipbelt. Add an anti-barreling cross-stay and a thin polymer frame sheet, and testers were able to carry up to 30 pounds of overnight gear without discomfort. Fully loaded, the Peak still felt nimble: the pack always rode close to the back, even while testers boot-packed over rocky ribs and carved out steep ski descents in the French Alps.

In that kind of terrain, we were happy to have organizational features that kept gear handy, like the dual hipbelt pockets, which each fit snacks and sunscreen.. “Going over the Col de Labby [in France], even with skis still on the pack, the side-zipper entry allowed me to grab a puffy without taking the Peak off,” one tester reported. Hauling technical equipment was a cinch, too, thanks to a crampon attachment system, ice ax toggles, a helmet net, and an avy tool pocket. Downside: all those features made this the heaviest pack in the test.

Bottom line: A burly option for multiday ski trips and technical winter climbing

Most Adjustable: Granite Gear Virga3 55 ($200)

Weight: 1.7 lbs. (unisex M)
Size: S-L (unisex), S-M (women)
Pros: Lightweight, durable, extremely adjustable
Cons: Not up for heavier winter loads

Ultralight hiking can feel like an exclusive club, but the Virga3 makes it everyone’s game. This pack offers a stunning four inches of torso-length adjustment, 17 inches of hipbelt play, and two torso-width settings. Broad-chested testers appreciated the breathing room, and small-waisted hikers were able to achieve a snug fit, permitting some weight transfer to the hips even without an internal frame. As a result, testers were able to pack the Virga 3 with up to 20 pounds of gear for snowshoeing overnights.

Organization is impressive for a frameless: compression straps let us attach snowshoes, and dual trekking pole loops came in handy on steeps. A dorsal stretch-mesh pocket let testers stash layers (and a bottle of Bailey’s), and dual hipbelt pockets each fit lip balm, a granola bar, and sunscreen. Cinch closures on the roomy lateral pockets were a plus. “I was able to cram those pockets full and feel good about not losing anything bending over,” tester Robin Mino reported after a three-day snowshoe on Colorado’s Barr Trail.

The pack’s mix of 100- and 210-denier nylon proved both durable and water-resistant. Tester Matt Wise took his Virga3 on a rainy trek in Washington’s Illahee Preserve and found the pack’s contents bone-dry upon return. “It held up better than the rain jacket I was wearing,” he said. The same material survived several days of postholing and bushwhacking in Colorado’s Indian Peaks Wilderness without sustaining a single tear.

Bottom line: A capacious hauler for hut-trippers of all sizes.

How to Buy

Winter adventure demands more gear, layers, and calories than three-season outings—which means step one is picking the right pack size. Generally, we recommend choosing a bag that’s 10 to 20 liters larger than your summer day pack. After volume, consider fit. The hipbelt should wrap the tops of your hip bones, and the shoulder straps should just perch atop your shoulders; you should be able to fit two to three fingers between shoulder and strap. Before you commit, we recommend going into your local gear shop and trying on several packs. Load them with your winter gear and wear your winter kit. Check that all zipper pulls and fastenings are operable with gloves on, and make sure you can reach all your essentials on-the-go.

Testing Stats

• Total miles: 325
• Total vertical feet: 53,500
• Coldest temp: -14°F (Yellowstone National Park)
• Hottest temp: 82°F (Grand Canyon National Park)
• Highest elevation: 12,000 (Barr Camp, CO)
• Highest winds: 40 mph (Thompson Pass, AK)
• Heaviest Load: 35 lbs (Mt. Washington, NH)

How We Tested

At şÚÁĎłÔąĎÍř, we hold winter packs to a high bar. In our search for the best, we first called in samples from top pack designers across the Northern Hemisphere. We prioritized models between 20 and 55 liters, with robust suspensions and burly materials capable of handling heavy winter loads across a variety of terrain. Then, we distributed those samples among a dozen winter testers, ranging from international climbing guides to weekend warriors. They spent the season chasing storms and frozen flows as far afield as Alaska, New Hampshire, and the Italian Alps, writing home about all the best—and worst—features they discovered along the way. At the end of the season, any bag with a busted zipper, gaping hole, or thoughtless layout got tossed. Of the packs that remained, we chose these six as our top picks for the full spectrum of winter adventure.

Meet Our Testers

Jeanelle Carpentier () is an Arizona-based trekking guide, expedition leader, and naturalist. She has guided trips everywhere from Nepal to Peru to the Wyoming backcountry and has lived in several countries across the world. When she’s not exploring the world on foot, you can find her paddling a packraft or bike touring across the US.

Kelly McNeil is an international ski guide and a professor of health and human performance at Eastern Oregon University. Rice discovered her love for the outdoors while growing up near Wyoming’s Bighorn Mountains. She now studies ways to use public health protocols in improving avalanche education.

Ryan Irvin () is a snowboarder, carpenter, and professional Christmas-light installer. He learned to snowboard and splitboard while attending college near Mt. Hood, Oregon. After spending more than a decade shredding slopes across the Pacific Northwest, he moved to Anchorage, Alaska, where he’s now working through a new (and ever-growing) list of winter objectives.

The post The Best Winter Trail Packs of 2024 appeared first on şÚÁĎłÔąĎÍř Online.

A solid backpacking pack is the foundational piece of gear for all overnight adventures. Without one, you won’t get much further than your driveway. Without a good one, you might not want to leave that driveway ever again. Here are the year’s very best haulers, guaranteed to keep you comfortable, pain-free, and stoked even under the heaviest loads.

The Winners at a Glance

Editors’ Choice: Osprey Exos/Eja Pro 55L

Lightest: Gossamer Gear Fast Kumo 36L

Best for First-Timers: Gregory Zulu/Jade 43/45L

Best for Long Trails: Outdoor Vitals Shadowlight 45L

Most Weatherproof: ULA Ultra CDT 54L

Best Budget Pick: Decathlon 50+10L MT900 Ultralight / °Â´Çłľ±đ˛Ô’s 45+10L MT900 Ultralight

Best for Big Missions: Blue Ice Stache 60L

Most Versatile: ZPacks Arc Haul Ultra 60L

Biggest: Kelty Glendale 85L

How We Test

Total Miles: 2,950

Total Vertical Feet: 394,000

Coldest Temp: 21°F, Antuco, Chile (Kelly McNeil)

Hottest Temp: 115°F, Escalante Canyon, UT (Jeanelle Carpentier)

Highest Elevation: 14,505 feet, Mt. Whitney Summit (Zettie Shapey)

Highest Winds: 40 mph, Chugach State Park, AK (Diane Van Dommelen)

Heaviest Load: 125 pounds, Chugach National Forest, AK (Lang Van Dommelen)

Longest Water Carry: 14 miles, Clearwater Forest, ID (Jim Pierce)

Gnarliest Bushwack: 9.5 miles of alder and devil’s club in Alaska’s Glacier Creek (Dorn Van Dommelen)

Backpacking packs are among the toughest items to fully test within the course of a season. They’re more complex than apparel, they take longer to show their weak spots than boots, and all the bells and whistles can take dozens of miles to evaluate. That means each pack needs two testers and 50 to 100 miles on the trail at a minimum—all in just a four-month span. Every testing season is a madcap race to drive as many packs into the ground as fast as we possibly can.

Samples usually start trickling into the office in July. From then on, it’s a game of hot potato: we rush to ship them to our hardest-charging testers—as far as Canada, Alaska, and Peru. When one trip ends, the pack flies back to the post office and into the hands of the next tester.

This year, we evaluated 20 total packs. The ones without technical features, load-bearing hip belts, or suspensions appropriate for their carrying capacity, we eliminated from the test. From there we distributed our candidates to 19 testers across eight states and four countries. Those that broke, tore, or left our testers aching were either re-tested or cut from the running. As for those that lightened loads, kept us moving, or made us forget we were wearing packs at all? You’ll find those listed here.

Meet Our Testers

Corey Buhay () started backpacking in college and has been wearing a pack of some kind pretty much ever since. She’s a former Backpacker editor and co-author of the hiking guidebook and is currently based in Boulder, Colorado. She’s been managing the packs category for Backpacker since 2019 and has developed very strong opinions about hipbelt pockets.

Dorn Van Dommelen is the ringleader of a family of gear testers based in Anchorage, Alaska. He’s infamous for his ability to put holes in even the most durable packs via rigorous multiday bushwhacks in the Alaskan backcountry. Van Dommelen is currently a professor of geography and anthropology at the University of Alaska, Anchorage.

Zettie Shapey is a gear tester and climate organizer based in Brooklyn. When we need someone to put serious miles on a pack, this is who we call. This summer, Shapey (trail name “Ziploc”) hiked the entire 2,650-mile Pacific Crest Trail and brought the Shadowlight 45L along for most of it.

The Reviews: The Best Backpacking Packs of 2023

Editor’s Choice: Osprey Exos/Eja Pro 55L ($290)

Weight: 2 lbs (men’s S/M), 1.9 lbs (women’s XS/S)
Size: XS/S and M/L (women’s), S/M and L/XL (men’s)
Pros: Outstanding comfort, breathability, and durability for a pack this light.
Cons: Load-carrying capacity maxes out around 35 lbs

Looking at this pack’s plush hipbelt, tensioned trampoline backpanel, and plentiful pockets, you’d be forgiven for expecting it to weigh twice as much as it does. But that’s the magic of the new Exos/Eja Pro: it’s more comfortable and durable for its weight than any other pack we’ve tested in its category. In other words, it’s the Holy Grail of backpacking packs.

The Pro is composed of 100-denier ripstop nylon reinforced with a 200- denier ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene (UHMWPE)—a stronger-than-steel fiber often used by ultralight cottage brands. The pack’s dorsal pocket is woven with that same blend, rather than the usual stretch mesh, further boosting durability. (Its two elasticized hipbelt pouches and deep lateral water-bottle sleeves still use stretch mesh.) Even after a long season spent section-hiking the Colorado trail and brushing through rocky gaps on peak-bagging missions, the material has yet to see a tear.

The Pro’s 3.5-millimeter spring-steel perimeter frame is lighter than that of many other packs this size, but was still strong enough to support up to 35 pounds on overnights in the Colorado Rockies. Thanks to plush, EVA-foam padding on the hip fins and shoulder harness, we were able to carry that weight without experiencing any soreness (though loads around 45 pounds did leave us with bruised hip bones). The lighter wire provides better torsional flex, which meant the pack moved with us on rocky scrambles and hairy ridge traverses alike. The frame also provides a scaffold for the taut mesh that lines the backpanel, lending support without inhibiting airflow across the back. “[It’s] the most breathable pack I’ve ever tried,” gushed Reid Kalmus, a Colorado-based tester, after a string of 75-degree days in full sun.

Finally, the Pro features a ridiculously user-friendly torso adjustment system: a series of toggles on either side of the backpanel click easily into place with a quick tug, providing four inches of adjustment per pack. That made it easy to find the right fit for both bigger-bodied and thinner testers. “The adjustment system was easy, fast, and intuitive,” notes one beanpole tester, who was able to dial in the fit well enough for sway-free scrambling on third-class terrain.

Bottom Line: A fully-featured multi-day pack designed for the ultralight- and lightweight-curious.

Lightest: Gossamer Gear Fast Kumo 36 ($190)

Weight: 1.26 lbs (S/M)
Size: S/M and M/L (unisex)
Pros: Extremely light and easy to organize
Cons: Fiddly buckles and small pockets

Compact, comfortable, and featherlight, the Kumo 36 is a fastpacker’s dream. The weight savings come from stripping unnecessary features (like long zippers and excessive pockets) and using high-end materials. The pack body and boot are made from polyurethane-coated 70- and 100-denier Robic nylon, respectively, and the fastenings are all downsized to shave even more weight. We loved the Robic nylon, which emerged tear-proof at the end of the season, but found the small buckles fiddly. In lieu of a frame, the Kumo relies on a removable foam back panel which supports up to 25 pounds (and also doubles as a sit pad).

The Kumo’s features are tailored to fastpackers’ needs, from the dual-zippered hipbelt pockets, which were each big enough to fit several granola bars, to the wide, vest-style shoulder straps, which spread loads evenly across the upper body. Thru-hiking testers also appreciated the removable hipbelt, trash stash pocket, and D-rings for lashing foam sleeping pads to the top of the pack. The four chest pockets kept snacks, lip balm, a PLB, sunscreen, and smartphone handy, which made it easy to stay moving and log long miles, reports Emily Watson-Cook, a field biologist who used the Kumo for an 118-mile section of the Pacific Northwest Trail this summer. “I also appreciated how compact and maneuverable the pack was during dense bushwhacks in Eastern Washington,” she adds, noting the svelte, back-hugging silhouette.

Bottom Line: Ideal for seasoned fast-packers and true minimalists

Best for First-Timers: Gregory Zulu/Jade 43/45L ($200)

Weight: 3.68 lbs (men’s S/M), 3.37 lbs (women’s S/M)
Size: S/M and M/L (men’s), XS/S and S/M (women’s)
Pros: Great organization and load-carrying capacity at a reasonable price
Cons: It’s on the heavier side for its volume

If we had to recommend a first backpacking pack from this year’s crop, it would be the Zulu/Jade. It’s unfussy and user-friendly, while providing all the features and capacity a new backpacker needs for their first overnights and weekend trips. The pack’s three entry points make it easy to load in a hurry, and the three exterior pockets are perfect for stuffing tent poles and layers. The capacious main compartment swallows sleeping gear, cookware, and a bear canister—more than we thought possible for a pack of this volume.

Fortunately, the Zulu/Jade’s robust suspension provides a little extra wiggle room for overpackers: it can handle up to 40 pounds of gear without straining. A thick, 4-millimeter steel-alloy perimeter frame provides enough vertical rigidity to transfer those loads to the hipbelt, where a cushy lumbar pad and seamless, wrap-around hip wings spread the weight across the pelvis. “It only seemed to get more comfortable with more weight,” reports Alaska-based tester Diane Van Dommelen, who stuffed her Jade with 30 pounds during a drizzly 12-miler in the Talkeetna Mountains this summer. Her gear stayed dry, thanks to its DWR coating, and safe: the 420-denier nylon and 400-denier recycled polyester emerged with nary a scratch.

Bottom Line: A perfect bag for entry-level backpackers and weekend warriors alike

Best for Long Trails: Outdoor Vitals Shadowlight Ultralight Backpack 45L ($200)

Weight: 1.87 lbs (regular)
Size: short, regular, and tall (unisex)
Pros: All the support of an internal-frame pack at the weight of a frameless
Cons: Fussy pockets and a 35-pound load limit

More supportive and fully featured than many ultralight packs of this volume, the Shadowlight 45 is an ideal pick for thru-hikers who don’t want to sacrifice too much comfort by making the leap to a frameless pack. We sent one on a six-month journey with Pacific Crest Trail thru-hiker Zettie Shapey, who was able to fill the main packbag with 35 pounds of gear—including a bear canister—thanks to the vertical aluminum-alloy stay and a stiff foam backpanel. (She notes that this is the pack’s upper limit; at around 40 pounds, she experienced some upper-back soreness.) Testers also loved the Shadowlight’s capacious hipbelt pockets and bottle pockets, which let us access our snacks, water, and sunscreen without stopping. The two large, stretchy dorsal pockets—which had small tears by the end of Shapey’s six-month journey—were easily bypassed when setting up camp, thanks to a full vertical zipper that opened the pack’s main compartment. Despite extended bushwhacking, the pack’s Robic nylon material—100-denier reinforced with 200-denier UHMWPE on the body and 210/400-denier at the base—suffered no damage.

Bottom Line: A strong contender for thru-hikers looking to minimize both weight and cost

Most Weatherproof: ULA Ultra CDT ($280)

Weight: 1.75 lbs (M torso, M hipbelt)
Size: S-XL torso and XS-XXL hipbelt (unisex)
Pros: Lightweight, durable, nearly waterproof
Cons: Suspension is a little skimpy

Think ultralight packs are flimsy? The Ultra CDT puts that myth to bed. Though the pack weighs in sub-two pounds, its 200- and 400-denier Ultra fabric (an ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene, similar to Dyneema) neatly survived a season of scrapes with willows, pine branches, and granite ridgelines. “I would hear those ominous abrasion sounds when I was squeezing through gaps in the rock, but no holes,” reports gear tester and thru-hiker Robin Mino after a season of hiking in Rocky Mountain National Park. The pack also suffered no leaks: thanks to a waterproof RUV laminate on the Ultra fabric, Mino’s gear stayed dry even during full-on downpours. When the sun came out, she was able to utilize the pack’s dorsal stretch pocket to stash her wet tent fly without worrying about it soaking the rest of the gear.

Other organizational features were equally thoughtful. The removable hipbelt sports generous twin pockets: one fits a day’s worth of snacks, while the other fits bug spray, lip balm, and sunscreen (and, with a little wriggling, an iPhone 11). As for load-carrying capacity, the Ultra CDT performed about average for a frameless pack; Mino was able to pack 25 pounds (including a small bear canister) for long weekends. At that weight, though, she found herself wishing for load-lifters, available from ULA for an additional $50 by custom request.

Bottom Line: Ideal for light-and-fast backpacking trips in rainy or off-trail zones

Best Budget Pick: Decathlon Forclaz MT900 UL 45+10/50+10 ($180)

Weight: 2.87 lbs (men’s), 2.87 lbs (women’s)
Size: one size (men’s), one size (women’s)
Pros: Unbeatable price and well-rounded feature set
Cons: Unwieldy shape and substandard durability

This one won’t break your budget or your back: at under three pounds, it’s one of the lightest packs we tested in this price category, and it can hold its own on the trail, too. Thanks to a rectangular perimeter frame and broad, lightly-padded hipbelt wings, Alaska-based cartographer Puck Van Dommelen was able to carry 30 pounds—pretty standard for lightweight packs—over multiday trips in Chugach State Park without any soreness.

The MT900’s pear-shaped silhouette makes it difficult to fit an Ursack and impossible to fit a bear canister, but its other organizational features won us over. Each roomy water-bottle pocket fits a Nalgene, and a durable fabric dorsal pocket accommodated our rain layers with ease. It’s also one of the few packs in the test that comes with a built-in rain cover. While the MT900’s 100- and 210-denier ripstop polyamide fabrics stood up to several days of casual hiking in Alaska, they were no match for the deep backcountry: On a bushwhack in Prince William Sound, alder and old-growth hemlock managed to tear a few small holes in the pack’s exterior. But hey—for a pack this inexpensive, avoiding heavy bushwhacking is a sacrifice we’re willing to make.

Bottom Line: A budget-friendly pick for longer trips that won’t involve too much wear and tear

Best for Big Missions: Blue Ice Stache 60L ($260)

Weight: 1.81 lbs
Size: one size (unisex)
Pros: Light, low-profile, mountaineering-ready
Cons: Prone to abrasion, only comes in one size

Designed for 8,000-meter peaks, the Stache 60 quickly became the darling for our mountaineering testers this season. The pack’s external features were made for the alpine: dual ice-axe toggles, helmet-holder loops, and compression straps that accommodate an A-frame ski carry. The internal layout, however, is refreshingly simple. The main compartment is big enough to swallow overnight gear, and the reservoir pouch fits either a three-liter bladder or oxygen bottles for high-altitude pursuits. The small toplid fits snacks, a hat, and gloves. Lightly padded hip fins transfer weight without getting in the way of a harness or impeding motion, even on exposed, fourth-class scrambles. Some testers missed having hip pockets, but most appreciated the low-profile waist belt.

The other benefit of the straightforward layout is that it ensures a tight, bullet-shaped silhouette, which hugs the spine and eliminates sway. “I was surprisingly comfortable while moving and scrambling with 45 pounds on board,” reports Seattle-based mountaineer Mickey Silger. (Thank the three-millimeter spring-steel perimeter frame, which provides just enough support for those kinds of loads without adding too much weight.) More of a minimalist? The frame and toplid are both removable, which let us shave the pack to a stunning one pound, five ounces for more weight-conscious objectives. The only ding: the pack’s light weight comes at the expense of durability; at the end of the season, we found a few small nicks in the 210-denier ripstop UHMWPE fabric on the base of the pack after some boulderfield spills and butt scooches.

Bottom Line: A streamlined choice for overnight trips in technical terrain

Most Versatile: Zpacks Arc Haul Ultra 60L ($400)

Weight: 1.3 lbs (M torso and M hipbelt)
Size: S-L torso and XS-XL hipbelt (unisex)
Pros: Light weight, decent breathability, and customizable features
Cons: Price

Whether you need to climb a mountain or ski a couloir, hop on an airplane or hit the trail, the Arc Haul Ultra has the customizable features to match the challenge. The hipbelt and shoulder strap pockets are removable (as is the hipbelt itself), which let testers strip it down for technical mountaineering or beef up the organization for more traditional hikes. Hipbelt and chest pockets (sold separately) are easy to add, and both the backpanel and frame are removable if you need to roll the pack into a suitcase for adventure travel.

The minimalist layout—basically a single huge compartment—made it easy to fit a wide range of gear, from bulky layers to climbing equipment to a full-size bear canister. şÚÁĎłÔąĎÍř traveler and guide Kelly McNeil loaded the Arc Haul Ultra up for mountaineering trips to Chile and Argentina this summer, and found the pack’s carbon-fiber stays (also removable) were rigid enough to provide weight transfer to the hips under 40-pound loads. The stays are also curved to arch away from the back, permitting more airflow than other ultralight packs we tested. The other good news: our sample withstood all its international travels without so much as a scratch to the 100- and 200-denier UHMWPE. “I put that pack through the wringer and it still looks like new,” says McNeil. Biggest bummer: price.

Bottom Line: Our pick for adventure travelers with big mountain plans

Biggest: Kelty Glendale 85L ($260)

Weight: 5.25 lbs
Size: one size (unisex)
Pros: Great load-carrying capacity, breathability, and cushioning
Cons: Only comes in one size and gender

Equal parts brain and brawn, the Glendale 85L has the load-carrying chops to support your heaviest cargo—and a smart layout to keep you organized no matter how much you pack. A J-shaped zip on the main packbag provided quick access to food and layers, and bottom zipper access made setting up camp a breeze. Two enormous hipbelt pockets each fit a smartphone and several snacks, and twin mesh shoulder-strap pockets fit water, sunscreen, and lip balm. Plus, we loved the zippered side pocket for tent poles and other camp gear.

A burly, 5-millimeter, lightbulb-shaped spring-steel frame (supported by a cross-stay just behind the scapulae) stabilizes the top and middle of the load while transferring the force to the center of the lumbar spine. With it, guide testers were able to hump 60-pound loads over the Continental Divide without issue. “Even when I had the pack completely packed to the gills, it still felt balanced,” says Arizona-based trekking guide Samantha Cooke. That meant she was able to move quickly and spot her clients on sections of loose, exposed terrain without worrying about her own pack sway.

The Glendale’s 300- and 600-denier polyester canvas also exceeded expectations on off-trail descents: “I got it snagged on branches and scraped across rocks in Colorado’s East Inlet Valley, but the pack held up great,” Cooke reports. Final gold star: the slight curve to the Glendale’s foam back panel permitted significant airflow, which earned it high marks for breathability. Testers never found themselves swamped out, even when putting down big vertical in full sun. One caveat: the pack only comes in a single size, though it adjusts to fit 17- to 21-inch torsos and 30- to 56-inch waists.

Bottom Line: The best choice for guides, heroic parents, and expedition leaders

How to Buy a Backpacking Pack

Pay no mind to the bells and whistles: here are the features that actually matter.

Capacity

Your first step is to figure out how much capacity (usually measured in liters) you’ll actually need. Target 45 to 50 liters for two-to three-day trips and 55 to 60 liters for half-week excursions. For a week or more, bring out the big guns: at least 65 liters.

Suspension

Next, ensure your pack can handle your expected load. If you’re new to backpacking, look for a wide, well-padded hip belt and an internal frame, which adds support and stability. Frameless packs come with a learning curve, so it’s usually best to save the minimalist designs for later in your backpacking career.

Fit

Before you buy, try on as many packs as possible. If you don’t know your size, get a professional fitting at your local gear shop first. Then, load each pack with your maximum expected weight (many local gear shops have sandbags on hand for just this purpose) and carry it around the store. The hip fins should wrap your iliac crests, and you should feel the load settling around your pelvis—not against your shoulders.

Features

Make sure the pack has pockets that match your hydration method of choice—whether that’s a water reservoir or bottles. It should have a place to stuff layers quickly when you’re on the go, and a system for easy snack access while hiking. That said, it’s hard to tell what pockets, straps, and toggles you’ll love—or hate—until you’ve used a pack for a while. If you can, rent or borrow a few to get a feel for your needs before you pull the trigger.

When it’s time to upgrade your gear, don’t let the old stuff go to waste–donate it for a good cause and divert it from the landfill. our partner, Gear Fix, will repair and resell your stuff for free! Just box up your retired items, , and send them off. We’ll donate 100 percent of the proceeds to .

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On November 20, 2022, 19-year-old Emily Sotelo set out on a solo hike on New Hampshire’s Franconia Ridge. Her mom watched her disappear up the trail, expecting to meet up with Emily later that day at a prearranged spot. 

Emily never showed up, and three days later, searchers on the northwest side of 5,249-foot Mt. Lafayette. From news reports, it seemed she had gotten confused on a section of the Lafayette descent, lost her way, and succumbed to exposure as the temperatures dropped and winter weather blew in. 

At first, I skimmed the news. I’d heard a hiker was missing in the , and I’d been following the story. When her body was found, I felt a stab of sadness and regret that it had ended this way. Then, I pushed it out of my mind, I didn’t want to think about it. I didn’t want to entertain the similarities between this 19-year-old hiker and the 19-year-old hiker I used to be, venturing solo on the same trails in pursuit of my own 4,000-footer list. 

It wasn’t until I sent the article to my father in New Hampshire that I actually had to think about the tragedy with something other than surface-level consideration. My dad, big-hearted and unabashed with his feelings, responded “That poor girl. She must have been so scared.”

His simple, sincere message felt like a gut punch. I’d felt sadness for her and her family, but I hadn’t let myself get deep enough to really put myself in her place. I had gotten into the same situation as her before—lost and in the middle of worsening weather. But I had always returned with nothing more than a tale of stumbling around in the woods for longer than I would have liked. 

My dad’s message forced me to consider what it might have been like if I had been just a little less lucky. is a prolonged process. I imagined a solidifying understanding of her situation. Perhaps it took a few minutes to notice she’d lost the trail. Initial calmness might have given way to mounting panic as she scanned trees, rocks, and patches of snow for anything familiar. The more she walked around, the harder her footprints would have been to retrace. Slowly, it would have gotten darker until she was on the side of a mountain at night with exposure beginning to set in. Maybe I’m letting my imagination get the best of me. Once you slip below the surface of a tragedy that could have happened to you, it’s hard not to. 

When I went online and poked around some of the New England hiking groups on Facebook, I was relieved to see most of the comments about Emily’s death—and there were hundreds—were compassionate. People talked about how shocked they were, and sent the kind of thoughts and prayers that make up every online reaction to a tragedy. There were service-oriented responses— and links to good GPS devices—as well as genuine questions from readers trying to understand how the hike went so wrong.

And then, like I’d anticipated, there were the self-aggrandizing commenters who announced everything Emily had done wrong, and that they would never make those same mistakes:

“How about her core! Did she have a big puffy down jacket to put on when she was caught [in] dreadful conditions?….A good wool hat. Energy bars. Big puffy overmitts and hand warmers. This is certainly a recurrent problem up there.”

“Trail runners are equally useless in these conditions.”

“Some are really stubborn and don’t want to hear it…regardless of how one attempts to share in a non-threatening way, non-critical way [their] minds are set and there is no changing them.”

People can be unrelentingly judgemental when someone dies in an accident or from the elements, but maybe other reactions are just too painful. What’s the alternative? Putting yourself in her shoes? Pausing to think about the terror that must have encompassed her final hours? Maybe people who criticize a deceased hiker’s decisions are afraid that if they acknowledge it could have been them, they’ll crack the door for self-doubt to creep in. If they accepted that only a few mistakes and some bad luck separated them from an accident victim, could they still summon up the courage to chase winter summits, backpack solo, or travel through bear country?

How much easier it is to judge the deceased. 

When other hikers tear apart an accident victim’s decisions, gear, and experience, they’re telling themselves: This is sad and scary, but it won’t happen to me. I’m better than that. It alleviates fear by reducing a human being to the choices that led them to their final moments. 

When someone dies in the backcountry, there will always be speculation about what they could have done differently. Maybe Emily wasn’t prepared for bad weather or losing the trail—according to reports, she was missing some standard winter hiking gear. But does everyone leave for a day hike with a GPS unit, headlamp, and supplies for spending the night outside? According to the best advice, we should, but I doubt most people in the comments follow those directives perfectly every time, and most of them get away with it; Emily didn’t. There’s a way to discuss those mistakes without abandoning compassion. 

There is a certain amount of powerlessness we accept every time we go outside, and it can be easier than any of us think to Regardless of precautions and space blankets and GPS devices, there are elements that are out of our control. A , a loose rock, or a missed turn can get the best of the most prepared hiker.

No matter how many times we make it home, misfortune can befall any one of us. We owe it to each other and our community to withhold judgment in the face of these tragedies and practice a little empathy instead. We can and should make sure we’re prepared to experience the outdoors as safely as possible. But in the end, none of us are ever fully in control.

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In 2005, Mystery Ranch received a box of worn-out backpacks from a group of United States Forest Service (USFS) wildland firefighters in Southern California, otherwise known as “hotshots.” The box came with a challenge. “Here’s what we are currently using in the field. Can you do better?”

Hotshot crews are the first line of defense against wildfires threatening lives and property. In the fire 2022 season, more than 750,00 acres of forest burned. Working dawn till long after dark, hotshots rely on a critical set of equipment, including their backpacks.

With proven experience building backpacks for enthusiast and military markets, Mystery Ranch’s team set to work and designed prototypes, then sent them out to fire crews for real-world field testing.

“There weren’t ,” recalled Marcus Cornwell, fire management officer in New Mexico.“I have scars on my hips from the old packs, and that’s how bad they were.”

Before Mystery Ranch’s involvement in the wildland fire market, firefighters used military style backpacks that lacked durability and had very limited ability to customize for their specific gear hauling needs.

The Bozeman, Montana, company launched its first wildland fire-specific backpack, The Hotshot, in 2007 (retail prices start at $319). Since then, the line has expanded to include seven packs specifically designed for hand crews, fire engine crews, helicopter teams, and medical personnel, plus women-specific models. By 2010,115 hotshot crew members were equipped with Mystery Ranch packs.

Luke Mayfield is the brand’s fire program manager. His prior experience included 18 seasons working with the United States Forest Service, and twelve of those years were spent with hotshot crews.

Since the Hotshot’s launch, sales have grown at least 20 percent year over year. That growth increased to 30 percent in 2021-2022. The Hotshot and Engine models sell over 6,000 units, respectively each year. “It’s safe to say that we have 80 percent of the hotshot market,” Mayfield said.

“Mystery Ranch listened to our feedback, then gave us gear that was designed for people specifically in our line of work,” said Ben Strahan, a hotshot superintendent in region five, which covers national forest land in the North Cascades, the Sierra Nevada, and more. “They’re paying attention to what this niche consumer wants.”

Mayfield’s emotional and professional commitment to his former hotshot colleagues burns as hot as a wildfire. “I firmly believe that we provide and build the best load-bearing packs in the world for wildland firefighters,” he said. “I want to do everything I can to see all firefighters have the best gear possible to keep them as comfortable as possible in uncomfortable situations.”

“Everybody on the hotshot crew is asked to carry extra weight like a hose or medical equipment,” said Jeremiah Jacks, hotshot squad leader in the Pacific Northwest. “The Hotshot has a beefed up suspension system to handle heavy loads up to 50  to 60 pounds, plus so many different buckles and attachment points so we can attach any type of gear.

Season by season, Mayfield keeps in touch with a network of current and former hotshot crew members, prodding them for their insights and suggestions to fine-tune pack designs. One complaint he heard frequently was frustration with the positioning of the fire shelter pouch, which the USFS requires all wildland firefighters to carry. The 5-pound fire shelters, constructed of fiberglass and aluminum, serve as a “last resort ” method to escape a life-threatening fire situation.

Typically, fire shelters are stored in a pouch at the bottom of the pack for easy access. Firefighters complained of bruised and chafed legs from the pouches bouncing around as they worked a fire line.

So Mystery Ranch changed the design and moved the pouch away from the body. “The new design is now completely off your butt housed in a rugged, secure box,” said Jacks. “This was a much-needed change, and they took time to give us the fix we needed.”

Product design isn’t the only way Mystery Ranch supports hotshot crews. Strahan points out that loyalty for Mystery Ranch packs is fueled by more than just good gear. “They’re helping and supporting the [wildland firefighter] community, and that speaks volumes about who they are. They’re not just selling stuff; they are also an active member of the community.”The company’s Backbone Scholarship Program has awarded more than $12,000 for professional development, and ten percent of proceeds from selling special edition packs fund the scholarships. The company is also heavily involved in wildland fire policy issues. Mystery Ranch supports Mayfield’s work as vice president of the Grassroots Wildland Firefighters, a nonprofit advocacy group focused on improving working conditions for wildland firefighters.

“My number one priority is doing everything I can to provide packs that keep hotshots as comfortable as possible in uncomfortable situations,” says Mayfield.

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