Splitboard.com Forums

So all the winter specific packs I've been looking at have fixed torso lengths. I just got an Alp 40 from bca and yet looks like I'm wearing a three year olds book bag for school. Went to REI to check out the Osprey Kode and the REI double diamond and a DAKine, all are fixed torso lengths. Normal packs for camping have a Velcro attachment for the shoulder harness allowing you to adjust the height from shoulder to hip belt.

Anyone have any suggestions, or know a company that makes packs for bigger guys. 6'2" 280# 44 waist.

If you can drop the coin- Mystery Ranch - http://www.mysteryranch.com/. That's one reason I love their packs. Adjustable torso lengths on almost all their products. It makes all the difference in the world.

Yep, any one of their packs you'd want for splitboarding will have an easily adjustable torso length. Check out the Big Sky and the Fuze for good splitter packs.

I had the outlaw avalung for the past few season. It was a good pack. Seemed small for 30L though. The chest strap was notorious for icing up when you didn't want it too.

Picked up the Arc'teryx Quintic 38 pack for this year. Seemed well thought out and super solid, but no touring days on it yet. They do make a 28L as well.

http://arcteryx.com/Product.aspx?EN/Men ... uintic-38#

http://arcteryx.com/Product.aspx?EN/Men ... 20L_To_40L

Cadderly:

The Cold Cold World Valdez is awesome. One of the best carrying packs I have ever put on, and made in a one man shop in NH, USA. It is not huge, but has plenty of room to cram stuff in using the extension and moving the lid up. Great size for winter daytrips or summer light overnights. Basic pack, one compartment with a two small pockets in the lid. I like basic packs, don't really need extra pockets and bells and whistles. You can talk to the guy who builds the packs and he will customize exterior straps etc.

If I were in a position to add another pack to my closet it would be another Cilo Gear work sack. I have a 45L work sack now and love it but it's a lot bigger than it needs to be for a day trip. I'd get one custom made with the 45L suspension (because a split gets heavy when you're hiking on dry trails) on a 30L pack. I'd probably also have them do something different with the top pocket, I never find myself extending it higher so the quick release buckles on the back panel side don't do me much good, I think I'd do rings and tri-slides instead. That's the beauty of the CG packs, all of those changes are possible on a special order pack.

Funny, I have both. They are far and away better than the Osprey daypacks I have used/tried out.

I love the durability of the Deuter and pocket arrangement, but with a BD Deploy shovel and Canon 7D, the pack becomes too small for any of my bigger tours. It's a great pack but it feels like a 26L with the pocket layout when using that Deploy shovel. The Deuter suspension is fantastic - I use it at the gym and put 40 lbs of weight in the back for Stairmaster training and it carries like a champ! Basically, a fantastic pack that I love ... just too small.

So I got the Mammut, which can hold much more of my gear, has just as good of suspension, and yes it is lighter. I think the organization on the pack is inferior to the Deuter though - the hip pocket is a joke, doesn't fit my compass/inclinometer well, the shovel and avy tools compartment is nice, but stowing my first aid and repair tools isn't as clean as in the Deuter. The helmet and ski carry on the Mammut really shine far above other packs I have used (even the diagonal carry is well thought out), as do the external lash points which work really well with Voile straps. I am thinking about getting a gear loop custom sewn onto the Mammut hip-pad - I have no idea why they would neglect this?


Other packs used & owned:
TNF Shuttle 30
TNF Off Chute 22
Osprey Switch 26

played with Osprey Kode and BD packs in the store, but remember being disappointed with the ease and quality of the shovel pocket and the A-frame carry with those packs.

^^^ all the more reason for Deuter to bring back the Glide 35+...Deuter, you listening???

It probably best to really hone in on what you really carrying for a type of tour (day or overnight or both), before purchasing a pack. The one thing is for everything to fit inside the pack and fit well to the person. I have gone through several iterations of finding the right winter pack for my wife and I. For example: I purchased to large of a Voile shovel for a particular pack. Wish I had taken all that winter stuff down to local mountain store and purchased our winter backcountry packs.

I ended up purchasing the Osprey Switches 26, 40+5 and 55+5, as these easy to adjust and ride well too.

see http://www.moosejaw.com/moosejaw/shop/product_Osprey-Switch-55+5-Pack_10011046_10208_10000001_-1_

Also purchase several helmet carry nets from Backcoutry Access (special order. "Thanks"BCA"!).

Consider that Brett "Kowboy"Kobernick carrys everthing in his jacket, is pretty amazing to me!

Now if someone would invent air-bag system (ABS) the would slip over the arm straps of a back pack (like a "may-west life vest), I would not have to continue to look for "winter backpack nirvana" with ABS.

picked up the north face guide vest at the ski fair this weekend for cheap, don't know if I would have paid full retail...that being said its a pretty cool set up. shovel probe skins and poles would store easily in the back. you'd need those flexible platypus water bottles in front for h2o but you could easily carry a quart plus food, phone, music tools etc. having the weight dispersed around your body instead of just in back seems like a good idea. only problem is if the hike is warm and your wearing this extra vest, might be hard to regulate body heat. hoping to try it out soon

Is anybody using an Ortovox pick 29l? I thinking to get this one.http://www.ortovox.com/alpine/peak-29
ziby

Just to add to the list of potential options, has anyone used the Mammut Spindrift Guide? looks like a nice pack