UKC

Hi guys, i'm after a new pack for mountain walking through to long days climbing, and winter stuff in Scotland and the Alps (in the coming year or two!)

I had a grivel Alpine 45 but found it a little over-complicated and so thats now gone, what im after is a pack that will take all the usual, but with a definite alpine climbing style design to it.

Can anyone recommend anything good for <£100 - ideally with a good durable material.

Cheers!

In reply to Thom.milburn:

Just pick a size.

http://www.aiguillealpine.co.uk/shop/4/15/index.htm

In reply to Thom.milburn:

If you want something nice and simple then I really think the pack from Cold Cold World:

http://www.coldcoldworldpacks.com/ozone.htm

Looks really good to me. 37 liters and 1kgs. Good weight for the capacity. No faff. You can fit all your gear inside the pack (most compression straps etc aren't IMHO needed) I'm quite sure.

I bought a Haglofs Roc Speed for the alps this year. 25l (more than that I'm sure, about 30ish l) and under a 1kg. Nice and simple.

http://www.castlebergoutdoors.co.uk/acatalog/Haglofs_Rucksacks.html

If not, while it is out of budget, the Arcteryx Nozone 35 is again a decent size and weight.

http://www.arcteryx.com/Product.aspx?EN/Mens/Packs/Nozone-35

Osprey Mutants are nice. But they're a bit heavy if you ask me.

Although this is also well beyond budget - i think i could stretch - how does the BD Epic stand up? Any ideas?

I'd be thinking of buying it in about 32-35litre size (i dont remember exactly what it comes in!)

In reply to Thom.milburn: +1 for the hagloff roc. My wife has one and used in the alps. Really sturdy well made bag.

In reply to Thom.milburn: I like the Lowe Alpine Peak attack which is well made, lightweight, durable and has some useful features, like tuck-away hip belt, haulage loops and simple to use with gloves on, sides straps, ski carry, axe carry. Nice and roomy inside. There is the Alpine Attack too. There's not much difference really.

youtube.com/watch?v=V4zoaJDrI-I&

In reply to Thom.milburn:

http://www.fieldandtrek.com/deuter-guide-35-plus-backpack-716155

Not the lightest but bomb proof and pretty cheap. Dont come much better than deuter I love it. Use it for cragging and scottish winter and general walking. Can remove waist belt if you wanna strip it a bit.

In reply to BoulderyDave: Which alpine roc specifically? I'd be struck between the Ice or the Rescue - but then i'd be worried im being swayed by their tarty 'features'

In reply to Thom.milburn: http://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/ballistic-45-p164650

Got this in 35l and its great, if you have a Go Outdoors near you then go in and have a look. I've cut just about all the un-needed stuff off it now and its a top pack. Only thing I dislike about it is that the lid doesn't come of but for the price you can't really go wrong. The material seems to be holding up to Gabbro abuse so I can't fault it for durability !

In reply to George Fisher: agree. Got mine and love it

In reply to droites: http://www.alpkit.com/shop/cart.php?target=product&product_id=16269&...
maybe a tad small but dead light

In reply to Thom.milburn: +2 for the Haglof Roc

In reply to Nath93: first link doesn't seem to work. Give this one a go, 35l model, same as I have.

http://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/ballistic-35-p155807

In reply to Thom.milburn:

A lot of people are recommending 35-38l packs.
Are you used to filling 45l? Do you think you will ever want to carry bivi kit in the pack?
I was looking for a pack for similar requirements earlier this year and after a LOT of looking at stuff, and deciding that extra capacity is worth it for the occasional bivi, I went for the Lowe Alpine "Alpine Attack".
If I could have managed with less capacity, I might have gone for the Haglofs Roc 35 which looked very neat and bombproof (the red-and-black colouring lured me too, though). Osprey Mutant 38 was in the running too. There was a lot of unsuitable tat out there.
Funnily enough I gave serious consideration to the North Ridge Ballistic 35 and 45 as Nathan93 recommends (I thought they had all the features you'd want, nothing extraneous, and were light), but I decided against them because I thought the build quality might be a bit questionable (I made a few inspections of these bags in my local Go Outdoors). Nathan says they seem durable though, so might be worth a look. North Ridge is the "house brand" of Go Outdoors, much as Quechua is the "house brand" of Decathlon, so it's probably unlikely that they'd sell tat under that brand, as it would impact on Go Outdoors as a brand if word got around.
I have no regrets about buying my Alpine Attack. It's only had 6 or so mountain days in the Alps, plus a load of cragging in the UK, so I can not comment on durability, but it ticks all the boxes. I got it on a special offer for about £90. If you go for an Osprey Mutant 38 try ratrace.com, they sometimes have them cheap (not right now though, it's £90 - I could have had one for £72 earlier this year)

In reply to Thom.milburn:
Duter Guide 45+ used it for over a year summer cragging and scotland winter/ summer alps. not a bad thing to say about the pack.

In reply to Thom.milburn:

For the price, you can't go wrong with the Low Alpine Crag Attack 45, mine's done me proud so far.

Another vote for Lowe Alpine Peak Attack. Available in 35:45 litre and 45:55 litre sizes as well as regular and XL back lengths.

My 45:55 does me for summer walking (compressed), cragging, winter climbing, backpacking and general travel. Love it.

In reply to thedatastream:

Can't comment in the current version, but my Alpine Attack must be about 20 years old and still going strong - had to replace the drawstring at the top this week, which has been the first thing to fail on it.

In reply to Thom.milburn: I have a Deuter Guide 45 litre sack. I got it from Go Outdoors for £80 with their price matching deal. It's not a lightweight sack but the straps and harness are very comfy. I prefer it to my OMM Jirishanka which is very light but not so comfy when loaded with any significant weight. The Guide is a top loader with side access and a compartment at the bottom that has an optional zip to seperate it from the main compartment if required. Some people dislike features like these but I find them very handy. I can store my belay jacket and get it out without disturbing or losing anything else.

John

In reply to Thom.milburn:
Don't get a Berghaus Arete 35, I found holes in it after about 6 months and have had to make a new grab handle as one half pulled off. Mind you the holes don't appear to have gotten much larger now.

I would recommend looking for one with a floating lid so you can shove it inside the pack once you've dragged your kit out at the bottom of the climb. Its the one big thing I wish my pack had now.

In reply to Nath93:

An absolute bargain at £30

In reply to fire_munki:
You were doing well to get to 6 months!

In reply to Thom.milburn: A couple of reviews of packs that I've done that might fit the bill, or at least give you some ideas of what features you want.

http://www.ukclimbing.com/gear/review.php?id=2843
http://www.ukclimbing.com/gear/review.php?id=3855

If you are going to climb in it, think about the shoulder straps. If they are too wide or stiff, it can really make the pack difficult to climb with, even if there is little in it.

In reply to Thom.milburn:
Hello mate, I have a warthog 26l which I use for summer alpine and UK stuff including Scottish Winter. It is super light, very tough and also simple so no straps flapping around etc.

http://www.blueice.com/products/en/10-warthog-26l.html

I have just seen that they have released a 38l version which I will be purchasing for longer alpine routes which require bivi kit to be carried.

http://www.blueice.com/products/en/26-warthog-38l.html

Both under £100, durable and light so they fit all the requirements you have listed.

Best of luck

In reply to Thom.milburn:

Thom

Ive had a Berghaus Arete 45L sack for 5 years now....its done me 4 trips to the alps and everything inbetween very simple design and very tough....I think its the original sack though..Berghaus have tweaked a few things on the latest version so I can't comment on the latest model...it was cheap aswell less than £50!

Best post of the year award right there!

Cheers mate, and everyone else who has contributed.

Having reviewed this topic, and looked online for other additional information i have in fcat decided the ultre-lightweight approach is not me, as i often carry an omnifuel, a bivvy and sleeping bag when out and about.

I'm going to go 45 litre, and the deuter guide looks very good, if not a bit complex for what im after.

One bag i am REALLY drawn towards is the BD Epic 45 - it seems to fit my criteria perfectly, however the lack of information in the UK puts me off. I can however get one from Germany for £110 - more than my budget, but a very very tasty looking piece of kit.

They seem to produce decent kit though?

In reply to fire_munki:
I've had an Arete 45 for 3 years, it's done 3 Alpine trips, plus winter climbing in Scotland, Greece and Ireland (yes it does exist some years!), lots of cragging and 3 years of walking guiding in Scotland (including lots of scrambling). It's been brilliant, everything I need and no extraneous faff and the fabric seems pretty tough to me (and I'm generally hard on gear)

In reply to Thom.milburn: I also have the berghuas arete 45 which I rate pretty highly! The fabric is as tough as that used by other manufacturers after a 1 1/2 years all I have is a small nic on the base of it which isn't getting any bigger dspite the fact it gets scraped around on gabbro quite alot. There's not alot that you can do to strip it down but it weighs less than a kilo anyway. I use mine for walking scrambling cragging & mountaineering, it has everything I want but apart from not having a removable lid. It will easily accommodate the gear I need for for two days but if you're carrying less you can compress it down. You can get them online for around £45 if you look around!

In reply to Thom.milburn: Get a Crux AK47 bought and reap the joyous rewards. Bombproof, waterproof, well designed and very simple.

http://www.crux.uk.com/en/rucksacks.php?range=1&product=2

In reply to Thom.milburn:

http://www.backpacking-lite.co.uk/reviews/berghaus-arete-45-review.htm

This sack mate

Gav

In reply to Thom.milburn: I would not buy another arete 45. I have had one for two years and after just one or two tough mountain adventures it is getting holes in the bottom. The straps and buckles are pretty flimsy as well. Just got a crux ak47 floating top for just less than a £100. It seems bomber but I cant confirm that as I have not had the opportunity to attemp to trash it yet. Roll on winter.

In reply to TobyA: Another vote here to take the Pod Alpine 40 into consideration. I really like mine: fairly simple without being too minimalist, not too heavy, strips down well if necessary, extendable lid, packs & carries well.

In reply to Thom.milburn: Have a look at the Mountain Hardwear range. The Deritissima is a cracking pack.