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Mountain Hardwear Crag Wagon vs BD Creek

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 Emlyn Price 13 Apr 2021

Recently my favourite bag finally gave up the ghost after many years of carrying loads around, im looking to replace it, my favourite feature was the ability to unzip the side of the bag and access gear at the bottom of it, im not interested in something light weight as it main purpose is carrying rack and ropes to the crag. 

To that end I've been looking at the Mountain Hardwear, Crag Wagon and Black Diamond's, Creek Bag, does anyone have experience of these or any other similar alternatives , any help would be greatly appreiated.

 Wil Treasure 13 Apr 2021
In reply to Emlyn Price:

I've got a MH Crag Wagon. I'm pretty happy with it, I looked at other options for more sport climbing style bags, but decided they'd likely end up knackered after 5 years and the Crag Wagon looks good for 20. I think I paid £90 for mine, which might sway my opinion, I'd feel short-changed at full price I think.

It's really comfortable to carry, and you can overload with ropes on top easily (I've got the 45L). Last summer I was carrying a full trad rack, half rope and a 100m ab line on top and it was still a comfortable carry (although I did bend the metal clasp). It could do with some extra dividing pockets inside, the external pocket is good, but it's quite shallow. The interior fabric is my only real complaint, I've already gone through it in several places, it's not going to be a problem for the bag, but a bit annoying.

 TobyA 13 Apr 2021
In reply to Emlyn Price:

I'm still happily using the now decade old Arcteryx crag pack from this review https://www.ukclimbing.com/gear/rucksacks/medium/crag_packs_for_trad_climbe... whilst my mate Tony is still using the Grivel one! Get a well designed crag pack and you can expect it to last forever. I like the look of the big BD Creek - looks very much like the type of thing I'd want in crag pack although the MH one looks good too. One thing with the Crag Wagon is that the way the pack front unzips means you'll probably have the back system on the ground. Depending how dusty/muddy your local areas are that might be annoying. 

One possible alternative to consider if you do any mountaineeringy type stuff - winter, multipitch where you carry your pack, alpine etc. is that there seems to be a bit of a trend to putting a big zip on the side of general mid-size mountain packs. I reviewed a Lowe Alpine one https://www.ukclimbing.com/gear/rucksacks/medium/crag_packs_for_trad_climbe... last autumn/winter and due to covid restrictions much of my testing was dragging it out sport climbing or cragging in the Peak last autumn and the pack worked well as a crag pack because of the zip. I'm currently reviewing a Salewa pack https://www.salewa.com/en-gb/apex-guide-45l-backpack-00-0000001246 that is quite similar to the Halcyon, but for various reasons I live even more. Again, so far I've mainly used it cragging, and the zip down the side means it works well for that.

I'm not saying these packs are better than a dedicated crag pack - I'll still keep using the Arcteryx one for that once I've finished the review - but if you want less stuff in your life, or are on a budget, and you don't just go cragging, these kind of packs are really good compromises. 

In reply to Emlyn Price:

I haven't used the Crag Wagon, but have used the BD Creek

I've got the 50l version and absolutely love it, mostly because of its ease of use. At 2kg it's far from lightweight, but the fact you can stuff everything in easily, and access it all via the side zips, means that life feels incredibly easy. I've used it whilst cragging locally and whilst climbing on sea cliffs, where the additional volume means you can stuff a static in the base without too much extra effort. I haven't used it whilst walking up to mountain crags, but I think this is just a coincidence as much as anything, as I haven't been on a mountain crag in quite a whilst due to everything that's been going on. It's got a good carry, and can handle loads really well, but is pretty heavyweight, which may or may not be to your tastes in light of that.

If you're looking for something lighter and more refined the Lowe Alpine Rogue is well worth a look, as is the Outcast, as both match your criteria. I've used both, but probably prefer the Outcast. Alan however, prefers the Rogue.

Here's a link to the relevant reviews:

Rogue: https://www.ukclimbing.com/gear/rucksacks/lowe_alpine_rogue_48-12783
Outcast: https://www.ukclimbing.com/gear/rucksacks/medium/lowe_alpine_outcast_44-127...

Hope that's of help!

 HeMa 13 Apr 2021
In reply to Emlyn Price:

The most rugged crag sack I’ve seen comes from Metolius, the Crag Station. 
 

The flimsiest might be the Simond version, or BlueIce Octopus. I have the latter and it does serve a purpose (perfect for bolt clipping holidays, is about as big as a carry-on can be, fits nicely What you need at a sport crag).

Grivel and older Simond copy are rather good options. 
 

Out of the box option would be BD Pipedream. In fact it has been my to-go option for ice et mixed craggin’ for the last few years. Easy to pack, plus you get a nice place to keep stuff available and not lost in snow. And naturally a copy place to drink some coffee without gettin’ yer arse frozen. Plus we used it also for trad craggin’. And it even served as the nap time or diaber changing station when our kids were smaller. 

OP Emlyn Price 13 Apr 2021
In reply to Emlyn Price:

Brlliant thanks for the responses, lots of great feedback and plenty more options to research!! 

 jezb1 13 Apr 2021
In reply to Emlyn Price:

Black Diamond one is a beast that’ll last you donkeys years, I love mine. The 50 swallows everything including 80m of rope and kit for the day.

Curve ball is the Blue Ice Octopus, ace if you’re after something a bit lighter and the opening style is brilliant.

OP Emlyn Price 20 Apr 2021
In reply to Emlyn Price:

Thanks for the reply everyone, in the end I've decided to go for the Lowa Alpine Rouge 48 looks like it's got everything I need and more thanks for the help! 


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