Winter backpacking packs are more specialized than regular three-season backpacks, with a stronger emphasis on heavier weight loads, external attachment points, and durability for carrying bulky gear with sharp points like snowshoes, skis, ice axes, and crampons. They also favor more pockets and the ability to access and put away gear quickly, so you can avoid standing around between gear transitions and getting cold. Pack volumes can vary anywhere from a minimum of 50L to 100L, with 65L usually being the sweet spot for a weekend length trip.
Here are our picks for the top 10 best winter backpacking packs:
| Make / Model | Weight | Price (USD) |
|---|---|---|
| Mystery Ranch Scepter 50L | 56 oz / 1588g | $239 |
| Hyperlite Mountain Gear Ice Pack 70L | 37 oz / 1049g | $395 |
| Osprey Mutant 52L | 55 oz / 1559g | $200 |
| Granite Gear Blaze 60L | 48 oz / 1361g | $270 |
| The North Face Phantom 50L | 40 oz / 1134g | $200 |
| Cold Cold World Chaos 66L | 60 oz / 1701g | $265 |
| Gregory Denali 75L | 72 oz / 2041g | $360 |
| Black Diamond Mission 75L | 64 oz / 1814g | $250 |
| Mountain Hardwear AMG 55 | 74 oz / 2098g | $380 |
| Sierra Designs Flex Capacitor 60-75L | 42 oz / 1191g | $220 |
1. Mystery Ranch Sceptre 50 Backpack
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Mystery Ranch | Moosejaw
2. Hyperlite Mountain Gear 4400 Ice Pack (70 L)
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Hyperlite Mountain Gear
3. Osprey Mutant 52L Backpack
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Osprey | Backcountry | Amazon
4. Granite Gear Blaze 60 Backpack
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REI | Backcountry | Amazon
5. The North Face Phantom 50L
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The North Face | Backcountry
6. Cold Cold World Chaos 66L Backpack
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Cold Cold World
7. Gregory Denali 75L
8. Black Diamond Mission 75L Backpack
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Black Diamond | Moosejaw | Amazon
9. Mountain Hardwear AMG 55L
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Mountain Hardwear | REI
10. Sierra Designs Flex Capacitor 60-75L
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Sierra Designs
HOW TO CHOOSE A WINTER BACKPACK
Backpacks tailored for winter use have a different feature set than most 3 season packs. What follows are the features that I’ve found most useful for overnight and multi-day winter trips in mountainous terrain. While I think these translate fairly broadly across winter locales, you need to be the judge on the features you believe are most relevant for your needs.
Volume and Weight
If you mostly plan on doing overnight or weekend-length winter backpacking trips, you’ll probably want a pack that has 65-85 liters of internal capacity. The sweet spot is about 70 liters, but you might be able to shave that down as low as 60 liters if you carry less gear or need less insulation. Try to get a pack that has adequate compression so you can shrink its volume if not needed while keeping the weight of an empty pack under 5 pounds. Pack and gear weight is even more important in winter than the rest of the year because you’ll be wearing and carrying a lot more of it.
External Attachment Points
Winter packs need to have a multitude of external attachment points to carry sharp, pointy, or bulky gear that won’t fit inside the main storage areas of a backpack. The most useful external attachment points include compression straps, daisy chains, hip belt webbing or gear loops, and ice ax loops with shaft holders.
Compression Straps
Compression straps serve two purposes: to help compress a puffy load and bring the weight closer to your core muscles where it can be carried more easily; and to attach sleeping pads, snowshoes, avalanche shovels, or skis to the sides of your pack instead of the front, so that the load doesn’t pull you backward and off-balance.
When choosing a backpack, try to find ones that have two or three tiers of compression straps that run horizontally across the sides of the packs. The compression straps should be adjustable and easy to undo while wearing gloves so you can slide snowshoes under them. Avoid packs that have compression straps that zig zag back and forth on the backpack using one strap to save weight. These are very difficult to use.
Daisy Chains
Daisy chains are often sewn onto winter packs and can be used to lash extra gear to the back or sides of the pack using canvas or velcro straps. They usually have many loops sewn into them that run the length of your pack from top to bottom.
Ice Ax Loops
There are two kinds of ice axes in this world – straight walking axes and curved climbing axes. If you need to carry a walking ax, look for a pack that has at least one ice ax loop at the base of the pack and a shaft holder, both off-center along the back of the pack. The shaft holder can be a simple cord lock like those found on many Osprey packs, or a more robust buckle. If you plan on carrying two climbing axes, look for packs with two ice ax loops and shaft keepers.
Hip Belt Webbing and Gear Loops
Some climbing-oriented packs have canvas or plastic gear loops on the outside of the hip belt to clip climbing carabiners to. While not a substitute for a proper sit-harness, these loops can be quite convenient to rack gear. Alternatively, you can clip insulated water bottle holders to them so you can drink when you are on the move and don’t want to stop. Extra hip belt webbing serves the same purpose and is often better than having belt pockets that are too small for winter use.
Crampon Pockets
Crampon pockets are a very convenient and safe place to store crampons when you’re not wearing them. Located on the side of the pack farthest away from you, they keep the crampon points away from your arms and legs, your head, and your gear where they can do real damage.
Floating Lids
It can be very helpful in winter to have a backpack that can expand in volume to carry more gear. One way to do this is to buy a pack with a floating lid, usually a top pocket that can detach from the main body of the pack but is still held down by 4 straps. Extra gear, say a coil of rope, can be sandwiched between the pocket and the top of your pack in this manner.
Backpack Pockets
Backpack pockets can be a two-way street in winter. While they can be useful for organization, they can also add a lot of unnecessary weight to a backpack. For example, having a backpack with a separate sleeping bag pocket is pretty useless, because your sleeping bag can just as easily be stored in one large main compartment without needing the extra fabric weight and zipper required for the additional pocket.
Accessory Pockets
Most of the hip belt pockets provided by manufacturers are simply too small to be of much use in winter, and there aren’t enough of them to carry everything you might need for a winter hike, such as a camera, suntan lotion, lip balm, headlamp, compass, map, altimeter, and a pencil or pen. Many hikers add accessory pockets to their packs to provide more external storage or they wear an additional fanny pack backward to provide another pocket that can store spare gloves, hats, and food.
Interesting that your list of components doesn’t include a pocket or other method for quick access to avy gear (shovel, probe, etc.)
Maybe dedicated compartments aren’t common on larger packs, but having something with that in mind could be impotant.
Look closely at that first pack – go to their website and watch the product tour. It has an avy pocket. But in general, most winter backpackers stick pretty close to established trails that avoid avalanche terrain, so it’s not as big an issue as you’d expect. While I often carry an avay shovel on backpacking trips, it’s mostly to dig out a group kitchen or tent platforms. If you have to do an actual avalanche rescue on a wilderness winter backpacking trip, well, I’d say the chances of survival are going to be pretty low given the transit times of helicopters outside of ski areas. Best design a route to avoid avalanche terrain.
It really wouldn’t be hard to pack and extricate a shovel or probe from any of these packs, but a avy pocket feature like that is really only found on dedicated ski packs. Most winter backpackers use snowshoes or micro spikes and avoid avalanche terrain.a dedicated avy pocket would be unnecessary.
Interesting list. Look up the Savotta J??k?ri lage http://www.savotta.fi It’s my go to winter backpack. Checks all the marks in your recommendations.
When using their large side and medium hip pouches the backpack doesn’t look too military and adds an additional 18 lites.
I love that I can carry heavy loads comfortably and the flexibility to add or subtract pouches based upon my outdoor activities. Also the ability too adjust the volume for the length of time I’ll be spending in outdoors.
The bag is a bit pricey, but will last forever.
Any paratrooper pack would work simiarly.
Hi Phil,
Was wondering if you think it would be worth picking up a pack like the Mystery Ranch Spectre from something like a hyperlite 3400 Southwest which I use for my other 3 season adventures.
Best Regards,
I’m not sure I totally follow you. Are you asking whether it makes sense to buy a backpack that’s specially made for winter hiking for winter hiking instead of one that’s made for hiking in deserts? Yes, of course. One of the things I especially like about the Spectre is that it’s set up to pull a pulk.
Is there one backpack that does it all? I am looking for a 4 season pack for backpacking in the Whites that fits smaller women well. I have an Osprey Tempest 40 that is great, but it seems too small and thin for snow shoes and extra winter gear.
Thanks!
People’s tastes vary widely on that topic. If the tempest fits you, you might try the osprey eja 58/48 (since you already have an Osprey). I have friends that use them for their winter packs because the frame is much more supportive for the added weight. Those packs can be used in all 4 seasons very well. The Granite Gear blaze 60 is also an excellent option. It comes in a women’s version and is fully adjustable (torso and hip belt). My preference would be the Blaze 60. The lid is removable to save on weight in warmer weather. It can also haul a ton of gear comfortably if you want to give winter backpacking a try. My overnight and day hiking loads are actually very similar since I always carry some emergency winter gear in the whites on day hikes such as a foam sleeping pad, insulated pants, and sometimes a sleeping bag/bivy.
https://www.rei.com/product/126718/osprey-eja-48-pack-womens
https://www.rei.com/product/126719/osprey-eja-58-pack-womens
https://www.rei.com/product/146742/granite-gear-blaze-60-pack-womens
Who is the mule for all these packs? That woman or man is the tank! I am still dialing in my currant pack for winter and am down to 22lbs with the load n stuff to keep my fire burning and chill at bay for 2 days. I purchased the Aarn feather lite 50L with the small expedition front pockets and with the heavy in the front and the weight close to balance, I don’t have to compress the down or synthetics in the back. I am comparing it to my HPL southwest 40L to see if the balance vs the rear wt makes a difference in snowshoeing and snow trekking. We are close to getting the next big storm out west this weekend so I am excited to get out into the wilds! Good job on the reviews.
Phillip, ever look at any of the Mchale packs?
They’re all custom made.