Backpack Reviews

The Gossamer Gear G4-20 Backpack is a 42-liter frameless roll-top backpack that weighs 25 oz. Being frameless it’s best for carrying loads under 20 to 25 pounds and makes a nice ultralight backpack for multi-day trips and extended day hikes. In many …

The ULA Circuit Backpack is a high-capacity lightweight backpack with a surprising amount of flexibility for many types of backcountry adventures. Made with bomber 400D Robic Nylob fabric and feature-rich, the Circuit is a seriously tough pack for long backpacking trips. Perhaps …

The Chicken Tramper Ultralight Gear 45 Liter Backpack (CTUG-45) is an ultralight roll-top backpack made with XPAC, a lightweight waterproof fabric related to Dyneema DCF, but more abrasion resistant and less expensive. The pack is fairly unique in that it has an …

The Granite Gear Blaze 60 is a multi-day backpack with an adjustable length torso and hip belt, so you can get a personalized fit. Weighing 3 lbs, the Blaze 60 is optimized for hauling heavy and bulky gear, including the ability to …

The Granite Gear Crown3 60L is an affordable ultralight backpack with a modular design that can be easily configured for ultralight backpacking, thru-hikes, and winter hiking. The things that set this roll-top backpack apart from other ultralight-style packs, besides its very reasonable …

The Gregory Deva 60 is a women’s internal-frame backpack that’s specially designed to carry heavy loads up to 50 pounds in comfort. It’s ideal for long backpacking trips, multi-sport adventures, and international travel when you want a backpack that’s loaded with features, …

The Osprey Aether 65 is a multi-day expedition-style backpack with an adjustable torso length frame, adjustable length shoulder straps, and an adjustable length hip belt length so you can dial in a custom fit without having to swap out components or heat …

The Mystery Ranch Coulee 40 is a wonderfully versatile, comfortable, and bombproof backpack suitable for extended day hikes or 1-2 night backpacking trips with a streamlined gear list. If you’re unfamiliar with Mystery Ranch’s backpacks, let me preface this review by saying …

The Gregory Katmai 65 is an internal frame backpack with an adjustable torso length, an adjustable-sized hipbelt, and a suspended mesh back panel. The pack is loaded with pockets and has multiple access points that make it easy to organize and access …

The Six Moon Designs Minimalist V2 is a fully-featured, high volume, comfortable, and overbuilt backpack marketed for thru-hiking. It’s a good pack, but its name is misleading because nothing about this pack is minimal. There are 15 external storage pockets (including 8 …

The Gregory Facet 55 Backpack is a lightweight ventilated women’s backpack weighing 2 lbs 8.8 oz / 1.16 kg that is designed for backpacking and thru-hiking. It’s an internal frame backpack with a wire perimeter frame, a floating top lid, load lifters, …

The Hyperlite Mountain Gear Unbound 40 Backpack is an ultralight backpack weighing 30.1 oz (853g) made with Dyneema DCF. Design-wise, it’s a pretty radical departure from Hyperlite’s past backpacks with large side pockets, a redesigned and replaceable hip belt, the use of …

The Zpacks Bagger Ultra 40L Backpack is a versatile frameless backpack suitable for day hikes, peakbagging, travel, commuting, and even ultralight backpacking. Weighing 12.1 ounces (342g) it’s made with a waterproof and highly abrasion-resistant fabric called Ultra which has been almost universally …

The ULA Photon is a 35L ultralight-style roll-top backpack with a base weight of 26.1 ounces in a size medium.  It’s basically a lower volume version of ULA’s CDT ultralight backpack (54L) ideal for day hikes, hut-to-hut overnights, commuting, or air travel …