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Deuter Guide Lite 24 Backpack Review

Deuter Guide Lite 24 Backpack Review

The Deuter Guide Lite 24 is an ultralight, streamlined backpack designed for alpine hiking and climbing. Weighing just 1 lb and 7 oz (650 grams), it’s a real departure for Deuter in terms of looks, features, and materials. The pack has a great mix of technical features with plenty of space to hold your essentials and pockets to keep you organized on the trail and off.

Deuter Guide Lite 24 Backpack

Comfort
Weight
Suspension
Features
Adjustability
Sizing
Durability

Minimalist Climbing Pack

The Deuter Guide Lite 24 has a great mix of technical features with plenty of space to hold your essentials and pockets to keep you organized on the trail and off.

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Specs at a Glance

  • Pockets: 2
  • Gender: Unisex
  • Weight: 1 lbs 7 oz / 650 g (660 g on our scale)
  • Frame: U-shaped Delrin Rod and framesheet
  • Hip Belt: Removable webbing (harness compatible)
  • Load Lifters: Yes
  • Helmet Holder: Yes
  • Ice Ax and Shaft Holders: 2
  • Hydration-Ready: Yes
  • Fabric: 100D  High Tenacity Polyamide, 630D Polyamide on base

The Deuter Guide Lite 24 has a large main compartment that closes with a top drawstring. There’s a flap of fabric that folds over the top hole to keep out rain, which can be raised or cinched down to hold a helmet or rope coil, a lot like a top lid without the top pocket.

The Guide Lite 24 is a streamlined alpine pack.
The Guide Lite 24 is a streamlined alpine pack.

There are two daisy chains on the front, with two ice ax and shaft holders that can be used to secure ice tools or trekking poles. There’s a zippered pocket, located between the daisy chains with a key fob inside, and another on the side that tuck in behind the frame. It’s hard to detect and would be a good place to stack a passport or wallet for safekeeping. The interior of the pack also has a hydration sleeve capable of holding a 2-liter reservoir with a central hydration port that comes out between the shoulders.

There a front pocket to hold personal items.
There a front pocket to hold personal items, w/ key fob.

The Guide Lite has a frame that’s designed to wrap closely around your torso (in a manner of speaking). The shoulder pads are attached to a lightly padded back panel that has modest airflow channels between your upper back and hips to help keep you cool and dry. There’s an internal frame sheet to give the pack some structure that’s surrounded by a U-shaped Delrin (fiberglass) rod for added rigidity.

The back panel is lightly padded and the hip belt is removable.
The back panel is lightly padded and the hip belt is removable.

The hip belt is a webbing strap that can be optionally removed with a front buckle that’s large enough that it won’t clog up with snow. It’s not designed to support any load but intended to keep the pack close to your body. I actually prefer wearing the pack without it, which is also handy if you’re wearing a harness.

The shoulder pads are backed with wicking spacer mesh and have a gentle S-shape so they’ll work with any torso type. Both shoulder pads have combo sunglasses holders/hydration hose keepers and are linked by an adjustable sternum strap on a rail. The pack has load lifters which are marginally useful because they attach to the pack bag and not the frame.

The top nylon flap doubles as a helmet holder.
The top nylon flap doubles as a helmet holder and can be used to secure rope or a jacket to the top of the pack.

Recommendation

The Deuter Guide Lite 24 is an alpine pack that’s great for day trips and summit scrambles. It’s very lightweight but carries loads well, with the perfect combination of daisy chains, ice ax loops, stash pockets, and size. The pack’s narrow size, body-hugging fit, and removable hip belt make it easy to carry when hiking, skiing, or wearing a climbing harness. See the SectionHiker’s 10 Best Hiking Daypacks Gear Guide for comparable packs in this volume range.

Disclosure: Deuter provided the author with a pack for this review.

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