14ers.com

peter wrote: ↑Fri Jul 23, 2021 4:11 am +1 for the REI Flash 22. Bought it this summer and have been blown away by how full functioned it is, given its light weight (13oz) and low cost ($55). Takes a 3L bladder and all the normal summer day trip gear with ease. (At least for class 3 hikes; I’m not on technical routes.) Wish it came with a padded hip belt, but I actually didn’t miss it once I got going.

I just found a way to strap my binocular case to the outside of the pack for easy access. I really love all the gear loops on the outside of the pack.

JulianSmith wrote: ↑Tue Jul 20, 2021 1:37 pm Take a look at Blue Ice too.

https://us.blueice.com/pages/backpacks#climbing

I got a skiing pack earlier this year, and I love the quality of the constructions and details they put into their gear.

Been using the Blue Ice Dragonfly 25, and like it a lot. Good rope carry and ice tool storage, and I've used the provided loops to add bungee cord for securing crampons and other oddities. Not a ton of structure to it, so I wouldn't load it with 30 lbs or anything, but it did all right with a day's worth of weight. Folded in half nicely to sit on the bottom of my backpacking pack (and protected the bottom of my pack from the rack on top of it). It does have the ability to fold into its own pouch for small storage, but I don't really ever see myself using that.
As far as packing a harnesses, I've actually gotten into the habit of just wearing the harness all day long (I do have a fairly comfortable one, and I just loosen the leg loops all the way when hiking), so that doesn't have to fit in. With a light-medium rack I haven't had any issues packing for a summer alpine climb, even with all 10 essentials. Not sure I'd go for a winter-y summit with it, but I'm pretty conservative on layers in winter, so that's me.

Osprey mutant 22 has served me well for fast and light missions.

mindfolded wrote: ↑Fri Jul 23, 2021 8:38 am

peter wrote: ↑Fri Jul 23, 2021 4:11 am +1 for the REI Flash 22. Bought it this summer and have been blown away by how full functioned it is, given its light weight (13oz) and low cost ($55). Takes a 3L bladder and all the normal summer day trip gear with ease. (At least for class 3 hikes; I’m not on technical routes.) Wish it came with a padded hip belt, but I actually didn’t miss it once I got going.

I just found a way to strap my binocular case to the outside of the pack for easy access. I really love all the gear loops on the outside of the pack.

Another vote for the REI Flash 22. I upgraded from the 18 due to the better storage and slightly more room. If we split gear between two packs and use the outer gear loops it held our trad rack for a 5.2 peak we were headed towards, but that's a different story.

I recently picked up the UD Scram 20L and am loving it. Been using it on 14er scrambles and already have plans to use it for some alpine climbing trips. It requires a little bit of creativity to fit everything, but especially with the extra accessories (cord system on the back, SkiMo attachments, etc), I think it will be my go to pack for day trips.

I'm going to have to make a vote against REI flash 22 for long hikes with rope.
I have an REI flash 18, which has the same paper-thin, unpadded straps, and thin hipbelt, as the 22. If I stack a rope on top, then the weight cuts painfully into my shoulders. The pack is meant to carry only the lightweight day-hiking stuff that you could fit inside the pack. It's great for that purpose, but not for carrying heavy loads.
I was kinda dying on a 20min approach & 1h descent.
I would certainly suffer more on a 14er with hours-long approach.
It does function great on-route; moves with you and doesn't get in the way of movement. So I would still use it for overnight hikes sans rope (pack inside the backpacking pack) or roped climbing where I can stash a larger pack at the base of the route and return to it later. But more often the descent dumps you in a different spot than the start of the route.

For the more common case of needing to carry all gear with me round-trip, I bought a Mammut Trion 28. I haven't received it yet. I hope that it works, because the shoulders are more padded, and the thick waist belt can transfer wait to my hips. I also considered BD speed, Arc'teryx alpha AR, or osprey mutant. The latter I'm returning becuase it doesn't have compression straps and the rope would be swinging everywhere.

osprey mutant series backpacks were made specifically for Colorado mountaineering. I have the 22l, its pretty good.

tmud wrote: ↑Wed Jul 28, 2021 6:33 am osprey mutant series backpacks were made specifically for Colorado mountaineering. I have the 22l, its pretty good.

Interesting flex. However, I'm be surprised if the mutant was designed with much more than a passing thought to CO "mountaineering".

Also check out the BD Blitz 20. I really like it for alpine climbing & hiking. It also weighs over 1lb less than the Talon 22 (a 2lb daypack is ridiculous IMHO).

Dave B wrote: ↑Wed Jul 28, 2021 6:41 am

tmud wrote: ↑Wed Jul 28, 2021 6:33 am osprey mutant series backpacks were made specifically for Colorado mountaineering. I have the 22l, its pretty good.

Interesting flex. However, I'm be surprised if the mutant was designed with much more than a passing thought to CO "mountaineering".

Maybe less "mountaineering", more ice/alpine climbing: https://youtu.be/ugXpGNsFpSo

Dave B wrote: ↑Wed Jul 28, 2021 6:41 am

tmud wrote: ↑Wed Jul 28, 2021 6:33 am osprey mutant series backpacks were made specifically for Colorado mountaineering. I have the 22l, its pretty good.

Interesting flex. However, I'm be surprised if the mutant was designed with much more than a passing thought to CO "mountaineering".

Flex? It's a backpack. Flex, I assume you're referring to the verb, 'flexing', that is an action, not an object. This discussion concerns backpacks.

tmud wrote: ↑Wed Jul 28, 2021 4:10 pm

Dave B wrote: ↑Wed Jul 28, 2021 6:41 am

tmud wrote: ↑Wed Jul 28, 2021 6:33 am osprey mutant series backpacks were made specifically for Colorado mountaineering. I have the 22l, its pretty good.

Interesting flex. However, I'm be surprised if the mutant was designed with much more than a passing thought to CO "mountaineering".

Flex? It's a backpack. Flex, I assume you're referring to the verb, 'flexing', that is an action, not an object. This discussion concerns backpacks.

Funny enough, 'flexing' is a gerund, not an action. This discussion concerns parts of speech.