backpack reviews

The Gregory Paragon 60 in the Grand Canyon.

Gregory Paragon 60 and Maven 58 Backpacks

by

Backpack
Gregory Paragon 60 and Maven 58
$300, 60L/3,661 c.i., 3 lbs. 12 oz./1.7 kg (men’s SM/MD)
Sizes: men’s Paragon S/M and M/L, women’s Maven XS/S and S/M
Paragon 60: backcountry.com
Maven 58: backcountry.com

Since Gregory first introduced the men’s Paragon and women’s Maven packs, I’ve found myself choosing the Paragon repeatedly for a variety of backpacking trips, including pounding out 77 miles in five days (averaging over 15 miles and 8,000 vertical feet per day) on the Wonderland Trail around Mount Rainier and a more casual, four-day, 36-mile family hike on the Ruby Crest Trail. With the 2025 update of these packs, I took the Paragon 60 on a four-day, 40-mile walk in the Grand Canyon in late March that included humping up the brutally steep and rugged Boucher Trail—convincing myself that the fully featured Paragon 60 and women’s Maven 58 still offer everything that many backpackers look for in a pack for every kind of trip they take.

Read on

The Deuter Aircontact Ultra 50+5 ultralight backpack.

Review: Deuter Aircontact Ultra 50+5 Backpack

by

Ultralight Backpacks
Deuter Aircontact Ultra 50+5
$295, 55L/3,356 c.i., 2 lbs. 15 oz./1.33kg
One adjustable size
Aircontact Ultra 50+5: backcountry.com

To put Deuter’s updated-for-2024 Aircontact Ultra 50+5 ultralight backpack through the paces, I took it on a pair of quite rugged but also quite different backpacking trips this spring: a three-day hike through southern Utah’s Owl and Fish canyons with a max weight of about 30 pounds in the pack, and six days and about 60 miles backpacking the Grand Canyon’s Gems Route, repeatedly carrying extra water—and starting out with more than 40 pounds inside, including over 10 pounds of water and 11 pounds of food. As I expected, those trips revealed much about the Aircontact Ultra backpack and why they might appeal to lightweight and ultralight backpackers.

Read on

The Black Diamond Dawn Patrol 32 ski touring pack.

Review: Black Diamond Dawn Patrol 32 Ski Touring Pack

by

Ski Touring Pack
Black Diamond Dawn Patrol 32
$200, 30L/1,831 c.i., 2 lbs. 9 oz./1.2 kg (S/M)
Sizes: S/M and M/L (32L/1,953 c.i.)
blackdiamondequipment.com

When ski touring or riding in the backcountry, besides our skis or board, our pack becomes the piece of gear we interact with the most—and we place competing demands on a ski touring pack: We want it light and comfortable for the up and the down but to also have easy, quick access and critical organization and features. On many days of backcountry ski touring, I found the Black Diamond Dawn Patrol 32balances those demands well and excels for backcountry and side country tours that involve more minimalist capacity needs.

Read on

The Granite Gear Blaze 60 in the Grand Canyon.

Review: Granite Gear Blaze 60 Backpack

by

Backpack
Granite Gear Blaze 60
$300, 60L/3,660 c.i., 3 lbs. 4 oz./1.5kg (unisex regular)
Sizes: Unisex short, regular, and long, women’s short and regular
backcountry.com

How many pounds can a lightweight backpack carry comfortably? Granite Gear’s new Blaze 60 is pushing boundaries in that department. On a six-day, 74-mile backpacking trip through the Grand Canyon—including a hard, 15-mile, nearly 12-hour day hoofing most of the rugged Escalante Route—I carried the Blaze 60 with up to about 40 pounds inside. And that load, even in that terrain, felt clearly within this pack’s comfort zone. In fact, its low weight, superior compression, and versatile design make the Blaze 60 a legitimate short- and long-distance mule, elevating it into the realm of the best all-purpose backpacks on the market.

Read on

The Mystery Ranch Coulee 50 backpack.

Review: Mystery Ranch Coulee 50 Backpack

by

Backpack
Mystery Ranch Coulee 50
$249, 50L/2,930 c.i., 3 lbs. 12 oz./1.7kg (men’s S/M with XS/S belt)
Sizes: men’s S-XL, women’s XS-L
backcountry.com

The race to lighten gear often results in compromises, and with backpacks those tradeoffs can impact access, durability, and comfort—the last usually in the form of strict load-weight limits. Carrying the Coulee 50 backpacking a section of the Arizona Trail along the Gila River and in Arizona’s Aravaipa Canyon in the first week of April and on the Skyline Trail in Jasper National Park and the Nigel, Cataract, and Cline Passes Route in the White Goat Wilderness in the Canadian Rockies in early August, I developed a serious crush on this pack for its comfort and a smart design that makes every interaction with it easier and faster.

Read on