We started Back Country Gear to help the people in our favorite communities learn more and pick the right gear for their weekend adventures. Whether you’re heading to the mountain or a park nearby, our guides will help you explore the outdoors better.
A backpack can make or break any mountaineering expedition, and if you’ve ever experienced breaking one, you know that this is one of the most important gear choices to make. Everything you need on a potentially dangerous scrambling, climbing, or hiking trip is relying upon the best backpack for the job. To choose the best backpack for your mountaineering adventures, you need get up to speed on the top models currently available.
The problem with finding the best mountaineering backpack is that it can be extremely dependent on what adventures you’re taking it on. There are ones that are the best for climbing, skiing, mountaineering, or just for sitting at home. The best mountaineering backpack for you is going to depend on your end goal and aspirations for where it will take you.
Buyers Guide
We understand the feeling of wanting to get out there immediately, but you should take the time to consider the points we’ve broken down below. To best understand how to sift through our top five choices though, we need to run through just a few areas that you want to look at before making the big purchase and starting climbing. Practicing patience and thoroughness is key, the mountains demand it.
Weight
The gear you are going to be bringing on a mountaineering or climbing trip already weighs a lot. Being weighed down by a fat climbing rack is both satisfying and miserable, and you don’t want to add even more weight with a backpack for your rack. This is why most of the best backpacks for mountaineering are incredibly lightweight, but not all of them are. Some, like the Osprey Mutant, will strip down to a lighter weight when you need it to. If you count ounces, the Arc’teryx Alpha will be your best bet, but it may not have all the best features.
Comfort
Every company has its own way of trying to give you the best comfort in a backpack. From Osprey’s AntiGravity tech to Mountain Hardwear’s Hardwave suspension, some backpacks just fit others better than they fit you. We recommend going to a climbing store near you and trying every backpack you are considering. This is truly the only way to best know what will feel good on your back.
