Ice Pack recommendations?

[Paddlerx]

Looking for a new ice pack. My MEC 50 + liter is way too big and my gregory 30 is close but stil a bit small w not good way to hold tools/rope.
looking at 35-40L/ clips for ice tools (not loop straps)/ crampon pocket/ hip belt loops for racking gear (vs using the harness under your hipbelt).
this will serve as a transport pack (truck - ice) but also for a pack for long ascents in the whites/and as a ski touring pack.

Price @ $150ish

BD Epic 35
BD Speed 40
Millet Peuterey 35 Plus 10

Any comments/recommendations/good deal sites/etc all appreciated.

Don

[Shawn B]

Not sure this helps...but I've got a ski touring pack I'll sell. Osprey Kode38. Super comfy with nice features....as new...just doesn't have an avalung built in. Won't be good for ice though. Will be hard to find a pack good for both if you care about a separate avy tool pocket and/or a good tool/crampon carry system. If you don't care about that the Osprey Variant is a great pack that could suit both fairly well...more of a climbing pack though. Comes in 30/40/50 litre sizes I believe. I've got the BD predator for ice and its is pretty good for a haul to the crag pack but @ 50l might be bigger than you are looking for. Nice tool and crampon holding features. Wouldn't climb well in technical terrain imo. Not nearly as well made nor comfy as the osprey tho. Sounds to me like you really need 3 new packs...huh Rob?

[Greg]

I would highly recommend the Trion series by Mammut. They have everything that is on your list. I bought the Trion Guide at IME about a year ago and really like it. The price is a little higher than 150 but I think it is well worth it. It's the only pack that I have ever owned that I actually prefer to wear without the hipbelt. Super comfortable pack no matter how much stuff you pile into it. I had the BD Predator before this one and the difference is night and day.

http://www.mammut.ch/en/productOverview ... packs.html

[*Chris*]

I guess my only addition is that personally, 30L is not enough for ice climbing. Puffy coat, extra gloves, rope, rack, pons, tools, food, water, helmet, and sometimes a stove. That's a lot for 30L. Good on you though if you pack light! My view is that you pay a very small weight/price penalty for having a pack larger than needed most of the time. However, you pay a big penalty in utility when your pack is too small. Larger packs tend to be better featured for comfort... all else being equal. 50L is about right for me. Hanging crampons, water, gear, and helmets on the exterior of a pack is a recipe for broken components. and getting snagged on every thicket you bushwack through. YMMV.

[granite_grrl]

I guess my only addition is that personally, 30L is not enough for ice climbing. Puffy coat, extra gloves, rope, rack, pons, tools, food, water, helmet, and sometimes a stove. That's a lot for 30L. Good on you though if you pack light! My view is that you pay a very small weight/price penalty for having a pack larger than needed most of the time. However, you pay a big penalty in utility when your pack is too small. Larger packs tend to be better featured for comfort... all else being equal. 50L is about right for me. Hanging crampons, water, gear, and helmets on the exterior of a pack is a recipe for broken components. and getting snagged on every thicket you bushwack through. YMMV.

Agreed. I tend to bring a lot of extra clothes with, which fills up a pack quick.

Both Nathan and I have the BD Predator packs, which are amazing ice packs. I have the 45L (which MEC never sold and BD didn't make for long), Nathan the 50L, which were both very generous in their sizes, but they also compress well which means they aren't over whelming when I use it for sport climbing in the summer.

Reasons why I like the Predator so much is that it has a nice proper sized crampon pouch, which is going to be hard to get on a smaller pack (I wouldn't even look at that BD Speed), a great system for your ice tools (accommodating all varieties of leashless tools) and a helmet panty at the top of the pack for a neat way to store your helmet (which your not going to find on any other pack anyway).

Looking at the MEC site if I was going to get a replacement for my Predator I'd look at the MIssion, but I would definitely look around a little more first to see what else might be out there.

[Paddlerx]

Thanks for all the comments. The BD Speed was on my list, some negative comments on its suspension piviot point on hipbelt made me pause.
did some googling and found the Osprey Variant 35, reviews were positive and it ticked ALL the boxes in my list. Price was just 'ok' until i found a place selling it for 35% off... (US company, shipping was free to a US mailbox).
Done.
i'll be swinging by tomorrow to pick it up and it'll be used in the Whites this weekend on my first ice multipitch.... no i'm not too excited