Mountaineering Pack 40L

Rolltop pack for mountaineering and ski touring. Sewn from Challenge Ultra 100 and 200 with Venom stretch mesh. Light, durable, and water resistant.

This bag has joined me everywhere since making it - skiing in Banff, splitboarding Mt Baker, Yosemite backcountry, Bugaboos spires, and tours all seasons around Lake Tahoe.

• Harness is fully replaceable and repairable: removable shoulder straps, hipbelt, and detachable hip pouches.
• Contoured framesheet with aluminum stay.
• Avalanche tools pocket.
• External helmet and soft gear carry with adjustable/clippable bungee.
• Gear loops, tool clips, and daisy chains.
• Fully seam taped for durability and to block water intrusion.
• Long webbing with asymmetric clips for lashing variable external loads, supporting diagonal or A-frame ski carry.
• Hydration bladder sleeve and hose port.
• Comfortable to 50lbs, tested up to 65lbs.

One of my favorite things when making kit for myself is salvaging and repurposing unusual components:

• The rolltop batten has a narrow 1/8" strip of plastic cutting board from the Dollar Store to flexibly preserve shape while open.
• The hipbelt mount has additional structure from a shaped cut of corrugated plastic from an election season lawn sign. Both elements are fully hidden within double walled construction.

Since the initial design, I’ve extended the rolltop collar to 55L capacity.

I made this bag to replace my Katabatic Gear Artemis 55, which had been my do-everything bag for years - Denali, New Zealand, Morocco, British Columbia, and all of my early Cascades summits (Shasta, Hood, St Helens).