{"id":161813,"date":"2020-08-06T11:58:45","date_gmt":"2020-08-06T18:58:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/?p=161813"},"modified":"2023-05-18T16:19:58","modified_gmt":"2023-05-18T23:19:58","slug":"gear-i-hold-dear-rei-co-op-flash-backpack","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/hike\/gear-i-hold-dear-rei-co-op-flash-backpack","title":{"rendered":"Gear I Hold Dear: My Flash 52 Backpack"},"content":{"rendered":"

I don\u2019t get warm fuzzies when I reach for my Flash 52, but that doesn\u2019t mean I don\u2019t love it. This pack has steadied me as I shimmied across cliffs, and carried my filthy-wet gaiters when I couldn\u2019t bear to touch them myself. It\u2019s helped me reach distant campsites that seemed beyond my range.<\/p>\n

It doesn\u2019t caress me or make me feel like a goddess\u2014but it never abuses me. And honestly, I\u2019ve come to think that being unoffensive is a backpack\u2019s best quality.<\/p>\n

I used to expect a lot more. For years, my quest for total comfort had me pinballing between radically different styles of packs. When I thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail in 2003, I coveted the impossibly light, cottage-built packs that I saw on other hikers. But as incredibly light as they were, those stripped-down sacks lacked metal supports, cushioned hipbelts and virtually every other load-supporting feature favored by conventional pack designers. I bought one, thinking that the weight I\u2019d save would erase the soreness in my legs and feet. Instead, that flimsy pack only created new pains in other places, like the muscles in my neck and shoulders. Even the fabric sawed into my skin until calluses formed.<\/p>\n

\"rei

REI Co-op Flash 55 – Women’s<\/a> (left); the removable features on display in the REI Co-op Flash 55 – Men’s<\/a> (right)<\/p><\/div>\n

After the AT, I vowed I\u2019d never go spartan again\u2014so I bought the cushiest pack I could find. It was like a sofa with shoulder straps: Thick foam padding<\/a> softened everything but the innards, where an impressive network of rigid supports promised to levitate every load shy of an anvil. I figured that with all its features, I\u2019d never even register the pack\u2019s 6-pound tare weight, but with it, I hiked so slowly that 4 miles became a full day\u2019s journey.<\/p>\n

Then came the REI Co-op Flash 52, which is more like a beach lounger than a sofa. It has an aluminum stay that reinforces the perimeter of the backpanel and funnels the weight down to the hips. The hipbelt is especially stiff, with a rigid framesheet inside that\u2019s softened by a thin layer of mesh-covered foam. You won\u2019t find super-plush padding anywhere on this pack. But then again, my women\u2019s size medium weighs a smidge less than 3 pounds.<\/p>\n

AT ultralighters might sneer at that figure, but the Flash turned out to be my Goldilocks: Neither too heavy nor too insubstantial, it lets me carry stuff in relative comfort. Sure, my body feels tired after 12-mile days, when I\u2019m all too glad to drop the Flash and free my spine and shoulders. But with this pack, there\u2019s no torture\u2014no chafed skin, no neck-tugging, no bruised hips.<\/p>\n

In fact, the first few miles always feel great. The shape of the hipbelt feels custom-made for me. Its two pockets keep my snacks and sunscreen within easy reach. The shoulder straps let my arms swing easily.<\/p>\n

\"rei

Backpacking with the latest iteration of Flash gear<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

Eventually, my back does get sweaty, and the pack can feel blocky, as if I\u2019d strapped a stretcher to my torso. But these are totally tolerable discomforts. And in fact, REI Co-op designers actually addressed that planky quality in the latest iteration of the Flash, which hit shelves in spring 2019. This updated model<\/a> now holds 55 liters, and it swapped out aluminum rods for flexible spring steel that moves with you for a more natural feel.<\/p>\n

The newest Flash packs<\/a> also have removable pockets on the shoulder straps and a \u201crain shield\u201d lid that keeps electronics dry. Plus, they\u2019re made of a rectangular-grid ripstop fabric that\u2019s lighter than the ripstop in my 52-liter version, but just as strong\u2014and more sustainable (it has bluesign\u00ae-approved<\/a> fabrics now). And despite gaining those additional features, the Flash 55 still weighs less than 3 pounds.<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, I don\u2019t yearn to trade my trusty Flash 52 for the new and improved version. I\u2019m happy with my pack\u2019s adequateness. It helped me conquer the seemingly endless climbs that I encountered on my first trip to the Alps, and it hauled ridiculous quantities of water into Canyonlands National Park. Sometimes, it even lets me feel like a Flash (which is really saying something).<\/p>\n

Mostly, though, I love that the Flash doesn\u2019t force me to think about my body and its discontents during the whole time that I\u2019m hiking. It frees me up to actually appreciate the places I\u2019ve walked to. And really, what\u2019s better than that?<\/p>\n

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For more odes about our favorite stuff, check our\u00a0Gear I Hold Dear series<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/span>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I don\u2019t get warm fuzzies when I reach for my Flash 52, but that doesn\u2019t mean I don\u2019t love it. This pack has steadied me as I shimmied across cliffs, and carried my filthy-wet gaiters when I couldn\u2019t bear to touch them myself. It\u2019s helped me reach distant campsites that seemed beyond my range. It […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12183,"featured_media":161814,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[387],"tags":[15,439,724,2005],"internal-tag":[],"class_list":["post-161813","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hike","tag-backpacking","tag-backpacking-packs","tag-gear","tag-gear-i-hold-dear"],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/rei.com\/blog\/hike\/gear-i-hold-dear-rei-co-op-flash-backpack","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"Gear I Hold Dear: My Flash 52 Backpack","url":"http:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/hike\/gear-i-hold-dear-rei-co-op-flash-backpack","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/hike\/gear-i-hold-dear-rei-co-op-flash-backpack"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/08\/00-flash.jpg?resize=150%2C150","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/08\/00-flash.jpg?fit=2000%2C1000"},"articleSection":"Hike","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Maren Horjus"}],"creator":["Maren Horjus"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Uncommon Path \u2013 An REI Co-op Publication","logo":""},"keywords":["backpacking","backpacking packs","gear","gear i hold dear"],"dateCreated":"2020-08-06T18:58:45Z","datePublished":"2020-08-06T18:58:45Z","dateModified":"2023-05-18T23:19:58Z"},"rendered":"