REI Co-op  Flash Air 50 Pack - Men's

The Flash Air 50 pack is a very light, but spacious backpack ideal for through-hiking or backpacking. It has a lightweight frame and a few extra pockets other than the main compartment, but that's really all I feel is necessary. Just enough to be useful, but not so much that it adds too much weight or limits flexibility by forcing a particular packing style. Plus it was comfortable to wear. I never loaded it up super heavily, but that isn't really what this pack is for. A few things I liked in particular: - The hipbelt felt like just the right size and amount of padding. With other backpacks I've struggled with being able to tighten the hip belt enough before each side runs into the other, but this flt spot on (for reference, I'm 5'7", a size 30 waist for jeans, and usually wear size "small" of most brands). - The pockets in the hip belt were actually spacious enough to fit a few bars comfortably and were easy to access, another area I've had issues with from other packs. - The elastic cord around the rear mesh pocket was a nice touch, adding some retention for the layers you might want to stash there as the temperature changes - A mesh bag that hangs on one side (and a smaller one on the front left strap) allows you to pack something wet and give it a change to dry out. Both are removable if you want to shave some grams. - Rolltop. Love a rolltop bag! In addition to the standard rolltop clip closure, there is another elastic-cord clip that holds the rolled portion in place, which is a nice touch. My main gripe was that my bladder of choice (3L/100oz Osprey Hydraulics Reservoir) did not fit at all in the bladder sleeve. This was disappointing and a bit surprising, since it fits all of my other packs, including a much smaller one. That being said, I'd be shocked if this didn't fit other bladders, maybe even the updated version of mine, since I have an older design (which you can see in the picture). Not a deal breaker for me since a pair of Nalgenes will easily fit in the side pockets, but I felt I had to dock a star for that. Overall I'm quite happy with this pack. There are a number of small, thoughtful design decisions that I really appreciate, and it's a great size for the type of lightweight backpacking its suited for. I wish it would fit my bladder, but maybe that problem is specific to me.

This pack qualifies as an “Ultralight” weighing in at 30.6oz (based on my scale, not an official weight published by REI). When considering a lightweight pack, you should be aware of the trade-offs. To save weight, ultralight packs typically use thinner materials, don't have a separate top storage compartment, and use draw strings instead of heavier zippers. The hip and shoulder straps are also usually less padded and often the packs aren’t adjustable to suit different torso lengths (so choose your size wisely!). With the above caveats, I’m impressed with the Flash Air 50 and give it a 5-star rating. Strengths: - Very lightweight and comfortable. Hip and shoulder straps are nicely padded for an ultralight pack. - The main outside pocket holds everything I would typically place in the top compartment of a pack. Tightening the draw string keeps everything in place and secure. - Two nice sized pockets on the hip belt and a super convenient mobile phone pocket on the left shoulder strap. - The two pockets on either side of the hip belts securely hold water bottles. The water bottles are easy to reach without the need to take off your pack. Areas for Improvement: - On the inside of the pack, there is a sleeve for a water bladder. There are two stiff wires running along the inside of the sleeve (presumably for structural support). The wires prevented me from easily inserting a water bladder. - The pack comes with a removable water bottle holder that you could hang off the back of your pack or from one of the shoulder straps, however, I quickly removed it after realizing a swinging 2lb water bottle was very annoying while hiking. That said, I’ll likely use the handy bag to hold lighter weight items for easy access. - The pack size might run a little small. When sizing packs, I'm typically in-between a size medium and large. I found the medium size Flash Air 50 too small so I plan to swap it out for a size large.

I bought this pack online in 2024 after trying it on in the store and have used it for two PCT LASHes and a couple multi-day backpacking trips on the East and West Coasts. It's super lightweight with plenty of room inside for all my gear, including my BV475 bear can. The outer pocket fits any stuff I need easy access to like water filter, jacket, hygiene kit, etc. Each side pocket easily fits two 1-liter bottles. I modified one of the shoulder straps to better suit my water bottle holder but overall it's a pretty adaptable system. On a longer trip with 30-35 pounds it takes a bit of fiddling to get the fit dialed in but I made it work.

Over all this is a really good lightweight pack! Ive done a few extended hikes with it.. i have a few small gripes about it, but nothing major. I will start with the good, it fits very good to the body.. almost feels like part of you. The side water bottle compartments are nice to not have to take your pack off to get your water bottles. It can carry a pretty heavy load.. i did isle royal national park 5 night 6 days worth of food and it carried it no problem… the pack does what its meant to… Here are the improvements i would make to it. where the top rolls up, i would have made it strap down on both sides, to act as a type of compression strap. rei could skip the little pouch on the left harness, and give you a decent water bottle holder instead. If your on the fence about this pack dont be afraid to try it.. or the flash 55 ( its almost the same pack, just al little lighter)

I upgraded to this backpack after years using a Kelty Coyote pack. It is insane how far the technology has come. Not only is this backpack lighter but it is way more comfortable. The back support is perfect and provides plenty of ventilation. There are plenty of quick access pockets all of which fit my iPhone. There is a pocket for a water bladder if you want to add one. The roll top design allows you To adjust to extend the pack size when you are carrying more gear. I cannot recommend this pack enough. It has done everything I have asked of it.

I'm 72, and can't carry the weight that I could when I was younger, but I don't want to give up backpacking any time soon. I've lightened my base weight considerably over the past few years, but my 70 L backpack still weighed in around 5 lbs empty. A friend invited me to go on a weekend backpack up into the Gothic Basin, which is a fairly strenuous 12% average grade for several miles into a gorgeous alpine setting. I decided to finally spend the money for an ultra-lightweight backpack, and chose the REI Flash Air 50. Everything I needed fit easily into the backpack, and two days after purchasing it, I set out on the trail. IT. WAS. PERFECT! I was worried that perhaps the belt wouldn't support the load on my pelvis as well as my previous backpack, but it transferred mist of the weight to my pelvis and very little to my shoulders or back. Everything fit in easily, and I carried stove, food, water purification system, puffy jacket, sleeping bag and mat, tent, first aid, etc, with no problems regarding pack volume. I would probably have been just as tired going up without the pack, because the reduction of pack weight put me around 15 lbs total weight starting out with water and trekking poles. I also lived the cell phone pocket on the left front shoulder strap, which made taking photos very easy. The back pouch is roomy and easily fit my raincoat, pack cover and camp shoes. The side pockets were also roomy, and I put my water purification system/water (the GRAYL GeoPress system) in one pocket, and my bear spray in the other. The fabric showed no abrasions or damage, even though I had to scramble on some portions of the trail. This is truly an excellent pack!

Purchased because of the weight at 1 lb. Material: Good, Construction: Good, Design: Fair. The chest harness unclips itself and its almost impossible to fix in the field, as you can see from the picture I replaced the chest harness with 10 lb velcro a no brainer solution. The chest harness is pictured on the pack and by itself. A major flaw is the side and back pockets cannot be closed! In the picture I added a small REI zip pocket to the pack. I’ll add velcro to the pockets so they can be closed.

This extremely light weight, 50L pack, with multiple pockets is perfect over overnight camping/hiking trips! I will use it on my next long distance hiking trip. It is the most comfortable pack that I have had on my back. It has plenty of pockets for easy access storage. Two water bottle pouches are located for easy access without removing the pack. The cell phone pouch and two zip pockets on the hip belt allows you to have what you need to hike for hours without removing the pack. I highly recommend this product!!

I used this pack on the PCT from Mexico to Tahoe. I returned it as soon as I got off trail. The internal frame rubs on the water proofing on the backside of the material by the straps making very audible squeak right by your ears. Other hikers often mentioned how noisy my pack was. I got to enjoy this sweet sound for close to three months and around three million steps👎 Other than that I was pleased.

The Flash Air 50 Pack quickly proved itself to me as comfortable, well-featured, and easy to fit. First use was on 100+ miles of The Long Trail in Vermont, carrying roughly 25-32 pounds. At no point in the week did the pack seem uncomfortable; it offers an excellent balance of padding, adjustability, and weight. Its second use was a four-day trip in the White Mountains, loaded up to 35 pounds. Again, with proper adjustments, the pack carried comfortably and distributed the load well over 30 miles of challenging terrain. I will likely buy a second one of these to replace lighter packs because the Flash Air 50 balances the weight better and feels lighter.