Gregory  Targhee FastTrack 24 Snow Pack

It's a good pack with a couple minor complaints. The pocket design is different than other traditional touring packs and I'm not convinced it's in a good way. The shovel and probe are accessible through the main compartment zipper while the main pack compartment is separated by a Bungie top closure. This works okay except the shovel/probe naturally press against the main compartment opening making it harder to access pack contents. The other issues is that as the pack fills up, the shovel\probe sit more upright, pushing the exterior of the pack out and away and creating a negative space outside the main compartment. This becomes a space that isn't easy to fill with the top of the shovel\probe sticking up. Although I've found it's kinda nice to just toss a layer of two or gloves in and put of this space and not need to throw them back in the main compartment. Another minor issue is if the pack is full and the shovel\probe facing up, the lid tops main pocket gets pretty crushed from the shovel\probe. Hard to keep goggles in there and I'm worried my sunglasses or similar items might break. Another little issue is the deployable helmet cover pulls down from the top and I've noticed a couple times it beginning to spread apart the main compartment zippers. It also forces the mini pocket it comes from to stay open so no valuables can go in there although I use it for snacks, ski straps, hand warmers, etc... Beyond that it's a really solid pack that has everything else you'd want from a touring pack. Lightweight, two ice axe capacity, hipbelt pocket and gear loop, daisy chains which I added some Bungie for crampons (but it's mostly been used for beer cans haha). The color scheme is great and I really like it. The fast track feature is cool and I've used it a couple times but ya gotta really ask yourself how often you'll use it. I've had trouble getting the skis fully crosswise to balance the load. It normally stays on the right side and any extended booting that sucks. I gotta check out their videos again to make sure I'm doing it right.

Ruggedly built large capacity day pack. I bought it because the padded hip belt is removable as is the frame. Could use a zippered pocket inside the main compartment for small items and the main compartment zipper should extend the length of the pack, at least along one side, for access to stuff at the bottom. Quibbles aside, this pack will get the job done no matter how much stuff (or water) you cram into it. Rust color is dark rust, not orange. Great sale price.

This pack is fantastic, but misses some areas that other packs excel at. Most notably access to the main compartment via a large U zipper. There are also no straps to attach a snowboard vertically to the back of the pack with us a bummer.

Ski sling has a poor design, zippers on the top of the backpack could be designed better overall terrible backpack