Black Diamond Sonar Pack
Coal
- Airy, breathable back panel, shoulder straps and hipbelt help keep your back cool and ventilated during hot sunny days
- Hydration-compatible design features an externally accessible hydration sleeve (reservoir sold separately)
- A bevy of pockets keeps your gear organized and accessible, including a fleece-lined pocket for your phone or MP3 player
- Zippered panel access makes it easy to load and unload your gear
- Tool loops let you attach trekking poles or an ice axe to the exterior
- The Black Diamond Sonar pack is made of 210-denier ripstop nylon for lightweight durability
Imported.
| Best use | Hiking |
|---|---|
| Frame type | Internal |
| Gear capacity (L) | 24 / 26 liter |
| Gear capacity (cu. in.) | 1,464 / 1,587 cubic inches |
| Weight | 2 lbs. / 2 lbs. 1 oz. |
| Weight - metric | 0.92 / 0.94 kilograms |
| Fits torso | 16 - 19 / 18.5 - 21 inches |
| Fits waist/hips | 26 - 40 / 28 - 45 inches |
| Material(s) | Ripstop nylon |
| Frame material | Aluminum |
| Number of stays | 1 peripheral V-shaped hoop/1 center stay |
| Suspended mesh back panel | No |
| Pack access | Panel |
| Number of exterior pockets | 6 + main compartment |
| Dimensions | 21 x 14 x 6 inches |
| Gender | Unisex |
(2 total reviews)
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Dec 4, 2014Great Low Profile Pack
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Jul 10, 20139.5 out of a 10 - has some chiContext: 1. I was looking for a pack primarily for my urban-day 2: Typical commute = subway to work (40 min), subway to training (10 min), subway home (30 min). Most of it standing. Often i...
Read More Context: 1. I was looking for a pack primarily for my urban-day 2: Typical commute = subway to work (40 min), subway to training (10 min), subway home (30 min). Most of it standing. Often in tight subway cars. So, pack needed to be light, with good weight-distribution, and shaped so it could be easily maneuvered in packed subway. 3. Capacity: breakfast, lunch, snack, coffee mug, training clothes, a magazine for reading on the train, and a laptop in a 15" case. So, pack needed to allow 3-4 tupperware containers to stand upright(lower risk of spillage), really open up (not top loading), so I can easily pack/re-pack, as the day progresses, and have some level of rigid padding to protect the laptop. I also wanted couple of external pockets for wallet, phone, keys, etc. 4: Aspirational: I wanted a good looking pack, which I could use for 'off-road' adventures, or vacation travel. Finally, I wanted a well-made pack (craftsmanship). Competitors: I looked at products from arcteryx, mountain hardwear, mountainsmith, gregory, thule, and several others. Online, and in stores. I looked for the right pack for over 4 months, because I wanted the perfect pack, for my needs. This pack: Fits the bill perfectly. I was a bit reluctant because of the red padding, which makes it slightly less 'corporate-appropriate' than I would like. Why 9.5 (and not perfect 10): Construction quality: The construction is good, but not as good as top-of-line arcteryx or black diamond. My hypothesis is that they make some packs in the US/CA, with the most cutting edge machines (see the 700 dollar Naos for super construction). However, decent for this price-point. By construction, I mean the stitching, material choice, etc. For instance, the main zipper snags a little bit when it encounters certain turns (so you need two hands to manage). Design: Good, but again, not perfect. For instance, there are three zipper sets on pack: one for a fleece lined small pocket, one for another small pocket, and one for main compartment. Fleece lined one is highlit in red so it is visually distinguishable (good design). The other two, however, look identical. So, most of the time, it is trial and error to find the right one. Finally, for primarily urban users such as myself, it would be great if we could find a way to nicely stash the waist-strap, if not needed. For instance, if the waist-straps were a bit longer, we could wrap then around opposite side of pack and close the fastener, so the two waist-straps were not always dangling around. Should black-diamond ever read this review, and modify the sonar pack, I hope they send me an upgrade! Note: After I received this pack, I found it for USD20 cheaper online, but bc REI is a co-op, returns dividends, and supports in-store returns, chose to keep pack.
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Read More I recently found myself for an extended period of time in our nation's capitol for work. Like the previous reviewer, I purchased this pack primarily to use for my daily commute. For the first time in my life my primary mode of transportation has been the Metro coupled with my feet and I needed a pack to carry everything with me for the day on the Metro and walking instead of just bringing my things to and from the car. Although my daily life is now urban, my primary interests remain in the outdoors and I wanted a pack I could also use for outdoor recreation. I researched and looked at several other packs including some bicycle commuter packs and was interested in the Sonar. What finally made up my mind was when REI put it on sale and I ordered it in Grasshopper Green. When it arrived I found it was a lighter and brighter green than the dusky green depicted in the photos. Not unpleasant, just different from the photos. It really is close in color to a grasshopper or the last generation MSR tentfly green. Overally, I love the pack for my intended uses. In addition to my commute, I have taken the Sonar along as a day pack for hiking in the woods and for carrying goods home from shopping on weekends. It has a sleek and clean profile and carries moderate loads very comfortably. Although it is rather tall for it's volume, the profile of the pack is much narrower both in width and depth than my previous pack. While I'm sure Black Diamond designed it as a close fitting pack for scrambling up mountains this also make it easy to manuever on the crowded Metro. There are two stretch side pockets for water bottles which would be very tight fit for Nalgene bottles. However, I find them to be perfect for a 750 ml bicycle squeeze bottle on one side and don't laugh as I work in a coat and tie, a compact umbrella on the other. There is a back panel type pocket with stretch material on the sides which is quite deep. I usually use mine for a map and small first aid kit and notepad but it could easily accomodate a light jacket. The panel is secured with two compression straps at the top of the pack. I found these to be also useful for strapping a layer to the outside of the pack when I had it jammed full of groceries. There are two zippered pockets at the top. The smaller one is closest to your back and is lined. It easily holds a pair of sunglasses and my iphone. The larger one is just above the stretch back panel pocket and is unlined. It is about the size of a small fanny pack and holds a couple of protein bars, toothbrush, etc with ease. While the zipper pulls on these two are identical, they are separated in the middle by the main compartment zipper which has a different style pull and unlike the previous reviewer, I did not find them to be confusing. The main compartment is a panel loading pouch. That's it, nothing fancy. The pack is quite tall but at 26 liters is not overly spacious. In additon, the two zippered organizer pockets take up internal space so the more you load them, the more they will intrude into the main body of the pack. I found the access zipper did not extend as far down the sides as some other panel loaders due to the location of the water bottle pockets so it will not completely clamshell open like some panel loaders. There is a sleeve for a water bladder behind the back panel which is accessible without opening the main compartment. I like this feature as all of my previous packs had to be opened up to access the bladder pouch. I don't use a bladder very often anymore but it is a useful feature. Be awars, placing a full bladder in the pouch will also eat up internal volume so take this into account if you use one. The one thing which did confuse me was the location of the sleeve for a pack cover. I didn't find it until I had the pack for several days. It is located on the very bottom of the pack and secures by velcro.