Black Diamond  Helio 30 Snow Pack

I’m super stoked to get this backpack as my husband has nearly the same version from a couple years ago and I love borrowing his! I love the white color and I feel the material isn’t going to get dirty too easily. Love the options for clipping and hanging gear- without too many hanging straps and loops (something I’m always worried about when getting on/off chair lifts). I love the helmet cover for the front of the pack and feel like the external cover for it rides in the right spot on the backpack. Definitely will want to wear the hip belt always with the pack, which makes me think I won’t use it as an every-day pack when I’m not skiing - but it’ll be perfect for ski use. Will definitely easily keep a few extra layers in the main pocket, along with all the other back country gear you’ll need. Also love the separate pocket area for the back country gear- and will be perfect for any skins you need to shove into that area. Super comfortable for my 5’2” frame and love how sleek it is. (And again- love the lack of hanging straps everywhere!!!)

This is an incredibly well designed backpack for backcountry skiing and other activities. It’s specifically designed for skiing, so I will follow up again once winter arrives. The gear pockets and functionality of the pockets and access are sublime. The fit and form fitting feel hugs your body. The weight distribution is the best I have experienced from the 5 different backpacks I own and use. There are some brilliant design features that you recognize will definitely help your skiing experience, and you know that they were learned from experience. The designers who built this pack are skiers, and they’ve taken their lessons back to the design center. The pockets, access points, dual carry handles, pinch clips on ski straps, all these little features create a wonderful systematic process for storing, accessing and simplifying your backcountry experience. I’m really looking forward to seeing this in action on the trails.

I haven’t gotten to take this bag skiing yet so can’t review full functionality, but I took it for a hike on a very rainy day. The torso is a bit long for me but it was still comfortable enough to hike in for 5 hours. I appreciated how waterproof it was because I had a picnic blanket in there that I was able to put away while wet in one compartment and nothing else in the bag got wet. The side compartment isn’t as accessible as I’d like—I needed a friend to reach my water bottle and other items in there unless I took the whole pack off. The waist belt pocket is not big enough for my iPhone but the shoulder strap pocket is. Overall, there are plenty of pockets, straps, and places to clip on accessories, and the helmet sling is great (something my old ski touring pack didn’t have). I don’t love the idea of a white backpack for skiing (really poor visibility) so I’ll be adding some colorful reflective tape before I take it out in the snow. I packed it with my back country ski kit to make sure everything fit, and there’s still plenty of room for food, so I like the side compression straps to make it a bit smaller as needed.

This backpack is great. It’s comfortable, lightweight, and I love the dual access from the dual access from the top and the back. It is a dedicated winter pack so I haven’t used it yet in the snow. I tried it on a day hike in the Wasatch mountains and was impressed. I loved all of the pockets and straps for gear. I’m excited to use this pack this winter for snow shoeing and skiing.