Rab  Airox 30L Hiking Pack

No one yet has done a review of this pack, so I guess I’ll be the first. These are just my initial impressions. But, I am an experienced backpacker and hiker. My most recent long hike was the Coast to Coast across England, which I did with the Gregory Zulu 30 (a relationship I entered into with high hopes but which quickly broke down into simmering daily hatred). I kept looking for a true top-loading pack in the 25-30 liter category with a full trampoline suspension, and finally found this Rab Airox 30. I bought it from another source, though. Didn’t know REI carried them, and they weren’t in my local store. On the Coast to Coast I saw a lot of Rab products, so it’s a well-known outdoor brand in Europe, if not here. My initial impression is that this is a superb backpack. Construction quality is top-notch, zippers are YKK, and the suspension system when (over)loaded with 30 pounds is stable, secure, and very well-ventilated. The torso length is adjustable. I’m 5’ 5”, and it fits me. The hip belt is seamless and plush, which is nice if you have bony hips like mine. The stretchy mesh pockets on the straps are useful. The zipped pocket won’t quite fit my Samsung Note 20 Ultra with Otterbox case, but it’ll probably hold most phones, sunglasses, nut bars, and tubes of sunscreen. Again, it’s stretchy. The mesh pocket on the other strap is comically accommodating; I fit a full 1-liter Camelbak bottle in there and it held securely and came out easily. Not that you would do such a thing, but it’ll fit a sizable object. If your bottle is smaller, there’s a little elastic loop toward the top that’ll help hold it in when you bend over. The side stretchy mesh pockets also hold a 1-liter Camelbak, no problem. One-liter Nalgenes are a bit wider and shorter, but I imagine they’ll fit fine too. If you’re flexible, you can pull the bottle out on the go; getting it back in, though, is more challenging. The hip belt pockets are not stretchy, and roughly the same size as the Zulu’s. They work best if you don’t stuff them, keep them rummagable. The inner hydration pocket holds a 3-liter bladder. The little webbing loop at the top opens with a clip, so it’ll hold most bladders upright regardless of brand affiliation. The tube slots are central, but bidirectional. The rain cover (included, mine is yellow) has a bit of genius to it. It’s attached at the bottom by Velcro to the inside of the pocket, so it can’t blow away or get lost. It’s also positioned smartly, at the bottom ventral side, so you can pull it out and deploy it quickly to cover the whole pack including the bottom. The lid pocket has less room than it looks like in the photos, because what you see when it’s battened down includes a deep rain lip that runs around the dorsal perimeter. The actual interior seam-to-seam depth is 2.5 inches at the dorsal end. It’s fabric, so it’ll bulge out to fit whatever you stuff into it. But I suspect a thick sandwich would get a little smooshed. Underneath the lid pocket is a secure pocket with a key clip. There is no way to access the interior other than the top. I actually like this; zippers add leaks, complication, and weight. The dorsal stretchy stuff pocket has a strip of mesh down the middle, not as airy as the Zulu’s dorsal mesh pocket but significantly larger and deeper. There’s a trekking pole attachment system that I’m going to have to figure out. There is no ice axe loop. But, there are four very streamlined attachment points in the form of thin webbing stitched flat to the shell, one on each side near the dorsal base with one slot and a lace point, and one on each side of the lid, each with three slots. The slots just fit ½” webbing; for wider you’ll have to use a carabiner. I wouldn’t hang a lot of weight off them, in any case.