Arc'teryx Altra 65 Backpack Review

*You can also read this review and many others at http://www.gearthirty.com/blog/2012/05/03/gear30-review-arcteryx-altra-65-backpack/.  You can also find information on hiking, climbing, and paddling destinations; how-to articles; and local, national, and world news from the outdoor industry.  Please check out www.gearthirty.com.

When I was younger, my focus was on going as light and as fast or far as possible.  It still is when I'm by myself or with a buddy, but I tend to go backpacking with my wife a lot these days.  Don't get me wrong, I love going backpacking with my wife.  I enjoy it more than going by myself or with a friend.  But, I tend to not go quite as far or as fast, and definitely not as light.

When I was about to get married, I thought that bigger and heavier loads may be in my near future, so I decided it might be a good idea to get a backpack that could handle bigger and heavier loads in comfort.  After a bit of shopping around, I bought the Arc'teryx Altra 65 pack.  I thought about getting the 75, but after seeing it in person, I just couldn't imagine myself filling it up (or being able to carry it if it was full).

The Facts and Stats

Technical Features

• Lightweight

Construction

• Twin removable aluminum stays for durable support
• Pivoting hipbelt with Load Transfer Disc™ provides increased agility and stability
• Top grab handle
• Padded bottom

Pack Suspension Configuration

• Arc'teryx AC² (Advanced Composite Construction) suspension system
• GridLock™ shoulder strap adjustment system
• Anatomically shaped shoulder straps
• Modular sternum strap
• Breathable shoulder straps and hipbelt
• Adjustable shoulder straps
• Thermoformed triple-density hipbelt

Pack Loading & Closure Configuration

• Top loading
• Panel loading
• Extendable collar with drawcord for additional capacity

Pack Lid Configuration

• Removable/ extendable top lid with two zippered compartments

Pack Compression Strap Configuration

• Four compression straps - two on each side
• Padded compression wings allow additional storage configurations

Pack Attachment Configuration

• Micro daisy chains

Pack Pocket Configuration

• Map pocket
• Stretch-mesh stash pockets on hipbelt
• Kangaroo pocket with top compression strap
• Two stretch-mesh pockets

Pack Hydration

• HydroPort™
• Modular hose clip
• Internal hydration pocket with zip

Zippers & Fly Configuration

• Full length U-zipper access
• Laminated zipper protector, doubles as a compression storage flap

Reinforcements

• Reinforced high wear areas

Integrated Features

• Key clip

My First Impressions

When I saw this backpack for the first time, I thought, "Wow, this thing is big.  65L? Really?"  I hadn't used a backpack bigger than 50L in years, so this thing seemed huge.  This pack seemed one-and-a-half times bigger than my other 50L packs.

My next impression was that the craftsmanship was beautiful.  This backpack was so clean and seemed so well-made.  The materials that were used seemed top-notch.  The design of the pack offers a lot of versatility and features, but it still seemed sleek and simple.

I then put the pack on my back with some weight in it, and that's what impressed me most.  I often have problems with hipbelts rubbing my hips raw or bruising my hips.  This pack felt more comfortable than all the rest right off the bat.    

Hiking the Routeburn Track, New Zealand.  I am wearing the Arc'teryx Altra 65 

The Features and Pictures

The Arc'teryx Altra 65.  This pack is great for backpackers that want to carry a lot comfortably.  Not ideal for climbers.  The pack is large, compresses well, and carries well.  There is a large zipper panel that allows one to view every content of the main pack bag at the same time.  The zipper is protected all the way around by six straps; two on each side and two on the bottom.

The zipper is protected by the the padded flap along the side.  There are a total of four zipper pulls on the zipper.  The two compression straps along the side tend to compress better and more evenly than pretty much any pack I have ever used.  This is because they pull from the compression flap that runs almost the whole length of the pack.

The Harness.  The hipbelt is a thermoformed and uses three layers of different foam.  All that means is that it is already shaped to fit snug around the hips without any uncomfortable creases or pressure points.  It works.  I do wish that the lumbar section of the hipbelt (that fits in the small of the back) was a little more pronounced.  When I carry heavy loads, the majority of the weight is focused on the iliac crest (top of hip bone).  If the lumbar pad of the hipbelt was more pronounced, more of the weight would be distributed to be supported by one's rear end as well as the iliac crest.

The hip belt is attached to the suspension by this "load transfer disc".  This disc allows the weight to be distributed to the hipbelt and allows the hip belt to pivot and the hips move freely.

The hip belt is pre-curved which allows one to tighten the hipbelt without uncomfortable creases.  There are few backpacks that I have used that haven't hurt my hips or rubbed them raw in places.  That is partially due to clothing I have worn with the backpack, but it is also partially due to the hipbelts used.  This hipbelt hasn't caused those problems. 

The Shoulder Straps are attached by velcro and this "gridlock" system.  

A better look at the Gridlock system.  Because the hipbelt is fixed, the torso adjustment is here at the shoulder straps using this gridlock system.  The shoulder straps can be adjusted shorter or longer by about two inches and laterally by about two inches.

This stretch mesh pocket is on the hipbelt and is big enough for an energy bar or two.

The front kangaroo pocket adds a lot of volume to the pack and allows a place for wet items that are separate from the rest of the pack.

This pocket is big enough for my tent.  You can get an idea on how big that is by the picture above.

Stretch mesh water bottle pocket.  It has a bungee around the top to secure the bottle.

The big zipper panel.  It is protected by six straps so that the pack can be stuffed tight without the zipper failing.

This is what it looks like with the panel open.  Every inch of the main packbag can be reached with the panel open.  You can also see the suspension laminated together.  Two aluminum stays going from the shoulders down to the load transfer disc and a stiff backpanel help support heavy loads.

This internal pocket is for hydration bladders.  It's not very wide and may fit slender 2-liter bladders, but it's not big enough to fit any of my bladders (camelbak and Osprey 3-liter bladders).  Having the weight on the side of the pack is not a wise design, in my opinion.  I like to have my heaviest stuff (water, food, etc) in the center of my body, not on a side panel.  I do like this pocket for storing small stuff.  It allows me organize my gear without using a ton of ditty bags and stuff sacks.  I just throw my hydration bladders at the top of the main packbag so it's easy to get to when I need to refill it.

Hydration hose port on the outside.  It's well protected with hypalon but I still think it's useless.

This top strap over the opening of the packbag is adjustable from both sides and is great for strapping on a rope or other items that won't fit inside.

One zippered map pocket is found under the lid.

Two big pockets on the top lid are protected by waterproof zippers.  This pocket is the smaller pocket.  It is quite large.  This pocket alone is as big as many other packs' whole lid.

The other, larger pocket.  It's big enough to fit a lightly insulated midlayer, rain jacket, food, etc.  The lid is big.

The inside of the pack is made of bright material which makes it easier to see items at the bottom of the bag in lower light.

The Gripes

This pack is not ideal for climbing.  Simple.  It's not a climbing pack.  There are not good ways to attach climbing gear except for a rope.  Also, the hipbelt is so big that it makes a harness unusable.  If you take the hipbelt off for climbing, it's hard to pack because it doesn't fold well.  Finally, you can't look up with a helmet on.  It's simply made for backpacking, not climbing.  

The Verdict

I have used this backpack for a week with trad climbing gear and a rope, tent, food, sleeping bag, stove, etc. all on the inside.  I have used this pack for four days of backpacking in New Zealand where it rained half the time.  My gear stayed dry the whole time.  It fit more than I needed every time and carried it comfortably.  

The problem with the pack, for me, is just what I said earlier.  It's not ideal for climbing.  

I'd give this pack 4.5 out of 5 stars.  I like the size and the comfort of the pack with heavy loads.  It's often too large and I am tempted to pack too much, but for big, gear-intensive trips or for a person backpacking with their family (and carrying a lot of the family's gear), it's a great pack.  I wouldn't want it to be my only pack because I use this pack on about 1 out of 5 trips.  But for gear-intensive backpacking trips, I'm really glad I have it. 

A few thoughts on the Scarpa Phantom Guide Boots

*You can also read this review at http://www.gearthirty.com/blog/2012/05/04/a-few-thoughts-on-the-scarpa-phantom-guide-boots/.  You can also find information on hiking, climbing, and paddling destinations; how-to articles; and local, national, and world news from the outdoor industry.  Please check out www.gearthirty.com.

I mentioned about a month ago that I now have Scarpa Phantom Guide boots in my possession to test out.  After a month of testing, I now have a couple comments to share.  I plan to write a much longer, more comprehensive review of them in a few more weeks after I get a few thousand more feet of climbing done in them. 

I have currently done about 1,500 feet of ice climbing, about 200 feet of rock climbing (without crampons) and about 15 miles of hiking in them.  That is not a ton, which is why I want to climb and hike in them more before totally reviewing them. 

So far, here are a few thoughts:

The Phantom Guides have a softer shank than I was expecting.  This makes hiking nice but I was afraid that it may cause problems with the fit of my crampons.  So far I haven't had any problems with crampon fit due to the little bit of give in the shank, but the narrowness of the front welt means that only my dartwins fit well.  My Grivel G14 bars are too wide, but I haven't tried the bars from the G20 or G22.  Black Diamond bars are a better fit, but still not as solid as the Petzl bars.  Once my darts are on the boot and snug, there is absolutely no give in the shank.  I think that it is a very good design; a little give for the hike, no give for the climb.

Phantom Guide seems to fit well with the Petzl bars on my Dartwins.

Another thing that I am extremely impressed with is the fit in the heel.  These boots really lock my heels down.  500 feet of steep ice gets my calves burning in my other boots, but these boots lock my heels down so well, I haven't noticed any calf burning at all.

I did about six 150' laps without the slightest bit of calf burning.  That same amount would have meant burning calves in my other boots.  Climbing WI4+ ice in these boots really felt effortless.

I generally wear a size 45-46 in most boots.  These boots are a 46 and, though they seem to be the right length, they are a higher volume boot than I was expecting.  There are a couple advantages and disadvantages to the extra volume.  (My foot is not extremely narrow, nor is it very wide, but it is a little bit lower volume than the average foot)

First of all, I notice my forefoot sliding around laterally a bit in these boots while I hike, especially on the downhill.  This isn't usually too much of a problem, but my feet did get a little sore after traversing a steep slope for about 45 minutes.  My heels don't slip one bit while hiking or climbing.

Second, these boots don't seem to be as warm as my single leather boots (Salomon Super Mtn 9).  I was expecting them to be warmer, but I think the additional volume means there is more room for my feet to keep warm, which isn't as efficient.

For the advantages, the higher volume boot does allow me to wear a combination of thicker socks which helps with the warmth factor and the lateral sliding (though it doesn't solve the problem).

Finally, the higher volume is slightly more comfortable than the narrower fit of my Salomons for general trail hiking.  The Salomons seem to hold my foot in place better on traverses, but the majority of the hiking I have done in them has been on trails while hiking to a climb.

These boots feel significantly lighter than my Salomons and feel much more sensitive, especially while rock climbing.  I am much more confident edging on rock in these. 

I love the built-in gaiters.  I normally hike with semi-loose boots to the climb, and then tighten my boots just before I get on the ice.  This also means that I usually have to untie my pant-gaiters to tighten my boots.  With these boots I don't have to use my pants as gaiters (though I still occasionally may) so it's easier and faster to adjust the tightness of my boots.

Another advantage to the gaiters is that they keep the boots very dry.  These boots are insulated with Primaloft and they use OutDry technology for the waterproof gaiter.  This, in my experience, makes for a waterproof, extremely quick-drying boot.  My leather boots dry quite slowly (think a day at room temperature) and these boots dry in an hour or two at room temperature, depending how much I sweat in them.

Super-gaiter outer with Tizip waterproof zip

Again, my experience with these boots is still somewhat limited, but I plan to climb in them quite a bit in a couple weeks and I hope to have a much more conclusive opinion after that trip.

Getting Out, Winter Layering intro.

A couple nights ago my friend Phil and I decided that a drytooling session was in order.  After a month (December) of great ice climbing in Ogden, UT, the weather turned a bit fickle and drytooling has become the best option.  A few days after Christmas, the weather went from nighttime lows in the teens and low 20s to lows in the mid 30s and highs near 50 degrees.  This continued for about a week and then got cold again.  After four days of cold weather, Phil and I headed up to Malan's Waterfall.  The skies were covered with clouds that morning and the temperatures hovered around 30 degrees F.  The ice definitely looked thinner than a couple weeks previous, but we both agreed it looked thick enough to safely climb.  While I was leading the lower pitch (the only pitch that was in), a refrigerator sized chunk of ice fell off one of the upper pitches and hit the top of the first pitch, about 50 feet left of where I was climbing.  It shattered  and sent shards (baseball-size shards) of ice at Phil and me.  Once at the top of the route, I quickly belayed Phil up to me and we rapped off the route and called it a day.

First Pitch of Malan's Waterfall (WI4+ according to Mountainproject, 140ft)

I haven't been ice climbing since that day.  Don't get me wrong, I wasn't scared off.  I can't wait to get back on the ice!  However, school has since started back up, Phil is back to work full-time (which means we will start our 3am assaults again soon), and the weather has been too warm!  In order to try to stay in shape, I have been snowshoeing (still not enough snow for good backcountry skiing), doing pull-ups on hangboards and ice tools, doing push-ups and crunches, and running. 

Nearing the top of Ben Lomond with Kelsey

On our way back from Lewis Peak

The primary focus of this winter has been about perfecting our systems--not only our technical systems (building anchors, transitions between pitches, etc), but also our physical bodies (though perfecting is far from what is happening to my body) and our clothing and gear systems.  Perfecting one's system is critical for moving fast, light, and safe in the mountains.  In the past, I have been held back from moving fast for these three reasons (one or the other, not usually all three reasons at the same time).  We have a relatively big objective in mind this winter, and having our systems dialed could be the difference between success and failure.
The next few posts will focus on my clothing system and some other good options.