Gear Review: CiloGear 30z Ski Pack

I gotta’ have a pack that works. There’s nothing worse than a pack that doesn’t fit well (except maybe boots that don’t fit well) or a pack that doesn’t carry what you need it to carry. In my experience, a ski mountaineering pack must be able to carry all sorts of weirdly shaped crap: skis, crampons, helmets, shovels, probes…this list goes on. I have been on a quest in search of the perfect mountaineering pack, and I’m hoping I’ve found it in my new Cilogear 30z ski pack. This review provides my initial impressions of the pack. I’ll update it after my trip to Mt. Shasta this weekend.

Cilogear is a Portland based pack company that departs from the standard "made in china" manufacturing and distribution. All Cilogear packs are manufactured in their shop in Portland, and most packs are made on order. The packs are not custom, they just don’t keep much of an inventory. Typically it takes about three weeks for them to fill orders when they’re busy, so if you’re in the market for a Cilogear pack, order it well before your next trip.

The website is www.cilogear.com

First Impressions:

 This is a well made pack. The fabric is top notch: durable and light. The stitching seems solid. The whole pack design is as simple as they come. A minimalist hip belt and shoulder straps attached to a nylon rucksack. The pack has no frame. Instead it had a foam bivy pad that gives the pack some structure, and can also be used as a seat, a splint, or anything else you can think to do with closed cell foam. The top opens with a waterproof zipper that circumnavigates the top of the pack. It works well for the most part. However, unlike a traditional drawstring top, the zipper doesn't draw the sides of the pack together to address unfilled space at the top of the pack.

Sewn into the pack are a series of D-clips and cinch clips. Using the straps provided with your pack, you can employ any number of systems for compression or attaching things to the pack.

In fact, the whole D-clip system is what lead me to buy the pack in the first place. I’ve always wanted a pack where I could use ski straps both as compression straps and to attach skis to my back. Cilogear is the first pack company to my knowledge that has actually created a design where this is possible. The advantage of using ski straps is that they are significantly more durable than nylon straps. Just be careful because it is easy to over compress with the ski straps.

Finally, the ski gear pocket is generally pretty good. There is space for a shovel, shovel shaft, and probe. In addition, I find that my crampons slip right in between the shovel shaft and probe, and behind the shove blade. The result is a fairly protected  area that allows me to store my crampons in my pack while keeping them fairly accessible.

Fit

Generally, I wear a 19-20 inch frame, which should put me right in between sizes on the 30z. I originally ordered the regular frame, but found it too short. The frame itself was close, but short. However, the shoulder straps were really short. I probably have a relatively broad chest compared to the average ski mountaineer, and the regular shoulder straps barely reached past my collarbone. I got in touch with Graham at Cilogear, and we switched out for a
long. It should be noted that if you usually wear a16 or 17 inch, you might consider getting a long anyway. The shoulder straps are longer and if you’re wearing the pack over a puffy, you may want the extra space.


 I filled my pack with ordinary gear for a long day of climbing to see out the pack carried. I will reserve my judgment until after Shasta, but I wasn’t immediately impressed. Even the long should straps seemed a little too short, and I felt a significant amount of weight on my shoulders. The only form of suspension on the 30z is the removable bivy pad. I notice with a full pack that the bivy pad has a tendency to bulge outward, thus reducing comfort and pushing the pack away from one’s back. However, for an additional $25 one can purchase the frame sheet that comes on many of Cilogear’s larger packs. Depending on how the Shasta trip goes, that might be a worthwhile investment.

Initial Conclusions:

All in all, the pack’s features certainly deserve high praise for being able to carry all the weirdly shaped crap one brings into the backcountry. One could spend hours figuring out exactly how one wanted to arrange their compression and ski carry straps. The ski-strap A-frame style that I have adopted on my pack seems to do the trick. 

I am still a little skeptical about the fit, but we will see how it goes on Shasta this weekend. I think that any problems will likely be fixed by adding the frame sheet. Updates to follow

UPDATE: see my field review of the pack here