PACKS

Hauling packs is what we do. Here are the season’s best models, for everything from summit bids to thru-hikes.

- Corey Buhay

MOST DURABLE

OSPREY ARCHEON 30

OUR TAKE

Even in a market that’s (finally) showing an appetite for green gear, the Archeon stands out. Its packbag, lining, and rain cover are 100-percent recycled from industrial scraps, and its DWR treatment is PFC-free. Plus, the 1880-denier nylon canvas—the densest material in the test— means this might just be the last daypack you ever buy (nothing’s greener than gear that doesn’t need replacing). “Thick willows and alder caused no damage,” reports one tester, who tested the Archeon’s durability on an off-trail trek in Alaska’s Wrangell Mountains. “I took another pack on a similar trip last year, and it’s wrecked.” Ding: price.

THE DETAILS

A sturdy frame sheet and two aluminum stays allow the Archeon to carry up to 25 pounds comfortably. The full-length center zip meant we never had to dig for gear, and the pack has hipbelt pockets and a toplid that fits a shell and a midlayer. Drawback: weight. “I felt the extra pounds on hikes longer than 15 miles,” notes one tester, who finished Alaska’s 20-mile Penguin Ridge Traverse with sore shoulders. $240; 4 lbs. 3 oz. (m’s); one size each, m’s and w’s

BEST FOR BIG LOADS

THULE VERSANT 60L

OUR TAKE