Arc'teryx Bora 50

After 10 years it was about time to replace my old Lowe Alpine Walkabout 45L and the Bora 50 look like a winner.

It's not easy to find on the market packs in this volume that build just right - in terms of materials, shape, quality etc. Many of the packs in this size will target for ultralight backpacking and I'm a bit of an old school with this aspect. The Bora is extremely stable, classic top loader design and sturdy. It's not going to fall to pieces or break.

When looking at other packs with the same volume you get to see a lot of Gregory Z50, Osprey and many others but not many will be construct in the same way as the 70-80L packs and this is why I went with the Bora.

BUT - I'm not sure it's true to its size - I could not try it before buying it (not a great thing to do) but I did try some Bora 80 in my size (S) and it fit perfect. I also own a Naos and the Small fit me like a dream...but with my Bora 50 size Small it's just not right...usually when you are between sizes it's better to pick the smaller one, and this is what I did but it's just really sit on the edge...I can live with it and it's carry very well anything from 12-15KG but more then 15GK and I start to feel my neck and that's not fun...It's very hard for me to judge if it's only because of the size or if there is something not quiet right with the design...it does have a very simple back system - I would like to think that the weight should diverted in a better way to the lower back and the hips and that's not the case.

I will say that after adjusting the angle that the strap emerge from the hip belt it did felt better but still not perfect. I am giving this pack 10 for built quality and and still think that it's what I was looking for but it's get only 7 for carrying.

I think I'll take it with me for few more trips before I make my mind if I should keep it or not.

I initially got this pack for winter day hikes and long summer day hikes but have found it to be better for so much more than that. Now that I have slimmed my pack weight down I can use it for 2-3 day backpacking trips. Ideal pack weight would be between 25-35 lbs but have carried over 40 in it out of neccesity once and did not find it to be uncomfortable at all.

Another neat thing that can be done with this pack is taking the top lid off to slim the pack down for long day hikes. Not only does this prevent the top lid from flopping around it also slims down the profile of the pack. Lastly the packcloth has never failed to keep all my equipment dry even when left outside of my tent on one rainy night.

Final thought, why choose a flimsy "superlight" pack that is not comfortable to carry and will fail the first time you scrape it on a rock. Working at REI I have seen alot of those lightweight packs returned destroyed but have never once seen an Arc'Teryx returned!!

Piece of mind, this pack rocks. You can go anywhere but scuba diving and your gear is dry. My other packs will now collect dust till I get them on Ebay. Everything from my sleeping bag to my extra gloves stays securely dry. Now I can go further with less stress of an accidental wet overnighter. In southeast Alaska that's the difference between life and death.

After researching and trying on many packs, I can honestly say for me the Bora 50 is almost perfect. Love the upgraded fabric, the bombproof construction and padding on the hipbelt and shoulder straps is great. But I really wish the side pockets were large enough to hold a liter sized Nalgene.