Even as recently as 18 months ago I was having trouble finding great options for women in certain categories; pants and backpacks being some of them. Technical footwear is by far the biggest offender; I still don’t think anyone makes women’s specific high-altitude climbing boots, with pants a close second. Backpacks were a little easier to find, even then, but now there are so many great options I have to say that I think the women’s backpack situation has improved tremendously. Soon backpacks might overtake jackets as the most well-designed women’s gear item. I am thrilled by this but also starting to wonder – maybe my work here is almost done? And soon we won’t need to focus on women’s specific gear because all of it is great? And then I think about that technical footwear issue, and shop for a pair of pants, and I realize we have a long way to go.

Along with the general improvements in backpack lines all over comes the difficulty in standing out in the crowd. I ended up with a pile of backpacks this year that I think are all wonderful, in large part because the reps at OR took the time to actually work with me on fitting them and explaining how they work. I had taken a new approach to OR this year and had put the kibosh on the crazy running around. I’m not a spazzy person and endless meetings with hysterically cheery PR people were driving me to the brink. It was so nice to meet with clients and reps that were familiar with my work and took the time to address the problems I’d had with products in the past, and tried to find ones that would work for me.

The standout was Deuter, whose packs I didn’t feature last year because they ones they sent didn’t fit me well enough to wear. This was very disappointing after the excellent fit of the Guide 30+ SL that I’d reviewed before. The packs that didn’t work for me were the Freerider Pro SL for snow sports, and the Trans Alpine 26SL for biking. Both of those packs, although women’s specific in fit, were far, far too big for me. The straps on the Freerider didn’t even hit my shoudlers, and the Trans Alpine’s back panel was wider than my back itself. I have a pretty well-developed muscular structure so for a pack to be that wide just wasn’t going to work. I schlepped those two packs to OR with me to return them (driving to OR is so handy for returning gear!), and chatted with the reps for a while about my problems. Unlike most reps who practically turn themselves inside out with reasons each and every product works perfectly, the Deuter guys agreed that those two packs were not a good fit for me and that my upper body is just too small for those to fit me. Well, damn. The good news is that they helped me try on their entire pack line and found two more excellent packs that work great for me; the Spectro AC 36 SL and the Cruise 26SL.

Spectro AC 36 SL

The Spectro is a marvel of modern engineering because it’s so light but structured well enough to make for a comfortable carry. It fits my short torso really nicely, and every time I dig it out of my backpack stash, the difference in weight between it and the other backpacks is astounding.

One of my favorite features is the big U-shaped zip that allows the wearer to access the front of the pack easily. The days of bucket-type backpacks seriously have to be over – who wants to grub around armpit-deep in your pack when you can just zip open, get what you need, and zip back shut? Not me! I love easy-access systems like this one. I also like the big stretchy compartment on the outside, where you can stuff your jacket for easy access.

The placement of the chest strap, a vital issue, is well done on this one, allowing the strap to be slid up as far as the wearer needs. Many an excellent pack has been rendered useless for me by a chest strap that won’t adjust high enough. Luckily Deuter gets that women have considerations in the chestal region that require extremely adjustable straps.

Cruise 26 SL

This excellent fit is also reflected in the Cruise, which isn’t as light as the Spectro but has a few more features and has more structure for the heavy carrying required for snowsports. It has a zip-out back panel, which I really like for easy access to skins and other gear (though in my opinion the zipper placement could be a bit better – the adjustment straps for the shoulder harness get in the way). Lots of loops and straps are available to affix your gear in any way you like, and you can even pull the foam out of the back panel to use as a sitting pad (if you’re a snowboarder and spend most of your time sitting on your ass in the snow, which is what the sport of snowboarding looks like to me for the most part). Admittedly I haven’t been able to take this pack out skiing yet, since I got it at the very tail end of the season when my kit was so dialed I was reluctant to shake it up with a new pack (seriously – if you are a regular backcountry visitor, get your stuff dialed and keep it dialed – you need to know where things are and how to access them, like, now) but I’m planning a trip to the North where there is ALWAYS skiing and I’ll take it out then and update the info for you.

So there you have it, two excellent offerings from Deuter which I probably wouldn’t have tried had the reps not spent so much time working with me to find just the right fit. This is the entire point of the revamped model I’m using to run Geargals for the next year – I can spend more time with my clients, get to know the gear even more thoroughly, and get to know all the options.

So, if you are on the taller side, try the Freeride pack for skiing and the TransAlpine for mountain biking – they didn’t fit me, but being Deuter they are of course great quality with lots of good features. If you’re on the sprite-ish side, give the Cruise and the Spectro a try. Those will probably fit taller ladies as well, but usually it’s the smaller people who have a harder time with fit issues, so these two are worth trying if you’re looking for a well-fitting pack.

If you click on the pictures above you’ll be taken to Backcountry.com where, if you buy stuff, I get a little kickback. This also shows Deuter, as one of my featured brands, how effective it is to have their stuff on a site like Geargals. So I greatly appreciate such actions, even if it’s just a click!

What exactly makes a pack a “guide” pack? I really don’t know, all I know is that I have an immense attraction to things marketed as “guide” gear. As we know, most “guide” gear is made for guys, so a women’s guide pack is simply BEGGING to get on Geargals. So here it is – one of the few women’s specific “guide” packs out there.

First, I’ll be straightforward about what I think a “guide” pack should have – pockets. Compartments. Lots and lots of pockets and compartments. Lots of ways to store things and lots of ways to get into where things are stored – so access is the name of the game. This Deuter pack delivers on the access with one 2/3 length zipper, but is pretty minimal on the pockets and compartments. One main compartment and one top compartment, that’s all you get. Streamlined, for sure, but you better have a serious mind for organization if you need to know exactly where your stuff is and where to find it in your pack.

Second, I’ll be straightforward about what I think women’s packs don’t need – little plastic flowers attached to them. The plastic flower that came with this pack hit the trash on day one, and its surgical removal didn’t affect the function of the pack at all. REALLY? Amazing. Seriously, the pack is fine without the flower. Ditch the flower.

Flower safely ditched, I was really pleased with how this pack carried. Even stuffed to the gills, it was stable, fit well to my back, was easy to adjust, and had a perfectly sized harness. I chose to wear this pack on a long search exercise just because I knew it was comfortable to carry, and it definitely delivered. I was wishing for a little more size, but since it’s designed for a smaller frame, I guess there’s only so much stuff that it can carry and still stay comfortable. Still, if you’re going to use this as a real “guide” or search pack, you’re going to have to pack carefully because there is very little extra room. There is, however, a great carry system for ice tools and skis. The loops for ice tools are just awesome. Why other packs don’t have similar loops is kind of beyond me – does Deuter have the patent or are they just ahead of the game?

I feel like the ski loops are a bit tragic. They carry skis really, really well. The pack is one of the most stable packs in my arsenal, making it perfect for skiing. But there is no dedicated pocket for avalanche gear such as shovel and probe. Smart Geargals will not be carrying skis if they’re not also carrying an avalanche shovel and transceiver. Putting a shovel blade into the main compartment of this pack is not ideal. It will take up all the room and be hard to get out. So, I don’t use this as a ski pack. I wish I could, because I bet it would be great to ski with since it carries so well.

One other strange thing about this pack is that it doesn’t have a compression strap at the top. Kind of odd. I feel like there is some sort of pack design magic going on that I just haven’t figured out, because I really wish it had a compression strap. Advances in pack technology really have to be spelled out for me – how does this “no compression strap” thing work and what is with the random strap at the top where a compression strap should be? That strap doesn’t connect to anything, so what is it for? (Aaaand this section wins the prize for most times the word “strap” appears in a paragraph.) I guess it’s for carrying maybe a sleeping pad or something, but I’d prefer a normal compression strap.

So, another patented mixed review. I really, really like the way this pack carries. I think Deuter must have spent most of their time on engineering a well-sized harness and ensuring that the pack fits a woman’s frame properly. But did they forget to design any pockets? How about a water bottle pocket. Avalanche gear pocket? Car key pocket? Work with me here, give me just a few little pockets and I’ll be happier. Well, I’d be happiest with more pockets than that, but to have almost no pockets? Strange. Deuter should forget about designing a little plastic flower and start working on some pockets to go with that amazing carry system, wonderfully balanced pack, and well-fitting harness. And they should make a women’s guide pack that has a bit more capacity. But above all, they should keep making “guide” packs for women because someone has to do it, and if they can make a pack that carries this well, I know they can dial in that situation with the pockets. If this pack had a few more compartments and lots of access to them, as well as about another 10 liters in capacity, I would use it as my search pack, no question. I’ll be watching the Deuter line to see if they add such a Geargals-specific pack to their lineup – I’ll snatch it up right away for sure!

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