View Full Version : Pack for Swiss Alps
I am planning a leisurely two week walking trip in the Swiss Alps in early September known as the Haute Route from Chamonix to Zermatt. At 180 km over 14 stages, average daily mileage will be very low and I am planning to stay at hostels in villages or at mountain huts so I will not need to carry camping equipment (other than an emergency bivy) or more than a small amount of food each day for lunch.
I have a ULA Circuit which I believe will be far too large for this trip. Since I've been happy with the quality of the Circuit, I'm thinking that the $135 ULA CDT is at a good price point and probably has the right volume for my needs. I can't imagine that I would be carrying more than 10-15 pounds total on the trip. The CDT is also probably the perfect size for a typical weekend overnight trip locally. So it would have use beyond this trip.
Other than the CDT, are there any other smaller capacity packs that I should be looking at?
Slo-go'en
10-29-2013, 12:03
I was thinking of the CDT even before I read the full post. That's the one I bought after looking at the other similer choices out there.
I'm leaning toward the CDT. Last year, ULA had a free shipping promotion during the holiday season so I'll probably wait a month or so to order. I've also thought about the small size ArcBlast from zPacks as an alternative (roughly the same volume) but it is almost twice the cost and, although somewhat lighter, the difference wouldn't matter that much given how light I'll be traveling.
bigcranky
10-29-2013, 12:25
The CDT is a nice pack.
I have long wanted to do the Hiker's Haute Route -- looks like a great trip. Me, I'd be loaded down with camera gear, so I'd take my Osprey day pack, with a solid frame that can handle 25 or more pounds. Maybe one of these days....
Does anyone have opinions on the Six Moons Design Feather pack? All Six Moons packs are 40% off:
http://www.sixmoondesigns.com/packs/Feather.html
The pack with the optional hip belt and sternum strap would cost $100 ($78+18+4) vs $135 for the ULA CDT.
The weight of the Feather with the hip belt and sternum strap looks to be roughly 16 ounces. The Medium CDT is listed at 24 ounces including removable features.
The Feather has a smaller overall capacity at 2650 cubic inches for the large vs. 3370 for the CDT. Based on what I know I can pack into my Circuit (4200 cubic inches), I'm pretty confident that 2650 would be adequate on a "hut to hut" trip without carrying any camping equipment but perhaps the extra capacity of the CDT would be nice to have.
It is tempting to save $35 and maybe 8 ounces of weight but I'm familiar with ULA because I have a circuit and I have no experience with Six Moons Designs.
Any opinions on how these two packs compare would be helpful.
I have no experience with that pack, but I'll admit it does look pretty sweet. I have a CDT and love it. Looking at that Feather, my only question would be accessibility of water. I'm not sure if you're a bottle guy or a bladder guy, but the CDT has a few different usable/reachable options for holding bottles. Hard to tell from the pictures how accessible the side pockets on the Feather would be.
I have no experience with that pack, but I'll admit it does look pretty sweet. I have a CDT and love it. Looking at that Feather, my only question would be accessibility of water. I'm not sure if you're a bottle guy or a bladder guy, but the CDT has a few different usable/reachable options for holding bottles. Hard to tell from the pictures how accessible the side pockets on the Feather would be.
On the Circuit, I use the cords attached to the shoulder straps which works very well, so the CDT would be the same. The Feather has an unconventional looking wrap around pocket and it it somewhat difficult to tell how accessible the pocket would be for water.
I just noticed that SMD is sold out on the feather now so a moot point I guess...
On the Circuit, I use the cords attached to the shoulder straps which works very well, so the CDT would be the same. The Feather has an unconventional looking wrap around pocket and it it somewhat difficult to tell how accessible the pocket would be for water.
I just noticed that SMD is sold out on the feather now so a moot point I guess...
Yeah those straps are pretty handy on the ULAs.
I am totally jealous of your trip by the way. My wife & I went to Switzerland in the summer of 2012 and it is where I really fell in love with the mountains, being outdoors and hiking. Before that I'd never done any hiking at all, but I've become fairly obsessed with it ever since.
Chubbs4U
11-07-2013, 12:50
I recently saw the sale and couldnt pass up such a good deal. Have had one of their packs yet but the reviews seem to be good. I also noticed a bad review on their webpage and I actually like the fact that they left it up there. I also have a Catalyst and love it but 40% off put me over the top.
Depends on your priorities but I'd be leaning towards a HMG Windrider 3400 cubes(55L) pack. It is after all a mountaineering route.
Depends on your priorities but I'd be leaning towards a HMG Windrider 3400 cubes(55L) pack. It is after all a mountaineering route.
Thanks, I haven't heard of that line of packs, will take a look.
I'm not sure how the trip would be classified but I'm not really thinking of it as a mountaineering trip. The Chamonix-Zermatt walk is something like 180km and the Kev Reynolds guidebook I have suggests a 14 day itinerary which seems very leisurely although there are some pretty big days in terms of elevation gain/loss. Supposedly "wild camping" is discouraged so I'm planning to go light and stay at the huts/hostels each night taking only an emergency bivy. There are opportunities to bag some peaks along the way but that looks like much more serious stuff than I would probably feel comfortable with, especially the Matterhorn.
With this trip and the CT I feel really lucky to have some great hiking planned for 2014 although I must admit, I wish I could replace both of those hikes with the PCT but that's going to have to wait until 2015!