The Best Winter Trail Packs of 2024

Published October 11, 2023 12:15PM

Winter adventure is complex by nature. As the weather gets rougher and less predictable, your gear list grows longer. Meanwhile, margins for error shrink. A good winter pack can keep up with the extra demand without faltering in treacherous terrain. Of course, that’s easier said than done. We sorted through 15 different packs to find ones that actually handle the strain of winter. Here are our top picks.

The Winners at a Glance

The Reviews: The Best Winter Trail Packs of 2024

Lightest: Rab Latok 20 ($155)

Weight: 1 lb.
Size: one size
Pros: Lightweight, durable, sway-free in technical terrain
Cons: No avalanche tool pocket

You can take one of two approaches to winter: bring a ton of layers and commit to moving slowly, or pack light and never stop. The Latok 20 facilitates the latter approach, combining a svelte top-loading packbag with a running-style vest to keep essentials at hand. Dual chest pockets fit a phone, lip balm, sunscreen, and a day’s worth of snacks, which meant testers could grind out miles without having to doff the pack. A side zipper gives access to a small valuables pocket, and dual ice ax loops keep tools secure on long approaches. Tester Ryan Irvin appreciated the no-frills floorplan (and resulting light weight) for quick-hit snowboard missions and technical climbing in the Alaskan backcountry—though he missed having an avalanche-tool pocket. The streamlined silhouette also kept the pack close during winter bushwhacks.

“Even smashing through alder thickets and scampering across frozen sections of riverbed, the load felt secure the whole time,” Irvin reported after an ice-climbing mission in Alaska’s Eklutna Canyon. The close-to-back fit meant the pack never wobbled or swayed, even on steep snowboard descents with 20 pounds on board. The Latok owes its outsized load-carrying capacity to its broad shoulder straps, which spread the weight across the chest and shoulders, and simple webbing hipbelt, which adds stability without bulk. A lightweight, pre-curved backpanel helped the pack retain its shape, though testers did experience some barrelling when the Latok was stuffed full. The pack ended the season without any tears, thanks to the 210-denier ripstop Cordura’s superior abrasion resistance. And testers found that the material’s DWR-coating easily shed snow, even on wet spring days.

Bottom line: An ultra-light, weatherproof, alpine-style pack for winter hiking and climbing

Best All-Around: Exped Impulse 20 ($140)

Weight: 1.9 lbs.
Size: one size
Pros: Water-repellent and durable with decent load-carrying capacity
Cons: External organization is lacking

It’s hard to find a burly winter pack at a budget-friendly price, but the Impulse 20 ticks both boxes without skipping a beat. The Impulse’s lightweight, 210-denier HD ripstop nylon lasted a full season of adventure travel and brushy hiking without any signs of wear. (HD indicates a tighter weave, which boosts abrasion resistance.) A PU-carbonate coating kept contents dry—even after tester Rory Brown put it through three hours of steady rain on a hike near Suffolk, England.

Suspension is decent for a pack this size; Brown reported all-day comfort, even loaded with 22 pounds on a 15-mile winter trek along the English coast. Credit goes to rudimentary load lifters and a stiff PE foam board in the backpanel, which helped distribute weight to the lightly padded hipbelt. Both the belt and board are removable—a feature alpine climbers appreciated for weight-savings and harness compatibility.

The pack clamshells open via a front zip. The large zipper pulls are mitt-friendly, though some of the smaller buckles were tough to operate with gloves on. Most testers loved the external stretch-mesh shove-it pocket for gloves and shell layers, but organizational fanatics wished for bigger hipbelt pockets (they each fit lip balm and a couple of granola bars, but no smartphone). An aluminum toggle accommodates a single ice ax, and a small top pocket fits a map, headlamp, and other essentials. Ding: While each stretch-mesh side pocket easily fits a 1-liter bottle, they’re impossible to reach while hiking.

Best Women’s Fit: Gregory Women’s Targhee 24 ($180)

Weight: 2.66 lbs.
Size: one size
Pros: Durable, well-organized, ultra-comfy
Cons: Heavy for a daypack

The secret to clocking long days in the backcountry is having a pack that actually fits. And if you’ve got curves, you know men’s packs don’t often cut it. Enter the Targhee 24. The padded belt is angled to contour a wider hip and narrower waist, providing a snug fit around the tops of the iliac crests and distributing up to 20-pound loads across the entire hip girdle. Likewise, the shoulder harness is narrower at the top but curves outward before it hits the armpits, accommodating breasts without any awkward squishing or chafing. Combine that with a high density polyethylene-reinforced backpanel that’s more naturally curved to a woman’s shape—and a lightweight, steel-alloy perimeter frame—and you’ve got a system that transfers weight seamlessly to the hips without swaying, bulging, or barrelling.

The Targhee also holds its own in the durability department. Aluminum ski-carry buckles and ice axe toggles promise to last a lifetime. The main fabric is a 210-denier HD nylon, and the base is reinforced with a 630-denier version—burlier than you’ll find on most winter daypacks. A 1000-denier Cordura front panel provided extra defense against sharp ski edges whenever we rigged them up for diagonal carries. We also appreciated the PFC-free DWR coating, which easily shed the Pacific Northwest’s wet, clumpy snow.

Kelly McNeil, an Oregon-based guide, also praised the Targhee’s organization. A U-shaped zipper flays open the backpanel, which made it easy for McNeil to grab layers during transitions. Pick sleeves and aluminum toggles accommodate dual ice axes, and a deployable helmet net adds storage. A zippered goggle pocket and external avalanche-tool pouch round out the feature set.

Bottom line: A versatile daypack designed specifically for a woman’s shape.

Most Versatile: 5.11 Skyweight 36 ($200)

Weight: 2.4 lbs. (S/M)
Size: S/M, L/XL
Pros: Decent durability, cushy hip belt, included rain cover
Cons: No hipbelt pockets, backpanel feels stiff without winter layers on

A pack for all seasons, the Skyweight 36’s combination of weather-resistant materials, light weight, and easy gear access make it just as at home on long hikes as it is traversing snowy slopes. Thanks to an internal perimeter frame, tester Lauren Danilek was able to load her Skyweight with up to 30 pounds on a winter hike along Ridgway, Colorado’s Escarpment Trail. The frame, which is gently curved to mimic the contours of the back, seamlessly transferred the weight from her shoulders to a pair of broad, generously contoured hipbelt wings. “The belt was so dang comfortable, I forgot it was hugging my hips at all,” Danilek lauded.

Testers were overall pleased with the organization. An external shove-it pocket accommodated rain shells, and twin bottle pockets each fit a 48-ounce Nalgene. Gear straps along the base let us affix a sit pad or extra layers, and a full U-zip opens up the pack’s front panel for easy gear access. One drawback: there are no hipelt pockets, though you can purchase chest pouches separately, starting at $20. However, the Skyweight was the only pack in the test to come with a rain fly (200-denier, PU-coated polyester) that easily deflected both melting snow and overhanging tree branches. It’s also neon orange, a nice safety feature.

The rest of the pack, made from 330-denier ripstop nylon, proved equally abrasion-resistant. “I was not able to tear this thing, despite scratching it on desert rocks and trees in Colorado’s McInnis Canyons National Conservation Area,” Danilek says.

Most Durable: Ortovox Peak 42S/45 ($260)

Weight: 3.5 lbs. (L)
Size: 45L, 42SL
Pros: Durable, weather-resistant, reliable in technical terrain
Cons: Heavy

The Peak 42S/45’s burly, 420-denier recycled ripstop polyamide made it the most durable pack we tested this season: it emerged without holes even after six months of ice climbing, backcountry skiing, and hut-tripping everywhere from Yellowstone National Park to Chamonix. Ice screws never punctured from within, and A-framed skis couldn’t slice the burly outer fabric. The polyamide was also surprisingly waterproof: tester and guide Jeanelle Carpentier reports that it easily deflected heavy, wet snow during a storm in southwest Montana.

The Peak also excelled at load carry. A V-shaped aluminum frame transfers weight to the center of an EVA foam-padded hipbelt. Add an anti-barreling cross-stay and a thin polymer frame sheet, and testers were able to carry up to 30 pounds of overnight gear without discomfort. Fully loaded, the Peak still felt nimble: the pack always rode close to the back, even while testers boot-packed over rocky ribs and carved out steep ski descents in the French Alps.

In that kind of terrain, we were happy to have organizational features that kept gear handy, like the dual hipbelt pockets, which each fit snacks and sunscreen.. “Going over the Col de Labby [in France], even with skis still on the pack, the side-zipper entry allowed me to grab a puffy without taking the Peak off,” one tester reported. Hauling technical equipment was a cinch, too, thanks to a crampon attachment system, ice ax toggles, a helmet net, and an avy tool pocket. Downside: all those features made this the heaviest pack in the test.

Bottom line: A burly option for multiday ski trips and technical winter climbing

Most Adjustable: Granite Gear Virga3 55 ($200)

Weight: 1.7 lbs. (unisex M)
Size: S-L (unisex), S-M (women)
Pros: Lightweight, durable, extremely adjustable
Cons: Not up for heavier winter loads

Ultralight hiking can feel like an exclusive club, but the Virga3 makes it everyone’s game. This pack offers a stunning four inches of torso-length adjustment, 17 inches of hipbelt play, and two torso-width settings. Broad-chested testers appreciated the breathing room, and small-waisted hikers were able to achieve a snug fit, permitting some weight transfer to the hips even without an internal frame. As a result, testers were able to pack the Virga 3 with up to 20 pounds of gear for snowshoeing overnights.

Organization is impressive for a frameless: compression straps let us attach snowshoes, and dual trekking pole loops came in handy on steeps. A dorsal stretch-mesh pocket let testers stash layers (and a bottle of Bailey’s), and dual hipbelt pockets each fit lip balm, a granola bar, and sunscreen. Cinch closures on the roomy lateral pockets were a plus. “I was able to cram those pockets full and feel good about not losing anything bending over,” tester Robin Mino reported after a three-day snowshoe on Colorado’s Barr Trail.

The pack’s mix of 100- and 210-denier nylon proved both durable and water-resistant. Tester Matt Wise took his Virga3 on a rainy trek in Washington’s Illahee Preserve and found the pack’s contents bone-dry upon return. “It held up better than the rain jacket I was wearing,” he said. The same material survived several days of postholing and bushwhacking in Colorado’s Indian Peaks Wilderness without sustaining a single tear.

How to Buy

Winter adventure demands more gear, layers, and calories than three-season outings—which means step one is picking the right pack size. Generally, we recommend choosing a bag that’s 10 to 20 liters larger than your summer day pack. After volume, consider fit. The hipbelt should wrap the tops of your hip bones, and the shoulder straps should just perch atop your shoulders; you should be able to fit two to three fingers between shoulder and strap. Before you commit, we recommend going into your local gear shop and trying on several packs. Load them with your winter gear and wear your winter kit. Check that all zipper pulls and fastenings are operable with gloves on, and make sure you can reach all your essentials on-the-go.

Testing Stats

How We Tested

At Outside, we hold winter packs to a high bar. In our search for the best, we first called in samples from top pack designers across the Northern Hemisphere. We prioritized models between 20 and 55 liters, with robust suspensions and burly materials capable of handling heavy winter loads across a variety of terrain. Then, we distributed those samples among a dozen winter testers, ranging from international climbing guides to weekend warriors. They spent the season chasing storms and frozen flows as far afield as Alaska, New Hampshire, and the Italian Alps, writing home about all the best—and worst—features they discovered along the way. At the end of the season, any bag with a busted zipper, gaping hole, or thoughtless layout got tossed. Of the packs that remained, we chose these six as our top picks for the full spectrum of winter adventure.

Meet Our Testers

Jeanelle Carpentier (@thatisfestive) is an Arizona-based trekking guide, expedition leader, and naturalist. She has guided trips everywhere from Nepal to Peru to the Wyoming backcountry and has lived in several countries across the world. When she’s not exploring the world on foot, you can find her paddling a packraft or bike touring across the US.

Kelly McNeil is an international ski guide and a professor of health and human performance at Eastern Oregon University. Rice discovered her love for the outdoors while growing up near Wyoming’s Bighorn Mountains. She now studies ways to use public health protocols in improving avalanche education.

Ryan Irvin (@irvsinstastash) is a snowboarder, carpenter, and professional Christmas-light installer. He learned to snowboard and splitboard while attending college near Mt. Hood, Oregon. After spending more than a decade shredding slopes across the Pacific Northwest, he moved to Anchorage, Alaska, where he’s now working through a new (and ever-growing) list of winter objectives.