UKH

Hi folks,

I've been after a new mid-sized pack for a while now. Has anyone used the Summiteer 30L Crag Rocket rucksack? I had been looking at the ME Ogre / Tupilak series rucksacks but the Summiteer seems to tick all the boxes for a lower price. 

https://summiteerequipment.com/collections/rucksacks/products/the-summiteer...

Thoughts, impressions, reviews all welcome before I send my letter to Santa  

Looks very slick at a good price, though personally I prefer to have more options for compression. Nice to be able to cinch it down for the climb if you've taken a lot of stuff out after the walk-in. Depends on the use you're going to put it to, I guess.

That's a good point, I hadn't thought of that to be fair. 

I like how simple it is, nothing to faff with really. In theory the only times it's off your back is when gearing up or perhaps to take out a belay jacket - Nice and tidy when climbing, nothing to flap about. 

It certainly looks very slick as you say, it's the durability and robustness of the materials that have me thinking, why so cheap?

It's always a gamble, If I'm going to invest I'd like to know its not going to fall off my back half way up some big multi-pitch route. 

How accurate is the sizing? 30L can be quite small for winter? Looks nice though.

I agree, I normally use my 35-45L in winter. Although you could probably make 30L work for winter without sacrificing too much extra kit. 

I was really looking for a simple, no bells and whistles pack for summer trad and certain summer alpine routes. 

Hi guys,

Check out the new video on the crag rocket for more information on it. 

We've tested out the CR a lot on winter routes and have found in general that it's plenty big enough. Don't forget your helmet, and crampons can attach to the outside of the pack, as well as rope and tools (obviously).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aku-G2FnWFM&t=39s

Ethan

The pack looks very nice, and the free repair service for three years is amazing.  The one issue I've had with lidless packs is that in a downpour, water gets in---maybe a lot of water---no matter how tightly you've cinched the drawcord.  If the pack isn't too full, you can sometimes roll the top a bit and hold it down with the rope strap.  The Crag Rocket does have its interior pouch positioned as a backstop to the drawstring opening, but I don't think that will keep water from flowing in.

Packs like the (very expensive) Arcteryx FL 30 solve the problem with an interior roll-top (and sealed seams) making the bag totally waterproof (until you punch some holes in it).

If you are going to use such a pack in possibly wet conditions, I'd recommend buying a roll-top dry bag for storing critical insulation items.  (This has been common practice for years in the US Pacific Northwest.)

There's 2 things a climbing back should do:

1. Be small and sleek, offer easy access to gear loops on harness.

2. Carry climbing gear to crag, point 1 being more important than carrying comfort.

The Crag Rocket looks brilliant, definitely ticks box 1, such the right colour too. Good luck, I hope they are well received. However, I like to protect my rope and helmet from knocks or the elements, crampons less likely to fall off and be lost carried inside too! 

I have a Simond Cliff 20l bag, which also ticks 1, too small for point 2. 

Regards

Stuart

The colours are features which sell rucksacks - yes some people buy rucksacks because they are the 'right colour'. Buy a colour you are happy with!

That rucksack doesn't have a lid.  So spare clothing/ is going to get wet if that matters.

Sacks are a matter of personal choice.

it's the durability and robustness of the materials that have me thinking, why so cheap?

I think the question is, why are so many other packs so expensive (think marketing, distribution, employees, markup etc). The actual cost of materials is small, so its not a case of more durable packs costing more. In fact it seems to me that more expensive packs are very often 'lightweight' aka fragile. 

One of my favourite packs is an ancient cordura 30litre thing, Cotswold 's own brand at the time, which is still going strong after 25 odd years. £30 it cost. 

According to the Bank of England, that's £59.02 at current prices (2018 figures not available - so I did 1992 to 2017). I'm sure you can find a decent basic pack for that much now - Alpkit for instance.

I got a Crag Rocket earlier in the year and it is now my go to pack for most climbing and mountain days. 

I have used it on big multipitch days out to Pillar this summer and on the Old Man of Hoy. It’s great to climb with. 

Commenting on the material, its really robust. Hardly showing any scuffs after climbing in chimneys and lots of scrambling work with clients. 

They’re made just outside Kendal in a small workshop. In all a really well thought out pack. 

Can you fit rope, rack, crampons, helmet and spare clothing inside?

Stuart

Are you being serious?  

If you put all your spare kit in dry bags, nothing will get wet. I have removed the lid from almost all my rucksacks as they are a faff. 

At least one commenter mentioned the colour as a positive.  Its well known that colour does play an important part in consumer choice and popular colours change over time.  Just look at car colours.  In your dad's day brown was a favourite colour.  And in your Grandfather's time black. Yes, I know its daft but people did and still do buy cars because of colour even thought it makes little sense.  Would you, a thrusting rock jock, buy a pink car?......  - and that goes for clothing and every other thing we buy.  Even paint in tins have fashionable colours.  That colour is sooooo yesterday!  (not!).

Yes of course you can put your stuff in drybags - which adds weight and means more faffing around. Swings and roundabouts?

My apologies for trying to be helpful.

An OR ultra light 20L dry sac weighs 1.8 oz (1.6 oz for the 15L model) so weight is not an issue. When the weather is mild, you can leave the dry sac at home, but at 1.8 oz, just store it in the bottom of the pack in case it is needed.  This means no faffing unless conditions develop that need it.

Then, the terrible "faffing" involved in 4 seconds of rolling/unrolling a few times and managing a fastex buckle is offset by the organizational benefits of being able to get at your insulation easily with less rooting about in an unorganized pack.  In addition to keeping insulation dry in a downpour, which a lidless pack just won't do, the dry sac allows you to stuff wet items (gloves, rain jacket) in your pack without getting insulation items wet.