UKH

Anyone tried actually climbing in one of these?  I hate climbing with a rucksack, and wondered whether these would be a better solution on a long route for carrying snack, drink, windproof and shoes for walking off.

If you've tried one for climbing, did you find it more or less of an impediment than a conventional rucksack?  And any particular model you'd recommend?  (I wear quite small shoes, so could possibly squeeze them into a 10L pack).

Hi. Not tried climbing in one but I've recently bought the Montane Via Razor 15 litre running pack. It is amazingly comfortable to run with even when fully laden with lots of kit and two full flasks. So little movement it is just brill. Would imagine it would be very comfortable for climbing and at 15 litres would be really versatile. 

I used mine on pretty much every big route we did in Yosemite, it was great! food, clothes & a full camel back.

Sits high above your harness and doesn't restrict any movement, in particular tilting your head back (with helmet on) like a normal sack, did have to take it off and trail it for chimneys though......

I've never tried using mine for climbing but I bet it would be great. I'd make sure you look out for a reasonably robust one though. Running sacks/vests tend to be aimed more towards the ultralight end of the market and I wouldn't fancy getting my Inov8 Race Vest near anything abrasive!

I use a RaidLight 18l vest (not pack) for ultras and love it. It would be great for using when climbing but would not fit all your gear for the walk-in

So unless you'd plan to walk in with a larger backpack which would be left at the bottom of the route, then I am not sure it's practical......

That was my first thought. You could spit peas through my inov8 one.

Thanks, the Montane Razor does look good, and I see they do a women's fit version in a similar size.  I'll certainly look into those further.

Thanks, that's exactly the sort of information I was looking for!  I'd been thinking they'd sit clear of your harness, so it's good to know that it worked for you.

As for chimneys, I try to avoid them anyway - but you'd get the same problem with a conventional sack.

Thanks, Julie.  Good point about looking for a robust one - though I've always found my OMM rucksack surprisingly hard-wearing.

Yeah, the idea would be to use a normal size sack to carry gear to the crag.  I currently do this and take a bumbag up the route, but it does get in the way of my gear and chalkbag.

Saw quite a few people in Cham this year wearing their harnesses and a trail pack to walk to the crag, with rope slung over their shoulders.  However, they were climbing sports routes and only needed quickdraws - not quite so much fun with a set of cams banging into your knees...