Whether you’re climbing a single pitch route or day long multi pitch climb, there are several things you’ll want to keep with you that don’t clip on your harness. A change of shirt or jacket, rain wear, info on the climb and a belay jacket are just a few of them.
Whatever you take with you on your climbs, you’ll want a high quality trad climbing pack to keep it all secure. After having polled lots of climbers, the following are our picks for best trad climbing backpacks, listed from lightest to heaviest weights:
Arc’Teryx Men’s Arro 22 Backpack
A high quality, waterproof nylon pack, this is another winner from Arc’Teryx. This backpack is designed to fit snugly around the shoulders, not only for increased comfort but it distributes the weight perfectly.
This may seem like a pricey trad pack, until you try it on that is. You have to wear it to believe it – it’s super comfortable and it’s feels like it doesn’t weigh anything at all.
There’s a spot that holds water or a drink on the outside, along with a couple of Velcro closing pockets. On the inside it has a laptop sleeve and a zippered pocket. There’s also room for an additional water bladder as well.
And if you’re new to the Arc’Teryx brand, if anything breaks on your pack, you simply send it back to them and they’ll repair it absolutely free, for life. Click here to check the current price.
Another great choice for a trad pack is Black Diamond’s Creek Transit. It has a zip top lid with a good sized organizer pocket. There’s an additional padded compartment that holds a fifteen inch laptop, and the separate storage compartments can be used to keep things like chalk bags and climbing shoes separate from any other gear that you might pack.
With a removable hip belt and padded straps, this pack’s pretty well suited to customization to fit each individual climber. Click here to check the current price.
Ortovox Trad 35 Hiking Backpack
The Trad 35 from Ortovox is a great trad pack, especially for alpine climbers. It’s super lightweight, even among climbing backpacks and features a removable flexible aluminum frame.
It has a separate lip compartment, a removable hip belt and has attachment options for both rope and an ice axe.
A leader in safety, this pack includes Recco’s SAR1 rescue system. It’s a helicopter-based detector that makes it easy for help to reach you far faster, in case of an emergency. It also includes a sun reflector signaling piece as well.
This pack is well designed to fit your back, making it super comfortable while still giving you lots of freedom of movement. Click here to check the current price.
Black Diamond Creek 50 Backpack
If you want a larger trad pack that’s made to efficiently hold a lot of gear, Black Diamond’s Creek 50 might just be the perfect pack for you. It has a top load design that also features a side zipper that runs the entire length of the backpack – perfect for easy packing and unpacking.
It also has several internal zippered pockets within the main zippered front flap. There’s even rain hood that can also be used to hold a spare rope or helmet.
This thing will easily hold everything you’ll need for any trad climb. While it’s not a light bag overall, the tough exterior will keep your gear safe while you climb. This pack can hold a helmet, harness, chalk bag, two pairs of shoes, upwards of twenty quickdraws, rain cover, and a trad rack – with room to spare. Click here to check the current price.
What to Look for in a Trad Climbing Backpack
There are a lot of different factors that come into play when you’re looking a trad packs. From capacity to comfort to pack weight, there’s a lot to consider when looking a different trad packs.
Keep the following tips in mind when looking at backpacks, and you’ll be a lot more likely to choose the perfect trad pack for you…
Capacity
One of the most important things to consider in a trad pack is it’s capacity. Exactly how much (or how little) gear you’ll want to carry with you will vary from climber to climber. You may just want a simple pack that will hold a light raincoat and hat, or you could get a high capacity pack that will hold almost all of your gear.
If you’re wondering what size trad pack you should bring, consider the length of your climbing trip. For a good rule of thumb on how big a backpack to bring, just follow the simple chart below:
| Average Length of Your Climbing Trip | Size of Backpack |
| 1 to 5 Nights | 40 to 60 Liters |
| 2 to 7 Nights | 50 to 75 Liters |
| 1 Week or More | 60 to 85 Liters |
Comfort
Another important factor in selecting the right trad pack is how comfortable it is to climb with. The ideal climbing pack would be one so comfortable to wear that you actually forget that you’re wearing it. (See the Arc’Teryx trad pack listed above)
Durability
Durability is another key trait in any high quality trad pack. While durable a backpack would be important in any type of outdoor activity, this is especially true when it comes to climbing.
Not only that, but many trad climbers say that durability is even more important for trad climbing than it is for sport climbing. Some trad routes can be brutal on your gear, so obviously you’ll want gear that’s made to stand up to that abuse.
Hip Belts
A matter of personal preference, hip belts are preferred by some climbers, and loathed by others. There are lots of climbing packs out there, both with and without hip belts.
Do you prefer a hip belt? Keep in mind that may of the trad climbing backpacks made today feature removable hip belts. Pay attention to whether or not a pack that you’re considering has a hip belt when shopping online. If you’re not sure if you’d prefer a hip belt or not, you could always visit your local climbing store and try some on.
Pack Weight
For those of you who are new to climbing, be glad that you don’t have to deal with the six or eight pound climbing packs that climbers had to use years ago. Many climbers are looking to lighten their pack weight, but they’re not sure what the best way to go about it is.
Don’t try to save weight by jamming tons of gear into a lightweight frame-less backpack, not only is this uncomfortable, it could even be a safety issue. Instead, to lighten your pack weight – try bringing less gear.
Start with only the essential gear that you’re sure you’ll need to bring. From there, see how many other pieces of gear you’re bringing that you don’t need to carry with you. Then, look for other gear that you could swap out with your current gear to save some weight.
Consider buying a lightweight tent, lighter clothes, and other lightweight versions of things that you’re already bringing with you.
If you manage to get your trad climbing pack lighter than around thirty pounds or so, you might want to consider using an ultra lightweight pack. There are some great super lightweight pack out there these days, you might want to go with one of these packs if you’re able to pack that light for your climbs.
Remember, if you’re using a ten year old pack that weighs upwards of eight pounds or more, you might want to invest in a nice new climbing pack – the base weights of packs these days are far lighter than that of the packs made years ago.
Besides, newer packs are not only way more comfortable, they include far better perks than older packs. The rescue system listed above being one such cool bonus.
Whether you want to go the super lightweight route or you prefer having the ability to bring along a ton of gear (like the Black Diamond Creek, listed above) will be largely a matter of personal preference. This is especially true if you’re only going to climb a short, single pitch climb.
You could also cover all of your bases and keep both a light and heavy pack, so that you’ve got a pack for whatever a given climb requires. You could use your light pack for day climbs and your heavy pack for camping climbs.
Keep in mind that you’ll probably be clipping plenty of things onto the outside of your pack, so it’s worth checking out each backpack’s attachment spots carefully.
What Should You Have in Your Trad Pack?
It’s a good idea to have a double rack packed and ready to go, you never know exactly what gear you’re going to need until you’re actually on the climb. You might also want to avoid bringing double ropes – they can be a real nuisance on a climb.
If you’re on a climb where the decent would call for two ropes, you could always use a lead line and just one of your double ropes and tie them together. If the decent doesn’t call for two ropes, you could just carry one rope – but remember that you’ll have to leave a rope behind if you decide to abandon the climb half way through.
Read up on the climb beforehand. You’ll get an idea of the topography of the climb. Bring doubles of the amount of nuts required, to be on the safe side. It’s also a good idea to double up on the amount of cams as well, if you have the gear for it.
You can also keep a photocopy of the climb’s write up from whichever climbing guide you’re using. You’ll have all of the pertinent information on the climb – without the heavy guidebook.
You should also bring at least a liter of water with you on any climb, and the same goes for a headlamp. Also keep at least a power bar, clif bar or a ziplock bag of trail mix or nuts in your climbing pack.
A small, folding lightweight rain coat or poncho is another great thing that should be in every trad climber’s backpack. You can get these online for super cheap and they don’t take up too much of that precious space in your pack.
Bring along your belay jacket if you have one. And while you’re at it, stick some small heating packs in the pockets – you might want these later on for the decent.
Get a second pair of sunglasses and a case for them and leave them in your climbing pack, that way you’ll never forget them on a climb. Throw a spare bottle of sunscreen in your pack as well.
A balaclava makes an ideal climbing hat, especially in colder weather. You can pull down the face mask if the wind is bothering you. If you don’t have or want to get a balaclava, a beanie will work well too.
Safety should always be your top priority when you’re on a climb, keep that in mind when you’re packing for one. You can bring as much or as little gear as you like, but you need to be able to safely balance with that amount of weight when you climb.
And while we’re on the topic of safety, get a hold of a small first aid kit for your trad pack. At the very least, you should have sterilized wraps, antiseptic and some type of painkillers with you on every climb.
Don’t leave your mobile phone at home. Whether or not you can get cellular reception could be a huge deal in the event of an accident.
I hope that this guide has helped you to not only know what to look for to find the right trad climbing pack for you, but also what you should pack in it for your next climb. Whether you’re a heavy packing climber or a climbing minimalist, the right backpack can make your next climb that much better. Now get out there and get climbing!