Aiguille Expedition 90+20 litre (plus 20 litre pockets)
Pod X- Pod 80-100 litre
Osprey Aether 70 litre
Karrimor Alpiniste 55 litre
Aiguille Super Colouir 46+15 litre
Aiguille Zenith 57 litre (modified to double as pulk harness)
Berghaus Vector 50+ litre
Osprey Atmos 50 litre
Aiguille Ice Pro 50 litre
Pod Alpine 40 litre
Osprey Atmos 35 litre
My first proper sack was a Berghaus Vector purchased circa 1980. It was a simple top loader with no frame or stays. i added the side pockets to increase the capacity to 50+ litres and used the sack for all activities including climbing and a 2 week trip in Scotland. I'd love to see any promotional material for this classic sack that may be languishing in the Berghaus archives. I still use this sack for storing my old climbing kit.
The Vector was replaced in the late 80s by the classic purple Karrimor Alpiniste 65 sack. Again it was a simple toploader with the advantage of the Fformat back system. This was my 'go to' sack for the best part of 20 years. It had buckles you could use with cold fingers, a decent if sweaty back system, straps on the top, bottom and sides which could be used to carry old school kip mats or crampons etc and a decent size lid compartment. It was everything a sack needs to be and in many respects this sack is rarely bettered or even equalled. Despite being a simple single compartment sack it has one of the most accessible compartmens due to the diameter of the opening being just that bit wider than modern alpine sacks. I appreciate that climbing sacks need to be fairly narrow but many are so narrow that it is difficult to get your gear to fit inside, e.g. often the sack isn't wide enough to get your tent in horizontally so you have to fit it vertically and try to pack around it to fully utilize the remaining space. If a replacement for the Alpiniste 65 was released with a less sweaty back system I'd buy it tomorrow.
The Alpiniste was supplemented by the Karrimor Condor 60-100. It was a comfortable if heavy and overfeatured sack. Also it had 2 compartments which look good on paper but are never that good in practice. I don't trust the zips on the lower compartment and they are never that easy to pack efficiently. The top compartment was nice and wide and again the sack could be used with cold fingers . The Condor served for 20 years also.
In the 90s I did 8 years in the TA and used a modified Berghaus Crusader as the issue sack was so uncomfortable. The Crusader was moddified to accept a third zip on side pocket on the back. This is a common and useful modification for a large military sack. The big side pockets are great for personal admin around camp. I do like single compartment sacks but if a sack does have sack/back pockets then make them nice and big. Again the Crusader was a simple toploader with a nice lid compartment. The straps and hip belt could have been better padded though. In the last few years I replaced my older sacks with the following:
My day sack is an Osprey Atmos 35. I purchased this sack because of the comfortable back system which is well vented. It has way too many compartments though and too many 'features' that i just don't need. It has 3 main zippered compartments rather than being a toploader. I don't think these compartments offer any advantage over a simple toploader.
My overnight sack is an Osprey Atmos 50. This has the usual osprey pros and cons. Great back system (if a little fragile) with good venting. The sack is a toploader but with extra compartments and a stretch pouch on the back. These compartments are useful for waterproofs, snack bars and water bottles but they are not necessary. The curve of the back system makes the pack slightly difficult to pack. I recently carried 40lbs for 3 days with this sack and found it to be very comfortable. Like the above sack the straps/buckles etc are tiny and difficult to use with warm hands and impossible in Winter conditions with cold hands.
My big backpacking sack is the Osprey Aether 70. Again a typical Osprey experience. Comfortable and well vented but the detachable top lid/bum bag feature is not needed and just adds weight/complexity. A slightly narrow sack for my liking and it has a lower 'sleeping bag' compartment which I don't like as it means that you end up with a saggy unfilled area about a third of the way up the sack. I really do like single compartment sacks
. As far as Osprey sacks go, this is a relatively uncluttered sack
My winter day sack is a Pod Alpine 40. Fairly comfortable and simple though access to the top lid pocket is difficult as it is too small. The major flaw with this sack is the tiny buckles which are impossible to use with cold hands. For a winter/alpine sack this is unforgivable. One feature i'm starting to warm to is the roll top lid. It's not as quick to use as a drawcord closure but it is more secure. The elasticated and reinforced crampon mounting system is quite useful. The sack needs straps on the top lid to allow external carrying of large kipmats, this, in my opinion, is a serious omission.
My big winter sacks are the Pod X-Pod and the Aiguille Expedition sacks. Both are bombproof drawcord toploaders with fixed back lengths and a minimum of external clutter. Both are comfortable but sweaty. The only improvements I could make to these sacks would be to make them from Dyneema and add some ventilation to the back systems. Otherwise they are everything a sack needs to be.
