Tag Archives: every day carry

Topo Designs Mountain Pack Review and Video

Topo Designs Mountain Pack Review

I picked up the Topo Designs Mountain Pack a few weeks ago (it was a gift actually) and I’ve been hauling it around every day. It’s a decent medium size daypack. I like the bright colors, and I like the main compartment access from the zippered front panel.

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I usually carry a water bottle, a book, a jacket and a first aid kit when I’m out guiding and driving tours, and occasionally I’ll add a camera to the mix. The Topo Mountain Pack has held up well and been comfortable to wear. I think I could easily overpack it and it’d morph into a cylinder and be lame to carry, but as long as I’m careful it’s not too bad.

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Like I say in the video review, I think the top panel closure is a little difficult to manipulate. I see these types of closures on lots of bags now, and while I think they look great, they’re a little more difficult to work than the good old-fashioned side release buckles. The shoulder straps too are a departure from some of the older Topo Designs bags I’ve had, and I like the earlier models a little more. The shoulder straps on the older models are actually thinner and a little more comfortable.

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The Topo Mountain Pack isĀ great backpack for folks that want a daypack that can do most stuff and still be fun to use. The laptop compartment isn’t anywhere near the level of protection offered by GoRuck, but it’s adequate for careful use. Topo Designs bills the Mountain Pack as as “one pack that can do it all.” I find that the Topo Designs can do just about everything well except be adapted for hydration bladder. A hydration bladder would easily fit in the laptop compartment and really allow this bag to go from travel to campus to the mountains seamlessly. I don’t know why most of their daypacks don’t have this feature. It’s a feature that GoRuck has incorporated into the outstanding GR1, and Topo could easily add this feature to truly make this “one pack that can do it all.”

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Other than the lack of a method of putting a bladder in the bag, I really like it. It’s (according to the Topo Designs website) 21.5 Liters and about 11X17X7 inches.

Check out the video above and leave any comments about the bag or let me know if there’s any other bags you’d like to see reviewed.