Dusty Rucksack

Being that I am a bit of a gear junkie, I am always looking for stuff with the latest features and coolest wingdings. Recently, I was in the market for a new backpack that was lighter and more versatile than the Osprey pack that I currently had. One pack stood out in mind while persusing the web one day; The Cilogear 60 liter Worksack. When I came across a deal online for this very pack I could hardly resist the urge to get out my debit card. Once it arrived in the mail I could hardly wait to start the abuse of it.

Apparently, the pack that I had received was part of batch of packs that the manufacturer had mis-sewed with incorrectly place material. Hence the great deal. The construction looked to be very sturdy though and the features that it had were exactly what I was looking for. Tool tubes with quick release buckles for a snag-free experience when trying to remove your tools from your pack on steep terrain. An outside crampon pouch, that can double as a holster for you fuel bottle or tent-poles, if you are not lugging around Crampons at the time. Lastly, the ever needed removable top lid, that can be converted to a fanny pack with quick removal of the hip-belt.

Though it would be a while before I actually used the pack on a trip, I was excited to load gear into it and lug it around the house, up and down the stairs. According to the Cilogear website, it weighs in at a meager 3.8 lbs, though with the heavier materials that mine came with I'm sure that a few ounces on the low side. Nearly everything was detachable or customizable on the thing and fortunately there was a manual for figuring out how it all went together. I had never had to fit a backpack to my back before though it seemed rather simple, so it was comforting to have instructions to Follow instead of winging it.

I fiddled with bending the stay in the frame-sheet, and eventually pulled it out of its sleeve and bent it that way. Once I believed I got the shape correct, I replaced the aluminum stay into the frame-sheet sleeve and buckled everything down again. A few trips to the crags with the pack loaded with actual climbing gear confirmed that the fit was comfortable. I had fiddled and tweaked it enough, so it was time to take it on a serious adventure and test the durability of this sucker.

My first test for this new rucksack was to be on the North Face of Mount Buckner near Cascade Pass in the North Cascades National Park Complex. I loaded it up with crampons, ice tools, sleeping pad and bag, and all the other necessities for a weekend trip, though still kept the weight below 35 pounds. I might not be loading it up for a weekend long excursion, but for a first trial I think the selection of trips could not have been better. Basically, if anything went wrong with the new rig I was not out a whole lot as far as this trip would be concerned.

For this trip, I took off the top lid, as I did not need the extra space or for that matter the extra weight, not that it was a whole lot in the first place. Everything fit in nicely, but while closing the lid up, I managed to expand the hole where the drawstring comes out at the top. A minor thing, but I made a mental note not to tug too tightly anymore for risk of tearing a larger hole than was already made. I threw the pack onto my shoulders and headed off up the trail to our destination for the evening.

I was impressed by the excellent feeling, mostly due to the fact that it did not weigh that much, but also by the supple padding provided on the hip-belt and shoulder straps. It stayed firmly placed on my back, providing a feeling of stability and solidness I had not felt in a backpack yet. The taper of the bag also made it easy for my arms to Move at my sides, offering plenty of maneuverability while pulling on slide alder up the steep trail to Boston Basin. The snug fit was something I'm sure I helped fabricate by following the instructions on the website for setting up the frame-sheet and aluminum stay.

Once back from my trip, I started planning for my next adventure a few weeks down the road. This would be the ultimate test for my new backpack, as it would require rugged travel over a primitive trail, up ladders, across scree, and traversing rock ledges all the while fully loaded with gear and food for a week. With my confidence now solidified in my new bag, it was off to the Bugaboos for nine days of abuse for both the pack and for me.

In the parking lot, I had loaded everything up in my Cilogear 60 Liter Worksack and strapped on anything else that would not fit inside. Overall, though I did not use a scale, I think it weighed in around 70 pounds overall with food and fuel for 5 days. We would make a resupply Hike for the rest of the food and fuel, which ended up being a perfect task for a partially closed pack.

I used two compression straps on either side of the pack; one running from D-4 to S-2 and the other from S-4 to D-2. This configuration kept the pack close to my body and help with the overall stability. Also, I used one strap across the crampon pouch in order to keep my crampons from falling out with hiking into Base Camp. This pouch also worked really well to Hold my tent poles so that they did not go sliding down the side of the pack, since there are no pockets at the bottom of them.

The really simple style seemed to be working excellently in holding all the gear that I had shoved into it. One problem that I did have was another tear forming at the base of the D-clip that connects the pack to the strap near the Zipper of the top lid. I refrained from tightening these too heavily once I heard the tearing sound the first time and did not have any problems afterwords. Everything else seems to be stitched fine and other than the small tear in the drawstring hole and the top lid D-ring that I mentioned above.

The Cilogear 60 Worksack met and exceeded my expectations for both day use cragging and a heavy load hauler. Being that the particular pack that I received was a cosmetic second that was in a batch of mis-sewed backpacks, the tears that I experienced I have resigned to call minor problems that did not affect the use of the pack. I am looking forward to many years of use from my new bag and will continue to report back if there are any other problems or features that I find.