Outer Edge Magazine

If you like your pack to be a simple sack in which you put things then this is not the one for you but if you like it choc full of design features then the Deuter Aircontact offers a lot. I love pockets and zips and compartments so I happily filled all that the Deuter Aircontact had to offer for a trip up Bungalow Spur to Mt Feathertop.

The pack, made from Deuter-Ripstop 210 material, carried very comfortably even under an above-average load of ski gear, camping stuff, cooking equipment, food and abundant warm clothes.

Hiking the fasteners to compress the contents smushed everything small enough so as to represent a facsimile of fitting and the 10L extendo at the top was as welcome as it was easy to use.

The mouth at the top felt a little small as did the opening at the base of the pack though any complaints are probably more about me desperately trying to cram too much into the size I had than faults of the pack itself, things easily rectified by opting for one size bigger.

During the march there was a tendency for the shoulder adjustment straps to work themselves loose under stress but that is to be expected and was easily rectified with a quick on-the-go yank. This was more noticeable with the knee-abusing bounce of coming down than the metronomic, hard slog of the uphill plod. One of the best things one can say about a pack is that in the wash up the hips feel better than they have after similar sojourns, after a fairly arduous three days of heavily-burdened tramping, my hips don’t feel too bad.

REVIEWER: Simon Madden
REVIEWED: August 2010
FIELD TEST: Mt Feathertop, Victorian Alps, trek/ski
OTHER REVIEWS: www.deuterusa.com/