UL Hiking Innovator Palante Introduces First Backcountry Ski Pack

Materials

The Pa’lante Snow Pack comes in either black or white. The black pack is made of 210d UHWMPE Gridstop with a thick, hydrophobic carbonate lining. The white pack, which I tested, is a classic 400d 3L Ultraweave 400TX, which is more durable and absorbs less water than the Gridstop pack.

Capacity and Sizing

The Snow Pack is 33 liters, both a comfortable size for everyday ski touring and also big enough to carry the essentials for ski mountaineering objectives. I had just enough room to fit a lightweight down jacket, shell, slim backcountry helmet, skins, small first aid and repair kit, and a mirrorless camera in the main compartment. The pack has a relatively narrow silhouette (the back panel is 10” wide) compared to other ski packs from popular brands like Hyperlite Mountain Gear, Osprey, and Patagonia, making it less likely to affect your form when skiing.

The pack comes in just one torso length, 18”. Though I typically wear Pa’lante’s 17” torso hiking backpacks, I did not notice the one-inch difference.

Features

The Snow Pack features a removable, semi-rigid back panel that sits flush with the wearer’s back. The panel is soft enough to mold to your torso and sit virtually unnoticed while skiing, skinning, and climbing, while still providing a bit of support for proper weight distribution.

The shoulder straps are designed to be low-profile and out of the way while climbing and skiing—hence the lack of pockets, usually staples on Pa’lante hiking packs. For the thru-hikers out there, they feel similar to a plush Mountain Laurel Designs strap. Bentz says that these straps will likely trickle down to Pa’lante’s hiking packs eventually. The Snow Pack also comes with a stashable 1.5 inch webbing hip belt but it does not have any hip pockets.

The Snow Pack features one external dedicated avalanche safety pocket with a waterproof zipper and four long, narrow cutouts that can neatly hold a shovel handle, probe, saw, and other safety items. The main compartment of the pack has two small internal pockets and closes with a drawstring.

Source: https://www.fieldmag.com/articles/palantes-snow-pack-review