Trango Crag Pack Review

Rating
I'd buy it again!

The Why's

I used to think crag-specific packs were redundant - a waste of money. Why not use one of the millions of backpacks that are sitting, doing nothing, in my gearbox? After years of doing the following, I finally saw the light:
(1) cussing at my pack trying to force gear into it;
(2) cussing at my pack when trying to pull gear out;
(3) cussing while gear that is attached to the outside of a too-small pack rattles, whacks me, or get’s caught in trees;
(4) cussing when a big cam keeps poking me through the pack in the kidney; and
(5) cussing when my expensive ultra-light backpacking backpack (which fit tons of gear) gets torn on the bottom while I am sliding on my ass down a steep descent.
 
One day, when walking past the gear shop at the local gym, I did a head-turning double-take. A large, burly bag was standing upright on its own. The lid was folded open with an opening the size of the Grand Canyon. My curiosity dragged me over. I instantly envisioned dropping my rope and trad-rack inside with ease. I picked up the pack and looked at the bottom, tough and thick. It was surprisingly light. I looked at the price tag – Under $100. Sold.
 
Since purchasing the Trango Crag Pack, I have been using it in all kinds of climbing scenarios – from easy afternoons at the local sports crag to multi-day, long-approach trad adventure climbs. I wonder why did I wait so long to buy such a pack? The answer, I simply did not know what I was missing. Having used the hell out of the pack I have amassed some yeahs and neahs:
 
Yeahs

• VOLUME: I can fit so much in this bag. It fits everything I need for a trad-day at the crag (see photos above to the left) and then some. A multi-day trip was the real test. I carried almost ALL of the gear for two people (while my husband carried the camping gear and water).
  • On the multi-day trip, inside the main compartment I fit the 70m rope, a full double trad rack with two #4s and one #5 cam, 15-alpine draws, anchor materials, my partner’s ultra-thin harness, one helmet, and a small camel back with water. The pack was so full, I couldn’t fit the second helmet in the special helmet pocket, so I strapped it, as well as my burly harness, to the side of the pack (this is the photo on the right above).
  • Inside the top “helmet” pocket – Food and clothing layers.
  • In the large side net pocket – climbing shoes, phone/camera.
• HUGE OPENING: Allows easy loading and unloading of gear.
  • Unless I need to pack the rope down tightly to fit a ton of gear for a multi-day trip, I don’t even use a rope bag anymore.  Instead, I use a rope tarp that allows me tie off both ends of the rope (which keeps the rope flaked), I loosely wrap up the rope in the tarp, then simply drop the pile in the bag. So easy! And it’s ready to go for the next crag.
  • I can load and unload my trad rack with no catching!
• FRAME/BACK SUPPORT: The bag has a padded spine that provides structure to the pack, which allows it to stand-upright and makes it comfortable to huff upwards of 45+ pounds. The padded hip belt is wide and helps distribute the weight across the hips (like a backpack should).
• ADJUSTABLE STRAPS: The shoulder straps and hip belt are adjustable such that the pack works on my 5’6”, 125 pound frame, as well as my husband’s 6’0”, 160 pound frame. I do have the straps cinched down all the way, so it may be too big for an even smaller frame. It looks like the updated versions of the pack have short torso models.
• THICK, BURLEY MATERIALS: With the exception of the lid, which is fabric, the entire body of the pack is heavy vinyl-type material. I have dragged the bottom of the pack across many rough descents. Although there is some visible wear, the bottom is holding up well.
• ACCESS ZIPPER: Although I never use it, the pack has an access zipper down the front so you can grab an item buried down in the pack.
• KEY CLIP: Inside the lid pocket is a key clip, which reduces the risk of losing the keys when pulling items out of the pocket.
• POCKETS AND BUCKLES ALONG THE SIDES: There are three side pockets, one of which is a large net pocket that can hold quite a bit such as a pair of shows, a 2-liter camel back, a jacket, etc. The smaller pockets at the bottom are good for small random things, such as a phone, lip-balm, gloves, etc. I place my stick clip in one of the small pockets and secure it with the upper buckle.
• PRICE: Excellent price for such a useful, well constructed, well designed bag. It is ~ $120 (As of this writing)

 
Neahs

• THE HELMET POCKET IS TOO SMALL: When the main compartment is full and the helmet is placed in the helmet pocket, the helmet pocket is difficult to zip closed. I often end up either placing my helmet in the main compartment or clip it to the side buckle in over-stuff situations (such as with multi-day, pack-in adventures). I typically use the helmet pocket for food.
• NO CAMEL-BACK WATER HOLDER: Not everyone carries their water in a camel-back, so this may not necessarily be a “neah” to some. Since I do use a camel-back water bladder I find myself getting annoyed with where to place it. Sometimes it goes in the large side net pocket (which, with a full 2-liter bladder can make things feel off-balance), other times I stick it on top of everything in the main compartment. This then requires me to remove the bladder, place the bladder on the ground (which, in places like the desert, is non-ideal due to sharp hole-poking vegetation) then remove the climbing gear. A water holder would keep the bladder out of the way, as well as hold it upright for smooth water delivery as the bladder empties.

 
 Despite the couple of neahs, the advantages of this pack put the rating squarely in the “I'd buy it again” category. Nice job Trango!