Black Diamond Speed 30

Summary

Great pack for everything from day hiking to alpine climbing.

I've had this pack for 3 years. I have climbed multipitch in summer and winter, used it on scrambles as a ultralight overnight backpacking bag and more.

For vertical sports it really performs well. The shoulder straps move with your body giving you consistent contact with the pack. As you move it always moves with you. In the alpine this is essential. The best pack is the one you don't notice, and climbing this fits that bill.

Hiking it's comfort is so good you end up ignoring the sweaty back. It's not that bad and it hasn't chaffed at all yet. Because it is a roll top there is heaps of extra space, probably about 15litres. It makes the pack a awkward height, but it can do it. Not so good for overnight backpacking, but excellent for the grocery store. The extra space does make camping easier though.

The main cons lie on the face of the pack. The ice axe loops do not function well. Had they been made out of bungee rather than cord, and used a bungee lash system it would have been revolutionary. Instead a useless plastic knob that always loosens, causing the picks on my axes to constantly bang together, has been used.

The bikini crampon pouch is equally crap. On my older Speed (new generations the rings are larger and easier to access) the tiny metal loops are hiding away and near impossible to thread the thing in. Once it's on you discover it only covers a third of a pair of crampons. It can't even hold a jacket properly. 

But I love it. Climbing is a dream and it's just simple enough I can mod the bugs out of it. A front daisy chain and better ice axe loops would be welcome changes.

Summary

Excellent top loading pack with ample volume for overnight peak climbing adventures. Pack's carrying system makes the load very comfortable. Pack is lightweight, and material is beefy.

I bought this pack, after months of looking, when the bartack shoulder strap stitching on my incomparable 30 year old Buzzard Mountain Ware ruthsac went south. 

While the BD Speed 30 fits well, I would have bought a Large but the BD sales rep said he was 6'2 and used a Medium (my wife measured my torso, also within M parameters).  I am 6'1 and the waist belt rides high on my waist, so I think I could have gotten away with the large size. 

The pack rides/carries comfortably. On a recent peak ascent my partner unloaded 6 full 20 oz. drink bottles into my BD Speed. There was ample space in addition to my 2-quart water bottles, Gatorade, guide pants, gore-tex jacket, 2 fleece jackets and trail shoes etc.. and the extra weight was not bothersome. 

It is a top loading bag, which I prefer, and does require attention and organization when packing to keep load balanced.  I like the roll top closure, but I wonder if it will last 30 years? Like all my previous BD gear this item is well made and after two Colorado peak outings looks like it will last a long time. 

I bought this online directly from BD because not one mountain gear store between Steamboat Springs to Telluride had them in stock, even REI — crazy!!  The bottom line; great mountaineering pack!

 Pack worked great as a one day alpine pack or as a multipitch route. Highly compressible, and light with great BD quality.

The hydration bladder holder a seam for tube are essential in keeping hydrated while climbing. You can also remove features and collapse the pack into the brain to use as a summit pack.

Probably one of the best packs I have purchased. It has the hydration aspect, the removable hip belt and brain, the gear loops for both ice axes and crampons, the best compression straps in the perfect locations to make it any size you might need and the material is durable for climbing.

This pack is perfect for day trips when you want to make sure you have all that you might want, or weekend trips when you want to make sure you have all that you need. It definitely does not intrude on arm movement. It says it has a place for an ice axe, but it does not hold one very well. The gear loops are small. Mine looks slightly different from the one pictured. I was hesitant about the single strap from the lid to the body, but it works well and you don't have to worry about the lid falling to either side.