User Review: The North Face Angstrom 30

The North Face Angstrom 30
Above: The current Angstrom 30, which may differ slightly from the version reviewed.

Reviewed June 4, 2009 by MTB416

Rating:
Size: 30L
Max. Load Carried: 30
Height of Owner: 5'9
Price Paid: Retail

I'm a big fan of this pack. It's attractive enough to be used in the city or to school, but with it's very useful hipbelt it is also a good trail pack. The hipbelt can be totally hidden for city use, you don't have to remove them like others packs I have owned, perhaps my favorite feature.

The webbing is useful, I use it for drying my hat or socks typically. The bottle pockets hold a Nalgene 1 liter or standard sized bottle equally well. I wish there was better organization in the exterior zippered pocket, but it is adequate enough. The bladder pouch is great, can hold two 70z Camelbaks with ease, but do that and you better pack light, because you're already at 16lbs or so.

Having said that, the shoulder straps are comfortable, and with the hipbelt it handled some overloading. On a cruise stop in Key West, I had to of loaded 30lbs into it, and for the 3-4 miles I walked it carried and breathed well. Not sure how it would feel that heavy on the trail though, I don't pack that heavy out there with this pack. It also has usable belt pocket and built in rainfly/pouch.

Lastly, I'm not quite sure if this pack is indeed a 30 liter pack. At times it seems to be true to size, other times it doesn't. I'm not sure if that makes sense!

Obviously, I would recommend this product. The .5 star deduction is due to the organization pockets in the exterior zippered pocket, which are hard to use at times.

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