The North Face: Off Chute 22 Backpack - 1325cu in (Backpacks)

[tgr pro]

<h3>Off Chute 22 Backpack - 1325cu in (http://www.tetongravity.com/proshop/offchute22backpack1325cuin_TNF2605.html)</h3><p><em>The North Face Off Chute 22 Backpack carries your skis or snowboard and enough gear for a few hours in the backcountry. </em></p><p></p><p><img src='http://akamai.backcountrystore.com.edgesuite.net/images/items/medium/TNF/TNF2605/ASGY.jpg' ></p><br />Gear Pro Shop (http://www.tetongravity.com/proshop/offchute22backpack1325cuin_TNF2605.html) All The North Face Gear (http://www.tetongravity.com/proshop/brand-thenorthface.html)

[SchralphMacchio]

I have an older version of this pack that doesn't have the diagonal ski loops. I use the pack for resort days and shortish day tours. I did a 10-mile day with the pack once and it was a bit painful as I was carrying more weight than the thing was designed to do. Overall, thumbs up.

Pros
-good hip belt, secures pack well when booting up couloirs or going off jumps
-hydration sleeve through shoulder strap with dual zipper is NICE, easy access and easy refill
-snowboard carry, vertical and horizontal, work pretty well
-shovel pocket fits up to a BCA companion or similar sized shovel
-padded goggle pocket and internal probe sleeve are really nice - I can deploy my probe faster than most people in my group
-overall seems light and fits well

Cons
-hip pocket and left shoulder strap pocket are too small to be used for their designed functions, so I only use em for granola bars, gels, and a small knife
-if the bladder pocket were a little bigger it would hold my skins pretty well too, but I still manage to fit them (short skins for splitboard though)
-can't really A-frame very well
-shovel handle strap design isn't great, I broke the buckle after half a season of beaters, but TNF repaired for me for free.

[fish]

I have the same problem with the shoulder strap pocket... it is pretty small. The hip pocket is in a weird spot too, you have to take the pack off to access it. The shovel pocket is a little too small for my shovel, so part of it sticks out, it's kind of annoying and I have to keep zipping up the pocket to keep it from falling out. I still like this pack on the whole, and the design looks great.

[fish]

I forgot to mention that the loop in which your skis go through is way too small to fit a pair of twin tips through it, so i just run them through part of the snowboard strap