Thule's Upslope 35 backcountry pack is an awesome first offering from the roof rack company. Jon Grinney photo.
The Thule Upslope 35 is a 35-liter backcountry ski and snowboard pack made of cordura nylon and weighing, on its own, about three pounds. It's worth noting that this is the first line of backcountry packs from a brand much more famous for car-mounted gear carriers; chances are, you're carrying your skis, boards, or bikes using one of their racks.
The Upslope is part of Thule's larger breakout into technical backpacks of all kinds, and, while skeptical at first of a first attempt at a technical backpack by a gear rack manufacturer, I have to admit that I became super impressed with Thule's unique take on the backcountry pack once I put it into use.
The Thule Upslope 35: Storage & Design
The zipper on the avalanche tools pocket at the front of the pack might be a tad more useful it if zipped across the entire top of the pack, but there's still plenty of clearance for getting bigger shovels out. Ryan Dunfee photo.
A dedicated tools pocket on the front of the bag holds your shovel and probe with plenty of clearance for my wider BCA shovel blade – one that had a tendency to get stuck in other packs. A small sunglasses/goggle/keys/sunblock/Voile strap pocket zips up on the top while the main compartment is accessed by a full-length zipper along the back.
The Upslope's main compartment is huge – I never filled it on day missions without stuffing a helmet in there – and is easily accessible by the full-zip back panel. Ryan Dunfee photo.
I was rarely able to fill this fairly cavernous space unless I stuffed a helmet in there, but there was always of space for an extra layer, extra gloves, lunch, snacks, water bottle, extra goggles, ski straps, stuff sack, and whatever else I might fancy to toss in there.
An additional zippered compartment along the back panel will hold a water bladder, or in my case, a first aid kit and tools. Ryan Dunfee photo.
A nice extra are the two zippered pouches that run the length of the back panel, where I kept my Leatherman and first aid kit so I wouldn’t be digging around my pack looking for it when an emergency scenario actually presented itself. This is also a great spot to host a water bladder that connects up to the insulated sleeve on the left pack strap, but I’m more of a bottle person in the wintertime.
A highlight of the outside of the Upslope is how clean and stripped-down it is; most of the straps you see in the photo could be hidden away if I weren't as lazy. Jon Grinney photo.
The outside of the pack is fairly clean and stripped down – most of the straps you could use are able to be stowed away, which give me some piece of mind while skiing trees – but you can still lock a snowboard into a vertical carry in a somewhat awkward looking but still functional strap system, carry your skis vertically or in an A-frame, pull out the helmet-carry netting if your main compartment is stuffed, and carry a basic ice tool if that’s the type of fun you get into. It’s nice that, even when not fully stuffed, the Upslope is rigid enough to hold its shape while hosting skis or snowboards. I never felt them flopping around even when the pack was a third full.
CHECK OUT: evo's entire selection of 15/16 backcountry packs
Compared to a top-loading pack with similar listed volume, there’s less flexibility with the Upslope to really load it up by strapping tons of stuff to the outside and extend the volume of the pack upwards, as there was with the Patagonia Snowdrifter 40L pack I talked about earlier this winter. So if you’re hoping to load up with rope or overnight gear, you might be more interested in the extendable volume available with a pack like that. But for day-to-day use for folks who carry more gear than would fit in a potato-chip pack in the backcountry, the fixed volume is fine, and when the pack isn’t fully loaded, the more rigid structure of the Upslope keeps the bag from feeling loose and bouncing around.
The cavernous waist belt pockets will carry way more stuff than you imagine looking at them, but ended up being great for hosting extra gloves or a camera, which could then be grabbed without taking the pack off. Jon Grinney photo.
The most ingenious feature of the Upslope, beyond its clean, simple design, are the surprisingly enormous hip-saddled waist pockets. Built into the waistband itself, these two pockets manage to have enough space to host a water bottle, a pair of extra gloves, climbing skins, or in my case, my Sony mirrorless camera. I mostly ignored these pockets for the first half of the season, but now that I’m taking advantage of them, I find them super useful. And while carrying your skis in an A-frame somewhat limits the ease of access into these side pockets, the bulk of the contents is kept towards your back, and I never noticed what was in there while I was skiing.
The One Drawback
My only caveat from my otherwise awesome experience with the Upslope was that, at 5’10”, the top of the pack sits a wee bit tall, and I felt it knocking the back of my helmet on some jumps. While most people aren’t going to be madly stoked to be jumping around with a pack this big anyway, it’s something to keep in mind for folks who run helmets – as you all should, and which I sadly didn’t do in any of these photos. Fail.
The Upslope In Ski Mode
Even when only part full, the Upslope never felt like it was loose or bouncing around. Jon Grinney photo.
Skiing down the intermediate-groomer-covered-in-pow type of terrain I usually set out to access on my backcountry missions, I really enjoyed the feel of the Upslope. Most of the weight sits on your hips and the large waistband, and the rigid structure I mentioned earlier makes it feel solid even when the main compartment is far from full. And it was great to not have to rip the pack off, or wear a certain jacket with pockets perfectly placed between the chest and waist bands, to access my camera mid-run while shooting the homies as they made epic turns into the alpenglow light.
The Bottom Line
Building ski and bike racks for automobiles usually isn’t the kind of company heritage that really stands to benefit you when you jump into the backpack game, and I have to admit that I was fairly skeptical that the Upslope was going to make the cut when I first got it. Nonetheless, Thule’s first line of ski packs is surprisingly clean and efficient, and with a few really useful features you’re not likely to find on other packs.There's also a 20 liter option for those not packing as much gear.
The waistband pockets are pretty ingenious, and the rigid structure keeps the pack feeling solid, both when climbing up with skis or a board on the back, and when ripping down, even if the pack is only partly full. It’s a pack I’m looking forward to getting a couple seasons’ worth of use out of, and is a total surprise from the roof rack maker. The Upslope 35 retails for $159.95, while its 20-liter cousin retails for $119.95.
Check out evo's entire selection of 15/16 backcountry packs, many of which are on sale right now!
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About The Author
stash member Ryan Dunfee
Former Managing Editor at Teton Gravity Research, current Senior Contributor, current professional hippy at the Sierra Club, and avid weekend recreationalist.
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