Flash Pack

Comments about Black Diamond Flash Pack:

Great little pack. Well made and light weight. Good for short trips and hikes. Enough room for a small med kit, heat blanket and some food. Can strap down a jacket or fleece to outside.

Comments about Black Diamond Flash Pack:

I wanted a small light pack for trail running, for hiking with not-as-adventurous family and friends, for biking, and perhaps as a pack for multi-pitch climbs. The Flash fit the bill. Most other similar packs were either ~ 1 lb heavier, or had yet more weird straps (Camelbak M.U.L.E.), or were too simple (GoLite Ion). Technical packs seemed like overkill for hiking, and I thought this would make it a good trail-running pack. It is good for running: a bit noisy but stays put and inside it fits a shirt, bladder (2-L MSR Dromlite) and misc. items. My other BD pack (the sadly discontinued Shadow) has held up great, and this pack looks like it'll do much the same. Thin silnylon on the outside rear, but more padding than I expected for the back. Comfortably fit me (5'10", 150 lbs).

Comments about Black Diamond Flash Pack:

I was surprised at how lightweight and compressible this pack is. I have a Platypus Thunderhead pack that is about the same size, but is quite a bit bulkier and heavier.

I like this size of pack for climbing multi-pitch routes, and the comfort of the straps across my shoulders is very important. This pack has a better strap design than other hydration packs that I've seen, as there are no seams to cause chafing.

The adjustment system is very cool - the straps are super-easy to adjust, and have hardware to keep the ends out of the way that actually works well.

The only downside to the pack is that it has a very narrow body that is not expandable. My other pack has a zipper expansion system that has proven to be very useful, and something of that sort would be a great addition to this pack.