Ortovox Haute Route 40 / Haute Route 38 S

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Our take With an easy-access avalanche tool pocket, three internal pockets, and three zippered external pockets, the redesigned Haute Route 40 (the 38 S is the women’s model) is a compulsive organizer’s dream. “This pack has compartments for everything, including maps, goggles, avy gear, and radios,” one tester says. “The goggle pocket kept mine scratch-free and was easy to open in 60-mph winds during a tour in Yellowstone National Park.” The Haute Route allows both diagonal and A-frame ski carry, and has both a helmet-carry net and rope straps.

The details A backpanel zipper and a yawning top zip offer quick access to the main sack. The spring-steel frame kept our tester’s 20-pound load comfortably on her hips during an ascent of 10,969-foot Electric Peak in Yellowstone.

$190; 3 lbs. 12 oz. (m’s); one size each, m’s and w’s