The North Face Ligero 35

[best mobility]

With a tall, narrow packbag and svelte shoulder straps and hipbelt, this pack excelled when testers needed maximum freedom of motion—like when stemming through slot canyons in Utah. “I carried about 35 pounds through some tight squeezes,” says one tester. “Arm movement was excellent and I could stand up straight, even with a full load.”

A stiffened backpanel surrounded by an aluminum frame effectively transfers weight to the dual-density hipbelt (with firmer foam outside for structure, and cushy foam inside for comfort). Unlike stripped-down climbing packs, it has ski, pole, and gear-racking loops, sleeping pad straps, daisy chains, and even a detachable camera/GPS pocket. “Gear swapping was a breeze,” wrote one tester after toy-intensive winter hikes in the Smokies. Caution: Don’t overload it; stability suffers if you max out the extendable top lidX-2™ suspension system + 7075 tubular aluminum X stays + Molded E-VAP™ back panel + E-VAP™ contoured
shoulder harness + E-VAP™ lumbar zone + Lightweight, active cut, contoured hipbelt with three-point closure
+ Top accessory pocket with zip closure + Large front stretch woven pocket + Dual-side compression straps
with reinforced, load distribution wings + Front tool loop + PE sheet with engineered perf pattern to reduce
weight while maintaining structure + Integrated tool lash points + Hydration sleeve + Bottom compression
straps + Flip-top opening + Side-stash rain cover pocket + Dual access, stretch woven side water-bottle
pockets + Easy-grab zip pulls + Load lifters with thumb loops + Stretch woven hipbelt stash pockets
+ Neoprene foam padded hipbelt accessory pocket with secure zip