The North Face Prophet 45

Scrambler’s Special

This stripped-down, climber-oriented top-loader is a stable pack with excellent freedom of motion. During a series of overnights on Utah’s Thousand Lakes Plateau, testers bent, piked, and reached for holds without the harness or hipbelt interfering–or the load shifting a centimeter.

The pack seems simple at first glance, with a single-compartment packbag and no hipbelt or wand pockets. Yet it also has refinements like a camera pocket with waterproof closure, a hidden front pocket with zipper access, and reinforced haul loops, ski loops, and gear loops on the packbag and hipbelt.

The backpanel, aluminum stay, and padded hipbelt are all removable for fast-and-light trips. The hipbelt and shoulder straps are thin but gratifyingly wide, providing good weight distribution. You’ll need lightweight gear to use the Spire comfortably for overnights, but it’s ideal for weather-intensive or slightly luxe day trips. $149; 2,450 cu. in.; 2 lbs. 12 oz. Thenorthface.com

Removable 6061 custom-extruded aluminum stay + Molded E-VAP™ back panel + Removable back panel
converts into minimalist bivy pad + Formed hipbelt with molded gear loops + E-VAP™ shoulder harness with
sliding sternum strap adjustment + Double fabric on base for abrasion resistance + Detachable hood with
top X-bungee + Two‑side compression straps with Hypalon® reinforcement wings + Expandable wand pockets
with drain hole + Dual haul loops + Welded abrasion reinforcements + Reinforced front panel with dual strap
lashing system + Color-coded straps + Adjustable tool loops + Elastic ice axe attachment + Safe-T whistle on
sternum strap + Hydration compatible + Reflective hits