A winter pack for lift served and sidecountry skiing and snowboarding.

Many places like Jackson Hole, Silverton, and other ski areas allow skiing above the lifts and outside the boundaries, accessed by hiking or skinning beyond the regular runs or exiting the area boundaries through gates. Once you’re off the beaten path, you’re probably going to need more gear with you than you can carry in the pockets of your parka—avalanche gear, extra clothing, maybe climbing skins and some water and food. Packs like those in the Osprey Karve series are designed to carry skis and boards and enough equipment to get you safely and comfortably into, and out of, wilder terrain. The Karve 16 liter pack volume is a good size for extended sidecountry trips with the possibility of skinning or bad weather.

The back panel of the Karve is thermoformed with an HDPE framesheet for support, and was very comfortable against my back. The harness straps are EVA foam padded and the right strap has an ingenious zipper that runs up from and across the main compartment where the hydration reservoir sits, and down along the insulated sleeve for the tube. That makes it pretty easy to get your hydration system into place, and the insulation helps keep the tube from freezing. The removable waist strap is one inch webbing—it can probably help keep the pack in place for some torsos, but I rarely used it because the pack felt stable enough without it.

The body of the pack is made of 420-denier nylon and has two compartments. A pocket on the front is just about the right size for keys, wallets, and maps or some small electronics. The front of the pack is padded to protect the contents against errant edges and bindings. The larger main compartment (accessed by the long zipper described above) has a pocket for the hydration reservoir and the smaller compartment will hold your shovel blade and a set of skins along with a fleece-lined pocket for goggles. Two sleeves that run along each side of the pack hold your probe and shovel handle. These are secured using nicely designed bungee cord locks, which is a simple, functional, and elegant system for keeping those tools organized and easily available. Some light quick-release compression straps allow you to cinch down your load, but they won’t serve as an A-frame carry system for your skis. And when it’s fully loaded the pack isn’t thin enough to wear riding the lift.

During the testing, the pack carried gear very well while skiing, staying close against my back without noticeable movement or interference with my pole plants. The biggest load I carried included my shovel, probe, snow saw, skins, three liter water reservoir, a light shell pullover, a light synthetic puffy pullover, gloves, headlamp, and a small bag of sundry items and avalanche pit tools (see picture). That all came to just under twelve and a half pounds, including the pack, and it was very comfortable. The real test came when I strapped my skis on for hiking. The Karve is rigged for diagonal ski carrying only which tends to place the skis farther from your center of mass than A-frame carrying, so I expected some sway or to feel unbalanced. But the pack was still very stable and kept the skis steady, and the ski tails stayed well clear of the backs of my legs when I was hiking. Setting up the carry system required a little bit of tricky attachment maneuvering, but once the skis were on there was very little movement. Your fattest skis will go on with no problem. Not being a snowboarder, I didn’t get a chance to try carrying a snowboard with the pack but that uses essentially the same carry system so I’d expect similar performance.

Construction-wise the Karve is put together very well, and there weren't any problems with the materials, fittings, or the stitching. I didn’t experience any soaking or leaking during storms.

Here's a shot of everything I could fit in the pack:

I used the Karve over 12 days of sidecountry and inbounds skiing, skinning and hiking with it, and wearing it at work on patrol avalanche control routes.