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Osprey Talon 44 — Winter Update

I liked Osprey’s new Talon 44 backpack enough in summer to want to give it a try in Winter.

At an unmatched two pounds, nine ounces, the Talon is Oprey’s lightest multi-day pack, with an innovative frame that easily bests a traditional stay-and-framesheet design in stiffness and load-worthiness.

Two pounds nine ounces puts the Talon in the daypack weight class.

If the idea of carrying heavy winter loads with a pack that weighs half as much as the typical mule design appeals to you, you’ll understand exactly why I took the Talon for an overnight ski last weekend.

How did the Talon do?

Well…loaded up with all my winter gear, I finally saw the limits of the Talon’s carrying ability. The problem lies not in the frame itself, but in the hip belt, which has no stiffness to resist backward torquing (the belt is essentially a soft strap). Consequently, the Talon put a constant and considerable load on my back—unacceptably so. Note, however, that this is a design flaw that could easily be fixed without adding significant weight to the Talon.

The other thing I noticed was the quirky Osprey buckles and straps became much less amusing in 60mph winds, bitter temps, and darkness. I battled constantly with the straps, finding them always needlessly difficult to operate. I say junk the whole lot of them and replace with traditional buckles and pulls.

The Talon has been harshly criticized in some circles for durability issues. I have had no problems, including scraping it against rocks, throwing it into and out of my car, and generally just not being too gentle with it. But I have to admit, this is a very light pack, especially in terms of materials and stitching, and I keep expecting something to come loose at some time. It just hasn’t yet. Another criticism I’ve seen is in regard to the Talon’s clever “airspace” backpanel, which is designed to channel air against your back to prevent sweating.

The airspace works, in my opinion—contrary to others’. One reviewer thought that the airspace served only to collect snow and ice. I didn’t have this problem over the weekend, so I remain unconvinced that it’s an issue. I suppose if you packed the area with snow, it might be difficult to clear. Do what you will with this information.

So here’s my verdict: the Talon is not ready for true Alpine overnight use. But darn, it’s close. And if Osprey can get the kinks out of this design, swallow their pride and use normal buckles and traditional attachment points, and keep the weight down, watch out! This will be a lightweight wonder.

Posted in Gear | 1 Comment

West Baldy Sunset Cruise: Mesmerizing

I had big plans this weekend, and they ended as Big Plans often do—by delivering me a big smackdown.

Friday I and partner Bill climbed to the summit of West Baldy, camped nearby, and attempted to traverse the ridge down to Iron Mountain, with plans to ski a line on the Peak’s opposite face before climbing back to Baldy.

In Summer, the San Antonio Ridge is somewhat infamous as a SoCal gruel, with lots of up-and-down, class 3 climbing, and rugged terrain. We found it partially covered with bulletproof snow, making for exposed, icy travel at a snail’s pace. With weather deteriorating rapidly on Saturday, we decided to call off the attempt. Just getting to Iron Mountain via the ridge would have pushed the limits of our endurance and time frame—essentially, we were looking at 3.5 miles of technical ridge traversing just to get to the start of our project. And this after a tiring climb up Baldy the day before.

Sometimes, your plans just turn out to be not feasible. That was certainly the case here, sending me back to the drawing board on this one. Still, the trip was filled with memorable moments. Snow Camping at 9800′ on West Baldy was bitterly cold, with 50-60 mph winds the entire time. This proved an ample test of our camping techniques and gear. Suffice to say, the experience was highly educational. Watch for gear updates on what worked and especially what didn’t in the coming week.

I’ll also have to put together a writeup of the trip, which included a spectacular sunset-descent of West Baldy on Friday night. Dropping down over the fog-filled Los Angeles Basin as the sky turned red was unforgettable—easily the highlight of the trip. Things don’t always go as planned, but with a little flexibility, even a busted trip can still turn out to be a gem.

Posted in Skiing | 3 Comments

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