I bought two of these, one for myself and one for my brother. We used them for a month in Utah this last season. Both bags are identical in quality.
Pros:
I previously bought the Snowblast over the Powderhound believing the Snowblast to be a more versatile bag. I was mistaken and I ended up buying this bag instead.
- Storage: I was initially worried about this since it can't be expanded like the Snowblast. However, I was able to fit my lunch, extra gloves, large fleece, neck warmer and other randoms with room to spare. I even carried gear from friends. If anything, this bag can feel too big at times. My PBJ sandwiches though always got mushed, probably due to the bladder.
- The bag maintains its structure whether it's filled or empty. The Snowblast does not. This means I was able to pack it up without it ballooning to one side which would throw off my balance and you can still use the ski-carry even if it's empty.
- The two main exterior compartments are simple and work. The trizip design on the snowblast was too complicated and I had trouble zipping it together. Not something you want to deal with on the slopes. The zippers were well and I was able to get into the bag on the chairlift.
- Water hose and mouth piece neatly tuck into the shoulder strap. This bag is just well designed.
- Water bladder. For some reason, I thought this being 3L vs the 2L on the Snowblast would be bad since I didn't want to carry the extra weight. Then I had the epiphany "you don't actually need to fill the bladder all the way" was the "ohhhh, I'm stupid" realization. Most days, I only put in 1.5 L. Still, you have 3L if you need it.
- Ski carry: The snowblast had a fake ski and snowboard carry which was really just using zippers and ties to do an A-frame. It was tedious and not realistic to use. The ski-carry on this is a million times simpler, more stable and takes seconds to setup. I tested it in my home, but I ended up not using during my trip since all the side country hike-to terrain was closed due to conditions. To the best of my knowledge, this doesn't support a snowboard.
- Fits on the chairlift. I never once needed to take my bag off to get on a lift.
This was my first time skiing with a backpack. Great investment, super practical at big resorts when you can't get to your car, locker, want to carry extra stuff with you etc... The bladder and ski-carry makes the bag perfect for accessing side country.
Cons:
- The water hose did freeze once. The temperatures were above freezing most of the trip though. It froze before I even took my first sip. I always blow back. I kinda just expected this to happen. A lot of reviewers warned about this, so I wasn't really surprised. I had to blow into it harder to clear it. It unfroze once I got down the hill. I'll have to see if this performs under more consistent colder temperatures.
- This is also the first time I used a bladder. As expected, the water does taste rubbery. I drink pretty quickly and this isn't great for doing that. It delivers the water slower forcing me to take smaller sips. Having water, even just a little bit though was helpful. No more eating snow for me.
- Cleaning the bladder after each use is tedious.
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