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Using the BCA Stash bc backpack
By Lou Dawson I like simple backpacks. Give me a sack with straps fluttering in the wind, tons of zippers, hip belts that look like a NASCAR harness, and I'm as likely to use the thing for large caliber target practice as I am to carry it on my back. Add a hydration system that leaks and freezes, and I might even light the thing on fire before I start filling it with lead. Thus, when Backcountry Access sent me a Stash bc pack, I was excited to see that while it is a panel loading technical pack, with plentiful partitions and zippers, they have gone to huge effort to keep it clean and simple. What's more, they've done the best job I've ever seen of building a hydration system into a pack. Out of the box, the first thing I noticed about the Stash was the clean lines of the waist belt and shoulder straps: just enough foam for padding, but not too much. Digging around inside the bag, I was confused by a number of partitions and compartments, but being open minded, especially when people such as BCA go to such effort to make ski specific gear, I spent an evening figuring the thing out, loaded it up, and gave it the full real-world test.
I've become a helmet convert. Rather than wearing my hard hat during selected trips, I try to bring it on all my mountaineering adventures (ever mindful of Murphy's law). Thus, first order with all my packs now is how do they carry a helmet, since I like to leave the thing off my head during hot climbs in safe terrain. But I like to pack my helmet in my pack, where is stays dry and undamaged until needed. The Stash pack does a supreme job with this. It is stitched in such a way that when partly loaded, it accordions down to a trim profile, but when stuffed with bulky items it expands horizontally up to about nine inches deep, thus easily accommodating bulky items such as helmets or the occasional elk hindquarter. Next in my packing paradigm: weight. The Stash weighs more unloaded than my other ski packs, and this concerned me at first. I like to reduce my load, not increase it. But the Stash bc has a bit more volume and carries my helmet, so I was willing to give a little in the weight department. Then I realized it has a dedicated compartment for skins, and another for gewgaws, so I was able to eliminate a couple of stuff sacks and thus a few ounces from my load. What's more, it has other partitions and compartments I may never use. Once I figure these out, I'll probably razor blade the ones I don't need, thus dropping a few more ounces. Also, with a plastic internal frame, it rides a bit better than my other packs, especially while carrying skis, so that makes up for a few more ounces.
Next on the checklist: how to attach skis? In this the Stash excels. Forget other packs with generic compression straps you end up playing with like you're a monkey undergoing some kind of psych test -- this pack has straps specially designed just for your planks! It works like this: you slip your ski tails into a dedicated webbing loop on each side, then cinch the upper part of the ski in another dedicated loop that closes with a velcro strap. After that, you tighten down the two conventional compression straps to stabilize the load to your liking. Since this is a panel loader pack, the ski attachment is designed in a way that allows you to clam shell the front panel without detaching your skis, an extremely nice touch. Other details set this sack apart from the "pack." A small exterior zipper compartment near the top is perfect for goggles and sunglasses. The ice ax and ski carrying loops at the bottom outside tuck away in special compartments if you're not using them (so you look good for your part in the next TGR film). Wear points are reinforced with heavy plastic material. The black color will fit into any photo and look good at any party, and two small strips of reflective material will keep your buddy from loosing you during a headlamp hike.
I left the best for last. The crowning glory of this sack is its hydration system, a large 100 ounce capacity plastic bladder with it's own dedicated slot, and an insulated zippered compartment in the shoulder strap, where you store the sip-tube while you're not using it, so it won't freeze or look geeky in the TGR film ( you can leave it hanging out and whipping you in the face for the Warren Miller shots, and perhaps the W-man will make a joke out of it). Onward to the real world test. It snowed like a science fiction climactic apocalypse this past weekend. This in October, when I usually think more about elk hunting than skiing. But seeing those snowflakes, after last winter's best forgotten nothing, gave me a psyche that far exceeded even my hormonal lust for Jane the hottie back in 10th grade, and made elk meat a distant priority. I loaded up the Stash BC and headed for Castle Peak, a traditional early season ski haunt for Aspen backcountry folk. With a full bladder (in the pack) of water, camera, radio, etc., my load was slightly heavier than normal, but once on my back the Stash rode so well it easily made up for a few extra pounds. At about 13,500 feet the wind was howling, the temperature well below freezing. As a test I let the sip-tube dangle in the breeze. Sure enough, the bite valve froze (the tube didn't because I'd blown most of the water out). I thawed the valve, then stored it in the insulated compartment that also gathers a bit of heat from your shoulder. When I pulled the tube out for a drink about 45 minutes later, it was still thawed. Nice! I can see this working well at average Colorado temperatures, and in arctic cold you could throw a couple of hand warmer packs in the compartment, and still be using the sip-tube -- an impossible thing to do with any other type of hydration system. In all, this is a fine piece of equipment that I'll continue to use. I still like a top loader better, but the zipper style closure is growing on me, and the small weight increase (over a simpler pack) seems to be worth it. All us backcountry skiers should be honored that a company such as Backcountry Access would design a pack specifically for our sport. And we should be even happier that it works as well as the Stash bc! (You can purchase the Stash
BC from BackcountryStore.com. They offer Free Shipping on
all orders over $50 and have a huge selection of backcountry ski
and snowboard products.)
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