Arc'teryx Cierzo 35 - First Impressions

I probably didn't really need another rucksack, in fact theres no question about it - I didn't. But with Ultimate Outdoors reducing a lot of their stock in their January sale I couldn't refuse one of the Arc'teryx Cierzo 35 packs, reduced down from £70 to £50 at Ultimate Outdoors Lancaster. Arc'teryx describe it as:

Lightweight and highly packable summit pack. Our lightest day pack under 40 litres.

So, the most obvious thing thing that blurb is that this pack is supposed to be light, and it most certainly is weighing in at 580g. I've had a play about, and if you do a bit of trimming, and removed the compression system you can knock about 100g off this which is getting into serious lightweight territory for a pack this size. Its frameless and has minimalistic waist strap which comprises simply of 1.5 inch webbing with no padding. The capacity is a conservative 35l, but if you really stretch the lid you can just about cram 40 in there. Theres one large lid pocket, and a main body - thats it, no side pockets or zips, no hydration sleeve etc. Its clean, and I like it.

My predominant winter climbing pack for the last half a decade has been my trusty POD Black Ice, one of the ones that Pete O'Donovan in his garage before production moves to China. It is a great rucksack but due to its size, when I'm going fast and light, or climbing something pretty hard I found myself wanting a frameless sack that was a bit smaller and lighter, willing to sacrifice some comfort on the walk-ins. I thought I'd solved this when I bought my Black Diamond RPM in the summer, and while this was great for Chamonix style alpinism I've found for British winter climbing, getting a full rack, harness, helmet and other winter kit is a bit of a squeeze. So enter the Cierzo...

Walking off the Ben with a fully laden Cierzo 35.

I took it out on its first proper outing on Tower Ridge at the weekend. I packed fairly light, but still had all my winter gear and a moderate sized rack in my pack so it wasn't at its lightest for the 2 hour walk in. Surprisingly though it actually carried fairly well, with the hip belt taking more load then I was expecting it too. Unlike a framed rucksack you do have to be careful how you pack the cierzo as the back padding is minimalistic, you could if you wanted add in some extra foam sheets to pad it out a bit more. once we got to the climb I re-packed the sack, with the lid tucked inside the main body and hip belt fastened out of the way. As expected it was a dream to climb with.

This is by no means a definitive review, I'll write one when I've truly used and abused the pack but I think the Cierzo is going to do well. I'm going to take it down to Snowdonia with me next weekend for some rock-climbing and mountaineering, and I'll take it up to the Cairngorms when I'm there in a few weeks time. I also have high hopes for this when the summer alpine season comes around, for stuff of more traditional nature - i.e. not lift accessed, and I reckon it will just about take bivi kit.

The pack has already received positive reviews on the Alpine Guides site and on Alpinist.

Arc'teryx Gamma SK Pant - Review

As the winter season draw to a close I thought I'd offer some thoughts on some of the kit I've been using this season, starting with the Arc'teryx Gamma SK Pant. Arc'teryx's blurb for the pants on their website is as follows:

"These super durable softshell ski pants are designed for high-output touring days, combining superior mobility and breathability with cold/dry weather protection. The Burly double weave textile is extremely tough, comfortable next to the skin, and stretches with movement. Perfect for skiing or alpine climbing, these lightweight pants feature articulated patterning and built-in stretch powder cuffs."

I'd had my heart set on a new pair of ski pants for this season, something that would handle both backcountry and touring stuff as well as days at the resorts. Below is a basic summary of features and qualities I was looking for:

• Breathable - skinning up hill is hard work, especially in the spring sun!
• Water-resistant - it generally doesn't actually rain in most of the environments I use these so they don't need to be waterproof as such but a degree of water resistance to shrug of snow is needed.
• Wind-proofing - to keep the wind chill at bay.
• Hard-wearing - I don't want these pants to wear out after one season, so the material in general needs to be fairly tough, and some protective material of sorts on the cuffs.
• Braces - I like braces, especially on ski pants.
• Big cuffs - either with or without a zipper but big enough to get over ski boots.
• Look cool - for being down with the kids on the corduroy!
  

So taking these into account I began to trawl the web for possibilities, and narrowed it down to the Patagonia Backcountry Guide Pant and the aforementioned Arc'teryx ones, both which ticked most of the boxes. I tried both pairs on in Monodsports in Banff and in the end settled on the Gamma's.

I bought the Gamma's in a medium, I probably could of got away with a small, and if I was buying them for alpine climbing I certainly would of gone for a smaller size but for skiing I wanted to be able to get a good few layers under them in the depths of Canadian winter as well as avoiding that stereotypical 'tight pants' European skier look! They come with a pair of braces that are quite low profile but still do the job, I like this as sometimes when you've got a pair or two of braces on, and a transceiver and a camera on a strap you've got so many straps on your upper body it feels like you should be in some sort of S&M movie! The cuffs are wide enough to fit snugly over ski boots and keep the snow out, but are easy enough to pull up to adjust buckles when switching from walk to ski or cranking up for a particular challenging line.

The pants are not insulted, theres no fleece or synthetic lining to add warmth but I liked that. I find when touring all I need to wear under them is a pair of thin thermals, on warmer days I go for a pair of Mountain Hardwear Alpha Dry Tights and on cooler days, a pair of Arc'teryx Rho LTW merino wool pants. For piste skiing I wear the same but add a pair of powerstrech pants in between the layers, which has so far kept me comfortable down to about 20 below. The climate is while being very cold at time, pretty dry here, I've never felt damp in the pants despite their lack of waterproof membrane. The closest I think I've come is when sitting on chair lifts when snow has begun to melt a little on my thigh which are pretty warm from just burning down a run - this is easily brushed off though as it beads instantly thanks to the DWR treating of the pants, which is still going strong after over 25 days of heavy use.

Wearing the Gamma SK's while touring on the Colombia Icefields.

Like I said above, I've used the pants for over 25 days now, for all of my backcountry and resort skiing and they still look as good as new. Theres one small knick from an errant ski edge on the cuffs, on the softshell fabric rather than the hard wearing patches. One other feature I particular liked and i've found useful in the backcountry is two cargo pockets on either side which are handy for a map or other things you want quick access to.

At $200 there not reasonable but not exactly expensive for a Arc'teryx item. A lot of people criticize Arc'teryx gear for being over priced, and a year a go I would of agreed however I bought a few items of their gear while over here and I have to say its some of the best I've used. Sure its expensive, but is does the job and it lasts. Simply put you get what you pay for.

So in conclusion, if your looking for a pair of pants for all you ski exploits, then take a look at these, they haven't let me down yet.

Just a quick addition here, I've just seen that the pants have also been reviewed over on the Alpine Guides Blog, check it out to see their views as well.