Karrimor Alpiniste 45

I have not owned a Karrimor rucksack since 1978 ish.  But I had a look in the Field and Trek store in Ambleside last week and they had Karrimor at 40 or 50% off.  I had priced up Lightwave and Black Diamond sacks and they were nearer £100 pounds.  So I took the plunge and bought the above sack for £50.

The reason I need the sack is because my Black Diamond sack, orange one above, is 30l and I find it a bit small for winter use.  I generally carry a belay type jacket plus waterproofs, spare hat and gloves, map, sarnies, flask, and not to mention crampons and/or skis etc.  So I had been using my Gregory Z pack above ,  another great sack and plenty big enough.  I just thought something around 45 litres would be better.

The Karrimor has all the relevant attachment points for axes etc. and has a separate slot inside for a platypus.  It seems well made.  The only thing , so far, that I dont like is that the chest strap is one of those that slot onto a rail.  I have not had much luck with these in the past.

So today I had a walk up to the Lake District Ski Club hut on Raise carrying the skis and gear.  If you click on photos they enlarge.  The sack was comfortable and coped with the skis no problem.  

Terrible conditions today , snow poor crusty stuff and visibility nil on the slopes.  Ah well it was a good walk and the vegetable korma and cappuccino in the Lakeland Pedlar were spot on.