Great overnighter and extended stay pack.
The Talon series is a great lightweight, versitle series for me. This particular one is the 33 litre (2,000 cu. in.). All the features fit my hiking and backpacking style. The main compartment of the pack is a 70D x 100D nylon. The bottom portion, or the grey colored fabric, is a 16D x 330D nylon and the stretch portion of the pack is a Lycra woven nylon. As you can see, the logo and graphic designs on the Talon are very reflective which is a plus for safety and being seen in the dark when reflected upon.
The back panel is called Airscape which it is just that, an escape route for the hot air that is coming off of ones’ back. This feature keeps cool air flowing along the back where the pack mainly rests. It is made of a mesh material and the panel is made of a ridge molded foam. The shoulder straps feature a similar design where the straps are made of sloted foam and covered with the same type of mesh material. Again, a great way to allow any heat build up on the chest and shoulders to escape. This feature cuts down on weight as well. The hip-belt is also designed with the lightweight foam that is covered with mesh. Along the length of the belt on both sides are zippered stretch mesh pockets.
It is a top loading pack and has a decent size collar that can be cinched closed. A strap then comes across the top and can be cinched tight. The lid then comes over and buckles. The lid has internal and external pockets for small items. The front, stretch pocket is a great feature for items that need to be gotten quickly without having to open the lid. There are a lot of great features on this pack and I am sure most if not all of them will be used.
I took the Talon 33 on a short overnight trip. I moved along the trail with no problems from this pack. The shoulder straps felt very good. I never had to adjust them due to discomfort to my collar bone or trapezoids. The hip belt kept the load close to my back and never had a problem with the pack bouncing around. I really like the side pockets as I stowed snacks in them for on the trail. In the lumbar area and in my lower back area I did find that the Airscape worked great. I never felt like my back was sweating like I normally do. For me the pack is narrow enough so that my arms do not brush the side of the pack when my arms go back.
The Talon was very easy to pack with my gear. The two side pockets and the front pocket has been a great addition to the pack for organizational purposes. They make finding certain pieces of gear easy to find. I mainly stowed things like headlamps, fuel bottles, water purifier, GPS, rain shell and a few miscellaneous items. These items were easy to get to when I needed them. The main compartment held all of my gear without needing the extension collar. At least I know that I could pack a little bit more stuff in it and know that I have room at the top. After the side cinch straps are tightened, the pack becomes slim and compact. I did not carry a water bladder for this trip but I will comment on that feature in my update. So far this has been a great pack and I can’t wait to use it this winter. Stay tuned….
UPDATE: February 19, 2010
The Talon enjoying the day
I took the Talon on a great day hike up to Rainbow Falls close to where I live. It is a little bit bigger in terms of load capacity that I would take on a day hike but with two of my sons going, I knew I would be caring more than what I normally take at the end of the day.
The trek was only about 6 miles but on that day the temperature was close to 45 F so throwing a couple of extra layers in the pack is not unusual. The items I put in the pack packed really well. It was mostly clothes and food but it was items that I was able to somewhat compact once it was all in there. Once everything was packed I was able to cinch the side straps and get the pack a lot smaller in diameter.
LAST UPDATE: April 19, 2010
The Talon 33 has been a superb all around pack. Coming off of the winter months I used the pack on a couple of weekend trips with our Scout group. During these trips we always take 5 to 10 mile hikes and for these trips I used the Talon. I new up front that it was way too big in capacity to use on these hikes as really all I needed was water, snacks and a few essential items. Using this pack turned out to be ideal for these trips, because some how when I hike with my kids I end up carrying their jackets and items they don’t want to carry. So it turned up ideal for me.
The temperatures on these hikes were very mild and cool. But when I get to hiking I do start heating up and sweating. This gave me an opportunity to pay close attention to the Airscape feature on back padding. I have to say that my back still got hot where the pads were touching and occasionally I would reach back with my hands and pull the pack away from my back to let some cool air get to it; but this was only a few times. I found several features to be my favorite if it’s possible to have several favorites.
One of my favorites are the snack pockets on the waist belt. These really worked well when I didn’t want to stop and try and fish something out of the top lid or try to reach up and over the back of my head to try and fish it out of the top while I was still moving. The pockets aren’t huge but they are big enough to fit a couple of power bars, gels or energy beans on each side.
Another favorite of mine is the ability to store my poles on the outside as seen here.
There were times when I just didn’t want to use them or need them and it was nice to be able to store them on the outside in the back and not worry about them. The elastic loop fastener held them close to the pack so they wouldn’t be flopping around in the back.
The shoulder straps proved to be very nice with the cut-away foam and mesh material. This did give good ventilation to my shoulders and chest area. The main body of the pack was plenty big enough for the items I took and the items I picked up from my kids that I had to carry. The great thing about it was the cinch straps on the side. It didn’t how full or empty the pack was, I could cinch those straps down and it always kept the gear tight in the pack and against my back.
That is why I really liked this pack. It didn’t matter how much or how little I carried, It never felt to heavy or too big for the purpose I needed it for. This will definitely be one of my favorite packs for years to come.
