Sierra Designs Feather 25 Pack

• Size: 25 liter (s/m) 27 liter (m/l)
• Weight: 2.12 lbs/ 2.15 lbs
• MSRP $159

This 25 L top loader is the newest pack from the team at Sierra Designs and comes out swinging with a fairly lightweight and focused top loader. Looking to fill a slot in the day pack range in their newly redesigned line SD has trimmed the fat and left us with a pack that features one zippered front pouch that runs down the front of the pack, two gear loops, side mesh pockets and an integrated rain cover.

With the simplicity of the pack it is easy to just throw gear in it and go for a hike, and as with all packs of this style you are then left rummaging through the pack to find that small whositwhatsit that has worked its way down to the bottom. The up side is that you can carry more gear in less space due to not having it compartmentalized with dividers. The zippered pouch on the top of the pack access flap became more of a nuisance to me than anything I would use, simply because when the pack is opened and this pouch unzipped it eagerly dumps half of its contents…which is lame. I think SD should move the zipper to the top of the pouch (when lying open) so that you can open it with out this issue.

Once loaded and worn this pack carries well even when overloaded, which speaks volumes for simplicity of the single aluminum stay as well as the HDPE frame sheet that makes up the frame of the pack. Wearing the pack while scrambling over rocks and under fallen limbs made me realize that SD has taken the design under real world consideration and I was surprised at the flex that the pack had has I moved across the terrain. The Feather 25 makes a great day pack and is one that would be most useful to folks looking for a stylish pack made for simplicity and ease of use.