Difference in a hiking and ski bag?

I use a Dakine Heli Pro 24 or a Millet Big Powder 25 spring, summer, fall and winter for skiing, hiking, touring, fishing, and photography. Hoping to upgrade to an Evoc CP 26 (one compartment for bodies and lenses and another for avy gear) for photography and a Fishpond Thunderhead for fishing (fully submersible because I tend to fall a lot when I’m wading). For 99% of people one or two packs will work. It all depends on what you wanna use it for and what you wanna carry, I used to use a Heli 12 for almost all my activities and slowly got to the point where it wasn’t enough. If you find yourself needing more room, upgrade!

Yea stick with it unless you find you have a specific need the pack doesn’t address or have an abundance of cash.

The only reason not to use a ski pack in the summer imo is too save the pack from wear. My dakine pack was totally fine until I started using it year round.

Generally for me it's a capacity thing. Day trips in the summer you don't need all the space for avy gear and puffy layers and whatnot, so I find a 16L more than enough.
And for backpacking, I use a 50 or 65L to fit the shelter, sleep setup, food, tools, meals, etc.
Since my touring pack is 32L it would potentially be overkill on day trips and not enough for overnights.

Ski packs might have extra straps and tough fabrics to resist edges that would contribute some degree of weight, and the dedicated avy-gear pockets might be better subbed out for more summer-friendly features like a hydration system pocket.
Some packs have a mesh to keep it off your back which means way less sweaty back which is rad, and this might be more common on summer packs?
Back panel access is more important for winter and less so in the summer when the ground isn't going to be snowy/wet all the time.


End of the day, you can definitely nerd out and find a niche pack for every sport in every season, but I'd agree with the guys above and say unless you really feel like something's lacking or want to preserve your pristine winter gear I'd just use what you have if the capacity works out for what you wanna do.

S

**This post was edited on Apr 27th 2021 at 2:20:38am

ski bags are usually just more water proof and have a wet compartment