Dakine Heli-Pack 2006

Overall

Dakine makes excellent backpacks, no question. So far, this pack has been great for me, and I have no doubts I'll continue to use it for years.

Performance

This thing holds up great. Whether for school books or a day in the backcountry, this pack rules. It's got a great ski-carry system, and the snowboard hold straps are great for shovels and other gear. The insulated sleeve can keep your hydration-thingy from freezing over. However, I have one small issue - it's utility loop at the bottom (not pictured) is a little small for fitting your pow skis through at once, so you kinda have to slide one tip in at a time. You might be out of luck if you use anything wider than Maden's. Other than that, it fits great on me, very comfy, even with skis strapped on.

Design

This pack is great. For a start, it holds 660 cu.in, which is pretty good for a day pack. It has one main pocket, which is about 20x10x3" (or 50x25x8cm for you metric freaks), and two other side pockets, one on top and one thats detached from the main pack (light grey in picture). All these are zippered. Its very light itself, about only 2 lbs.

As for asthetics, I think it looks sick, better than the Heli Pro. Everything so far has held up, and it all feels really strong and durable, even after some use.

Value

This usually retails for around $60, but look online and in the forums, you can usually find them for $40 or so. Its a pretty good value in my opinion. This pack is both my school bag and my ski pack, so if you need a new backpack, go get this one. If you avoid carrying textbooks, get this over the Heli-Pro and save yourself some cash.

• Design
  Clean
  Busy
• Weight
  Light
  Heavy
• Durability
  Fragile
  Durable
• Style
  Uncool
  Cool
• Fit
  Slim
  Bulky
• Volume
  Tiny
  Huge
• Features
  Minimal
  Tons
• Usage
  Resort
  Backcountry
• Compartments
  One
  Many