Two Cents; Issue 2; Black Diamond Speed 30

-Black Diamond's Speed 30 is a wonderful companion for a day at the crag or short alpine excursions. Designed to be easy to use gloves on and still access the contents. It has enough space to hold the gear that you need without adding any unnecessary features.




Why It Ended Up With Me

It was decided early on that because of the age of my father's gear that I should put together my own set, choosing the right pack was essential. My pack needed to be able to hold my rope. harness, a collection of gear, water, food, and an extra layer or two. Right out of the gate I ran into a problem, should the rope be stored inside the pack or on the outside. If I put it inside I would need to double the volume, if its strapped to the outside then it is not as protected. The devil is in the details. To my eventual regret the decision was made to haul the rope on the outside.



Black Diamond

There are many companies on the market that offer great packs that would have been just fine for the job at hand. However, Black Diamond, BD, is a well known climbing and skiing company and as I had already owned and used a handful of products form them they quickly became my first choice.



The Pro's 

• Simple and easy to use
• Light weight
• Uses BD's active suspension system.
• Easy to use with winter gloves on
• Great for day trips 
• The new configuration is better then the previous model 
• Straps are well placed and the ice axe keeps are easy to use 
• They keep the tool from moving and the head tucked away

The Con's 

• It's small
• My own fault for buying the wrong size pack
• The top of my pack rolls down
• Can be cumbersome if its not packed correctly 

In Conclusion

Black Diamonds Speed 30 is a wonderful pack for a long day on the trial, and a great light weight pack for a quick alpine excursion if you plan on wearing your harness and caring the rope in its own bag. It's too small to put the rope on the inside, but this pack was never designed to have the rope on the inside. It receives and 9 out of 10 as I have never used the pack for its intended use so it would be unfair to call it 'perfect'. If you plan to buy a pack for climbing and you want to put the rope inside with room for the other gear you need to look in the 60 liter range. Anything smaller will be quite a stretch to get it all in there. 

Go, No Go

This pack is a go, so long as you use it for its intended purpose, keeping in mind that size will be a factor. There has been no problems with the construction of the pack itself, its been drug through and over unforgiving surfaces its entire life and has asked for more abuse. It is the right size for winter use with enough space inside for extra layers and food and moves with the wearer effortlessly.  

The Black Diamond Speed 30 is a great pack for a day outside where speed and simplicity are the designed traits.



To The Readers

If there is anything that you would like to have my two cents on please let me know, I'd be happy to write to what I can.


K