I absolutely LOVE my Salomon 38L Outweek backpack. The Outweek was so much lighter than my Osprey Aura and I fell in love with the shoulder pockets and the way it opened up like a suitcase, but there was one niggle – I couldn’t fit all of the winter gear into the pack. With my new winter quilt (Thermarest Corus -6 degree), a 4 season Lanshan tent and additional clothes I found that I was struggling to fit everything inside.
After spending hours (too many hours!) on YouTube and reading blogs, I discovered the Naturehile Rock series which caught my attention. Instantly it ticked most of the boxes of things that I was looking for in an ultralight pack:-
- It weighed 1.3kg and it had a frame.
- It had a shoulder pocket for my water bottle
- I wanted a Dyneema fabric to help with waterproofing.
- I was also keen on getting a bottom pocket for snacks.
- It needed to house all of my winter kit comfortably, without me needing to compromise on gear.
- I didn’t want to spend £300 on an Atom pack (which is my ideal pack).
Two weeks from China!
I pressed the button on my blue Dyneema Naturehike Rock pack on AliExpress and paid the £58 and then waited patiently for it to arrive.
Two weeks later my parcel arrived and the video below gives you my first impressions (summary underneath the video).
Summary
The quality of the pack is excellent, although one toggle snapped off as soon as I added my trekking poles to the pack.. It is comfortable to wear on a short hike (I have yet to wear it for more than 5 miles). The bottom pocket is suitable for my rain gear (rain skirt, gloves, Frogtoggs etc) – but is not really suitable for snacks as I had originally planned. The mesh is much better quality than the Salomon pack, and there is ample room inside for all of my gear. The pockets open up backwards, which is weird and something I need to get accustomed to, but apart from that, I would give this pack a 7/10. I docked points for the torso not being customisable, the shoulder pocket could be a bit bigger, and the toggle snapping off. Everything else is spot on!