Oddly Specific: 20-ish liter pack that can be a plane personal item + do well on multipitch?

This one is pretty oddly specific, but my current small-ish pack is getting a bit haggard looking, it’s a Gregory Verte 22 from 10-ish years ago. I found it a great little niche pack: perfect size to use as a personal item on a plane that fits under the seat and can carry a laptop, that I could then bring up on multipitch routes. It folds up well, holds mostly enough stuff, and has a separate top pocket. I’m having trouble to find a replacement, the best option so far has been the Petzl Bug, but it’s a little small, or the Osprey Murant 22, though not sure it’ll roll up well. But ideally, I want the following:

Hydration sleeve, daisy chains, way to carry a rope outside, at least one outer pocket/flip top for small things, small waist strap, and can easily fit inside a bigger bag.

Yeah, it’s a tall order. Hoping to find a replacement though. Anyone have any recommendations, or experience with the 2 I mentioned?

Blue Ice Dragonfly? They compress down to almost nothing, so I've used them in this way before. 

The Black Diamond Speed 22 fits everything you're asking for.  Removable top pocket, compresses down small, can easily fit a laptop, rope carry, waist strap, and fits in a bigger bag no problem. 

Mountain Hardwear Scrambler 25L. I had the 30L for a long time, finally wore it out and got the 25 to replace. It's a do everything pack. Hydration sleeve for laptop, hip loops for gear, haul loop, compression for rope, lid with both internal and external pockets, daisy chains for if you need to clip extra stuff on, and durable. Big fan. The back has a bit more structure than the others listed here but it can still fit in a larger bag fine.

I've used a BD Blitz 28 for this before. It fits under seat if you dont fill it all the way and it packs down pretty well. Very minimalistic for travel through, no laptop sleeve and a small top pocket.

I also have a BD Street Creek 24 that I've travelled with but haven't climbed with, it has a decent sized front pocket and a laptop sleeve. It's small enough and fits well enough I think it would climb well

WHAM .wrote:

I've used a BD Blitz 28 for this before. It fits under seat if you dont fill it all the way and it packs down pretty well. Very minimalistic for travel through, no laptop sleeve and a small top pocket.

I also have a BD Street Creek 24 that I've travelled with but haven't climbed with, it has a decent sized front pocket and a laptop sleeve. It's small enough and fits well enough I think it would climb well

Curious, is that top enclosure thing on the Blitz 28 like a little zip pocket? It doesn’t have a daisy chain, but I’m wondering if I could just sew one on.

This is like every follower pack. Mutant 22 rolls up like a burrito when you take out the foam back pad (put it in checked bag).

creek 20 works well as a carry on

So far every pack has just been missing something, or something a bit off. The Arcteryx Alpha 20 is almost perfect, but I don’t think it has a hydration sleeve. And Petzl Bug has just about everything, but I don’t think it rolls up too well and is a bit small. Mutant 22 has no external pockets, which I’ve found just to be a big pain not to have sometimes.

The Petzl Bug does roll up well imo, not sure what you didn’t like about the roll up.

Dragonfly isn’t fit for rock multi I tore holes in it with light use one one sandstone route. Fine for ice though.

I’ve had at least three partners complain about quality of the BD blitz, they seem to quickly tear holes.

The Arcteryx alpha are super high quality but as you said no bladder ( you could easily sew a loop and a buckle in the top though?)

The Mountain Hardwear alpine light bags are very nice, customizable, and durable (and cheap) but smallest is a 28 L.

Not sure how much stuff you need on a multi but the Bug is the best I’ve ever used. For fair weather rock, consider a 2L hydrapak clipped to the harness and pockets full of bars/food?

Mountain Hardwear Scrambler is my go-to. Awesome pack. 

I've had good experiences with this wildcountry pack at 22 liters, and have taken the north face route rocket on a plane for multi pitch but it's on the smaller side at 16L

The Simond Cliff 20 has everything you're looking for (depending on the size of your laptop). Unfortunately it's been discontinued and you can't have mine. The Simond Rock 20 seems to be their replacement but I have no experience with it. The REI Flash 18 is nearly identical, the only difference I can see is it's 2L smaller and the daisy chain has been reduced to a single loop at the bottom. Some colors are also on clearance for $20 right now.

I've used a Blue Ice Wadi 22 for this purpose recently. It is big enough for a 13" laptop. It climbs exceptionally well - durable materials, convenient side compartment, integrated rope strap/strength rated hanging biner. No complaints. I had a Mountain Hardwear scrambler for many years and it worked well for this until the outdry membrane delaminated.

I've had a Petzl Bug previously and currently have a Mutant 22. Love the Mutant for climbing. It packs down a lot smaller than the Bug. It wouldn't be my first choice for traveling on a plane though because it's very minimalist.
I've had a BD Creek 20 for years that I use for cragging (or multipitch routes where I'll be dragging it up a chimney). If the Street Creek has a laptop sleeve, that'd be a great option.

I like the black Diamond speed zip series. I use a 24 liter. Take out the back support and it rolls very small. 

Dan Wwrote:

The Simond Cliff 20 has everything you're looking for (depending on the size of your laptop). Unfortunately it's been discontinued and you can't have mine. The Simond Rock 20 seems to be their replacement but I have no experience with it. The REI Flash 18 is nearly identical, the only difference I can see is it's 2L smaller and the daisy chain has been reduced to a single loop at the bottom. Some colors are also on clearance for $20 right now.

Had never heard of Simond, with how cheap they are that’s probably worth checking out. I think that or the Petzl Bug may be it. The Simond bags have any quality control/durability issues? They fall into that category “so cheap I’m almost skeptical” category but they look really nice.

Danielwrote:

Had never heard of Simond, with how cheap they are that’s probably worth checking out. I think that or the Petzl Bug may be it. The Simond bags have any quality control/durability issues? They fall into that category “so cheap I’m almost skeptical” category but they look really nice.

I don't think Simond products usually make it to the States, I picked mine up on a trip abroad. I've had the same one for 6 years and the only durability issues I've had were punching a small hole through with a metal pick while navigating a crevice and smashing a buckle in the car door. The hole hasn't grown in 3+ years so I'm counting that as durable. If you do end up with the Rock 20, I'd love to hear your experience. I've been eyeing that as a backup for when mine finally gives in.

Yeah that Simond website is a bit strange.

Grab a Mochilla bag from Tufa Climbing! That is what I use!

I use a Decathlon Quechua MH500 22L, which isn't designed specifically for climbing but I've found to work quite well for multipitch & for traveling.