Seeking Crag Bag Advice

Hi all. I am ISO a new crag bag in which organization is key. Ideally looking for clamshell design. Any one have any thoughts between these:

1. Crag Hauler 40 Backpack
2. Crag Wagon 45L Backpack
3. Patagonia Cragsmith Pack 32L
4. Edelrid Pit 35L Bag
5. City Sender Eco?
6. Pipe Dream 45

Do not have anywhere nearby to try the fit. More so just looking to hear others' experiences or if there is a dark horse clamshell option not mentioned here that you like. Thanks!

The Blue Ice Moonlight 45 kinda has a clamshell opening. It’s a good bag. Cavernous, tough, and comfortable to hike with. Organization isn’t the best because it’s just one big space, but it is definitely worth checking out.

Edelrid pit material/construction quality is lacking in certain locations imo.

Love the pipe dream, but I would not say organization is a strong point. But when you open it up everything is out in the open making it easy to find. 

Isayah Bannisterwrote:

The Blue Ice Moonlight 45 kinda has a clamshell opening. It’s a good bag. Cavernous, tough, and comfortable to hike with. Organization isn’t the best because it’s just one big space, but it is definitely worth checking out.

I absolutely love Blue ice bags. I have the moonlight 35 and the Wadi 22. Both excellent for what they do. They also sell an external helmet strap.

Try the REI Trail 40 

Zips fully open and better organization than all the other options (water bottle holders, hip belt pockets, outside pocket for shoes/guidebook, etc). You can try on at any REI to see if it fits. 

Isayah Bannisterwrote:

The Blue Ice Moonlight 45 kinda has a clamshell opening. It’s a good bag. Cavernous, tough, and comfortable to hike with. Organization isn’t the best because it’s just one big space, but it is definitely worth checking out.

Another vote for the moonlight. I have the 55, although it feels similar or slightly smaller than the bd creek 50. Carries better tho. 

I recently got a pipedream and have been blown away by how effective it is. Comfy carry, fits lots, and it's uses are only limited by your imagination. It really only has 3 compartments though so if you are after organisation, the blue ice may be more up your street. My GF recently got it and likes it a lot.

What are you climbing mostly? Have you looked at the black diamond creeks? I also have had a crag wagon and they are nice. I hear great things about the blue ice bags as well. 

that guy named sebwrote:

I recently got a pipedream and have been blown away by how effective it is. Comfy carry, fits lots, and it's uses are only limited by your imagination. It really only has 3 compartments though so if you are after organisation, the blue ice may be more up your street. My GF recently got it and likes it a lot.

Main thing keeping me from the pipe dream is being 5'5 and worrying about it getting caught in the kentucky alpine approaches as sometimes I get caught with my current crappy bag. Do you think it would still be comfy at my height?

Martin Noewrote:

Edelrid pit material/construction quality is lacking in certain locations imo.

thank you for this info! makes sense considering the price.

Mitchell McAuslanwrote:

What are you climbing mostly? Have you looked at the black diamond creeks? I also have had a crag wagon and they are nice. I hear great things about the blue ice bags as well. 

Thanks for the input thus far everyone! Primarily climbing RRG single-pitch, so looking for something that is good for "sprawling out" as it can be annoying to completely unpack and re-pack if we do mid-day crag switch. It would be nice to have something where I can just kinda access as much as possible at once rather than spend time digging.

As far as the creeks, I have looked at them, but photos do not make it clear to me how the inside portion of the bag is as far as how large the top-loading section is. Been checking out review videos but doesn't always show what I am curious to see.

Love the Crag Wagon. The clamshell is a lifesaver for when you need to get one thing at the bottom of your bag, or make sure you didn't forget something, without unpacking the entire bag. Very comfortable on the hike in.

my friend has the crag wagon its wonderful she loves it and it looks super cool

I upgraded to the crag wagon from a creek this year, and have been really happy with it. The full clamshell is really nice (the creek zips down the side, but not the bottom, so you can't fully flip it open). The front pocket is quite large (I can stuff a small water bottle, a decent bag of snacks, first aid supplies, and a few other things in it) and has a couple pockets and a zipper section inside (good for sunglasses, sunscreen, wallet, keys). It has a few fabric loops on the back panel which I use to organize draws— not at all a necessary feature, but I do appreciate it. I also find it more comfy to carry. I bumped up to a 60L when I got the crag wagon, and it feels better on the back than my 45L creek, even with a full trad rack and extra water bottle.

Some friends have Mammut packs that they seem happy with. No idea what the model is called, seems similar to the crag wagon in terms of pockets / internal organization.

Skye's Hobbieswrote:

Main thing keeping me from the pipe dream is being 5'5 and worrying about it getting caught in the kentucky alpine approaches as sometimes I get caught with my current crappy bag. Do you think it would still be comfy at my height?

If you're short I think the only real option is the blue ice, the only crag pack offering I'm aware of that has a short back length. (crag waggon does but, discontinued??) 

I have a friend who is 5ft and she gets on well with the rab rogue. 

I have the Mystery Ranch Tower 47 and am very happy with it. Internal organization is great and very well thought out and I expect this pack will last a long time. While pricey I've seen it show up on Backcountry/Steep and Cheap a couple times this year for a more palatable price.

It's worthwhile to measure your torso to get a better idea of fit than just going by height, especially if you can't try on a bunch of packs. The adjustable yoke gives you a ton of room to fit your torso length. They may also be able to work with you if the standard sizes don't work. See their size and fit page: https://www.mysteryranch.com/fitting-and-sizing

Jack Gonzaleswrote:

I have the Mystery Ranch Tower 47 and am very happy with it. Internal organization is great and very well thought out and I expect this pack will last a long time. While pricey I've seen it show up on Backcountry/Steep and Cheap a couple times this year for a more palatable price.

It's worthwhile to measure your torso to get a better idea of fit than just going by height, especially if you can't try on a bunch of packs. The adjustable yoke gives you a ton of room to fit your torso length. They may also be able to work with you if the standard sizes don't work. See their size and fit page: https://www.mysteryranch.com/fitting-and-sizing

I don't think they make that pack anymore.  I can't find it on their site.  I have it also and really like it.  It looks like Yeti bought Mystery Ranch last year.

Bummer to see the Crag Wagon 60L no longer made, looks like you can only get the 45L new or the 60 on ebay. For a size comparison, the 60L is noticeably smaller volume than my BD Creek 50L, like they aren't even using the same units of volume. I use both the Crag Wagon 60 and the creek 50 for trad, and mostly the crag wagon for sport. Both come in different frame sizes, and both are really comfy to carry but the Crag Wagon is way easier to get stuff out of the bottom. The Creek only has one big side zip but you still kinda need to pull things off the top to get to buried gear, it annoys me at times but it's cavernous when I need it. The front pocket of the creek is also bigger and has better zipper pockets for organization. The front pocket is smaller on the Crag Wagon with even smaller zippered inside pockets, but the front pocket is annoyingly facing the wrong direction, so if you open that and then the main flap it will dump all your snacks and stuff out.

I'd never looked at the Blue Ice Moonlight but if I had to get a pack now I'd be real tempted by the 55L since it has a nice full-length center zip like a duffel bag. Looks like the main pocket is most of the storage tho with some pretty small / flat looking side pockets that might only be big enough for snacks or a guidebook. 

That mystery ranch tower 47 is sick for carrying every single thing you want to carry into the creek. I pack 7 racks of cams inside with the harness, shoes, snacks, and water. All the big cams on the outside w/ helmet. Rope on top. Vitamin i and other goodies in the top. Only suggestion is make sure you keep the zippers clean

+1 for the Blue Ice Moonlight 55L is the way to go. I'm not hiking that thing into the backcountry, but I'm throwing the kitchen sink in and taking it to the crag. You mentioned organization being key, so it may not be your cup of tea if you want more pockets etc. but it *is* an amazing crag bag. The side pockets can each take a tall Nalgene bottle even after stuffing the main pack full. There's another little pocket up top for keys etc. It's a great pack and you'll be stoked if you get it. You'll probably get the 35L too after you get the 35L...