Lowe Alpine AirZone 30L Review

"My go-to bag for myself on the hill"

Link to purchase

Price: £80 RRP

Pros: Affordable, comfy, & light

Cons: Attachments & plastic buckle

Overall	75
Weight	8
Durability	7
Comfort	9
Versatility	6

Overall Verdict

Simply it is my go-to bag when I am going out on the hill, summer and winter. It has plenty of storage for a small bag and certainly fits all the layers I need for mountaineering in the UK. It is designed by walkers for walkers, simple and effective. It has pockets everywhere you need and is a fantastic bag for a very reasonable price.

It is my go-to not just for myself but taking DofE groups out in the summer when I need slightly less kit with me. Brilliant all round bag for your individual needs, I choose it over my Osprey Talon 40L for most days out.

Weight

At 1.12kg it is pretty light all in all for a 30L backpack. There is not much more to say, light but not at the detriment of anything else.

Durability

The material is rugged, I have thrown this bag around the mountains of the UK, and I don't tend to be delicate with my kit. It has been in torrential rain, glorious sunshine, and scraped along the rock in the Alps. The only "let down" or negative that I can find here (this is being picky as it is such a good bag) is the front plastic clip and drawstring do feel cheap. They have not broken or damaged in any way in the year and a half I have used this but... aesthetically they are the only parts that feel cheap/less durable.

Photo from Ultimate Outdoors

Comfort

A flat back which is what I like and is extremely comfortable. Stable back whilst the waistband is thin, and to begin with, I thought this would be uncomfortable, but how wrong I was. The straps are good, not as good as Osprey straps, but you are paying half the price.

Versatility

Overall, it will do everything you need, it has an ice axe and walking pole attachments, the only issue, is if you have walking poles with the basket (rubber bits at the bottom) on, they won't fit on the right-hand attachment. This is only an issue if you are using an ice axe as well. Instead, I put the handles in one of the pockets - not an issue for me.

There are plenty of pockets and they are all really good sizes, I often take bag covers out, and it was no different here, instead, I use the space to keep an emergency bag. The zip pockets on the waist straps are really good, perhaps a little small if you have a large phone, and due to the straps being thinner (which is very comfortable), having keys here is not the most comfortable, however, I would rarely put them here over the lid of the sack.

Even better it has a camel pack pouch in the back of the sack to carry your water if you are like me and do not take bottles out. The bottle pouches on the side are smallish so bottles can fall out, so it is worth considering.

Why buy it?

If you want a bag that does not break the bank and is a fantastic allrounder, then look no further. I have been using this for a while, and as I said, it is my go-to bag for most activities on the hills. If you are mainly on the hill in the summer/normal British conditions, this is definitely a bag for you, for a very reasonable price.