The Salomon XT 15 Pack is ultralight and frameless, with great pockets design, suitable for trail running, and for light and fast day hiking tours.
Key features & benefits
- Ultralight day pack.
- Frameless.
- Great pockets.
What this Salomon XT 15 backpack is about
As you probably know, Salomon brand is best known for its excellent hiking boots and shoes. This brand has been around for more than seven decades already. I myself have been using their boots for years, and right now I have one pair which are my favorite, the Salomon Men’s Quest Prime GTX Backpacking Boot.
But this brand also builds small day packs, and here you have one. This is a unisex panel loading day pack with a zippered access into the main compartment where you have an internal sleeve for the water bladder. So the pack is hydration compatible and there is a bladder hanger inside plus a water hose port on the top.
Suspension
This is a frameless pack with a light padding on the back panel and on the shoulder straps. You have a continuous breathable mesh everywhere, you can see this in the picture below.
At various places you will see a statement that the harness is adjustable, even at Salomon site they write this. The reality is this not so, so the torso length is fixed. This is not a big deal for such a small pack, it is just about establishing facts. As usual, you can have some limited adjustability on its shoulder straps of course.
There are two sternum straps with a ladder type system on the two shoulder straps. This is a good system because it can never fail, as compared with the sliding sternum strap that is available on most of the packs. On the other hand, some of these loops you can use to attach other stuff.
The picture below shows how this looks, you can see also one of the two pockets that are on the shoulder straps.
The belt cannot be called a hip belt because it is designed to sit high (see the pictures below). Its main purpose is to keep the pack close to the body so that it does not bounce if you use the pack for trail raining.
The same holds for the belt flaps, they are more holsters/platforms for the two pockets than hip belt flaps.
Pockets
The best part of this pack are its pockets, you have seen some of them above, so here is what it offers:
- There are two zippered stretch mesh pockets on the belt flaps. I wish to stress that they are stretch so they are of a surprising capacity.
- The same stretch material is used on its two long pockets that are on the shoulder straps. Note that they have a port for a bite pipe so you can store a half-liter flask here and drink on the go.
- There is one large zippered top pocket with a key clip inside.
Other details include a top handle, plus a useful outer lacing on the front, the picture below, where you can attach some stuff. There is also a pair of bungee loops, one on the bottom and one on the side, so here you can attach trekking poles.
Materials
They use 100% polyester for the body and lining, and the padding includes two types of foam, namely ethylene vinyl acetate (or EVA) and polyethylene. Note that the pack is available in 5 colors, some are shown here.
The stretchy material used for the pockets is a combination of 88% polyamide and 12% elastane.
Who is it for
Regarding the size & best use, the volume is 915 in³ (15 l) so this is a small pack to keep just essentials. But the organization is great with those pockets that offer space for small items. The picture below shows how this looks when the pack is loaded.
So the pack is great for trail runners, and you can use also as your small pack for summit push, you can fold it and keep in your big pack and use for such situations. It can be used also as a day hiking pack for fast and light tours.
Note that it has no frame and no solid back panel, so perhaps it is not the best option for commuting if you plan to carry computer in it.
Regarding the weight, the packs volume to weight ratio is around 33 liters/kg, so this puts it in the group of almost ultralight packs. This should not be surprising, it is without solid elements.
Regarding the price, it is a bit steep for such a small pack, but it looks cool and this is a quality pack.
Specifications
- Volume: 915 in³ (15 l).
- Weight: 0.98 lb (445 g).
- Torso length: fixed.
Final thoughts & rating
So this Salomon XT 15 Pack looks really great, my favorite details here are its shoulder straps pockets, they are large and functional. The pack is very light and compact so you can carry it in your larger pack or in a suitcase and use for short day tours, in an urban environment or in the nature. Fully recommended.
Below you can see how I rate it against my usual rating criteria so that you can easily compare it with other items of this type:
Salomon XT 15 Pack
Pros
- Very light.
- Great pockets.
- Great colors.
Cons
- Expensive.
BEST PLACEs TO BUY
For more options, please check under the category Day Packs. You might want to compare this pack with the REI Co-op Flash 22 Pack which is a true ultralight pack.
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