• CAPACITY: 40 litres
• PRICE: £159

The bigger the pack, the more gear you can take, and the heavier it’ll be. Thankfully for backs and shoulders everywhere, the Patagonia Descensionist 40L snowboard backpack weighs in at just over 1kg (2lb 5oz). For anyone considering long trips out of bounds, it’s an excellent choice.

The Patagonia Descensionist 40L backpack doesn’t just hold a lot of gear; it keeps things organised too. The wide front pocket is big enough for your shovel blade, and there are toggles on either side to hold your shaft and probe in place without rattling around as you ride.

“The Patagonia Descensionist 40L backpack doesn’t just hold a lot of gear; it keeps things organised too”

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A zipper runs along the side of the pack for easy access to the main compartment, and stash pockets on the hip strap and top flap are ideal for smaller items. If you need to take an ice axe, the outside of the pack has a velcro fastener for holding it safely in place, and the business end can be stowed safely through small loops at the bottom of the pack.

All this talk of large loads and ice axes may have you looking elsewhere, but before you do, you should know that the Patagonia Descensionist can be compressed down to a smaller size. The straps that run over the front pocket are perfect for vertically carrying your board, so you can use this for regular hikes as well as splitboarding.