Blue Ice’s Warthog pack is what I’d call their second generation alpine pack. This pack has built on past designs and greatly improved in durability. It is quickly becoming my bag of choice for guiding alpine rock and ice.
Blue Ice Warthog 45L
When choosing a pack you’re considering so many features but a few should be priority. The Warthog makes compromises but not in the areas that count. Features that are a must, for me, include clipping points on the waist belt, side compression straps, rope carry option, and comfortable shoulder straps and back panel.
The Warthog 40L pack weighs in at a mere 2.7 pounds using a 210D high density ripstop nylon. This makes the pack both light weight but durable. This pack can be packed to the gills with gear without worrying something will poke through the side. On the same note, I can sit the pack in snow or on ice and even if the material sticks to the ice, I don’t have to worry that it’s going to tear or blow out.
When guiding I need to keep a radio close by and some packs just don’t have an ideal location for hanging a radio. Warthog comes stock with two loops sewn right into the waist belt that is perfect for clipping a radio and being able to unclip it easy while wearing gloves. The other option is to use the small horizontal strap right on the shoulder pad. This option keeps it nice and close but doesn’t unclip as easily.
Ice climbing with long approaches demands a higher level pack. With a pack like the Warthog it’s lightness helps keep my base weight down but rugged enough I can haul heavier loads further. Ropes can be securely attached right under the rear flipping “brain” featuring a long enough strap to carry 80 meters of rope with out any struggle. Combine the rope attachment with the side compression straps on the outside of the rope you can create a nice burrito that won’t let rope loops get snagged on tree branches or rock.
The last feature that I love, but also could use a little tweak, are how easy the tool attachments work. With a small tool tunnel to protect your rope and free of snags the tools stay in place easily while you ratchet down the bungee and velcro. This is easy to do with gloves but could be even easier if it were to be designed to be used by only one hand. I recommend Blue Ice attach the small bungee lock to the pack so that a climber can thread the bungee on the tool and simply pull the bungee without needing to also slide down the cord lock.
Areas that the Warthog compromise in are a lid that isn’t quite big enough. I don’t really use the “lid” or brain for much since it then doesn’t hold my rope as secure. It becomes a hassle to ditch those items in the pack and risk losing them but rather they could be stored for quick easy access. The helmet carrier is another feature that I rarely use. The mesh is too stretchy and allows for smaller helmets to slide out the bottom. This could possibly be fixed by using a low stretch mesh and adjustable attachment points.
Overall, this is a phenomenal pack considering it’s weight to performance ratio!
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