REI Flash 45

I picked one up last year. I'm an occasional weekend backpacker and it fits the bill great so far.

The only (minor) annoyance is that you have to be careful with items popping out of the mesh pockets. I haven't had it happen while hiking, but mostly as I'm stopped and getting gear in and out of the bag.

KevBrad,

How are you both getting on with the Flash 45? I picked one up also a while back and tried it on a few trips.

Cheers,

Stephen

It works….way too many gadgets on it but it carries well. If I were buying something for myself for long-term consumption I'd spend the extra $125 and buy the ULA Ohm 2.0 (which I own).

Good to hear it works for you Kevin. There does seem like a lot of extra straps on it.
I like the fit of it, but I did not want to cut back the straps or remove the hydration pouch it as it may invalidate the warranty.

They have the green ones on sale for $70 :)

http://www.rei.com/product/890788/rei-flash-45-pack-special-buy

I think they are perfectly useable packs and a good bargain. They are hardly over-strapped. Take a look at a Granite Gear Leopard AC if you want to see a strap festival!

I think I paid about 90-100$ for my black one Dale.

It's the straps for the front and back of the lid that are very long, I presume this is to carry a bear canister.

It isn't so much straps…. as the lid and its attachment. I've been lid-less for so long it probably has more to do with me than the pack. I just prefer a simple big open pouch with maybe one outer pocket on the back, two on the sides.

It is definitely a good deal and it is a perfectly usable pack. I'm going to take it later this week (with a bear canister) across the Olympics. The hip belt pockets are pretty small too. You can get a candy bar or two in them but they are pretty useless for larger items.

I had planned to use mine lid less for overnight trips Kevin.
I think it would make a great winter day pack also with the lid off.

Wondering how folks are getting on with this?

I did see that outdoorgearlab gave it a very poor review.

I like the Flash 45 fine, though I made a few modifications. I was surprised at the poor review by outdoorgearlab, given that the pack works reasonably well, is comfortable, and is a great bargain. I like how the bottoms of the frame/stay attach directly to the hip belt, and the hip belt is relatively stiff – good load transfer for 25 lb loads or less.

Compared to another popular big-name pack, the Osprey Exos, this pack carries MUCH better IMHO. The Exos holds the weight far away from your back and has a more flimsy hip belt that didn’t transfer weight well from the frame/stay. While the Exos handled 30 lbs a little better than the Flash, I preferred the way the Flash carried and distributed weight to the hip belt.

After modifications, my Flash 45 weighs 30 ounces. Here’s what I did:

• I removed most of the webbing and buckles on the front and sides and replaced with light chord instead. Also cut out the double layer of fabric on the inside of the top pocket and cut out the hydration sleeve.
• I sewed the top attachment points for the front pocket (three of them) to the main pack to prevent the entire pocket from dumping everything when the top is un-clipped. Very important modification IMHO.
• The side compression system could work better, especially toward the bottom of the pack. However, there are lots of convenient loops and attachment points all over the pack that can be easily used to pull in the volume with a little ingenuity and chord.
• The sternum strap does not stay put and rides up on both sides. Easy fix with thin bit of chord to hold it in place in the lowest position.
• The hip belt buckle slowly loosens during the day. Not a big deal as I usually adjust the belt and shoulders every hour or so anyway to re-distribute load differently throughout the day.
• The hip belt does not contour around the tops of the hips. Not a big deal, but it can be compensated for partially by keeping a strong angle between the webbing and the buckle. A V-style 4-pull hipbelt (like the 2015 Arc Blast) would be better obviously.
• The load lifters don’t do much, but they are at least near the top of the frame (which is good). I was able to snug them up slightly and they did help a little to pull the pack top toward the back.
• As with most light packs like this, the comfort is largely dependent on how you choose to pack the contents in the main compartment, especially against your back. A bit of trial and error got it dialed in, and the pack carried comfortably, snugly and uniformly contoured to the shape of my back.

Outdoor Gear Lab hits all the main issues pretty well, but at the end of the day it’s a functional pack and the outlet price makes it a good value.  Part of me regrets being so cheap to n getting it but it is also my first experience with a smaller sized pack.

Pros:

• Cheap
• Lightweight
• Angled side pockets allow water bottle access
• Has all the expected bells and whistles for a big box pack
• The advantage to the big mesh pocket is I fit a pair of snowshoes in the mesh pocket on a day hike. Wasn’t the best fit but my shoes are bulky and hard to pack, the fact they fit at all was nice.
• I was able to load 20 lbs in comfortably but it’s a tight fit. Doesn’t ride nearly as comfortably as my older and heavier Flash 65.

Cons:

• The padding is pretty weak. A full load can warp the pack shape.
• The front straps on the lid are too long, so even if you cinch them all the way down there is still extra length above the strap. Essentially you can’t get it to ride upright, it always sags back a few inches. Really annoying.
• The frame pole pockets are made out of coarse mesh that is uncomfortable if you brush your arms against the poles.
• The shoulder strap mesh pocket is nice but the fabric stretch is so tight it’s hard to fit items that need the stretch.
• Lack lack of bottom compression straps makes less than full loads sag to the bottom.  I tried removing the frame but the pack couldn’t hold its shape without bottom compression straps. It was hard to put it back in.  The main compartment is too small to use a CCF as a frame and fit much else in.  Also makes it hard to run double duty as a day pack, but I carry a CCF Z lite inside for winter treks.

Overall it’s a good value backpacking pack and also works nicely as a winter day pack if you carry a CCF or enough bulk to fill in the bottom.  For the latter it encourages me to carry a few extra items that could make the differences in a survival situation on a winter day hike.

One more con to add: the two buckles to the top and mesh is just plain weird, excessive and annoying.

Lester,

That’s a nice list of improvements. Care to share some pictures? It’s a bit hard to picture some of them with the descriptions alone.

Here are some photos showing the main modifications to my Flash 45. With these mods, removing excess straps, and taking off the top pocket (not needed for most trips), the weight is 28 oz.

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Last year I also picked one of these up on sale, and I think its a great pack for the price. Especially with some modifications you can shave some weight off, and improve some of it’s drawbacks. My modifications:

• take out the aluminium post (saves a few ounces). Its easy to remove and you can put it back if you don’t like it
• shorten most webbing (It flaps around and is generally way too long)
• Machine or handsew the big mesh at the corners, dividing it into two pocket meshes on the side and one main mesh for drying out stuff. This way your water bottle is fixed in place better.

I will keep this pack for heavier loads (e.g. bear canisters), I think it is great for carrying ~20 lbs. For ultralight loads, you can do better with frameless bags in the ~10oz range.

I have owned a Flash 45 for the past 2 years or so… I like it! It’s true that the outside pocket can be a little awkward at times, but overall I find that it carries well, and can be quite light if you modify it. I have cut out the hydration sleeve and removed the lid, so now it is at about 29.4 oz. I could probably trim about an ounce more if I shortened some of the straps, but I haven’t bothered with that yet.

I find the Flash 45 is comfortable up to 25 pounds or so, and is able to hold enough stuff for about a week’s worth of hiking. Honestly, if you are going to put more weight in there, you are going to run out of volume, unless you are carrying really dense stuff. Overall: not bad, considering the price tag. Can you get a nicer pack for twice (or 3x) the money? Sure… and probably some day I will get one – but for now it is really not necessary.