Favorite winter backpack?

> you will struggle to attach: snowshoes/skis, crampons, helmet, snow shovel, pickets, ice axe, 2nd tool & a probe in a comfortable and practical manner.

It can be done though not as conveniently as with the typical mountaineering pack -but it's difficult to find one of these that doesn't have many things I don't need.
The Pinnacle requires compromises but sometimes that can even be a good thing, like a need to keep more things inside the pack body and not hanging around.
I agree though the Pinnacle shows it wasn't built specifically for this, I keep passively looking for a consistently better option but not holding much hope.

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(same trip pics)

+1 for the vapor flatbed. It is simply awesome! I have a 45 liter anarchist avalung pack that I use for day tours and overnights, but if going for extended ski trips the vapor flatbed is worth its weight in gold! Not only will it carry some hefty weight (i've had 45 lbs on it comfortably) I strap the drybag on the bottom with sleep gear, clothes and camping equipment THEN strap the avalung pack on top with heavier gear and food. That way when skiing after the approach, you can use any daypack and not have to struggle with a large cumbersome pack. If i still want to use the avalung feature with the flatbed, i strap the drybag and anarchist pack vertically with the heavier pack closest to my back and extend the shoulder strap with the tube across the top. The best part of all is the Flatbed is AWESOME in the summer. No more wet gear EVER! All this at only 34 oz (without other packs or drybags).

Well TBH, I don't know if you could really attach all that I listed on the Pinnacle.

What you struggle with is when you don't need either crampons nor snowshoes– the 'pons have to go inside the pack or be 'binered from center compression strap. I guess the shovel, probe and picket could lay across the top of the pack secured by the strap– but the shovel may cause some issues… like I said, it is just cumbersome as a *true* mountaineering pack which the OP said that he is leaning mainly towards. Certainly when most items you want without having to dig through your pack to pull out. Like I said, great winter backpacking pack when most of your stuff stays inside of it until camp, but when you are re-strapping and relashing everything each time you just pull out your 'pons– it becomes a tedious exercise.

Besides that the 70L volume is excessive if you have your gear dialed in for anything under 4 or 5 days as myself and Richard can attest to– a 40L winter mountaineering pack (expeditions aside) is a great size for down to about -15F. If I expect colder then I bring out my 50L pack to accommodate the additional room of my WM Puma.

After switching from 100% backpacking to predominately mountaineering and after using both a mountaineering pack and a backpacking pack– there is no way that I would recommend the latter to be used for real mountaineering were you need to carry a specific gear set. Can it work? Yes, absolutely you can you make it work– but would it honestly be practical for most mountaineering uses? No.

Here we go resurrecting and old thread!

We will be on the lookout for a winter pack that can handle winter loads and size.  We’ve got 3400 Porters now and it is on the smallish size. Looking at the 4400 Porter or the 5400 Porter. Any thoughts if the 5400 will be excessive for winter loads and 5 days of food? We travel pretty light in winter for the north east mountains around 20# base weight. Everything is bulky though and will fill up the 3400 pretty fast.

So basically, 4400 too small, or 5400 too big? Anything else to consider along these same lines?

I am not sure what is different about the 5400 than the 2400/3400/4400.  Does it have load lifters, or a more substantial hipbelt?

If you really like the HMG’s that is the obvious place to start, but I really think the Seek Outside Divide is a superior pack in that size range and is really worth checking out.

I  picked up a 5400.  Has a sturdier hip belt. Firmer back pad and dyneema bottom.  Otherwise just bigger.

5400 on the right/bottom.

YMMV, but for all of of *my* needs all other pack makers aside from HMG can hang their tools on the wall and go home (I do understand about hauling out an elk after a hunt, a valid use case for an external frame). I use a medium size Porter, forget the exact spec.

The pack is comfortable with as much weight as I can physically carry; 18kg (Google says equals 40lb) is fine and beyond that I don’t think it’s worth it for me to walk.

The pack (with addition of shock cord on the front) allows me to hang sleeping pad, packraft and paddle under the side straps. A wet tent is and other soaked gear is under the shock cord getting drained.

Beautifully, there’s no pockets or any other features on the pack.

The pack weight is on par or lighter than UL inner frames of similar size.

For travel, the pack packs flat on the bottom of the duffel. Easy to clean or wash.

The HMG packs are really nice for lashing to packraft with straps. No more of packs hanging to the side or falling off.

The real secret weapon, however, is the pack fabric. For one, the dirt and sand do not stick to it (awesome in Utah). The main thing, however, is that the fabric does not soak in water. I don’t care about waterproofness and sealed seams (no sealed seams is going to help when your packraft is upside down and the pack is under it), but the pack must not get heavier from a little rain.

At this point I do not own any packs made out of nylon, Dyneema, or any other traditional fabric. I own a heavy duty big wall haul bag made out of vinyl (open top and drainage holes in the bottom) for canyoneering and a Porter. Why would anyone think of making a pack of a regular fabric?

I am quite aware that categorical opinions are usually silly, but HMG packs just seem to work :)

Oh, one complaint about Porter: the non-stretch hipbelt pockets are quite hard to get into. Maybe a little more volume would help?

P.S. I do own an avalanche compressed air pack from Mammut. Hate the bells and whistles and the fabric, but avalanche… No choice there.

P.P.S. Please somebody give HMG a run for their money, some competition would be great. I can’t believe a tent can cost close to $800. Oh well.

I’d second the Seek Divide. Incredibly comfortable with both heavy loads and light, and plenty of volume.

I also got a Divide for winter and family pack duties. I find myself looking at the possibility of using it exclusively now in all seasons. It is seriously that good.