The Prolighter 30 easily holds everything you need for a day at the crag. Most items were purchased at Next Adventure.
The
Millet Prolighter Pack is a durable, versatile pack that comes with a few awesome features and no unnecessary bells and whistles. I use this pack on a daily basis as well as on climbing trips, and have been thrilled with its performance.
The Prolighter’s strength comes from its rugged materials and its simple design. Most backpacks come with one large pocket and few small ones, all opening with zippers. These zippers wear down over time and eventually fail. Harsh conditions and rough handling are unavoidable when climbing at the crag or up a glaciated peak, which only serves to accelerate zippers’ demise. The Prolighter uses a top-loading main compartment with a fully attached head bag-no zipper or thin straps on the head bag to fail.
This pack comes equipped with a removable hip belt. The belt itself is stiff and heavily padded for carrying heavy loads (a trad rack and a day’s worth of water ain’t light folks) and when removed a ½” piece of webbing still connects around your waist to hold the pack in place for boulder scrambles or any time the last few ounces count. A reinforced handle at the top also makes the pack convenient to pull up behind you on technical climbs.
Two of the best climbing features on this pack are the rope-stow systems that will hold a 70 meter rope in place easily and the attachments made specifically to keep your ice axe pointed safely in on the pack. Keeping this essential gear stored safely and effectively lets you focus more on what you’re doing.
This pack’s 30 liter volume is perfect for a day sport climbing at Broughton’s Bluff, climbing a less-technical route on Mt. Hood, or lunch and some towels for an afternoon at the swimming hole. The head bag has ± 7 liters of storage with one large pocket, accessible from the outside and one small pocket accessible only when the pack is opened. Weighing just 2.4 lbs. (and less with the hip belt removed) it’s as light as could be practical for such a durable pack.
The only thing this pack is missing is one pocket that can be easily reached without taking the pack off. I usually store sunglasses on a hip belt or water bottle pocket but this pack has neither of those options.
I’ve taken this pack to the top of hood, cragging at Broughton’s Bluff, and to the store to buy groceries. I’ve used the ice axe attachment system for a bike lock and been thankful for the pack’s hydrophobic material when cleaning out squished groceries. It hasn’t let me down yet.
Pros:
- Tough as nails
- Simple design gives you what you need without getting in your way
- Put out by an awesome, underrated company
Cons:
- No hip belt or water bottle pockets keep it simple, but would be nice.
- It’s not the lightest pack, though it might be for the resilience
Check out the
Millet Prolighter 30 at our web store for all the specs.
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The Company:
Millet has more than 80 years of mountaineering experience, starting with backpacks prior to WWII and eventually diversifying to the full line of ropes, shoes, and apparel they provide today. Born in France, Millet honed it technology in the Alps and has been sponsoring expeditions around the world since the 1950s. Next Adventure currently carries several Millet products, including several packs and the impressive Cosmic GTX, all at closeout prices. |
