Aquapac says it’s suitable for both urban commuting and outdoor activities as well as cycling. Obviously, it’s suited to wet situations such as stand-up paddleboarding.

Lowe Alpine Edge 18 Rucksack | GO Outdoors

The hip belt fins use similar foam to the harness straps, with perforations for ventilation and a mesh covering. The central section is wide webbing and tightens by pulling out from the centre. If you, like me, always carry a camera too, then you need to take that into account as this will take up extra space and add to the weight. The brand denotes the Keb Hike 20 as suitable for ski tourers, hence the attachment points for skis, but you’d need to be quite sparing in your winter gear to fit it all into the 20 litre capacity. Best uses: hill and mountain walking; longer-distance trail walking; lightweight winter walking; scrambling. The Edge is the smallest model in Lowe Alpine’s revamped Edge range, which is now in its fourth incarnation, having been introduced in 2008.The harness straps are a good width and had ventilated foam padding. They were comfortable in use and there was little moisture build-up. The sternum strap is adjustable via a daisy-chain arrangement with four different heights. This is less convenient than a constantly variable set-up. The material is very robust feeling 1,880 denier recycled nylon. It has a tall design, giving a good, uncluttered capacity. The women’s version is slightly shorter and a bit wider, but is the same weight. The beefy nature of its construction is reflected in its weight, the heaviest in the test. The fabric was robust and the base is reinforced. Although there’s no frame, the fairly stiff material meant our load was accommodated well with no sagging.

Lowe | Alpine | Edge | II | 18 | Blueprint - Trekitt

Quality was good and the fabric robust, which should add to durability. The Recco capability is of limited use in the UK but could be some comfort to anyone undertaking lightweight winter mountaineering in certain areas of Scotland, or heading to continental Europe.There’s a lower walking pole or ice-axe loop. Berghaus images show a top bungee retainer in too, but our sample didn’t have this so we secured our poles using the side compression strap. The harness straps have plenty of foam padding, with cutouts for ventilation and perforations on the inner surfaces. The sternum strap has an elasticated section and its height is continuously variable on rails on the straps. There’s no facility for a hydration reservoir though you could put one in the inside pouch and carefully route the drink tube through the roll-top closure, but that would be less than ideal. The capacity wasn’t huge, but it was enough, just, to accommodate a day’s gear. Weight was middling, with the Alp Trainer 25 tipping the scales at just over a kilo.