Gear Reviews

Spending a lot of time outdoors has meant that I've got some good use out of a lot of gear. I hope to use this page to do nothing more than speak about my experiences with kit and help other people make the right decisions when.

The Mountain Hardwear Dihedral

40 litre winter/alpine mountaineering pack

 The Mountain Hardwear Dihedral is a 40 litre rucksack designed specifically for use in Alpine and Winter Environments. It comes in a range of sizes and weighs around 1.4kg. Its main design is simple, but it has an array of external attachments that make it a high contender in its league.

The Dihedral consists of a pack with one main compartment to stash the bulk of your kit, with an additional two pockets located in the lid and another two cleverly built into the outer skin of the main compartment. At a glance the rucksack seems robust and simple, but once explored it has a range of fantastic features readily available to its user.

First of all let’s look at the carrying system. Mountain Hardwear have equipped the pack with two padded ergo shoulder straps, a framesheet, a compression-molded back panel, along with a removable waistbelt. Again the design is simple, but it works a treat. The end result is a strong and comfy setup with no complex adjustments, making the pack easy to use and access. Just how you’ll want it in a 50mph blizzard! 

The only flaw I have with the frame is that it is quite restrictive creating a large disadvantage when moving on technical ground. On rock routes it restricts head movement pushing you into the rock when you look up. 

The material for the main body is made from a strong 420D cordura, with the front being protected by the Hardwear tarp, giving it instant protection from ice axes, trekking poles and sharp edges. Over the last 2 years I have found the robustness of this pack absolutely flawless.

The external attachments have been cleverly thought out. The bottle opener shaped ice axe holders are cleverly designed to fit through the hole in the top of an ice tool. On top of this they can be slackened and tightened to allow the carrying of trekking poles. It also has a tipple style ice axe attachment in the centre of the pack, my only problem with this, is that it does not have an additional attachment point higher up the centre of the pack, to secure the shaft of an axe, and it therefore has to occupy the one on the sides as well. The compression straps on the side can hold additional items of equipment, such as karrimats, poles, tents, etc. And have a padded lip at the bottom to keep stop poles or axes falling out. Then there is the very effective lid. It has two straps to close pack, which as I’m sure you’re aware makes rope carrying a lot less risky. But as well as this it has an addition orange strap giving added security to the middle as well. 

Retailing at 130 pounds, it may not be the most obvious choice for a 40ltr rucksack. But on top of the fact that it will probably last twice as long as the majority of the other packs on the shelf, it has a lifetime guarantee. 

So if your looking for a sturdy winter work horse, this is the pack for you. But as a reliable all rounder, you may end up using it more often that you might have originally expected.