2nd Look: Osprey Kode 30 Backpack

We all know that goggles are cumbersome to wear during a skin, so Osprey has placed a very convenient fleeced goggle pouch at the top of the dry compartment. I love a pocket on the top of the pack, but I am not so stoked on having a pouch dangle in the middle of the dry compartment. Plus, the pouch is huge, so big that a Nalgene bottle can fit into it with room to spare. Quite honestly, it’s too big for a goggle pouch.

Call it a lack of self control, but in the backcountry, if there is an open pocket with room to spare, I’m going to put stuff in there: my snacks, my keys, my orange peels, my Nalgene, my camera, my hat—and still there is enough room for my goggles. They aren’t alone and safe in their own dedicated pouch by this point. A smaller goggle pocket closer to the size of an actual pair of goggles and between the two compartments would be a great improvement to this already amazing pack.

Robin Abeles wearing the Osprey Kode 30 backpack, Alta Ski Area
Robin Abeles with the Osprey Kode 30 backpack, Alta Ski Area.

As Kate mentioned in her review, one great upgrade on the current Kode 30 is the option to carry your skis either diagonally or on the side of the pack, depending on your preference. This ski-carry system works best for me in the diagonal configuration, especially while climbing Taos’s Kachina Peak or scrambling the upper sections of Little Cottonwood’s Mt. Superior, because it keeps the tails of the skis from hitting my legs as I hike. The diagonal straps are adjustable to accommodate the fatter skis in my quiver, and can be configured to set up a vertical carry as well, which is a comfortable option on longer ascents. I hardly use the A-Frame configuration because the skis hit me in the back of the leg and really seem to make the pack top heavy.

Osprey packs have always felt very secure and stable on my back while fully loaded, and the Kode is no different—once I get the waist belt adjusted correctly. The dual tightening system is comfy, yet a little cumbersome to dial in and not the easiest to adjust with gloves on. The pockets on the sides of the waist belt are very handy, and I always leave a Cliff Bar or two in there. They’re also a great place for your camera.

Yet Kate hit the nail on the head when she said the waist straps are too long, which might have something to do with the dual tensioning design. But it is my personal opinion that something has to be done in the backpack world in general to create a strap system that doesn’t trip you or snag you on a tree with the excess strap. After Kate pointed it out to me, I have to agree that a quick bow or a nice tuck under the belt is the best solution to keep the strap out of your way.

Given all the great things to be said about this pack, I do have one major bone to pick with Osprey: The sides of the Kode 30 rip quite easily from ski edges. So far I have ripped holes in the dry compartment on both sides of the pack when I’ve carried skis in the A-frame configuration (another reason I stay with the diagonal and vertical carries). I haven’t had any problems with my clothes getting wet yet, but still it is a drawback. I would think Osprey would reinforce the sides to prevent this, and I hope they do on next year’s model.

Robin Abeles, Alta Ski Area
Robin Abeles, Westward Ho, Alta Ski Area.

Still, this pack is extremely well organized and comfortable. It has gone unchanged for the last few years for good reasons, and the only things I would upgrade would be more room for skins in the wet compartment, a smaller goggle pouch, stronger sides to endure ski edges, and maybe Osprey could solve the long-standing issue of the dangling waist belt straps that have driven all of us crazy for years.

Osprey really made some great changes from the first model, and if they chose to update this pack one more time, I think that it would be nearing perfection.

3 comments on “2nd Look: Osprey Kode 30 Backpack”

  1. I was so happy when my Kode 30 was stolen from a train in Switzerland. It’s pretty clear that the Osprey folks don’t actually use their packs. I’ve owned 5 different ski packs. I bought a Mammut Nirvana Ride 30, and once I cut off the snowboard carrier, is pretty much close to perfect.

  2. Here’s a little tip for any time you have excess strap you don’t want dangling. Tighten it until it’s comfortable, then loosen it up some for the possibility of more layers in the winter. Roll up the excess, and secure it with a strip of gorilla tape. We do this in the military so extra strap doesn’t snag when exiting a plane or moving through brush.

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