Unusual request

[legalskier]

A friend of mine enjoys combined cross-country skiing/snow-shoeing hikes, i.e. snow shoe up, then ski down. He's looking for a backpack that can hold his snow shoes while he skis, and vice versa.

Any suggestions? Thanks-

 

[thetrailboss]

Tell him to look at the Black Diamond packs for skiing. The ski/board carry straps should work for him. In fact, they have a lot of their 2012 packs on sale still.

Here is the one I have and I love it: http://www.blackdiamondequipment.com/en-us/shop/web-specials/outlaw-pack-2011

It would probably work for snowshoes because the pack is designed to hold skis or a snowboard, so you can strap the snowshoes right on that back panel there.

Here is their full line, but I don't really see any other ones that would make it easy to strap snowshoes on the back: http://www.blackdiamondequipment.com/en-us/shop/ski/snow-packs

 

[legalskier]

Awesome, thanks!

 

[Puck it]

Mammut has a few that like the Nirvana line

 

[SKIQUATTRO]

Check out HIVE Snowshoes....might solve the pack issue

 

[Bene288]

Dakine makes a good ski carry bag, too. The heli or baker packs are great. The hardware is flawless and the price is pretty reasonable. I did a review on mine about a year ago in the Gear and Equipment forum.

 

[Bumpsis]

I bought a Dakine pack that has specialized attachments to carry skis (diagonal carry) and also to attach snow shoes to pack. The pack also a very useful feature: an additional pack zipper that allows you to get to your stuff from the side that normally's normally next to you back. This is especially useful when your skis are strapped across the pack and you want to open you pack. Just slip the pack off you back, lay it down and there is the zipper. It also has a good capacity for all the necessary stuff when winter hiking, yet, it's not too big so when skiing down, it doesn't through you off.
My advice would be to check out these type of packs in a store like REI or EMS, so you can see exactly how skis and snow shoes would attach. Then compare pricing to what you see on line.
I bought it from EMS store.