There’s a good reason the Scrambler has been a favourite backpack among mountaineers, rock climbers and skiers for years. It’s the ultimate day pack for anyone venturing into the mountains during the winter. California-based company Mountain Hardwear were given the challenge of making the Scrambler even better – and they are never ones to shy away from a difficult task.

With a history of creating high-tech outdoor clothing and equipment, Mountain Hardwear wanted to take their waterproof bag range, the OutDry collection, and see if they could create a new backpack that was better suited to mountaineering day trips and multi-day excursions, plus make it more waterproof than ever before.

After months of honing this design, Mountain Hardwear came up with the new Scrambler. It still has all the old features that made it a favourite amongst mountaineers and climbers – it’s still top loading with comfortable suspension that follows the curve of your spine and distributes weight evenly. However, they’ve added a couple of new elements too.

“OutDry material uses a waterproof-breathable membrane that bonds directly to the shell fabric. It’s lightweight, and also keeps everything bone dry inside.”

Alongside the double roll-top, there’s now a roll-bottom as well, which seals out all water and allows you to easily reach the gear at the bottom of your rucksack without emptying it out. It was tested in a rain room for 24 hours and it didn’t let any water inside, which shows it can cope with heavy snow and rain on the top of a 3,000m alpine peak in winter.