Salomon excel at making mountain running equipment. Their shoes are brilliant, their apparel is brilliant and their bags are brilliant, challenging preconceived notions of design every rocky mountain step of the way. Just have a look at the S-Lab XA Alpine shoes. No wonder you see Salomon shoes everywhere on the trail. It’s a similar story with the backpacks.

Now for running, backpacks are generally rubbish. They swing around, they bounce up and down and they rub. Well, that was until Salomon came out with a stretch fit pack designed by their S-Lab department that fitted like a jacket not a rucksack. It came in sizes just like a jacket and was a marvel. There were no buckles, no straps and of course it was soft around the edges.

With the S-Lab Peak 20, they’ve continued that and made a larger pack designed for longer days on the trail where the wind is stronger and the temperature colder, and more equipment is needed.

“Backpacks were generally rubbish for running until Salomon came out with a stretch fit pack that fitted like a jacket, not a rucksack.”

The stretch jacket-like fit remains with an excellent and versatile attachment that can be fastened up and down the jacket. Noticeable on this larger backpack are a multitude of pockets at the front designed to balance out the weight of your gear. Every little angle of the zip, stretch of the pocket, and strap has been carefully thought out – an iPhone size pocket, a whistle, a pole holder, compressions laces, a safety blanket, and on and on… we could be here all day listing clever features.