As a decade-long backpacker and professional gear tester, I’ve tried a lot of packs. Some I’ve hated. Some I’ve loved, but even those didn’t fit my body and my needs perfectly. There’s always some feature, zipper, or pocket I’d like to change. So when I heard about small cottage brands that allow you to build your pack from scratch, I jumped at the chance to make one of my own.
In an email conversation with Red Paw Packs founder Matt Evans, I designed my ideal pack, picking the fabric, colors, fit, and more. The brand is pretty much a one-man operation, with Evans literally sewing the bags in his garage.
After receiving my tailor-made pack, I used it on multiple outdoor adventures, including backpacking in Yosemite National Park and Germany’s Black Forest. It endured walking through heavy brush and being shoved into slightly too-small overhead bins on planes. Here’s everything that goes into buying a custom pack, and how to decide if it’s the right move for you.
Specifications
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Ultra-customizable
- Comfortable
Cons
- Expensive
- Can't handle heavy loads
The Design Process
While Red Paw Packs does offer pre-made packs and fanny packs, the custom option is what really stands out. To start, you choose from a base model/size: the Front Range 40L, Flatiron 28L, or Scrambler 17L. The latter two would be best for day hikers. Since I tend to do more backpacking than anything else, I chose the Front Range. A 40L pack is on the smaller side, but big enough to carry what you’d need for a weekend trip.
From there, there are 14 elements of the pack that you can customize, including fabric, color, strap configuration, size of hipbelt, frame, side loops, size of torso, additional external straps, and more. On the order form, there’s a spot to leave more notes about what you’d like, and Evans encourages you to email or DM him on Instagram if you have specific questions or needs. It’s worth noting that there is a 14-week lead time on custom packs.
As you make your choices, the price of the pack updates in real time. The 40L pack I ultimately designed included the following features, for a total cost of $437:
- Front, Back, and Bottom Materials: Ultra 200X Gravel Gray
- Pocket Material: Black Venom UL
- Vest Straps Material: Black Venom UL
- Vest Strap Water Bottle Pockets: One on each strap
- Load Lifters: Yes
- Y-Strap: Yes
- Side Compression: Lineloc
- Trekking Pole Loops: Yes
- Padded Hipbelt: Small / Medium
- Bottom Pocket: Yes
- Torso Length: 17 Inches
- Aluminum Frame System: Yes
How Did It Perform?
Durability
I essentially lived out of this pack for a week as I backpacked in and explored Yosemite, Sequoia, and Kings Canyon national parks in California. My favorite aspect of this pack was the fabric. The Ultra 200X is one of the lightest and strongest materials on the market, and not every brand uses it. Not even high-end ultralight brands like Gossamer Gear make their packs with it.
And boy, did it stand up to some serious wear and tear. I was not careful with this pack. I casually tossed it on the ground after big ascents as I gasped for air. I bushwhacked through some thorny trails in Germany with it on my back. After all of this, I didn’t notice a single hole or fraying seam.
The fabric is also waterproof (even though the pack is not, since the seams aren’t watertight). I had to bring my laptop to Germany for work, and initially worried about carrying it in my pack during a few light rainstorms. But the rain rolled off the pack like water off a duck’s back. It was also a hot trip; several times, I dunked my hat in a river or stream to cool off, and some would get on the pack, but everything inside stayed dry.
A big mesh pocket on the outside of a pack is standard these days; almost every brand has one. Not all mesh, however, is made equal. On other packs, I’ve had this big pocket, which is crucial for keeping items like snacks and sunscreen handy, rip on my first trip. The Venom UL Stretch Mesh on this pack held up well. I repeatedly shoved my trekking poles (with their metal tips exposed) into the mesh pocket, and this didn’t cause any damage.
Pockets and Organization
I love that modern packs have taken inspiration from running vests and added more storage and pockets onto the shoulder straps, and Red Paw Packs is no exception. The style I chose had one big cinched pocket and one small pocket on each strap.
These were super useful in keeping everything I most needed highly accessible. I put my phone in one of the big pockets and a 750mL soft flask water bottle in the other. In the little pockets, I put my Garmin inReach and small goodies like fruit snacks. I could thus hydrate, eat, and check my phone all without taking off my pack, which made for efficient travel on high-mileage days.
There are no pockets on the hip belt, but that wasn’t a deal breaker for me. While it would have been nice to have hip belt pockets to store more snacks, those pockets are never big enough for items like my phone anyway.
The side compression straps were perfect for attaching my Tevas, my go-to camp shoe. I shoved them inside the criss-cross strap, secured one of the sandal’s velcro shoe strap around the strap for extra security, tightened the side strap, hooked on a carabiner, and went about my hike.
Each side has a big water bottle pocket as well that can easily fit two SmartWater bottles or Mazama M!GO bottles. In one, I put my water bottles, and in the other, I put my Helinox chair and a bag of snacks.
I added the Y-strap to the pack, and I’m glad I did. It made for a more secure closure. To close the pack, I first snapped the two buttons, rolled it down, and then buckled it. One long strap came from the back of the pack to the front, and then the Y-strap went the other direction, and I secured it in place with a lightweight carabiner.
The straps also allowed me to easily attach gear. I went swimming, and just looped my swimsuit through the Y-strap so it could dry as I hiked. When I got too warm, I’d take off my fleece and shove it through the straps.
I recently heard a thru-hiker say that the best pack is the one you don’t have to take off. In this case, I could access most of my gear and manipulate it how I wanted without taking my pack off.
Storage, Comfort, and Fit
I’ll be honest: 40 L is slightly too small a pack in my mind. I would love the option to have a 55L pack, which I think is the sweet spot for a multiday backpacking trip. That being said, I managed to store a lot in my pack.
In Germany, I could comfortably fit my laptop, rain jacket, power bank, snacks, 3 L of water, sleeping bag, tent, sun hoodie, water filter, and toiletries. The external mesh pocket is quite stretchy, so it’s easy to fit a lot of items in there as well.
I don’t think this pack excels at carrying heavy weights; the frame isn’t quite robust enough for that. To stay comfortable, I would keep the load under 25 pounds. For many ultra-lighters, 25 pounds is laughably heavy, so they shouldn’t have a problem with the pack.
The amount of padding on the hip belt falls somewhere in the middle of all the packs I’ve tried. It’s more than the Swift X from Six Moon Designs, but less than Osprey. Typically, my hips get quite sore after multiple days of backpacking, sometimes resulting in significant bruising or even bleeding. This never happened with the bag from Red Paw Packs.
I have a small torso for my height, and typically even small sizes of packs result in major back pain for me. The 17-inch torso size from this pack, however, fit me quite well. My true test of comfort in a pack is whether by day 3 or 4, I start to feel a nagging pain in my upper back between my shoulder blades. This has happened to me with packs from Osprey, Six Moon Designs, and Gregory — but not with this pack from Red Paw.
Is It Worth It?
Paying around $430 for a 40L pack is not cheap. That is around $115 more expensive than my usual go-to pack, the Mariposa 60 from Gossamer Gear ($315). Even Hyperlite (one of the priciest brands out there) isn’t that expensive. The base model of its 40L Windrider pack is $395.
While it is a high price tag, building a custom pack means you get exactly what you want. If this is a pack you plan on using for years and years (and with the Ultra 200X fabric, it will last that long), you might as well get something you really want. Paying an extra $100 for a pack that really fits, and has the pockets right where you want them, seems like a worthwhile trade-off in my mind.
The packs do come with a lifetime warranty. If there’s an issue or something breaks, you can reach out to Evans on Instagram. He’ll happily repair it for just the cost of shipping. Customer service that good is a rare thing these days.
There’s also the intangible part of Red Paw Packs. I enjoyed going through the design process with Evans. I do believe that if you wanted to add a weird or unusual feature to your pack, Evans would be down to discuss it.
In an era where so much outdoor gear is thoughtlessly mass-produced, it felt special to know the person behind my pack. By purchasing one of these packs, you’re supporting an entrepreneur who is literally sewing the bag himself — and who named the company after his golden retriever.
