Lowe Alpine Airzone Centro 35 Adjustable Hiking Pack

The Lowe Alpine Airzone Centro 35 (I'm spelling it out since Lowe makes so many similar sounding models) is an exceptional day pack. It wraps around your body snugly yet its design allows cooling air flow on the back and even through the straps. The design of the pack transfers its center of gravity forwards reducing the potential for being pulled backwards by the straps when you're loaded for bear. After using this pack for a few hours with a 17-pound load, it seemed that I wasn't carrying anything at all it's that well balanced and comfortable. I wouldn't push the weight it carries beyond 20-pounds or so but that's my limits. At first, I thought the waste belt and shoulder straps seemed kind of insubstantial, but I found that this light-weight support system was extremely comfortable and more than up to the task of carrying a fully loaded pack. The sternum straps ride on vertical tracks making them infinitely adjustable. The stretched mesh back keeps sharp protruding packed items from ever touching your body. Even the zipper tabs are superior to many packs I've owned, being permanently affixed and substantially constructed. There's lots of internal room and many neat features such as lower compartment quick access and a large top flap pouch. The fit and finish is Lowe quality which speaks for itself.

Now for the best feature: This Lowe, like many other Lowe models, has an internal torso length adjustment mechanism. In other words you are able to fine tune the fit of the pack to your very own unique size. I cannot emphasize the importance of this enough for all-day carry comfort. With other day packs you are either forced to accept a less-than-optimal torso size or you may get lucky and find one that fits just right. Unfortunately, the folks at Lowe provide the skimpiest of instructions as to how to operate this torso adjustment mechanism. I tried to contact Lowe by e-mail but they didn't respond. There's also no phone number to contact them so I ended up having to do some research on the Web in order to learn how to do the torso adjustment. The adjustment once you learn it is quick and simple and will make all the difference in the world when you're out hiking and clambering around all day.

I liked this day-pack so much I purchased a second one for my son.

This is a review for the bag only. I bought this bag 3 years ago and have abused in just about every which way but it has not given an inch. Super duper durability. The best out there in my opinion and the reason for this as follows. It says airzone. That's the important bit, as everything else is secondary. There is a sort of a spine like feature which houses a flexible but unbreakable structure. To this is stretched the fabric and this causes a curvature in the back, much like your back. however, the curvature causes airflow in the region for the entire length of the back...well at least until where the bags' bottom ends. This relieves your back in many ways. One thing is the bag doesn't hug your back and so no sweating or heating of your back. The arch of the structure makes it very light. I absolutely love this feature of the airzone. Its what makes this a five star feature. The reason I gave it 4 stars however is that its one straight shaft through to the bottom. This requires organization. There is an inner pocket that goes into 3/4 the length of the back. But this is not very loose and while you could fit your laptop in there, its a tight squeeze and makes the back heavier. The top pouch is a godsend as I stuff everything from cameras to power cords in there. The inner pocket on the back of the outer pouch pocket on top is a really smart after thought as you can stuff all the delicate things in there, like camera filters, memory sticks and also put your safe items like credit cards and keys in there (There is a key hook in this pocket). There are couple of velcro and non-velcro outer "rings" that you can hook a lot of other things to, like a carabiner. I've hooked a sigg bottle to one of these things. Nonetheless its a really superior bag for practically anything from lugging to the office to going on trips to taking it on the airplane. You can stuff a lot into it and it still feels remarkably light to carry. I like it so much that I think this is probably the only bag I'll ever consider buying. I have a patagonia and also have had North face and Jansport but really they all have the same bad feature in the end in that they make your back sweaty. They all have the same standard design with variations only in the number of pockets and colors. This pack however is different and its that difference that makes it stand apart from the "pack".

Buy Lowe Alpine Airzone Centro 35 Adjustable Hiking Pack Now

This is a review for the bag only, not the seller cuz I've not bought from them. I bought this bag 3 years ago and have abused it in just about every which way one knowns but it has not given an inch. Super duper durability. The best out there in my opinion and the reason for this as follows. It says airzone. That's the important bit, as everything else is secondary. There is a sort of a spine like feature which houses a flexible but unbreakable structure. To this is stretched the fabric and this causes a curvature in the back, much like your back. however, the curvature causes airflow in the region for the entire length of the back...well at least until where the bags' bottom ends. This relieves your back in many ways. One thing is the bag doesn't hug your back and so no sweating or heating of your back. The arch of the structure makes it very light. I absolutely love this feature of the airzone. Its what makes this a five star feature. The reason I gave it 4 stars however is that its one straight shaft through to the bottom. This requires organization. There is an inner pocket that goes into 3/4 the length of the back. But this is not very loose and while you could fit your laptop in there, its a tight squeeze and makes the back heavier. The top pouch is a godsend as I stuff everything from cameras to power cords in there. The inner pocket on the back of the outer pouch pocket on top is a really smart after thought as you can stuff all the delicate things in there, like camera filters, memory sticks and also put your safe items like credit cards and keys in there (There is a key hook in this pocket). There are couple of velcro and non-velcro outer "rings" that you can hook a lot of other things to, like a carabiner. I've hooked a sigg bottle to one of these things. Overall it is a really superior bag for practically anything from lugging to the office to going on trips to taking it on the airplane. You can stuff a lot into it and it still feels remarkably light to carry. I like it so much that I think this is probably the only bag I'll ever consider buying. I have a patagonia and also have had North face and Jansport but really they all have the same bad feature in the end in that they stick to and make your back sweaty. They all have the same standard design with variations only in the number of inside pockets and colors. This pack however is different and its that difference that makes it stand apart from the "pack".

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