When buying outdoor gear, you're always balancing price and performance. So does the Alpkit Orion 45 get that mix right? And does it deserve a spot on our list of the best hiking rucksacks?
British outdoor brand Alpkit will be familiar to many Trail and LFTO readers by now. As well as a long-running online retail presence, its stores have popped up everywhere from national parks to various city centres throughout the UK.
The retailer has built a solid reputation for turning out good quality, reliable kit at reasonable prices, with excellent customer service, too.
Summary
The brand describes its Orion 45 as being “at home on remote crags in Scottish winters”, which makes it sound like the ideal winter hillwalking or mountaineering pack.
In terms of carrying capacity, it certainly seems well suited to cold-weather missions, sitting right in the middle of our 40-to-50-litre ‘sweet spot’ for a winter pack. It’s made from durable materials yet still tips the scales at under a kilo, giving an excellent volume-to-weight ratio.
LFTOalpkit.com
Pros
- Affordable
- Lightweight
- Versatile
Cons
- Rivals carry heavy loads better
- One size only, no women’s version
- No secondary access to main compartment
| RRP: | £99.99 |
| Volume: | 45L |
| Sizes: | o/s (unisex) |
| Materials: | 420D nylon 66 ripstop with PU coating (main fabric), reinforced 840D nylon base |
| Weight: | 0.99kg (2 lbs 9 oz) |
The streamlined, Alpine-style design is focused on load-carrying stability, keeping most of the weight close to your body.
It has the ability to stow ice axes, trad climbing gear and a rope for more technical use, but also has a few hillwalker-friendly features like two decent-sized stretch side pockets, plus an internal hydration sleeve in the main compartment.
All these attributes suggest that, on paper at least, it can compete with packs from big-name mountain brands like Rab, Mountain Equipment, Mammut and more, while undercutting them fairly significantly on price.
I duly took the Orion 45 into the mountains of Snowdonia, North Wales, as well as Munro-bagging in Scotland in February, to see how it stacked up against the best rivals on the market…
Design and features
This is a classic Alpine-style pack, which means it's tall and slim with a narrow, streamlined profile. It’s marketed as a unisex pack, with a 17” fixed back length that should work for many men and women, unless you’re unusually tall. However, the wider shoulder straps suit broader shoulders better than narrow frames.
It’s a top-loading design with a double drawcord collar and a floating lid. There’s also a rope strap/top compression under the lid.
The lid itself is equipped with inner and outer zippered storage pockets – and inside there’s a handy key clip. It fastens with double plastic side-release buckles. These are easy to operate, even with bulky winter gloves on, though obviously a bit fiddlier than a single closure.
The main compartment has an elasticated sleeve that will accommodate a three-litre hydration reservoir, and an exit port enables you to thread a drinking tube through to emerge at your right shoulder.
Each side of the pack is fitted with two adjustable side webbing straps with side-release buckles, which can be used as compression or to stow extra gear. You also get two stretch side pockets, made from reasonably sturdy fabric that ought to resist snags better than mesh.
The front panel has an upper haul loop and daisy chain webbing, with elastic bungees for securing trekking poles or ice axes. Two aluminium dogbone toggles on elastic cords are positioned at the base of the pack, providing secure attachment for ice axes, with a central pick guard for added safety.
One design oddity is that the elastic cord that holds these two toggles is threaded through metal grommets punched straight through the fabric, which basically means there are two holes in the main body of the pack.
This makes it fairly easy for rain, melting ice or snow to penetrate the main compartment – not ideal. Be sure to keep your kit well protected inside dry bags or a rucksack liner.
Harness and back system
This pack has no internal frame other than a stiffened back panel, which keeps weight down but doesn’t transfer load as well as a perimeter wire frame. Still, it can cope with loads up to about 10kg.
The harness has nicely sculpted shoulder straps, fitted with load lifters and a chest strap. The hip fins are also well-contoured, yet still slim enough to easily clip out of the way if you’re wearing a climbing harness. Both fins have webbing gear loops for clipping trad gear or ice screws to the pack if desired.
The back panel is very simple, with a central channel and other smaller cut-outs designed to aid comfort and provide a little ventilation.
The moulded foam sheds snow well and doesn’t absorb too much moisture. The flat back panel means the pack doesn’t hug the body as well as some others or give much lumbar support.
It’s also a shame there’s no dedicated women’s version, or at least a couple of different torso sizes available, which would help fine-tune the fit. Taller users might find the fixed back length too short.
Pockets and storage
The roomy main compartment will swallow plenty of gear, though the tall and slim shape makes it tricky to accommodate anything too bulky, like camping gear. Additional storage comes from the two lid pockets and the stretch side pockets.
The outside lid pocket is big enough to stash winter gloves and goggles, while the stretch side pockets can take a one-litre insulated flask or water bottle. Climbers and mountaineers generally don’t want too much gear stuffed into external pockets, but the side pockets add versatility for hillwalkers.
Performance and comfort
This is a versatile pack that works well for winter hillwalking, scrambling or mountaineering.
When fully loaded, it is surprisingly comfortable, thanks to the wide shoulder straps and hip fins. They’re slightly better padded than many other technical winter packs.
However, when it comes to load-carrying ability, the Orion 45 is a bit limited by the fact that it lacks an internal frame.
Only the stiffened back panel provides any rigidity. Basically, other packs carry better and feel more supportive if you’re lugging a full load.
This was also the only pack in our 2024-25 group test that lacked secondary access to the main compartment.
If you want to grab an extra layer, you’ll need to go through the top, which means unfastening the two lid buckles and undoing the double drawcords. It’s not exactly arduous but feels more of a faff than just reaching through a side or rear zipper.
Sustainability
The Orion 45 contains no recycled fabrics but employs high denier 420D ripstop nylon 66 with an 840D reinforced nylon base for increased durability, effectively increasingly the product’s sustainability through longevity. The fabric is also finished with a PFC-free durable water repellent (DWR) treatment.
The pack is made in Vietnam, in a factory that has signed up to Alpkit’s supply chain code of ethics and code of conduct.
This promises to abide by the Ethical Trading Initiative base code, fair pay, safe working environments, no child labour, no modern slavery, no bribery or corruption, no materials from conflict zones and humane farming methods.
As a brand, Alpkit is certified carbon neutral under PAS2060 and offsets its Scope 1, Scope 2 and Scope 3 operations and transport emissions, as part of its commitment to Net Zero.
It has also set targets to halve its Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions by 2025 (based on a 2018 base year) and reduce its total carbon intensity by 15% every year to achieve genuine net zero by 2050.
In addition, the pack has a 3-year warranty under Alpkit’s Alpine Bond promise, which states that if a product does not meet your expectations upon delivery, or does not live up to the demands placed upon it during its warranted lifetime, it can be returned for repair, replacement or refund.
It’s worth noting that Alpkit has dedicated repair stations in its stores, which can supply spare parts, patches, new zips and components for many of its packs. If and when you no longer need the pack, Alpkit also promises to donate, repurpose or recycle it via its Continuum Project scheme.
Price and competition
This is a value-oriented pack with a competitive price point. At just under £100, it undercuts most of the competition. The next cheapest pack in our 2024 group test was the Rab Ascendor 45:50L, which costs another fifty quid.
As such, it’s a bit of a bargain. In fact, there aren’t too many technical mountain packs in the 40-50-litre bracket that offer such competent performance for your hard-earned cash.
One that does is the Highlander Ben Nevis 52, which was our Best Value pick in 2023 – but it has an RRP of £125, which is more than the Orion 45’s sub-£100 asking price.
Otherwise, you’ll probably need to head to Decathlon. Their Simond brand focuses on well-priced gear for technical climbing and alpinism, and currently includes the Alpinism 40 Evo (£90). It’s a quality pack, though a bit smaller than the Orion 45, while coming in 260g heavier.
So, all in all, I reckon the Alpkit just about trumps them both, though the Highlander might be a better choice if you want one pack to go scrambling, hillwalking and backpacking with.
Verdict
The Alpkit Orion 45 is a well-priced and versatile pack for winter hillwalking, scrambling and climbing – but spending more elsewhere gets you superior load-lugging ability and more features.
For more options like this, take a look at our list of the best mountaineering rucksacks.
About the author
Matt Jones is a freelance journalist based in the heart of Snowdonia National Park, he’s a vastly experienced gear tester and self-confessed outdoor kit geek.
Matt’s been one of our main gear testers for the last couple of years and is the first person we call with any complicated kit queries that need in-depth and forensic analysis.