Lowe Dru 35 Daypack - First Look

First Look - Lowe Alpine Dru 35 Daypack

First the disclaimer due to foot and mouth the nearest we've come to using the Dru 35 in anger is on the mean streets of Glossop, so these are impressions rather than an all-out, full-on test.

The Dru 35 is the largest of three new packs from Lowe - the others are the Midi 25 and the Tacul 20 - and like the other two it's a mountain day pack that borrows some ideas and features from the newly popular world of adventure racing.

Like what? Principally an effective compression system that incorporates a gear-holding plastic panel on the back for overloading, plus a zip-opening main compartment that let's you open up the sac wide rather than scrabbling blindly through the debris at the bottom.

Like all Lowe sacks it's nicely put together with a double layer of fabric at the base and triple-stitched and capped main seams. The die-cut, ergonomic harness (we quote) made an impression on us. The shoulder straps have a pronounced curve to match your contours and, despite using a relatively thin foam padding are very, very comfortable.

Combined with a well-designed and shaped hip-belt, tensioning straps at hips and shoulders and a simple, but supportive stiff plate contoured back, it all makes for an extremely comfortable, close-fitting sac. The top of the sack has a pronounced curve to pull the load in closer to your centre of gravity and it works. Load up, cinch down the harness and compression system, jump up and down and there's very little movement from the pack - it feels glued to your back, like, well, a good adventure race sack. And like an adventure race sac, you can stuff excess gear under that rear plate.

Other features include two big, handy zipped pockets at the back, Lowe's trademark hydration system facility and a rubber, padded lifting handle on the haul loop. Okay, it's not indispensible, but it's a nice thing to have. Which is also the case with the neat little phone / sunglasses pouch Lowe have put on the left hand shoulder strap.

If you carry a mobile or shades in the hills on a habitual basis you'll love it, even if you don't you can always stuff some choccy or energy bars in there for easy access. We think it's neat and we'll bite anyone who says otherwise, okay?

Bottom Line First impressions are very positive. It's built on similar lines to Mountain Equipment's neat Vector 45 specialist snow and ice sack, but smaller, lighter and closer fitting. At 60 quid it's not a cheap sac, but we can see it being an excellent mountain all rounder.We like it.