Badlands Diablo Pack

Product Review

By: Matt Curry, Diggs Australian ProStaffer & Editor of Stikbow e-magazine 

SPECIFICATIONS: 
WEIGHT: 2lb 8oz
DIMENTIONS: 23”x14”x10”
CAPACITY: 1900ci 
POCKETS: 6
HYDRATION: 100OZ
CAMO: AP OR MAX 1

     Much to the dismay of my beautiful wife I am always on the look out for the ultimate fit in hunting gear with back packs being no exception. Every time another new pack turns up I just get that look that says “here we go again”. Having always liked the look of the Badlands gear and already having a 2800 I decided it was time to upgrade my current day pack for something of a little better quality that would handle slightly heavier loads. I like to carry a fair bit of gear with me and like a pack that can also carry a bit of meat if I happen to get lucky. After reading a fair few online reviews I settled on the Badlands Diablo. This pack seemed to tick all the boxes. Plenty of pockets, great capacity, water proof, quiet and had an external frame to help support the weight. Added to this was their hypervent suspension system that held the pack off your back for great breathability and a lifetime no fault warranty.

     Upon receiving the pack I set about trying to fit all my gear in. I was able to fit all the gear I carry in the outside pockets leaving only my game bag, bone saw and Jetboil in the main compartment. I was very happy with the way the pockets were organized although a couple more small zippered internal pockets would have been handy. With a full load including 3 litres of water the pack sat very nicely on the back giving a very good, well balanced feel. There was no feeling of any sag from the weight with the external frame doing its job to perfection. A bit of adjustments on the straps had the pack feeling like a part of me. The shoulder straps and waist strap were very well padded making for an extremely comfortable pack.

 Keen to try the pack out in the field a four day goat hunt was organized. With the weather predicted to be in the low 30’s and a good chance of bagging some game it would be an ideal opportunity to put the pack through its paces. All I can say is the packed performed flawlessly. It breathed really well with the hypervent suspension and you could really feel the breeze blowing through between the pack and your back. I also had the opportunity to load it up with meat giving the pack an all up estimated weight of about 10kg which it handled brilliantly. At this weight it really didn’t feel any different and I was confident it would handle more with ease.

    I know it sounds like the perfect pack but I did find a couple issues which were more me related then pack related. Being relatively short at 5’5” I found the pack started to feel a little long after a full days hike with the bottom corners where the frame stopped sitting on top of my backside. This wasn’t too bad and I could live with it but my biggest concern was I could not crawl on hands and knees with the pack on. I found once you got down the pack would ride a little higher making it impossible to lift your head with the back of your head pressing against the pack.

   If I was a few inches taller I would not have a problem with this but as I am not likely to grow anymore it became a major factor. This was a bit disappointing as I was really liking this pack plus I now had to go home and tell the wife I needed another pack.

  So after all was said and done what did I really think about the Badlands Diablo day pack?

 

PROS.                                               
Quality:                      Excellent                      
Capacity:                  Excellent
Organization:           Very good
Comfort:                   Excellent
Load carrying:        Excellent

CONS; As stated above the only negatives I could find were due to my height not so much the pack itself. The pack would be ideally suited to someone 5’7” or above. I would have possibly liked a couple more small zippered internal pockets for organizing some of my small items. If I had to be real picky I would say the hydration tube exit is a real pain in the proverbial and could do to come out of the top instead to make getting the bladder fully in and out for cleaning a lot easier.

All in all a fantastic pack capable of handling anything you can throw at it.