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The Cross Rider 22 is a streamlined daypack designed for ski touring and freeriding. You've got two ways to attach your skis (the traditional side straps or a versatile diagonal fastener), plus an integrated helmet net and loops for bolting on your ice axe/poles. Depending on your snow sport of choice, it'll also take snowshoes or a board. A thermoformed EVA back and fully adjustable harness system ensure that the bag won't slop about at every turn. Access to the main compartment is both front and back, and they've made the lining nice and brightly coloured so it's easier to find stuff. As you might expect from a brand that started out making avalanche transceivers, Ortovox is also big on safety. There's a dedicated easy-access compartment for your avalanche shovel and probe (neatly positioned so they don't dig into your back), and the sternum strap has an integrated signal whistle. Plus every backpack comes with their 'emergency card' that illustrates alpine distress protocols
If you’ve spent much time in the Alps, chances are you’ve seen a lot of folk sporting Ortovox kit. It’s one of the biggest and most well-respected brands in Austria and Germany, backed up by the kind of mountain heritage that most companies can only dream of.
Ortovox started out more than 40 years ago making avalanche transceivers and other rescue equipment, and to this day they’re still the go-to outfitters for mountain rescue teams, alpine guides and extreme mountaineers. Get your hands on an Ortovox pack or garment and you’ll soon see why. The construction and quality of this stuff is on a whole different level, right down to tiny details like the buckles and merino mesh inserts. It’s gear you can rely on day-in, day-out, in seriously spicy conditions – and thousands of mountain professionals genuinely do just that.
Ortovox kit has a very distinctive, technical look – and their background in mountain safety means they’re big on bright colours that make you easy to spot in an emergency. But the materials bear closer inspection too. They’re huge champions of the properties of natural wool, and they’ve been using it in performance mountain gear since the 80s – putting them streets ahead of other manufacturers who are only just rediscovering nature’s original miracle fibre. As a bonus, this also makes their products very environmentally friendly, and the entire winter range is now climate neutral.