Ortovox Free Rider 16L Backpack for Sale, Reviews, Deals and Guides

I needed to replace my tried and true Black Diamond Bandit. It had loyally carried my skis up Aspen Highland Bowl for a number of seasons before giving out to normal wear and tear. I thought I'd go Aspen-style fancy pants with Ortovox. Sigh. The good: - The SBS system is legit. I can pack a full-bodied DSLR into the pack. Back protection is great. I don't have to worry about my pack's contents (or rock) injuring my back during a fall. - 16 liters is all I needed for resort skiing and hiking. Enough space to stash a layer or two for a 30 minute hike + camera + H20 + goggles/glasses + snacks. Buy whatever size meets your needs. I'd go larger for day trips into slack/backcountry. - The diagonal ski mount works well, can stash and zip the straps when not carrying skis. Not Ortovox's fault, but I'd prefer to mount skis oriented / instead of \, given my local terrain/trees/rock outcrops. The bad: - Garg. I shattered the chest buckle/clip on day 3. It's a fiddly little clip piece that slides into the sternum lock and I snapped it to bits. The clip that slides into the larger housing is delicate, brittle and tiny...not great for cold weather and gloved hands. I'm upset I just spent $180 on a pack with a crap chest lock. Stupid. - The sizing seems off. I'm 5'10 and the pack seems to fit reasonably well without skis. Once I attach my skis onto the pack, the chest harness lifts unusually high onto my torso...the aforementioned sternum clip rises to just below my collar bone, even when moved to its lowest point on the straps. I don't know maybe I bought the wrong size, but I'm not a big dude and middle of Ortovox's sizing lineup seemed right for me. Odd fit with skis. - The waist strap is excessive. I prefer a simpler piece of webbing with a buckle vs. the thick/wide velcro, wrap-around thingy Ortovox used. It's a 16 liter pack...I don't need to hold tons of weight on my hips. Over time the velcro will wear out. Sometimes the velcro gets snagged where it shouldn't, requiring me to take off the pack to untangle. Velcro sticks where it shouldn't, whereas webbing would just fall to the left and right of each hip. The hip pocket is handy and will hold a Clif-bar or two. Blah. I'd like my money back.