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Stacked with innovative features, a quality piece of dense closed-cell foam and a sleek design, this flashy orange pad has a lot to offer. This pad works great for entry to expert level bouldering. It folds up well for transport and storage and opens and lays flat quickly and easily. It also has many useful handles. In pack mode it holds a fair amount of gear but not as much as some of the other pads. It does pack the gear in very securely as long as the zipper does not wear out prematurely like a lot of zippers have been known to do. The zipper does work very well right out of the box. The way the zipper cover flaps over the other side and protects the suspension system from getting dirty or wet we found pretty useful for day-to-day use, but it could be very useful at certain crags in the wet seasons. The other thing that is worrisome to us is whether or not the Velcro on the shoulder and waist straps will wear out before the rest of the pad since Velcro is not replaceable like buckle closures.
REASONS TO BUY
Folds open and closed better than any other taco-style pad
Innovative zip-up flap closure system securely stores gear
Well made
Sleek look
REASONS TO AVOID
Does not pack large or bulky loads of gear well
No center lifting handle
Velcro and zipper could wear out prematurely
The foam pad layers consist of 1" dual density high quality closed-cell foam and a 3" piece of softer open-cell foam. It offers a nice blend for short to medium length falls but not for mega high falls. It folds up better than any other taco-style pad we've ever tested and folds nearly as flat as a hinged style pad. When opened, the pad lays flat faster than most, if not all, taco-style pads. The handles on the corners are well placed and very handy, but there is no handle between the top of the shoulder straps to aid in taking the pad off and on when in pack mode.
Some of the features are obviously handy, but, are some of them just distracting “bells and whistles” and not actually as helpful as they look? How did the pad stand up to our rigorous outdoor testing regimen as well as the test of time? Read on.
A good medium-sized taco pad that comes at a high cost
A unique strap system, useful features, and thick foam make this model a fantastic all-around pad
This high-quality pad is one of the best mid-sized options in the game
The combination of high-quality construction, excellent fall protection, and low cost easily make this pad the best deal around
This pad has an innovative design that lets you load it up with gear but leaves something to be desired with foam density
Rating Categories
Petzl Alto
Mad Rock Duo
Organic Full Pad
Organic Simple
Kinetik Newton 4.0
High Falls(30%)
7.0
9.0
8.0
8.0
6.0
Low Falls(30%)
7.0
6.5
8.0
8.0
8.0
Durability(20%)
8.0
8.0
8.5
9.0
8.0
Packing Gear(10%)
7.0
9.0
8.0
6.0
9.0
Features(10%)
8.0
10.0
7.0
6.0
8.0
Specs
Petzl Alto
Mad Rock Duo
Organic Full Pad
Organic Simple
Kinetik Newton 4.0
Surface Size (inches)
46" x 39"
56" x 42"
48" x 36"
48' x 36'
48" x 36"
Thickness (inches)
4"
5"
4"
4'
4"
Weight (lbs)
12 lbs
17 lbs
12 lbs
12 lbs
13.6 lbs
Hinge/Taco
Taco
Hinge
Hinge
Hinge
Hybrid Hinge
Closing Flap
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
Yes
Warranty
3 Year
1 Year
None, but they do repairs
None, but they do repairs
None, but they do repairs
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Our Analysis and Test Results
Performance Comparison
Sean Brady “Blue Steel” V7 Petzl Alto OGL pad testing
Credit: Chris Summit
Padding Falls
The triple-layered 4" foam that this pad is constructed of has a soft 3" layer of open-cell PU foam on top and a dual density, firm and dense, 1" piece of high-quality closed-cell PE foam on the bottom. The 1" piece is a 0.5" piece of dense and firm foam bonded together with another slightly less dense and firm piece of similar 0.5 closed-cell foam. This layering scheme is upside down from the way most pads have it. Having the softer foam on top works great for cushioning hard and jarring, short to medium height falls and for lounging on, but for high falls it is best to have the more firm and dense foam on top for better impact dispersal. Since this pad can be flipped over and used upside down more easily than most with the flap to cover the suspension straps there really is no top or bottom. So, the foam might seem to be layered backward from the way most pads are set up but this is because the pad is meant to be used on either side. The flap is not just for covering the suspension but also for making it easier to use your pad on both the soft side or on the harder side. This pad is still not as good at padding high falls as the similarly sized Organic Simple.
Packing Gear
With its zip-up flap closure system holding gear in safe and secure, it is hard to beat this pad for packing small to medium size loads. The only minor problem was that the Velcro suspension straps were hard to accurately adjust.
Sean Brady hikes into a new area near Castle Rock CA wearing the new Petzl Alto bouldering pad and the Metolius Session balanced on top.
Credit: Chris Summit
The Velcro straps are not as adjustable as the “old fashioned” standard type of straps with plastic buckles or metal hook buckles that can be more fine-tuned to achieve a good fit. A good trait of the suspension is that the straps are very wide with a contoured shape making for a very comfortable feel.
Petzl Alto
Credit: Chris Summit
The zipper flap closure system works amazing for the most part turning the pad into a sealed backpack. In fact, it is so well sealed that you could even drop some loose change in and it would not fall out of the tightly zipped flap. The downside is that the pad is so securely closed by the tight zipper flap that it is hard to pack very large or bulky gear. The upside to that is that the gear does not fall out easily either.
The secure YKK zipper flap closure, which is unique to the Petzl Alto among models we tested.
Credit: Petzl
As long as the high-quality YKK zipper keeps working smoothly (zippers are known to fail and if it did then it would not pack gear at all) then this pad is a breeze to use for packing gear and one of our favorites overall for packing small to medium size loads. The pad does not fit large bulky loads since the zipper flap closure is not adjustable and does not stretch or expand - but who wants to carry that much stuff anyway, right?
Features
This pad stands out for being rich with features. From the incredibly functional zipper flap system to the useful grab handles and Velcro suspension system with adjustable bandolier, the Petzl has you covered for just about every useful feature out there.
Petzl Alto grab handles.
Credit: Chris Summit
The bandolier was not used as often as we thought it would be, but it did help lug the pad around from boulder to boulder occasionally. At 12 lbs for the Alto vs 9 lbs for the similarly sized Metolius Session II, the additional features of the Alto only added a few pounds of weight. The Alto is overall very soft and comfortable and works great for lounging around on. Unfortunately, one of the key features we found useful on some of the other pads in our tests was not included - the very handy center lifting handle between the top of the shoulder straps. We found the well-placed handle to be one of those things you don't know you need until you try it. The center handle helps to lift a heavy pad onto your back. If you don't carry a very heavy load inside your pad then you will probably not miss it at all.
The feature we like the most is the incredibly functional zipper flap closure system that doubles as the suspension system coverage flap when in pad mode. This is the only pad we've tested with this innovative and very functional new flap. The zipper flap flips over and zips up the opposite side of the pad to cover the suspension to keep from tripping on it and to keep it from getting wet and/or dirty. The zipper flap works fairly quickly and easily once you get the hang of it. The zipper is the highest quality YKK but even the best zippers can fail with repeated rugged use. If/when the zipper fails, there would be no way to close the pad securely so it would no longer fold up.
Durability
This pad, as with all Petzl products, is made to the highest standards and with the highest quality materials. This pad has already held its own on many adventures exploring, finding and sending new boulder problems all over the Northern California backwoods. Our testers had the pleasure of falling all over the pad off hard lowballs on Castle Rock sandstone, first ascent highballs on virgin Trinity Limestone, and circuit training in jagged volcanic boulder fields at Sugarloaf Ridge. The pad held up well over months of rigorous testing. It barely looks used after a lot of abuse from several different testers so it's received high scores in durability.
Petzl Alto awaits a falling climber over a lumpy landing zone and under a virgin boulder problem in Bigfoot Country CA.
Credit: Chris Summit
Value
At a whopping $300 this is one of the most expensive medium size pads we tested. The features and quality are worth it if you like them and can afford it, but the pad with the third highest price tag in our review, the still rather expensive $250 Black Diamond Drop Zone is a better choice for value, based on our side-by-side tests. The Drop Zone has an adjustable two buckle flap closure that hauls small to large loads of gear well and also has the handy center handle between the shoulder straps to aid in lifting a heavy load. For those reasons and the $50 lower price tag, we feel the Drop Zone is the better value.
Shawn Rogers works a new problem “Bass Nectar” V5 on the sharp Nor Cal Limestone. OutdoorGearLab - Petzl Alto pad testing.
Credit: Chris Summit
Conclusion
Were some of the features on the Alto just “bells and whistles” and not as useful as they look? Some were, but others were not. The small handles on the sides of the pad did not work as well as we had hoped and it was missing the one handle our testers wanted; the center lift handle. The center lift handle helps with lifting a heavy pack onto your back so it is not a big deal if you don't carry heavy loads. The Alto had a hard time fitting very large bulky loads inside of it because the zipper flap was not adjustable. So, if you want to carry very heavy and/or very bulky loads then this is not the best pad for you.
After all is said and done, parts of the Alto did let us down as far as what it looked like it could do and what it did actually help us do. The zipper flap was the one pleasant surprise being more helpful and easy-to-use than we thought it would be. It worked great for both its jobs of holding gear in and for covering the suspension system in pad mode. The zippers and Velcro could possibly wear out prematurely but if you are not being hard on it in a rough backcountry setting too often then it should endure just fine. We see both good and bad sides to the Velcro straps and the zipper - the bad side being that it could wear out and fail, the good side is that it is fast and easy to use and the flap allows the pad to hold gear inside more securely than any other pad. All in all it works well. The decision is up to you, the consumer, to decide if you're not that hard on your gear then it could be a chance worth taking to get the quality craftsmanship, cool design, and useful features.
A lot of these things could also be personal preference and style. If you like the solid taco-folding design, don't mind the few extra pounds for the extra handy features and want a well-made product, and you can afford it, then this could be just the right pad for you.
First ascent of “Flapper” V4 while testing the Petzl Alto at the new Biddles area in Northern California.
