Gregory Alpinisto LT 38 Review

The Alpinisto LT 38 is a reasonable mountaineering pack for the size but has some features which are hard to use and didn't excel in any of our tests.

Versatility

The Alpinisto is a decent pack for your 38-liter day-tripping needs. It is not very useful for overnight trips and doesn't pack easily enough to make us enthusiastic about recommending it for cragging days when you're pulling your rock gear in and out of your pack between climbs.

You can carry all the tools you might need for a day of general mountaineering, from crampons to ice tools to skis, which makes it versatile in terms of specific activities but less so in terms of length.

Weight to Volume Ratio

This pack is reasonably light for the roughly 40 liters of carrying capacity it provides. It has quite a few more features compared to some of our favorite packs in this same size and use category, which reduces its overall score in this metric because it's a bit heavier.

The main compartment does not have an extension collar to facilitate over-stuffing this pack with gear for the hike to basecamp, and we found this to be limiting and ultimately difficult to pack and cinch closed, even when it was packed to capacity.

Comfort

The Alpinisto performs well in a technical climbing environment due to the supple backpanel. It has a layer of foam integrated into the pack itself and an additional removable plastic and foam panel with a single horizontal stay. This is different--usually if a pack has a single stay, it will be aligned vertically. The softer overall suspension limits this pack to day trips and lighter loads (Gregory recommends no more than 35lbs).

The load lifter straps that rest over the top of the shoulder straps are placed awkwardly and often slide out of place making the fit less precise and reliable.

Durability

The Alpinisto is made of generally lighter weight materials, slightly less durable than some of our favorite packs in this category, and more specifically in the 40-liter size range. However, this is ok because it's designed more for day use rather than the heightened use and abuse of overnight trips. The fabric is still durable enough to resist abrasion, with more durable fabric in high-use areas or spots commonly exposed to sharps like crampons and ice tools.

Features

The Alpinisto has a lot of features — and many of them were disappointing. The ice tool attachment system is too thick, making it hard to thread through the head of the tools. The main compartment doesn't extend upwards, but the brain does — a lot — which is a bit of a mismatch in design and makes for awkward packing and carrying when loaded to capacity. The front bungee system is, in theory, one we like for crampons and other things, but the cinching mechanism was confusing. The lid secures with a single hook on a long leash of webbing anchored to the front of the pack, which flops around and must be secured over the top of your crampons if you're carrying them in those front bungees — awkward. The side straps are too short to secure a full-length foam sleeping pad. The brain is removable, but the buckle has an extra metal catch to secure it in place, which is ultimately just fiddly, and it is placed in a spot where it overlaps awkwardly with the shoulder and load lifter straps. Overall we were disappointed with the geometry and design of this pack.

Some things we liked include the reinforced ski carry straps at the bottom of the pack on both sides, very confidence-inspiring in their durability and secure carry. We also appreciate the completely modular hip belt — you can remove just the padding (with its handy gear loops), or you can remove the entire belt (though this is fiddly). The floating hip belt padding is also a design many people like for the minimal use of foam and the customization of fit. We didn't have a strong preference for either design.

Value

The Alpinisto is a more affordable mountaineering backpack. However, considering the issues we discovered with the features and overall design, as well as the limitations that it has in versatility, we do not consider this pack to be a great value and would steer readers to a slightly higher priced product that will deliver more versatility, durability, and function.

Conclusion

The Gregory Alpinisto LT 38 is a pack we have been intrigued by for a while. Field testing, however, revealed a number of design flaws that we were less psyched on. That said, we liked the back panel design a lot for technical climbing movement, and if you find that this pack fits you well and is precisely the size you want, you may really appreciate it. It will do all of the mountain sports; it just isn't quite as graceful in regards to features as are many other packs.