Customer reviews from Peak Design
Peak Design - Outdoor Backpack 45L - Black
Average customer rating
4.3
(276 Reviews)
Rating breakdown 276 reviews
5 Stars
171
4 Stars
59
3 Stars
25
2 Stars
11
1 Star
10
87%of customers recommend this product.
(
202 out of
232)
Customer Reviews for Peak Design - Outdoor Backpack 45L - Black
Customer Rating
3
on August 12, 2025
Posted by: Sherbile
Great backpack. Too bad you cannot attach it to a carry-on
Written by a customer while visiting Peak Design
Customer Rating
1
A bag I wanted to love, but just can't...
on August 10, 2025
Posted by: A wildlife photographer
from Wherever there are wild birds...
The title is not hyperbole. I had been hoping PD would bring out a bag designed for active outdoor use since the Everyday Messenger Kickstarter (the first of many KS projects for PD I've backed over the years). So I backed this one on the first day.
On delivery, I was underwhelmed at best. But I tried to make a go of it. This is less a review of specific features (and some of the truly puzzling design issues have been addressed by others), and more about my own expectations and experience with the bag in the field on two different expeditions, and a comparison with the two bags I hoped this one would replace. This covered a two-week trip in March, 2025, a second two-week trip in June 2025, and a final one-week trip in July 2025. Of course, your experiences will be different, but I hope this is helpful in your buying decision.
My photography is primarily of wild birds, and I was looking for something that could carry long glass on long hikes. My go to that I was looking to upgrade is a skiing backpack rated at 32L. A PD Medium cube fits in there reasonably well. A bit of a struggle getting the empty cube in there, but it holds up well, can be fully loaded, and is still easily accessible from the back panel of the bag. I've taken this to the Himalayas and the Andes, and the jungles of Southeast Asia and rainforests in Central America. It has been through its paces. The second bag is a 29L waterproof bag designed for fly fishing. The medium PD camera cube fits inside it well, too, although access is a bit more problematic, but a fair tradeoff for the specific use case (basically only when a trip involves travel by Zodiac...).
The biggest reason I wanted the Outdoor 45L was to fit the large camera cube. This would allow me to take both a long lens and a spotting scope out into the field with me. I wanted this to be the perfect bag for when I went out and had to hike to get to the birds. And one of the cool things in early testing was that the water bottle pockets were large enough that it can actually hold my scope, with the tripod on the other side. So when I did get to where we were birding, I didn't have to get back into the bag to move my stuff around...
Ironically, the first use this spring -- especially a couple day hikes to remote nests in Panama's Darien region -- only made me miss the ski pack. Quite frankly, the bag was painful to carry. Yeah, I know this seems to be a feature with PD's bags. See the Travel Line bag for star witness number 1 in this regard. But this was supposed to be a new, and seemingly plush, harness! And it did initially feel good. Until it didn't. And most frustratingly of all, the load lifters and straps were both confusing and difficult to use. Making some features on bags as thin as possible isn't always a good idea. And as for the water bottle pouches? Well, after hiking up with them empty, when I got to the nesting region, I noted they had already suffered two holes. Doesn't bode well for the long-term durability of the bag, unfortunately. The insult to injury was that access to the camera cube is actually more difficult with the PD bag than it is with the skiing bag! And this is even before the issues of the other poorly thought out design choices, including the routing of the water bladder hose that prevents fully opening the back, the need to crush or move out of the way pockets (and thus lose functionality) to use the Capture Clip load points, an approach that relies on using so many cords that anyone who has spent any time in the outdoors asked for never, the lack of an integrated space for the rainfly that was on the Travel Line (and infuriatingly has a little area that seems to have been designed for just this purpose, but was never followed through on), and for the kicker -- ultimately not an appreciably greater level of storage than I have in my roughly 30L other bags! Yes, a larger cube fits in this bag, but there is seemingly more (and better thought out) additional storage possibilities even when using the PD bag with a medium cube.
I didn't want to give up on the bag, though, and was willing to chalk the discomfort with it up to my sizing adjustments made prior to this trip as being just off. So, after returning home, watched all the videos, made all the measurements, dialed it in, and set off with the back on the second two-week road trip to Nevada's Ruby Mountains. On the first full day there, I took it on an all day hike. Well, it wasn't supposed to be that long of a hike but the bag was so uncomfortable that I stopped pretty frequently to rest.
Fortunately the skiing bag was in the car as well, and I have not used the PD bag since.
The gear I was carrying isn't light by any stretch of the imagination. But this was marketed, and presumably designed, as a bag that could carry a large camera cube -- a cube that there is a reasonable expectation would be heavy. There's even a picture in the camera cubes part of this website showing an Outdoor Line backpack loaded with more and probably heavier glass than what I usually take. The skiing pack and even the flyfishing backpack handle these weights with ease! This is even more impressive with the fly fishing bag as it lacks a true hip-belt, and I doubt either bag was designed with lugging loads as heavy as a loaded medium-sized camera cube.
My most recent trip was with the skiing bag alone. Poor planning on our part had us rushing to meet up with a guide for a glacier hike in the middle of the trip. Well, I prefer to call it poor planning rather than saying a decision on my part to stop for 20 minutes en route to take a picture of this cool bird that was just posing along the side of the road...
It was a travel day, so the pack was loaded with all my gear for the trip. Two telephotos, one mid-range zoom, one UWA, two primes. Probably looked closer to the pic of the camera cube in the Outdoor Line bag I mentioned above. Because of our lateness, I didn't have time to actually pull everything out and load up the bag with just the mid-range zoom as I had originally planned. I carried easily more weight than I had in either the Darien or the Ruby Mountains. For four hours without a real break -- because we were hiking/climbing up a glacier... I seriously did not think this one through. And yet, I really didn't feel the weight. Even when the guide was laughing at me for carrying so much with me. (But tellingly, he had the larger version of same bag I was carrying, speaking to its load carrying qualities.) Probably the very limit of how long I want to carry a pack of that weight anytime in the future, but very reassuring to know that if needed, it can handle it.
After that trip I put the PD Outdoor Line 45L up for sale...
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
Written by a customer while visiting Peak Design
Customer Rating
4
Good day hiking pack
on August 4, 2025
Posted by: Wpang
from Boston massachusetts
I bought this a few weeks and took it to the white mountain in New Hampshire, it was a great pack, it was nice and light weight even without the hip belt it was comfortable with a couple pounds of gear and the water bladder sleeve was a great idea being implemented into the laptop sleeve.
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting Peak Design
Customer Rating
4
Love the backpack!
on July 28, 2025
Posted by: Tahara26
from San Francisco, CA
I love this backpack and bought it 2 weeks ago and took on some trips already. The backpack is definitely sturdy and can hold a lot but this colorway does require some maintenance when it does get dirty. Definitely a bit more work to clean given how noticeable it is. Would appreciate if the material could be more easily washable especially on the side pockets.
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting Peak Design
Customer Rating
4
ALMOST perfect!
on July 28, 2025
Posted by: Torin
from Seattle, WA
I just used my outdoor backpack for the first time today and I have to say, I’m REALLY stoked about it. I do mostly 4x5 large format photography and finding a bag that fits that niche, plus has solid features for hiking, has been tough. This bag with the smedium camera cube is exactly the right size for me; my Intrepid 4x5 fits folded above the cube, all of the other odds and ends fit perfectly inside the cube (including two lenses with shutters attached), and my tripod sits really comfortably in the deep side pockets, AND there’s still space for my water bladder. The harness is comfortable and solid and the materials, hardware, everything feels super premium and built to last. The pockets in the harness are really nifty and nicely fit a capture clip, and the white colorway is super clean too, even when it’s dirty
BUT. The sternum straps, omg. PD is huge on their cow hitches and ropey attachment mechanisms but it does NOT work well here. Catching those two little flat plastic clips on the piping in just the right spot can be tricky, especially when moving. It makes getting into/out of the harness a significant enough chore that I found myself avoiding taking it off whenever possible. I really wish it was just a clip like every other backpack. I’m hoping that they release a drop-in replacement since the whole thing’s modular anyway
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting Peak Design
Customer Rating
5
on July 26, 2025
Posted by: A303
25L outdoor backpack is my favorite now. PD quality always amazes me and how other PD products incorporates with each other. Recently had time to go on an easy hiking trip and it was just PERFECT for the occasion. Carried a camera, drone, insta360, tripod, snacks and water bottle.
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting Peak Design
Customer Rating
3
Disappointing For How Good It Is
on July 26, 2025
Posted by: Mmorellish
from Western North Carolina
The 25 liter backpack is so close to being my favorite pack ever for every day/travel/light adventure but the number of near misses is infuriating. The packs design has the feel of a battle between feature richness and a total minimalism where I am not sure either side succeeded. It seems like a few small additional features would have perfected this already decently heavy backpack. There is no hip belt (insane to ask for MORE money as an add on), there's no way for it to secure to the handle of a roller bag, the bladder compartment is almost completely unusable, the zippered pockets on the back panel could have been better layered to allow for storage of things like note pads, and absolutely no internal organization built in (not even a zipper pocket for pens or sunglasses). Other than that the pack is feature rich, easy to use, and carries a load very well.
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting Peak Design
Customer Rating
4
Solid Hiking Bag
on July 25, 2025
Posted by: Jeff
from Charlotte, NC
Bought this one a few weeks ago and finally put it to use and I must say it’s a terrific bag for hiking. Packs nicely and it’s the most comfy PD bag I’ve tried. Fits me like a glove (I’m 5’5” and the adjustments recommended were great.
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting Peak Design