Dakine : Poacher

Review:
Anyone who has gone on a true backcountry hike knows the limitations of normal snowboard backpacks. Sure you can easily strap your board to them, but if you are on a multi-day hike, or going very far, you quickly find out that they can't carry everything you want to bring, and they aren't very well suited for holding a sleeping pad. Dakine decided to remedy this problem with the Poacher, a bag that is part mountaineering, part snowboarding. The bag has all of the features that you would expect from a snowboard pack: board straps so that you can hold your board horizontally or vertically, an abundance of compartmentalized pockets for stashing your various things, and the words Dakine printed all over it.

However, on closer inspection there are many features that have been carried over from the backpacking market. The biggest and best addition is the removable metal frame-rails. These pre-bent metal bars run vertically on either side of the pack, providing extra support for those longer hikes. By removing the bars the pack can become more of a daypack, but while they are in, you have a very rigid pack platform. There are a number of cinches so that you can tighten down different parts of the pack to help hold its contents better. The top pocket feels much like a stuff sack, and the bag holds an incredible amount of gear. There is also a zip-open panel on the back of the pack for easy access.