Review: BD Covert 22L and Anarchist 42L (both with built-in avalung)

[Rontele]

I figured with a full season on the Anarchist and some time with the Covert that I could give a review comparing and contrasting the two packs. Black Diamond really raised the bar with avy packs by including a built in avalung. Until the ABS pack becomes cheaper, lighter, and bit more available, this is the choice pack to increase your chances of survival in avalanche terrain. You cannot say enough about how well integrated the Avalung is into BOTH packs. BD really hit a grand slam with this feature and if you are in the market for a new pack, I would HIGHLY rec'd looking first to BD for the avalung packs.

Anarchist 42L: The biggest pack in Black Diamonds avalung line, the Anarchist has everything anyone would need for a full-day outing, or even a multi-night trip to a hut. The pack is a top-loader with ample space and a separate compartment for avy tools. The main compartment is again, cavernous, with lots of space. The pack is easily accessible with a side-zip which allows you to place to take out gear that is at the bottom of the pack. Without this feature, it would be cumbersome to consistently have to reach into the top loader to retrieve goods.

The avy compartment is amply big for a saw, probe, and shovel. Interestingly, and I find this to be a problem with both BD packs is the BD Deploy Shovel does not fit fully into the pack. The top of the shovel handle will stick out of the Anarchist's avy gear pocket, but the top loading pockets will cover the shovel.

The top loaded pockets on the Anarchist are great for maps, or other sundries that you may be carrying along. I am consistently surprised with how much stuff I can fit into these two small, zippered pockets. They make a great place to stash sunscreen, an energy bar, a map, GPS unit, or something you need easy and quick access to.


The pack fits my body very well. Much better than my old Khamski, and even when fully loaded does not feel burdensome. Properly packed, the pack does not push your weight forward when skiing through variable snow. My only complaint about the loaded pack are the hip belts, which are a bit flimsy for such a large pack. It may be possible to retrofit some burly and more comfy foam hip belts, but I won't be doing that anytime soon.

Overall, I give the Anarchist an A-/A. Again, the pack does everything advertised in a simple, and yet sophisticated package. The only downside being the flimsy hip belts.

Covert 22L: Finding that the Anarchist was a bit large for some sidecountry and shorter day trips, I purchased a Covert 22L this fall. While I haven't had the same amount of time on this pack, I have gotten a feel for its strength and weaknesses.

First and foremost caveat empetor that this is a small pack. If you carry a good deal of gear on your day trips, this pack will be way too small. That being said, I was able to fit most of what I would take on a day trip into the pack, so long as I sinched my outer-layer to the outside of the pack.

Like the Anarchist, the Covert is a two pocket pack with one dedicated avy gear pocket. Like the Anarchist, the Covert has a bit of trouble fitting standard BD avy gear, though the problem is a bit accentuated on the Covert because of its clamshell pocket system (i.e., the top of the shovel will poke out of the pocket).

The Covert will work better if you carry a camelback versus water bottles. I swore off carrying a camelback in the backcountry a few years ago and I found that getting two full nalgenes into the pack, along with food, a first aid kit, and few other things was a bit burdensome.

However, when fully packed, the Covert fit and carried extremely well, arguably better than the Anarchist. I had the pack filled to the brim yesterday and hardly noticed the weight. It does have a very nice, small profile which keeps the pack close to the body, reducing the times that it can throw off your balance. Like the Anarchist, it skis very well, keeping the weight close to your body so as to not throw you off when hitting variable snow.

Again, however, this is a small pack and is probably best suited for sidecountry or quick laps (like Berthoud or Loveland Pass) where you are returning to your car, etc. I do not think I will be taking it out again on another extended day trip.

Overall, I have to give this one a A-. Much like its bigger bretheren, it does everything as advertised, though in a much smaller package. Not being able to perfectly fit the avy gear in the pocket isn't a deal killer, but it is something to take in consideration.

Also, if you are on the fence, I think the Covert 32L/Anarchist 32L are great compromise.s That would be perfect for folks who like long day trips, but won't be doing any overnights. I like the top loading features of the Anarchist better than the Covert's clamshell loading, but thought that the Covert carried the weight a bit better.

[Core Shot]

Good review. I have them both also, but rarely use the Covert.

My reasons:

1) I'm tall and the Anarchist fits much better
2) straps on Covert are crappy - Anarchist is way better if you are bootpacking heavy metal
3) I just like toploaders. Mainly, I like the top pocket that never gets crushed on the chairs - good for sandwiches, goggles, etc.

So I use the anarchist even for day/sidecountry use. It flattens down nicely with nothing inside it, so it doesn't feel bulky, it just looks like overkill.

And, when needed, the Anarchist holds everything. Extra nice for carrying a 12 pack of PBR or extra layers and shit.

[couloirman]

I have the anarchist and was in so much pain from the avalung on the shoulder when carrying heavy loads that I took it out and sent it to someone else to retrofit an avalung pack for himself. After a 10 hour day carrying the pack I had a black and blue mark the size of a softball on that shoulder that took over a week before I could comfortably carry a heavy backpack load again. Now i just use my regular avalung instead. Anyone else had this problem with the avalung packs? Honestly I don't know how this could be comfortable to anyone, there is a huge plastic box exactly where the weight pulls down on your shoulder, it is amazing to me that BD noticed this and thought it was acceptable. But other than that, I love the pack. Its really well made except for the zippers(broke the avy pocket zipper real quickly when I didn't unzip all the way but tried to take my shovel out quickly), but of course BD is great on warranty's so no worries.
Id recommend the anarchist pack w/out avalung to anyone for a large daypack for the backcountry/ski mountaineering and the likes, I guess if you're more slackcountry you might not mind the avalung in the shoulder, but it gets really uncomfortable after a lot of hours. Other than that, thanks for the review Ron.

So anyone thinking of buying a new one, go to a store and ask to try it on full of 50ish pounds of stuff and you'll see what I mean.

[robnow]

I've never felt anything bad on my shoulder Couloir but I've never had the bag totally full and heavy either. I'm going to have to weigh her down and see for myself!!

I forgot to add, my only complaints are the straps to tighten the shoulders are too short so it takes some fiddling with gloves on-which is ALWAYS.

[Rontele]

Good review. I have them both also, but rarely use the Covert.

My reasons:

1) I'm tall and the Anarchist fits much better
2) straps on Covert are crappy - Anarchist is way better if you are bootpacking heavy metal
3) I just like toploaders. Mainly, I like the top pocket that never gets crushed on the chairs - good for sandwiches, goggles, etc.

So I use the anarchist even for day/sidecountry use. It flattens down nicely with nothing inside it, so it doesn't feel bulky, it just looks like overkill.

And, when needed, the Anarchist holds everything. Extra nice for carrying a 12 pack of PBR or extra layers and shit.

I do agree with you that regardless of the load, the Anarchist still carries really well.

[~mikey b]

your Deploy doesn't fit in the Anarchist 42? My Deploy 7 fits in the pouch just fine. I'm liking this pack a lot. Big enough to handle the loads I need to carry every day at the office. Probably will end up with a Covert for other missions.

[Rontele]

your Deploy doesn't fit in the Anarchist 42? My Deploy 7 fits in the pouch just fine. I'm liking this pack a lot. Big enough to handle the loads I need to carry every day at the office. Probably will end up with a Covert for other missions.

It fits, but the shovel handle just peeks above the zipper. When I close the top load it covers it nicely. Maybe I am just a sally and not pushing it in far enough(?)

[Core Shot]

Maybe I am just a sally and not pushing it in far enough(?)

"Pound her cockgarage good. Real Good." - wise advice I heard once.

[trainnvain]

I thought the Anarchist felt really good for it's size (ie skis much more balanced than it looks), until I got into steeper bootpacks. Then it really killed my field of upward vision unless I arched my whole back.

[homi]

don't have the shoulder problem or the neck extension problem.

the ski carry setup is crappy, imo.

and I always manage to get the avalung nipple get caught underneath the chest strap when putting it on.

[palosgrandes]

I have the Covert and found that it fit very well and was comfortable.
However, when I tested the avalung I found it to be somewhat difficult breathe through and it made a lot of noise. Did anyone else have this same experience with the avalung?

[robnow]

Its been mentioned here before so SEARCH JONG!!

But yeah, difficult to breathe through and makes noises. Really makes me nervous to think about having to actually use it when I practice with it. I'll be learning as much as I can so I'll never have to rely on it.

[jepilot]

I have the Covert and found that it fit very well and was comfortable.
However, when I tested the avalung I found it to be somewhat difficult breathe through and it made a lot of noise. Did anyone else have this same experience with the avalung?

if you get buried and you're breathing through it, that's probably the best sound you'll ever hear (aside from the search party's beacons).

[lemon boy]

Rontele-
You're probably going to kick yourself in much the same way that I did when I first figured out how to get my deploy into the pocket on both of my (admittedly non-bd) packs: handle goes down, blade side up.

[Rontele]

Rontele-
You're probably going to kick yourself in much the same way that I did when I first figured out how to get my deploy into the pocket on both of my (admittedly non-bd) packs: handle goes down, blade side up.

Fucking genius. [/kicks self]

[Rontele]

Okay,

The Deploy shovel does not fit in either pack without the handle sticking above the pocket. This shouldn't be a deal breaker for those in the market for a new pack, but certainly is a design flaw that BD should try to fix in the future.

[lemon boy]

I tried this sunday in a friend's bigger clamshell (whichever that is) and it fit just fine and swallowed the whole handle.

[trouble]

order of avy tool pocket size for BD avalung packs:
Largest: 32l covert
middle: 32 and 42L anarchist
smallest: 22l covert

so what I am saying is its possible that the deploy fits in the bigger covert and not the anarchist or 22l covert

[MTslackcountry]

If your shovel is a D handle, put the 2 top side straps through it so that it has no way ouf coming loose also pulling the top over the shovel handle like rontele said helps as well.

[Rontele]

order of avy tool pocket size for BD avalung packs:
Largest: 32l covert
middle: 32 and 42L anarchist
smallest: 22l covert

so what I am saying is its possible that the deploy fits in the bigger covert and not the anarchist or 22l covert

That would explain Lemon Boy's findings.

[eab03e]

just tried to tie my shovel down today on the pack and lost it! probably my fault, but still sucks

[harpo-the-skier]

I just skied in bounds all day with my Covert 32 compressed down with the straps. It had a nalgene bottle, shovel, probe, soft shell, and vest in it, and it felt acceptable on the chair lift. I think next time, I will use a bladder instead of a nalgene and it should fit on the chair lift even better.

[Rontele]

Update. After cleaning the sand out of my vagina, I am able to fit the Deploy shovel in the Anarchist upside-down.

The Anarchist is a great pack, but for what homi mentioned, a less than adequate ski carry system.

[Particle]

Love my Covert 32L avalung. I do sometimes wish it had a bit burlier hip strap, but not a big deal really as I try to skin as much as possible and keep the bootpacking to a minimum. It really depends where you ski...Wasatch is very skin-friendly, vs. somewhere like JH where it seems like you're booting all the time.

No problems with my Deploy shovel fitting either - but makes sense given the sizes of the avy gear pouches listed above.

Organization is great.
Love the cinch straps - it easily compresses down to a slim, body-hugging size.
But is big enough for long day trips.
Covered hydration shoulder sleeve is key to prevent tube freezing and not have to do the 'blow-back' each time you drink.

Was out on a tour and we had a train of 6 BD packs, lots of Coverts...incidental and yeah it is BD's homeland, but still thought it said something about their packs:

[backcountry1pr]

Really helpfull write up rontele