Powder Review: Hyperlite Headwall 55 Pack
The Arena Media Brands, LLC and respective content providers to this website may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website.
In a Nutshell
The Hyperlite Headwall is a light, comfortable and well-designed pack that is perfect for ski mountaineering missions and wildly more versatile than its 55L capacity would lead you to believe.
Size Tested: Small
Sizes Offered: Small, Medium, Large, Tall
Capacity: 55L internal, 7L external
Weight: 1220 g
The Hyperlite Headwall 55 is available now.
Intro
I was excited to see how well this pack lived up to the hype of being “the Cody Townsend pack,” something that folks I ran into mentioned on almost every tour I brought the Headwall on. The bottom line is that the Headwall exceeded all my expectations. I think my touring partner got tired of hearing me talk about how much I love this pack. It is well constructed, well laid out and its capacity makes it equally at home on 1–2-night trips or single day tours. The Headwall quickly became my go-to pack for not only long ski-mountaineering missions but also shorter tours, largely relegating my old BD Dawn Patrol 32 to the shed.
Fit
At 5’1” I often struggle to find packs, especially gender-neutral ones, that fit well. I was pleasantly surprised at how well the Headwall fit and how comfortable it is to wear, especially as an ultralight pack. The Hyperlite website has a great, detailed, and easy-to-use guide on sizing their packs, which makes it easy to feel confident you are ordering the right size. Their stated sizing fits torsos ranging from 15” in a size small, to 21+” in size tall, making this pack a viable option for an impressively large range of humans.
Using Hyperlite’s instructions, my torso length measures 15”, putting me right at the bottom of their advertised sizing. The length of the pack fits perfectly, allowing the waist belt and shoulder straps to sit comfortably, even when fully loaded. The height of the sternum strap is easily adjusted, allowing for a customized fit that didn’t leave me feeling I was being choked (or having my boobs crushed).
The straps for the shoulder straps and waist belt are long enough to provide a huge range of adjustability, making it easy to perfect your fit. Depending on layers, I typically keep them cranked down near their smallest size range. Even cranked down, the excess webbing does not feel hazardously or obnoxiously long; something that is greatly appreciated in technical terrain or when ropes are involved.
I was admittedly worried about the pack’s lack of a structured back panel and how comfortable it would be, especially when carrying a variety of sharp, pointy objects. However, the lack of a rigid back panel had minimal impact on how the pack carried. After half-a-tour with a cam lobe digging into my back, I quickly learned to be somewhat mindful of how I loaded the pack, which was an easy fix.
Carrying Comfort
The Headwall distributes weight well and is comfortable to carry when fully or partially loaded. It has minimal shift or bounce when both touring or descending; a pleasant surprise given its size. My first turns in the pack were hop-turns in a skinny, 45ish degree couloir in variable conditions – I barely noticed it was there. Same goes for the up, where it doesn’t shift, or swing with kick-turns. Major wins for a pack of its size.
Capacity
The Headwall has an advertised 55L internal and 7L internal capacity. The combined capacity puts its size significantly closer to my go-to backpacking backpack (65L) than my usual touring pack (32L).
For my packing style, at max capacity the Headwall could work well for a 1–2-night mission with some mindful packing Tetris. The overnighter I used it on involved a very flat approach, so I had the luxury of pulling all my gear on a sled. If you are very into overnight missions (I’m not), your kit is probably more dialed than mine, and you know exactly how much space your gear takes up so I’m not going to nerd out super hard on the max capacity.
Know that the cavernous internal pocket can hold a ton. Any overflow items can be securely fastened to the pack’s side straps, minimizing the packrat vibe. Removable, and widely adjustable straps on the lateral aspects of the pack allow you to cinch everything down when the pack’s roll top is fully loaded.
While the Headwall can be a 55L pack, it by no means has to be. When you don’t need the full 55L, the roll top can be rolled down, securely clipped into place. Cinching the side straps down creates a surprisingly svelte pack perfect for gear-intensive single day missions.
In its smallest configuration the Headwall held all the goodies for a typical single day, technical ski mission in my home range of the Tetons. This is where I felt the pack really thrived. It effortlessly held and carried a helmet, ski crampons, boot crampons, low-profile plates, harness, a small climbing rack, and a 7.5mm 40-meter rope. All that in addition to and without having to sacrifice extra water, a bonus extra layer or a more comprehensive first aid kit.
The outside pocket on the Headwall is masterfully done. The material is stretchy, allowing it to hold more and be more versatile than it appears it should be. It has integrated sleeves for shovel handle and probe, helping keep things well organized and quick to access in an emergency. The size of the pocket means even longer probes and larger shovel blades fit without issue, and without taking up the whole pocket. It features a hook + loop (aka Velcro) closure and secondary buckle closure. Hook + loop is admittedly not my favorite. I do question its durability, but so far it has held up well and the additional buckle closure provides an extra layer of security.
I loved this pocket for carrying things I needed to access quickly and easily – ski or boot crampons, and a small water bottle. It was also an amazing “mud room.” It’s great for storing skins, wet gloves, snowy crampons, or climbing plates while keeping the internal pocket (and any extra layers) bone dry.
Features and Pockets
The Headwall has five total compartments. The main compartment, a small zippered internal pocket, the main outside pocket, and two waist belt pockets. The only way to access the main compartment is through the roll top.
It comes with an ultra-comfortable, well designed waist belt. It features two spacious hip belt pockets: awesome for carrying a phone, sunscreen, PLB (InReach) and all of your snacks.
The pack has an abundance of compression straps that allow you to cinch it down surprisingly small. This allows it to function well as a day pack, without your gear or the pack bouncing around. The three lateral straps also serve as the packs A-frame ski carry (or vertical snowboard carry).
The buckles are large enough to be easy to use with gloves on; a nice perk on cold days. The fabric on the lateral panels of the pack is slightly burlier, meaning it should hold up well against wear and tear from ski edges.
The Headwall has dual ice axe (or technical tool) capacity. There is theoretically a sleeve to slide the pick of your axe into, but I couldn’t make it quite work nicely with the angle of either the Petzl Ride, or Gully I typically carry.
Where does the Hyperlite Headwall 55 make some compromises?
The biggest downside I found with this pack was how difficult it is to access the main compartment while skis are A-framed. It is doable if you undo the ski strap and really push the skis apart but takes some effort and is quite time consuming.
The other feature I missed was a dedicated helmet carry. While the pack is spacious enough to easily accommodate storing a helmet inside, it lacks the convenience of an external carry. It does feature daisy chains on both sides of the posterior portion, so you could get creative and still attach your helmet externally, or possibly repurpose the helmet carry from a different pack if you really wanted to. If you’re rocking the Smith Summit with integrated pack tethers these would be a perfect attachment point.
Finally, cost. I fully recognize that the price of this pack is hard to ignore. Hyperlight has a reputation of quality packs that, while expensive, use premium lightweight materials, and are durable enough to be put through the ringer. I’m optimistic that will be the case with the Headwall.
What does the perfect day in the Hyperlite Headwall 55 look like?
Where I found this pack thrived was on single day, ski-mountaineering objectives that are gear intensive by nature. I loved being able to bring all the gear I needed, without skimping on the extras so I could bring that extra puffy, the full sized first aid kit, the just-in-case rap cord without thinking twice about it. Having the added flexibility to put the full 55 liters to use and employ the Headwall 55 seamlessly on overnight missions is an awesome bonus. I think the Headwall is pretty unmatched in its versatility for just that reason: large capacity when you need it, small and svelte when you don’t.
