Owner Review: Salomon Raid Race Pack 300

January 31, 2006

Tester Information:   

Name:  David Heyting

Age: 28

Gender:  Male

Height: 6’ 0”, 1.83 m

Weight: 205 lb, 93 kg

Email: deheyting@yahoo.com

City, State, Country: Snoqualmie, Washington, USA

Backpacking Background:

I have been hiking and backpacking for over 15 years.  A great deal of the backpacking that I do is related to mountaineering and rock climbing in the Pacific Northwest.  When not climbing, I tend to be a lightweight hiker that tries to go light to be able to push more miles.  My main areas of exploration are the Washington Central and North Cascades, but have done lots of hiking in the British Columbia Coastal Range as well as the Oregon Cascades.

Test Conditions:  The primary test conditions were done in the Central Washington Cascades.  Moderate temperatures: spring and fall down to 40 F (4 C) up to 85 F (30 C).  Typically a wet climate.  Most of the trekking occurred on steep trails on varying terrain, from soft pack trails, scree fields, to snowfields and some minimal glacier travel. 

Along with my hiking trips with the pack, I have used the Raid Race in 5 different adventures races, with race times ranging from 11 to 24 hours.  

Product Information:

Manufacturer: Salomon

Model: Raid Race 300

URL: www.salomonoutdoor.com

Listed Weight:  1.6 lbs /720 g

Measured Weight:  1.8 lbs /740 g

Volume: 1890 cubic inches / 31 L

MSRP: $79.99 USD

Product Description: 

The pack comes in gray, black and red with a large Salomon logo on the side.  The pack consists of padded shoulder straps with a chest strap.  The padding on the shoulder straps is comfortable, but not bulky.  The back system is a ‘thermo-molded’ back panel that is designed to allow airflow.  The waist belt features some padding at the hips and has pockets on each side.  One side is a mesh pocket and the other side has a sealed nylon pocket.  Both pockets sit on the hips and are easily accessible, great for stashing energy bars or gel.  The top pouch features a larger mesh pocket as well as a smaller sealed nylon pocket.  There are two straps that close the pack and secure the top pockets on top of the main bag opening.  The pack also features two compression straps on each side to tightly secure loads.  There are mesh pockets on both sides of the pack that can each easily carry a Nalgene bottle.  The pack also has an adjustable (with elastic straps with toggle) mesh pocket on the face of the pack to the rear – which I can stuff with a fair amount of gear and secure with the straps.  I have used this mesh pocket to carry a bike helmet on adventure races.  The inside of the pack features a separate compartment for a water bladder and has a special hole with which to run the tube and a Velcro strap to keep the tube secure.  The pack also has two eyelet holes on the bottom of the pack to drain water.

Key Features: Here are some of the key features, noted on the Solomon website.

-Back System - Air vent foam comfort 4 back pads

- Shoulder straps - S-shaped shoulder straps

- Belt - Extra light airing waist belt

- Hydration – Built in bladder compartment

Summary

I have used the Raid Race 300 for over a year now and have taken it into several different types of terrain.  The typical terrain of most of my trips has been the Cascade Mountain range – steep and rugged trails.  I have used the pack for short day hikes, longer more demanding hikes, and trail running.  I thought I would focus on the types of use and the performance of the pack during those different types of use. 

Short Hikes:  Most of my short hikes consist of 3 to 7 miles (5 to 13 km) round trip with 800 to 2000 feet (250 to 625 meters) of elevation gain.  Typically on these hikes I am carrying a small first aid kit, a rain jacket, fleece jacket, about 1 to 1.5 liters (30 to 50 ounces) of water, and food, around 10 pounds (4.5 kilograms) or so. I have found that carrying 10 to 20 pounds (4.5 to 9.0 kilograms) with the Raid Race 300 is extremely comfortable.  The hip belt pockets are great for carrying a Power Bar or other food to keep me going. After having this on the Raid Race 300 I am not sure I can purchase a pack without the hip pockets.  The shoulder straps and back pads all make for a comfortable ride.  The hydration system, due to the full length inner pocket and Velcro straps for a bladder tube, seem to keep the bladder secure during most of the hike. In short a wonderful ride.

Longer Hikes:  On these types of hikes I am typically going between 8 to 14 miles (13 to 22.5 km) round trip.  The goal is to go light and longer.  In terms of weight, these hikes I typically carry more like 25 pounds (11.5 kilograms).  The extra weight is mainly made up of additional water and food, plus some additional clothing.  Even with the extra weight the Raid Race 300 is a very comfortable pack.  However I have noted that if the weight exceeds 30 pounds (13.5 kilograms) the pack is not able to comfortably carry the weight, as the pack begins to shift most of the weight off the hips to the shoulders causing a greater strain on the upper body.  Overall if I keep the weight below 30 pounds (13.5 kilograms) pounds the Raid Race 300 is a wonderful daypack.

Trail Running:  I have found the Raid Race 300 to be a bit large for trail running, as the pack tends to move and shuffle on my back.  The water bladder is held in place tightly, however the pack still moves up and down more than I would desire as I run.  Based on that, I would not recommend this pack for that application.

I have taken the Raid Race 300 out several times in the rain.  Although the pack is not waterproof it does dry out very quickly, which has come in handy many times hiking in the Northwest.  During a couple of adventure races I have fully submerged the pack and found that the drainage grommets to actually work and helped the pack to drain water much more effectively, rather then having to let the water drip out through the fabric of the pack.  

In terms of wear and tear the pack has held up well.  The only issue that I have seen is the top compression straps easily frayed and had to be removed.  With only the lower compression straps I have still been able to keep the pack compressed.  I sort of found the failure of these straps as odd as the rest of the pack has held up nicely.  However those top straps had to be removed only after a few months of use. Also the two buckles that hold down the top pack could be a little bit larger as they can be difficult to open with clumsy hands like mine. 

For any application one thing that is great about the pack is the room and ease of carrying hydration in any form – bladder or bottle.  Along with the bladder pouch I can easily carry two more Nalgene bottles in the two outside pockets.  This is great as typically on a day hike, water is the heaviest item in my pack.  With the Raid Race the water is held securely so that it does bounce around and lead to an uncomfortable trip.  

Things I Like;

The comfortable shoulder straps

Formed air vent back pad

Dual hip belt pockets for easy access food storage

Things I don’t like:

Compression straps frayed easily and had to be removed

Back is not comfortable with weight exceeding 30 pounds (13.5 kilograms).

Recap:

The Raid Race is an ideal pack for day hikes carrying less than 30 pounds (13.5 kilograms).  It has some great features such as a water hydration system, side hip pockets, comfortable shoulder straps and comfortable foam back pad.  The Raid Race 300 is extremely comfortable and lightweight.