ProView – Mountainsmith Scream 25

The Mountainsmith Scream 25 is lightweight, frameless, durable, and has minimal padding, which makes it a great choice for a day hike. It packs down well to fit in a larger backpack or drybag, and folds into its own stuff sack. To see what the Scream is all about I took it out on all of my multi-day courses this summer as my primary day bag, which included mountain, canyon, and river travel. At the end of the day, this pack is awesome for holding a couple layers, water bottles and snacks.

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Mountainsmith-scream-25-backpack-review-dirtbagdreams.com
The Scream 25 folded down into its own stuff sack

Organization and Accessibility

This is a simple pack with minimal compartments that makes it easy to use and very intuitive. The pocket in the brain was probably my favorite part of the whole pack. It is easy to access and big enough to fit my maps, sunscreen and headlamp.

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The two water bottle pockets on the outside that are capable of holding a Nalgene in each and are easy to get in and out of. The straps are super breathable but do not offer any padding to cut weight and aid in packability.

Durability

This pack as been through some heavy bushwhacking, sandy river beaches, slickrock canyons and I have yet to see real wear or tear on it. There were many times in the canyons where there was a waterfall accompanied with the rappel and although this bag is not made out of waterproof material none of my things were wet.

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Capacity

This pack is marketed at 25L and accurately so. I loved being able to fill this pack with my puffy, fleece, rain jacket AND snacks!

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A drawback of the Scream being able to hold 25L is that you can easily overload it and end up with a floppy pack because it does not have a frame. I like being able to put all my layers in there but I am now mindful of heavier items.

Fit and Color

I am 5’6 and felt it fit me perfectly. The shoulder straps are easily adjustable as well as the hip belt. And being a woman I greatly appreciated the fact that I could adjust where the chest strap fell on my chest as well as the tightness. The color was accurate to how it is displayed on their website.

The Final Word

Pros

  • Lightweight, durable, packable

Cons

  • No structure, easily overloaded

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Emily Katz is stoked to be stoked outside! You can find her perma-smiling in the mountains, rivers and canyons of the West where she has over five years of guiding experience. She currently splits her time between Moab, UT, and Crested Butte, CO. In Moab she is an Instructor for Colorado Outward Bound School-Southwest Program leading multi-day backpacking, canyoneering and rafting courses. In Crested Butte she is a Ski Instructor for the Adaptive Sports Center and a Crested Butte High School Cross Country Coach.

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